Introducing Luna the kitten

Of all the struggles we have been through in the Pind house so far this year, including but not limited to potty training, bedtime and temper tantrums, the hardest of all hasn't been any of the above. Instead, it has been the addition of a new family member to our household: Luna, our new rescue kitten.

A few weeks ago, after countless begging from me, my husband finally caved and we went to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri to adopt a cat during $5 cat adoption month. I was so excited I could barely contain myself, but that was nothing compared to the dance Cooper was doing.

Sometimes on Saturdays when we need something to do, Coop and I will go to the Humane Society and pet the kittens and cats and dream of one day having our own. So, when we pulled up that fateful Sunday, he thought we were just going to love on the cats but still have to leave them behind.

When we got to the cat room, I asked my son if he wanted to bring one of the kitties home. His eyes got as big as Frisbees and he started jumping up and down saying, "Yes, yes, yes! Please, Daddy, please!"

After that dramatic expression of cat love, Max could hardly change his mind, so we began to look at the multitude of kittens they had. There were very cute babies, only 7 or 8 weeks old, as well as a few older kittens and two adult cats.

After an hour of playing, we had narrowed it down to three options: one gorgeous, older, gray short-haired male kitten, an older multicolored, medium-haired female kitten and a beautiful tiger-striped white and brown 8-week-old kitten.

We picked each one up and cuddled it for a bit to see whose personality would best fit our household. The gray male was very laid back; he just laid on his back and let us pet him. The younger tiger-striped kitten was extremely rambunctious. After just a second out of the cage, she had jumped from my arms to Max's head to Cooper's arms and to the floor. The last kitten we cuddled was the multicolored female. She was the perfect combination of the other two cats that we liked. She was content laying in our arms being petted, but she also liked to play, as we could tell by her batting my earrings and playing with my hair. We decided then that she was ours.

Bringing Luna home was a challenge. We already have two rescue dogs: Banjo (my baby), a 5-year-old rat terrier I have had since he was 7 weeks old, and Louie, an 8-year-old Jack Russell beagle mix who found us during our first week in our house. There was a knock on the door, Max opened it and in ran a big black and white blob. One of the kids in the next neighborhood said, "Hey, I found your dog," and then ran. Of course we couldn't kick him out -- we were going to get Banjo a playmate anyway, so we kept him and have been happy ever since.

Our boys were not happy with their new roommate, and neither was my new little princess. After countless fights and three days of a cat climbing up my curtains, everyone became friends. Louie and Luna are now besties -- they "kiss" by touching noses and even almost cuddle. Banjo is tolerant of Luna -- they fight like siblings for my affection, with Luna usually winning by batting Banjo on the head with her paw.

Cooper can never wait to get home, asking me every day when I pick him up if he can go home and play with his kitty. He tries to carry her around everywhere and cries when she doesn't want to be smothered by his affection. I even found him in the guest room trying to clean the litter box! Even my pessimistic husband, who denied me a cat our whole 6 1/2-year relationship, is in love with Luna, and they cuddle almost every night.

Adopting Luna helped to make our home more complete than it was before. It has been a challenge with our dogs and a toddler who thinks she is his own living, breathing stuffed animal, but I wouldn't change a thing. Luna is part of our family, and we love her. I would highly recommend adopting your next pet from a shelter like the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri and showing a shelter animal the love it might not have had before.

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Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Mo., came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that by age 25, she'd be married with a baby and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a first-time mom -- one who's still a girl trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.