New Pets

Sometimes I feel like I live in a zoo, but the kids love our animals. Christmas morning CJ woke up to find a goldfish was one of his presents.

It started when he was three. I told him that when he was ready to stop sucking his thumb at night, that he could get a goldfish. Then, with all the transitions in our life--moving, starting school, me going back to work, etc., I decided not to push it. He turned 4 in September and still sucked his thumb when he had his blanket--only at night. Right around Thanksgiving, CJ came up to me sounding like a very big boy. He handed me his blanket and said , "Mom, I am ready to earn a fish by not sucking my thumb. I have realized that my blankie is my problem, so you can sleep with it, Mom." And that was that. He sounded so big just then & there and he hasn't sucked his thumb since. So, I waited a month to make sure that he was finished, and we surprised him on Christmas morning.

Then, came Abby's birthday. Ever since Brianna turned 8 and received a hamster because she showed responsibility, Abby has been dreaming of her 8th birthday. When it came, I was reluctant towards a new pet, but Brian & I discussed it & agreed to let her show more responsibility, as well. We all went to a pet store to scope out our options, and ended up leaving with a book all about guinea pigs. For the last month, Abby has done her research & we have prepared a guinea pig area. Since they tend to do better with a friend, we have decided to get two. They have been difficult to get a hold of, so Brian should be coming back from downstate with two new friends tomorrow. :)