Naming Names on New Year's Eve

The Fab Four: The cuddle and play lady who is apparently called #1 told us that today is the last day of the year in which we were born. What is year? and born? Anyway, she says that it is a good time to tell all of our friends about our names!

We have to explain a few things first: In France, all pedigree cats and dogs born in the same year are supposed to have names starting with the same letter of the alphabet. The letter for 2009 is "E" so all our names start with that letter. Also, all kitties in Uncle U's lineages have traditionally been given place names as their official names. And as you already know, #1 has a "thing" about Japan, where she lived for 20 years, so we all get Japanese names!

So, keeping all that in mind... Ta Da........

Ehime is the only girl in this litter and she certainly knows how to hold her own. She is pretty intrepid, and was the first one out of the "box" when a door was put in!

Ebisu is a real sweetie and very easy-going. He has already mastered the "silent miaow" when he wants to be picked up and played with.

Echigo is a bit of a daredevil, hence his nickname of "GoGo-Chan"! He was initially the second smallest of the litter but is now the biggest!

Little Eifuku is the lightest of the litter, although that is hardly an issue in a litter of pretty heavy kittens! He is a great observer, always looking at everything, and loves to wrestle!

Nothing Better

Yuu-Chan: When I came back yesterday evening from my "day out" at the vet's, I was feeling a little shakey on my feet and generally strange. The oddest thing was that my purring mechanism wasn't working although my vocal cords were in fine shape, and I serenaded #1 all the way back in the car. Anyway, when I got back, Sei-Chan took such good care of me!

There is nothing better than being surrounded by those who love you!

PS: I am feeling just fine today and I am purring up a storm!

Tama-Chan's Tiny Tuesday

Tama-Chan: Actually, soon I won't be able to call the babies tiny anymore. They are all well over 400 grammes now and personalities are beginning to shine through. I know many of you have asked about their names. All will be revealed very soon!

In the interim, we decided that it was time for the kits to do a little more with their legs than just be in the bed, so we moved the big "fort" onto the floor and cut a door into it. The first one out of it and off exploring was my little girl!

The others followed suit:

In order to get them used to the idea of eating "out" we set up a miniature buffet for them:

They also got their nails properly clipped:

They still spend quite a bit of time in little kitten piles in their basket, though. Sometimes, it's hard to tell which limb belongs to whom!

As for me, dear friends, I am still eating five large meals a day but #1 tells me I look utterly gorgeous, and took a photo to prove it!

Manly Monday with Tommy and Yuu!

Tom: I am sorry there were no photos of me yesterday. It is getting difficult to get a look-in with all those cute kittens to photograph! But #1 tells me I should bask in my uniqueness, and I do!

I have been very much enjoying the new stuffie I got for Christmas. It is a very wintery themed one as it is an ice hockey player, and let me tell you right now that there is nothing manlier than a woofie sleeping with his ice hockey player stuffie!

Or basking in a ray of sunshine with it...

Yesterday morning, we went to the chateau and I was able to enjoy my favorite pastime of moat surfing! It's pretty steep so it's fun to run up and down, chasing sticks of wood!

Yuu-Chan: I am finally supposed to be going in for my snip surgery tomorrow morning so spare a purr for me please, especially that I can't have any food after 7pm tonight, and I love to eat. Sigh...

I got a fabulous glittery orange mouse for Christmas and I have been having a great time with it!

And finally, I have a ray of sunshine photo for you too!

Snuggles on Sunday

Tama-Chan: Christmas being a season of good cheer, there was a whole lot of snuggling going on here, pulling in some new "helpers"!

I was very happy to receive a visit yesterday from a little girl, Nine, who really, really wanted to meet my kittens. She was very admirative which pleased me no end, and asked if we could take a mass snuggle photo of her with them!

Don't they look cute together?!

I of course snuggle with the kits all the time, and #1 caught us all together the other day:

Those little scamps are getting big. Today marked the first one topping the 400 gramme mark, and the other three are not far behind!

