Once upon a time, a girl moved to the big city of Indianapolis. She was lonely, so one weekend, her boyfriend took her to the animal shelter, where she fell in love with a kitten...who cost $120, minus amenities. The girl (who was making just enough to pay rent, buy lunch, and shop the Banana Republic sales rack), decided she'd live on boxed mashed potatoes and the Marsh salad bar for a while and purchase said kitten. After trying on a few names--Oscar and Marvin were early faves--said kitten was dubbed PJ. Turned out, said adorable, lanky, grey-tabby-striped kitten loved to eat paper towels. And toilet paper. And plants (especially expensive bamboo stalks). Said kitten was unusually stinky. Said kitten smashed a vase from said boyfriend, causing girl to lie about whereabouts of vase for nearly a year. And to add insult to injury, said kitten turned into a cat who liked boyfriend-turned-eventual husband better than girl-turned-eventual wife.
But no matter. Nate and I both adored PJ (and even left him a message or two on the answering machine now and then). Yup. Even though there were no crystal dishes, and when discussion of life-saving measures came up, Nate capped him at $600...we were "those" people.
Thus, two days before Evan arrived, I confessed a great worry to my sister: "What if I just don't like the baby as much as I like PJ?" Turns out, there's this neat little feeling that kicks in and temporarily blocks all the love you feel for your cat/dog/parakeet/what-have-you as soon as you become a Mommy to someone with opposable thumbs. Suffice it to say, as I walked through the door with our newest and suddenly most important family member, I banished "that" cat to the basement. But with a little time, a little trust, and an impressive display of tolerance in just about any situation, PJ and Evan have become the best of buds...and now I have two reasons to guard the toilet paper roll.
PJ displayed some destructive tendencies early on
If we're being completely honest here, he was only too happy when we had Evan to dress up instead.
Nap buddies
PJ pushes his boundaries...
...while Evan just pushes PJ.
Someone needs lessons in hiding
Watching for squirrels
Death by lovin'
The patience of Job (or: "Hey, kid! Let go of my tail before I whap you across the face.")
Who needs a dog? Hugs for PJ! ♥
And while PJ has a great hatred towards all things doggy, there a few (okay, four--don't tell PJ) of those in Evan's extended pet family, plus a pony, two horses, and a scruffy barn cat here and there.
Sunday and Chandler, the oddest cat-dog duo
Mamaw and Papaw Brewer's best-ever-dog, Bentley
Aunt Allison and Uncle Justin's Muppet--er, dog--Edison
Walking Uncle Greg and Aunt Sarah's dog, Zoe
Coach and Casey
Pepper
And just to prove that Nate and I weren't the only ones completely crazy over a cat...
....Allison and Justin's fur-daughter, Colby, all decked out in her Christmas best.
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