Agent Olivia Dunham

Mr. Smith and I are pleased to announce the arrival of the newest member of the Smith Family, Agent Olivia Dunham! (We will call her Olive for short).

Olive came to us courtesy of the Bearden Beer Market. They had been caring for a stray there for some time. According the the 20-something hipster boys who work there who self-charged themselves with their care, they described Giselle's pregnancy as such: "Well, all of a sudden she got real big and then she had kittens." I guess that's how it works, pretty much.

We just happened to be there and discovered them when they were about five weeks old. We were pretty smitten, since we'd been looking for a kitten for awhile, and the timing worked out perfectly.

I wanted Max and Lucy to help me pick out a kitten, so we all met at the Bearden Beer Market to determine the best cat to come live with us. We timed this badly though - there were two children already there, plus Max and Lucy, then the Mowrers and their two little ones decided to swing by and see the litter. Six children + five kittens + all the yoo hoo you can drink = bedlam.

adorable bedlam, that is...

We go through all the kitten options, and determine the best one is:

olive!

The kittens were still too young to be from their mother, so in the next few weeks, I coordinate several pit stops at the Bearden Beer Market to visit with my kitten. Once, I came by with Froyoz ice cream all by myself and sat for a half hour and visited with Olive before returning to work.

getting to know you! getting to know all about you! getting to like you! and hoping you like me!

This is just an adorable shot of Olive and her litter mates. One of these things is not like the other...

'sup?

We waited anxiously for Mama Giselle to have time with the kitties for a few more weeks, and finally, last Wednesday we got the call that they had passed the vet inspection and Olive was ready to come home.

me and my new baby

Her first night, I was completely prepared to have a yowling Loki-cat and a crying Olive-cat. We were all fortunately spared that pain. Loki found Olive two times and both times (after hissing himself into a wheezing fit the second) he would forget about her and be surprised when he found her again. If he could talk, it would sound something like this: "Hey, so I ate all my supper and was hoping I could cash in on a little midnight sn-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??????? HISSSSSSSSSS HISSSSSSSSSS (retreating) *wheeze* *wheeze* *wheeze* *wheeze*

Olive stayed in the yellow room alone on her first night away from Mama Giselle and her litter mates and slept soundly the whole night through. I guess she enjoyed the quiet for a change.

welcome home, olive!

The next day, Loki did much better. He could approach her warily and perform a quick sniff and run.

still here are ya? 

During this time, folks started arriving to meet our new little furry bundle of joy. 

auntie amanda

grandmother and dipsey doodle

And we got to know Olive better and better.

she loves antonio banderas movies just like me!

she loves playing video games just like tommy!

Even Loki's coming around. Tommy said it best when he described it like watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon; great big Loki and gamboling kitten Olive. I think it's more like Dennis the Menace's Mr. Wilson. Whenever Olive thumps him and skitters under the couch, Loki shoves his big mug under there and yells, "WHY I OUGTTTA.... you crazy kids and your smacking me on my fanny!"

reluctant loki and snuggly olive

Today I came home and found in the mail three letters. One addressed to Tommy and me from my mother and father:

they ain't lyin'...

One addressed to Loki:

certainly the truth...

And one to Olive:

cue waterworks, please....

I know they're just cats. But they sure make me happy. Thanks for all the love upon the arrival of Agent Olivia Dunham!

P.S. Kittens are excellent dusters, BTW. The underside of my bed, sofa, loveseat, etc. is blessedly dustbunny-free, thanks to Olive.