In other news, word has reached me that my little sister, Sei-Chan, fell madly in love with one of our guests on Christmas Day and made something of a spectacle of herself with him...

No comment...

Yuu-Chan tried to charm the same guest by offering himself as a Christmas gift...

In case you're wondering, Tommy has been busy with his new stuffie and promises you photos tomorrow!

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone.

Good Times!

Sei-Chan: I hope that all of our friends had a wonderful Christmas! We certainly did. The weather was just beautiful, and there were lots of presents under the tree!

Tommy wore his Christmas bandana and got a new stuffie!

Yuu-Chan wore the handsome bow tie that Sen-Chan had worn last Christmas:

I looked very elegant in a collar with little embroidered apples on it!

Tama-Chan and the kittens got all the promised goodies in their stockings!

And we all got to share in the Christmas feast!

WISHING YOU ALL

A

MAY YOUR STOCKINGS BE FULL AND ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!

Helping with Preparations

Yuu-Chan: First of all, thank you very much for all the kind words. I am feeling a lot better. I have been taking my medication (very yummy wrapped in soft cheese!). I don't like the eye drops much but they are working well.

We have a Christmas guest arriving today so Sei-Chan and I have been giving #1 a hand with getting her room ready...

We really can't imagine how she would have gotten the bed made without us!

We can't remember whether we put up a photo of our Christmas tree before, but in case we didn't, here it is!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! And in the spirit of things, we urge those of you who have not yet visited the auction site for our friend Fiona's dental surgery to stop by and bid!

Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: Only a few more days until Christmas. #1 has promised a whole packet of Luvs, just for myself, and a wand toy, and she says each of the babies will get their own tiny gift!

Talking of nice gifts, our dear friend Gabriel had some fun with Photoshop and sent me this photo:

Merci, Gabriel! #1 tells me I look stunning...

I confess that I am getting a little bored being in the back room, with just the kits, all the time. Last night, #1 stayed with us for a long time as she wrote Christmas cards. It was nice to have her there. The rest of the time, it's the same routine...

So, did you notice the little fashion statement? We decided that the time had come to be able to tell the kittens (read the three boys) apart, so they are now all wearing collars, and we think they look very good in them. FYI, my little girl is wearing the yellow collar! Here are a few more shots of them.

The biggest boy is wearing the orange collar and the littlest the purple one.

Oh, and we do have new and improved accommodations. Now that the little ones are beginning to move around, we thought it would be safer to install a fort, suitably decorated for Christmas of course.

Yuu-Chan asked me to tell you he is feeling better. Thanks for all the good wishes.

And finally,would like to say WELCOME BACK, ANGUS! You were among our very first blogging buddies and we're so glad you're back!

Manly Monday with Tommy and Yuu!

Tom: The snow is finally melting and it's supposed to get warmer over the next few days, so we are hoping the ice will go away too. At the moment, the road up from our house is like a skating rink!

The snow was GREAT and gave me many opportunities to look very manly. Here is a small selection for your viewing pleasure:

Look at how well I camouflage!

Yuu-Chan: I was supposed to go to the vet's today for "the little snip" but the roads are still icy and I have a bit of a cold, so I got a reprieve until after Christmas. #1 started me on medication this morning so I should be all better by Christmas. She needs to be very careful, though, not to carry any germs into the back room.

When our Aussie friends were here last week, I had a very close shave as they were preparing dinner one evening and decided I would make a lovely roast kitty. What was I actually doing in the roasting dish? Well, I do have to investigate everything, don't I?

Anyway, here is what #1 calls my "lover boy" expression:

And here is what I'm planning to do until my cold is gone:

In conclusion, #1 would like to ask if anyone has any news of our good friend Angus Mhor? He hasn't blogged since Thanksgiving, which is rather unusual, and we hope that everything is OK with him and his family