OT - Fun thread - kids (your own or others) and animals

So lets do a fun thread shall we?    This fun thread is going to be about our children, nieces, nephew, grandkids, neighborhood kids, etc and if you don't have any of them (or even if you do) our animals.  Have your children or animals done anything crazy lately? Do they say the darndest things (the kids not animals! LOL). Have they done anything to make you proud regardless of how small the task? Basically anything to do with the little loves of our lives is fair game.  So lets crow a little.......

I will start:  I have an 18 year old son and I am so very proud of him at the moment.  He is graduating in June and starting an aviation technology college in August.  I have had a fight with him growing up in regards to his grades.  He has ADD/non-ADHD and his accompishments make me glow.  He has turned his grades around this year, on his own, with no medications.  I am very nostalgic at the moment.  Where has the time gone???

I also have a 14 year old beauty queen of a daughter.  She's my little social butterfly.  She has had some issues in the past (I won't indulge about what on here) but she is starting to turn around - a bit anyway.  She has always been on the honor roll and a sporty person.  She is starting high school next year and plans on joining volley ball, soccer, track and tennis <-her words, not mine!  She was on the junior high's girl basketball team this year and even though they didn't win any games, they definately improved.  Playing sports is definately keeping her out of trouble...well for the most part anyway! LOL

In case you can't tell, I am a very proud mommy!

So lets hear about your little loves.....remember, no matter how little or big the achievement - I (maybe we) want to hear.

We were married 8 1/2 years before we had kids (part of how I was diagnosed was that I'd had bleeding and was sort of ignoring it... and we hadn't been able to conceive. Turned out I was anemic from UC.)
So I'm one of the older moms in the PTA. My firstborn is very intellectual and is doing a double major in college - electrical and mechanical engineering, probably with a minor in computer science. He hasn't cut his hair since 7th grade (he's 20 now) but keeps it neat, and plays guitar for his own enjoyment and fulfillment and is also good at languages. He is fascinating to talk to, and has a really subtle, wonderful sense of humor.
It's been great to see him come out of the "teen attitude" thing and show a sense of maturity and responsibility. I look forward to his coming home from college because he's such a help!
My younger one is 16 (he's the one with UC.) He is as extroverted as his brother is introverted. He plays trumpet and recently has picked up piano again... he'd like to combine jazz studies with music ed. He's funny, very sensitive - though he covers it with a casual attitude. He is the most social kid I've ever met; our house is the meeting place for a bunch of guys every weekend. He's the one his friends go to for advice and counsel.
Our old cat, our "first child" (a wonderful Siamese) died when our younger son was 2. I'd told the older one he could choose the next cat, and one night while I was reading "Millions of Cats" to him, the younger one pointed at the cats and told me we needed "two kitties" - one for each boy. So.... we have two black cats, now 14 years old, brother and sister from the same litter. The female (older son's cat) is completely sweet and loving and talkative; the male, belonging to the younger kid, ... well, he has serious trans-species issues; he acts much more like a dog!

I'm just a very lucky auntie with a neice and a nephew. My nephew was born when I was 16 so it was fun being an auntie really young. He is honestly the smartest 5 year old I've ever met! I'm sure if he was socially ready he could be in 1st grade in the fall, not kindergarten!
Then there is my niece. I don't know what it is about that little girl but I'm completely addicted to her! She is 16 months old and has so much personality for being so little. She's a little diva, we call her Miss Sassy Pants because she has so much attitude!
At home we have two four legged babies, Jackson and Priscilla (both shelties...we are addicted to them!). In July we lost out senior sheltie Sydney who was 12 years old. I was completely devastated. I had had her since I was 8 and I grew up with her so it was really hard. In September we decided that we needed another doggie in the house, not only for us but for Jacky too because he lost his friend. We ended up adopting Miss Priscilla. She's really come to fill the void and she fits right in!

Awww it sounds you all have such amazing children, nieces, nephews and pets. We love our children and our furry children so much that it makes it somewhat easier to face the day when we are feeling like crap don't ya think?

Beeswax, that is amazing about your daughter. Good for her and congrats!

I watch that show on Animal Planet called Cats 101 (I also watch Dogs 101) and everytime I watch it, it makes me want to get a cat. But we can't have cats :( My son, my daughter AND my husband are allergic to them.

I'll try to make this short. I have so many relatives who mean so much to me. I'm 47 and am already a grandmother.

Boyfriend (50) - is an engineer who does both software and hardware for PC boards.

Boyfriend's daughter, my goddaughter (13) - loves to do the things girls love to do. Very different from my family in which the females aren't very girlie.

Eldest daughter (28) - film/animation degree, javascript web developer. She was a child prodigy in art.

Son-in-law (39) - film degree. Looks like Tarzan. Has coached snow boarding and scuba diving. Is now taking care of the kids.

Second eldest daughter (almost 21)- studying 3D animation. Works very hard. Gets all As.

