New Flooring (RIP Laurelin)

My sweet Laurelin passed away sometime during the night on Saturday.  I remember when I picked her up from the ACC back in June of 2019.  I think the guy helping me probably thought I was weird because I never even held her before saying I wanted her.  But it was love at first sight for me!  😍  Due to not knowing what her 8 months of life was like prior to me bringing her home, I figured I shouldn't expect to have a long time with her.  I always hoped I could get a full year with her, and she both surprised me and blessed me with 20 months together!  I sometimes wish I could have had her when she was really young, but I am guessing she was a bit crazy.  😂  I am so glad that I was able to love on her and spoil her so much, especially as she got so very old.  As I'm sure you can tell, these pictures of her are from a while ago.  They were taken shortly after I first got her, but I never published them.  She was so fun to photograph and has been the only hamster other than Tarcil that I put in costumes.  I miss my sweet Laurelin.  ❤

Fili actually ate this treat instead of ignoring it to wander around like he normally does.  Honestly, based on just these pictures of Fili and Kili, it is easy to wonder if I accidentally switched their names before I split them.  But I don't think I did.  😁

Joe said I should just admit that this whole time there was only one hamster that I cloned in the pictures that had two side by side.  But of course he's only joking!  I really do have two hamsters.  Although, I don't think I'll ever get identical hamsters again.  As a twin myself, it stresses me out that I've potentially mixed Fili and Kili up and there would be no way to know since they can't tell me.  😅  That being said, this here is definitely Kili.  😊

Red Rose

These are a couple of older pictures I never posted of Laurelin.  I decided not to take new pictures of her today.  She's still hamstering on, but it is a struggle for her.  She seemed to appreciate her bin getting cleaned up a bit.  I also gave her some yummy treats which she was happy about.  😊

Fili was acting and looking so much like Kili during this little photo session.  He doesn't like when I clean out his bin.  I think he's grown a bit territorial since being split from Kili.  He tries very hard to keep me from stealing his stash of food and poops.  😂

Kili is my wittle sweetheart.  He's so easy to please as long as you have a treat for him!  After he ate his pecan, he checked to see if the rose was also a treat for him.  😅

Plaid Blanket

I still don't think Laurelin has much time left, but she's been surprising me for a long time now.  She's taken on the persona of the sweetest old lady who slowly wobbles around to get to her treats, water, and potty.  I don't think she uses her wheel anymore, but I've left it for her in case she wants it.  The abundance of energy that she was surprising me with even as recently as just a few weeks ago seems to be fading fast as she mostly just sleeps now.  As much as it can be hard to see her deterioration, I actually do appreciate knowing that when she passes away, it will be from old age.  And in the meantime, I have so much freedom to spoil her more than I would with a much younger hamster.  😊

Fili is my little explorer.  He isn't swayed by treats.  Photographing him is a very reactionary process as I have to patiently wait and hope that despite his running around, he will at some point move to the spot I want, so that I can capture the picture I envision in my head.  I am not always successful in getting what I want, but when I am, it is so exciting!  😊

Kili is a blob that clearly loves treats.  😅  When I photograph Kili, I have a much different approach that isn't reactionary, but instead is proactive.  With Kili, I can envision the shot I want in my head and then place Kili how I want him knowing that as long as I have placed a treat there for him, I will have a few moments to get my shot as he sits right where I place him.  I can usually even adjust him if I didn't get him placed quite right and then get my shot before wanders off to explore.  Due to the different processes needed to photograph Kili and Fili, I actually start with Kili to get the exact shot I want, and then with Fili, I try to get a shot that matches that.  However, blogger reversed the order of pictures when I uploaded them the first time, so I just went with it and now you'll always see Fili's pictures before Kili even though I probably took Kili's pictures before Fili.  😁

Grey Basket

 I am a day behind in posting these, but that's okay.  I had a ridiculously busy weekend that felt like 4 days crammed into 2 and than I had a migraine yesterday that caused me to spend the afternoon in bed.  But I feel great today and am working towards getting caught up.

Laurelin is really slowing down and showing her age.  I'm guessing that the pictures I got of her last week that I am posting today and next week will be the last I have of her, but we'll see.  In the meantime, I'm spoiling her with treats almost daily.  😊

So this is Fili.  He is more timid than Kili and tends to pancake when exploring new things like this basket I got to hold all the little puzzles Joe has now.  He's not very easy to photograph, but I'll definitely continue to try!  😊

This is Kili.  I'm not struggling as much as I thought I would to tell Fili and Kili apart.  Kili is a round boi that loves his treats!  😂  He's much easier to photograph because he tends to sit still and eat instead of pouch his treat and run off to explore like Fili does.