T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Before John and I had Leighton, these two fur babies were the apples of our eyes!

We love them so much now, but as my mom said to me last year, "your cats are your babies until you have a baby, then your cats are your cats." Well, she was right. Sadly for these two, they moved down a spot on the totem pole when Leighton was born. John and I have made a big effort to make them feel loved and included, but I know it's just not the same for them these days.

This is Banks. He is my 20 pound, spoiled rotten cat that John and I rescued as a 4 week old kitten in Ocracoke in 2005. He has been my baby and only my baby since the day I brought him home. You don't usually think of cats as having favorites like dogs, but I am this cat's "person". We always thought we would have big problems from him when Leighton arrived. We were truly worried that he might not welcome her into our home, and my mom even offered to take him home with her if he was not nice. Much to our surprise, he has done a wonderful job! Leighton even grabbed a huge chunk of his fur the other day and he just moved spots- (those of you that have met Banks are probably shocked- he has been known to be very ugly at times).

We have been very pleased with Banks, but we do have a trouble-maker in our midst... Her name is Haylie! This is our "sweet", "meek", "quiet", and "loving" little Haylie-cat. Or so we thought...haha! She has been the cat that has been acting out since Leighton's arrival. When I put Leighton down to sleep, Haylie will sit in the hallway outside of her door and meow really loudly sometimes, or she goes in the bathroom near her room and bangs the cabinets (we now have to keep that bathroom door closed), she has eaten/shredded several rolls of toilet paper, she runs up and down the stairs and makes as much noise as she can when Leighton sleeps, and she hides under the crib and is really hard to catch! I will admit, it is pretty good for a laugh!

This is a picture of her one afternoon when she decided to take a nap on our mantle in the living room:

Don't let the innocent face fool you- she's a mess :)! But we love her and Banks both so much and we look forward to watching Leighton interact with her kitties over the coming months!