Max At Home

Max is quickly becoming acclimated to his new home.  He spends a lot of time under the couch, but ventures out frequently to play with the plethera of toys Camden has left on the floor or to pat at an ornament on the tree or simply to rub up against our leg.  He is coming or answering when we call his name, too.  I think he is most definitely home!

The pictures make him look bigger than reality.  He is actually still a very small kitten - only 2 months and a week old.  He is also very willing to let Camden play with him for very brief splits of time...poor Max...

We are still working on the squeezing!

Austin's popsicle star ornament is really tempting fate.  Max is under the tree often...and swats at it each time!

McCord's Candies

Before we picked out Max, Camden and I met Aunt Carole, LaLa, and ReeRee at McCord's Candy in downtown Lafayette for lunch and treats. 



They had Camden's favorite snack/chocolate treat...chocolate pretzel rods.  To top it off, it had sprinkles.  She only allowed me one bite!

Meet Max!

Santa called me earlier this week and said he had left something for Camden at the Almost Home Humane Society.  Kevin and I went on Thursday to check it out, then Camden and I returned on Saturday to bring home her new kitten.  Aunt Carole and ReeRee came to help her pick.

She wanted one that wasn't too "sharpy."  We had discussed with her that the kittens still had their claws, so she had to be careful.  She was concerned for a few days about them being too sharpy. 

The ones that Kevin and I had seen were already adopted.  They told us kittens went quickly, but knew there were enough others to still pick a good one.

Camden took to the first one I got out of the cage.  He was gentle and sat well on her lap.

He also immediately climbed up on my shoulder.

We tried a few other kittens, but this one seemed like "ours."

The shelter had named him, "Arturo," but on the way home, Camden was talking about Max from her favorite cartoon, "Max and Ruby."  I asked her if she wanted to name her kitten Max, and she said, "Oh, yes.  That is perfect."

She's in love.

 

Happy Birthday, KEVIN!

Kevin and I went out to dinner at the Possum Trot Supper Club last night for his birthday.  Technically it was both of our birthday dinners since mine is just in another week; but he was the only one who got a free dessert in his honor.  The Possum Trot is a steak, chop, and rib place just outside of Danville, IL.  The food is good and it's someplace different to go than the usual fare in Indy or Lafayette.  It was where he took me for our first birthday celebration together.  Didn't get the most flattering picture of the two of us, but the evening was a very nice time together. 

Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree this week.  We had planned to start the real tree tradition this year, but a little surgery sidelined that idea until next year.  So our little, pathetic artificial one is back in the living room.



Camden did a good job putting up the ornaments.  She started to bunch them all together, but listened really well when Kevin gave her instructions on where to put them so that they were all spread out. 

The stockings were also hung (and the buck got his santa hat...just not a picture).

Crawfordsville Christmas Parade

It was still early afternoon when we finished up at Mansfield, so we decided to go back to Crawfordsville for the Christmas parade.  Despite the rain, we enjoyed the small town festivities.  

Camden was especially happy when the parade began and she learned that every group or float threw candy! 

Too loud!

Covered Bridge Christmas

Two of the towns that host the Covered Bridge Festival have a Christmas festival as well.  It's very small, so it's nice to see the sights without battling crowds.  There aren't nearly as many vendors either.

We headed there after church on Sunday.  Our first stop was Bridgeton.



Camden liked going in the mill and pretending to sell me items in the store.  They had all kinds of flour and cornmeal that was ground in the mill, as well as local jams, jellies, maple syrup, etc.

We decided to wait to make a purchase until we got to the mill at Mansfield.  I love this old mill because you can go up all three floors and see the inner workings.

We bought some cornmeal and local maple syrup.  Later this week we are going to make some corncakes for dinner.  I think I'll use Paula Deen's Hoecake recipe since we liked it so much when we were in Georgia.

There were only a few shops open in Mansfield, but one had a dancing Santa Claus outside.  Camden thought it was a hoot and we stood and watched him for a while.  I didn't get a picture of him, but I love this sweet expression on her face as she watched it...she was wide eyed and had a natural smile.  Although this picture doesn't fully capture it, it was pure childhood happiness.