Pictures by Anna of her new Hamster!

Which she named Vino. Her dad suggested it, and it won over the other names she was considering: Pancake, Waffle, and Spotty.

Anna saw a classmate's little hamster at school back in April. Immediately, she coveted one and it was all she could talk about. When her desire for a hamster didn't pass with time, we decided to make it a goal. We told her if she had 30 days with no bathroom accidents, she could have a hamster. We made a sticker chart - one sticker per day with no accidents. It was slow going. When she had only 5 or 7 stickers, she would moan, "But I really want a hamster..." Finally she achieved her goal. It took almost 2 months. She was rightfully pleased with herself when she completed the last 4 days in a row.

A co-worker donated an awesome hamster cage, with hidey-holes, ramps, and 2 exercise wheels. We got a dwarf hamster, because they apparently are the friendliest. We tried out 3 in the handling area before we found a gentle one.

Look closely and you can see his little pink tongue as he drinks water:

Sorry about the poor focus but Anna proudly took these herself. Vino explored his cage the first day, but spent most of today sleeping out of sight. So it was very exciting this evening when we found him out again after dinner.

The hamster guy at Petsmart told us to wait a few days until we try to handle him, so he can get used to the sounds and smells of his new environment. I told Anna she can't try to pick him up until Wednesday. The wait is killing her.

Anna's not the only one mesmerized by the new pet. Claudio quickly showed Anna why Daddy said the hamster would be like "Kitty TV." Strangely, although Claudio's natural instincts draw him to the rodent, Vino does not seem at all afraid of him.

Claudio on alert by Anna.