Zip & Boo:

These two are my lovable long-haired kitties, born on February 24, 2001. We refer to Zip (on the right) as "the fast moving speed bump." He adores laying right where everyone wants to walk. Boo (on the left, in a paper bag) is our "little bitty kitty one." Both cats are adorable and fun, though Zip tends to be a little more passive, where Boo is the great house protector.

 

Sidney & Ludwig

Sidney is my precocious little peach-faced lovebird, who mostly likes to whistle & scold her cage mate, Ludwig (right). Ludwig is a cute little male cockatiel and knows how to whistle and has this annoyingly motontonous, relentless chirp he does...it's like Chinese water torture until I can get him sidetracked into whistling! He used to wake me up every morning with it.

 

Ziggy

Ziggy is a Timneh African Grey parrot and is very much my "child." He was hatched in 1996 and is super smart, but very demanding, which makes dealing with him about as challenging as raising a 2 year old human being. He speaks very very well, with at least 90 words and more sounds than I can keep track of. His favorite things to say are "C'mere," "Birdy, Birdy, Birdy, Birdy," "Hi Ziggy," "Goodnight," "Zipper," and "Meow, meow!" He has at least 10 different raspberries, 5 burps/belches, a kissing noise (which me makes when Rick and I hug or kiss), and a few other household noises he's picked up. He also imitates a few of Rick's best guitar squeals and Ludwig's annoying Chinese water torture chip (only when Ludwig gets him started).

 

Cinnamon & Pepper

These two little cuties were born in 2009 and are brothers, but with such distinctive personalities. Pepper (black & white) is the more active and energetic of the two, where Cinnamon (brown) is a lot more laid back. Both rock the running ball, but Pepper just seems to have more energy and does laps around the pool table.