I'm sure the new kitten families will be happy to hear that I didn't "lose" any of the Gumnuts today. The little ones actually slept for a few hours after breakfast but I think they had been having quite a lot of fun and games prior to me getting out bed because when I came downstairs, I was greeted by rather a less mess in the back room. This included a whole roll of paper towel which they had unravelled all around the room. They did look very funny playing with it though so I had to laugh. The Gumnuts were most unimpressed when I took it from them, particularly Snugglepot who would not let go for love nor money. I think he would have to be our most determined out of the 3 Gumnuts.

It feels very strange now only doing one diary (remembering that at one stage recently I was doing 3 diary entries). Our Gumnuts are doing very well and there are times now during the day when they are awake that they go wandering around the whole house and just like the Potters, I'm not always 100% sure where they are at any given time so I am constantly getting up out of my chair to hunt for the Gumnuts. It's so lovely though to see these tiny little beings exploring everywhere and they really enjoy it. They are also getting much more used to our adult cats and off and on throughout the day, Hermione makes her presence well and truly known by curling up with the Gumnuts to sleep. I think she is missing the other Potters a great deal. None of the babies have ventured into the cat run yet but I'm not surprised at all with the weather we've been having. Even our adult cats aren't too fussed on being in the run. After lunch today, I lost Snugglepot and was rather concerned. Banksia Man (yes I know Banksia is female but I'm not changing the name!) and Cuddlepie were roaming around in the dining and lounge room but I couldn't find Snugglepot anywhere. I went upstairs, searched the downstairs and was starting to become worried when I picked up my jumper which was on the work top when a little bundle tumbled out of it. Sure enough it was my Snugglepot............thank goodness. He had climbed right inside my jumper and was sound asleep until I disturbed him. After about 10 minutes, Drambuie decided to join him which surprised me as she isn't always as nice to the babies as she could be.

Unfortunately, the Gumnuts didn't get a huge amount of attention during the day as they normally would because we've had people around most of the day today. The Potters have now left me to go to their new kitten families so their diary has ended for the time being which may hopefully give me a little bit more time. Our little ones are doing very well and have access to the entire house now all day long. They are only ever closed in the back room of an evening when we all go to bed. Everyone who has met our Gumnuts have totally fallen in love with them because of their sweet little faces and their funny antics. The babies are so much more playful and active now that they are at this age and are indeed little time wasters. We could sit there for hours just watching them play and run around.

I'm afraid that I have no news at all, nor any photos today about the Gumnuts as I haven't been home all day. My babies were left in hubby's care and he did a great job of looking after them. I was so pleased to see them when I came home though and I hope they missed me today as much as I missed them.

Our Gumnuts are really getting into their dried food now and are eating quite a lot of it which I'm really pleased about. Before I go any further though, I must let you all know that Cuddlepie is in fact a girl. Hubby and I had suspected this a few weeks back but then forgot all about it. It sounds dreadful but remember that the sexes of our babies are never of a great concern to us, so long as they are happy and healthy then it doesn't really matter. I am hoping though that next year, our sexing of babies will be a lot more accurate than it's been this year!!! They had fabulous games with the Potters this morning and even though the Gumnuts are so much smaller, they won't let any of the other cats or kittens get the better of them. Each single Gumnut can hold their own and on more than 5 occasions, I witnessed the Potters turn tail and run when confronted by my tiny Gumnuts. I'm a little concerned about Amaretto at the moment as she is looking rather thin which is very unlike her. Naturally the babies are quite demanding of her and are taking a lot out of her but even so, she shouldn't be as thin as she is. I've started her on some Hills a/d today which will hopefully put the weight back on her. Some of you may remember that this is a problem we have with Cacao every time she has a litter and we used the a/d on her and she now looks like her normal self so I am hoping it will work with Amaretto as well.

The babies have now taken over my chair during the day. They don't actually rip it to shreds like our other litters did however they like to sleep and sprawl out on it which leaves a problem for me as I have approximately 2 inches at the front of the chair to sit on and that is all! Anyway, I was at the pc after lunch and just about falling off the chair when I turned around to move the babies over so I could actually fit on the chair when I noticed that I suddenly had 4 babies and not 3!!! We had an imposter! It was Harry (from the Potters) and as he is a rather likeable chap who just loves the whole world and thinks they should all love him, so absolutely no reason why he shouldn't curl up with the Gumnuts for a nap. The Gumnuts didn't seem to mind either and he spent quite a few hours sleeping with them today. At times, he was joined by McGonagall and Hermione and while that was lovely to see, it meant I actually had nowhere to sit at all. I can now confirm with my own eyes that all 3 Gumnuts eat the dried kitten biscuits which I'm very pleased about. Within the last 24 hours I have seen each baby go to and from the biscuit bowl and much away so that's a very big relief. Cuddlepie nearly gave me a coronary this morning. He has been extremely naughty. I was answering some emails when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Banksia's bum was sticking out of the printer so I quickly grabbed him and pulled him out and told him it's not for kittens. As I was putting him down, I noticed something "glowing" from inside the printer, sure enough it was Cuddlepie's eyes!!! The little terror had climbed into the printer and was happily just sitting in there, touching anything that looked interesting. I tried to encourage him out through the same space he climbed in but he wasn't having it at all. I had to open up the printer, take him out, close it up and make sure it was switched off. Within 5 minutes of taking him out, the little bugger was back in there!!!! At least this time I knew how to get him out quickly. I was not impressed at all. They have spent a lot of their waking time all over my work top, exploring everything, and getting in the way as kittens do. It can be slightly irritating but you can't help but smile when they are exploring everything, particularly as their little eyes light up when they discover something new.

My darling little Gumnuts are getting incredibly deadly with their claws now. This morning, after I had fed them their breakfast, I sat down at the pc and the babies came rushing over to me to climb up my legs so they could sit (or fight) on my lap. The only problem is that 5 minutes later, I had blood streaming down my leg where they had dug in with their claws in order to climb upwards. Every baby I've ever had does this at this age, however these babies are the most painful (from memory). I'm trying to get into the habit of picking them up to put them on my lap as soon as I see them at my feet but if I'm engrossed in something on the computer then I don't realise until they are already half way up my legs. And it's always the left leg, never the right. Go figure! The babies were introduced to Iams kitten pate today (yes I'll admit to not being a fan of Iams products) however I do want to introduce them to different brands to make sure that they have no reactions to other types of food. As we all know, Siamese/Orientals have sensitive stomachs and changes of diet can lead to runny stools and digestive problems. So far though, so good. They loved the Iams as well which did surprise me but I guess I should be pleased as I have an entire case of it upstairs!