Granddaughter (3) - very, very active. Has a ton of energy just like I do. Her poor parents are exhausted.

Grandson (12) - sometimes is too intelligent for his own good. He's working a few hours a week after school, entering data into Excel spreadsheets and uploading them to the Internet. He's very serious about his job. Loves it.

Two cats - getting old. The female is able to get everyone to love her despite the fact that she pees everywhere. The male never got fixed and is a real sicko. He can be really funny though.

Birds. One is an obnoxious parrot, another a shy cockatiel, and the remainder is a pair of society finches. The female keeps laying eggs, but they are all duds. She's too old to have babies.

Subdued, It sounds like you have a lot of creativity in your family too! I am an artist so I guess my daughter followed in my footsteps. I always had supplies around for her to paint, etc. She is really good at drawing with a tablet on the computer, though she does that for fun more then her other artwork.

My cat likes to crap on the floor! I think she has mega-colon, possibly. I have to put medicine in her food everyday (Enulose/Lactulose) or she will be terribly constipated and I have to take her in for an enema for about $300! Have not had to do that for years. I guess bowel problems run in the family too!!

Two kiddies - whom I love to bits and adopted as older children. They have special needs - and are HARD work especially when I have been so sick - but they ground me and have taught me alot!!! I love them to bits. Also have two dogs and a cat! Oh - and a fabulous husband.

I don't have kids and probably won't until I finish my doctorate. Unfortunately my chosen field (infectious disease) is not very pregnancy friendly at all.

I do have a great boyfriend (even if we're both stubborn so we butt heads sometimes) that I've been dating almost four years now. He has been there for me through everything so far.

I'm the oldest in my family and have lots of younger cousins. One of them already plays soccer for a JV high school team, and she's only in middle school...I am so proud of her! Also her brother is growing up really fast, is in high school now and having girlfriends...I remember when he was still a baby and peeing on my brother. Their little sister is my goddaughter. She's a stubborn thing. Another set of my cousins includes a dancer and a hardcore yankees fan. My last cousin is also growing up fast and really pretty, I'm worried she'll get in trouble with boys. Her brother (not related to me biologically) is a little terror.

As for pets, my beloved orange tabby died last month after 18 years. I'm hoping to get another one once I start school. My family also has two dogs, a shepherd-border collie mix and a papillon. They are very noisy! The shepherd mix is very vocal and will have conversations with you. She likes to complain a lot (she has a complainy 'bark', but it sounds less like a bark and more like...arooorooorooorao). The papillon just yaps at everything, including animals on TV.

Haha, I think our papillon is broken, though. He has a very fearful temprement, espeically with strangers and then especially with men. He would hide behind the couch every time my boyfriend was over for nearly a year.

Dogs are great but they are so much work. I hope you feel better soon so you can get the kiddo a doggy ^^

My personal faves are...well, pretty much any kind of herding dog. But I like German Shepherds the most.

I hate when people think certain large breed dogs are vicious, when they're really not! GSDs are incredible sweethearts (otherwise they wouldn't use them as guide dogs) yet they're often banned. Same with many other breeds, but pit bulls get the worst. In reality the issue is not with any dog breeds, but the owners. Most of these dogs are great animals, but people get them for the wrong reasons (namely size and attack power) so they can have tough, scary guard dogs or fighting dogs, then treat the dogs like crap!

In reality most guard breeds are such because they have strong alert barking instincts, not because they are inherently vicious. And a well trained pit bull is the one of the sweetest dogs you can meet (but I still think they are butt ugly lol). Yet, toy dogs are often vicious because they are coddled.

I also love Ragdoll cats (can you tell I like animals? :D)
I used to have one. He was wonderful. He would come when called, play fetch like a dog, and sit on command.

not unless they depend on you as well, loopylil.

I have one cat....small with a big attitude. 16 years old but still active. her name's Kiera...but we call her Demanda on occation.
She does tricks (sit, speak, kiss, shake paw, shake other paw, bang to play dead and roll over), but the play dead and roll over hurts her...so in lieu of doing that one, she'll do all of the others hoping to avoid it.

She has lots of quirks of habit...like waiting for margaring on the side of my plate after I finish eating my egg and toast. It's a daily thing now, to the point where she meows from beginning to end "demanding".

She sleeps with me, curled up beside facing me...or behind along my back. Especially nice when my husband is working nights.

At first light, she wants the blinds open . Strumming on the blinds gets a yell from me...but when she gets off the table and goes to the coiled door-stop creating the tell-tale "boiiiiiing, boiiiiiiing", she means business. She's a beast....smart as hell and I dread the day she dies.

She's not without her health problems....although not serious at this point, she's intolerant of not feeling well if it's causing her pain or distress as the latest UTI did. Amazing how one 2-week's worth antibiotic shot can work so quickly and effectively. whew.

quincy