I thought I'd take a moment to introduce you to the other female in our house. Lulu is our kitty, and has lived with us since she showed up on our doorstep in October of 2002 and invited herself in to live with us. She's quite a little diva, and has NEVER liked anyone but Andrew or myself. She disappears whenever we have guests, and usually stays hidden all day until the kids are either taking naps or asleep for the night.

She also has the very creepy habit of knowing I'm pregnant long before I do. She'll climb up in my lap and get really close to my face and just stare at me for hours! When I was pregnant with Emma, we didn't have any idea what she was doing, we just thought she was hungry or something. But when it lasted for weeks, and then we found out I was knocked up, we figured out what she was doing. If I thought her staring was bad with Emma, I was surprised at how much worse it was when I was pregnant with Frank. She literally would narrow her eyes at me like she was asking "What have you done?" Let's just say that having a baby in the house was a rude awakening for this spoiled kitty.

It's been very surprising to watch her interact with the kids the past couple of weeks. Usually as soon as she hears them, no matter where in the house they are, she bolts. But recently, she has figured out that the kids can give her love just like the grown-ups do. About once a day, she'll come find me on the couch or chair and just sit and wait. When the kids come over, she'll actually rub her head against them and let them pet her. It's great to watch. Emma will get so excited and say "Mama, Lulu really loves me now! She's furring!" (No matter how many times I tell her that the word is actually purring, she refuses to change her mind about it.)

Today, Lulu actually jumped up on the couch next to Emma while she was watching TV and let Emma pet her. I guess our little Lulu has finally figured out that these little invaders of her domain aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so she may as well get some back rubs out of them while they're here.