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Yesterday Lorelai was running around being crazy while I was putting clothes in the washer. She had just ran right past me when all of a sudden she just started crying. At first I thought she was just being her usual silly self crying for my attention, but she didn’t come looking for me and the crying got louder really quick. The kicker was when there was a long pause. You know the one. The one where the kid is crying so hard that no sound comes out for a few seconds and the only thing you can think about is “Breathe! Please breathe!”. That was my thoughts as I ran around the corner to find out what happened.

Miss Kitty has been a bit cranky lately. Probably because of a hair ball building up inside of her. She’s been running around the apartment like a bat out of hell. Scratching the couches, running through the blinds, and bouncing small toys off the walls. She’s reached out and clawed me a couple of times as I was passing by her.

I didn’t actually see what happened, but I’m thinking the baby ran over to her and she freaked out. In only a second, Miss Kitty defended herself from her attacker. Now she’s got the battle wounds to prove it. Blood smeared all over her face and I couldn’t see exactly where it was coming from. I grabbed her and ran to the bathroom to wash it off. That was when I saw what happened. Her precious little face had been scratched. Her left cheek and around her mouth. She even got her hand scratched.

This brings me to a hard decision. The baby is fine and she is now acting like nothing ever happened. The problem is, every time I see the scratches on her face, I’m not fine. What if it had been an eye? Do I wait around and hope it doesn’t happen? Or do I do something about the cat? What do I do about the cat if I decide to do something?

I refuse to de-claw her because the process is so inhumane. Dave told me that they don’t just pull out her claws, but actually cut off a part of her little toes. Can you imagine getting your finger cut off up to the first knuckle? That’s what they do to de-claw a cat.

So, my choices are to either keep her and hope that she never hurts the baby more than she already has or give her away. I’ve actually been thinking about this for a long time, but I’m having a bit of a problem. Both Dave and Nikisha love Miss Kitty, as do I. Dave refuses to allow me to give her away. So I’m stuck not knowing what to do.

A Letter to Lorelai (11 months old):

My Little Sweetheart,

When Daddy and I look at you, we forget that you are 11 months old. You’re already a little toddler exploring your surroundings. You’re not afraid to check things out and seem to want to take everything in. I can’t believe my eyes when I see you walking around as if you’ve been doing it forever.

The past month you’ve been doing the craziest things. I don’t know why, but you like to bump your head lightly over and over on things. The door, the underside of the table, the sliding glass door, MY FACE! Basically, anything you want. That’s fine, and even somewhat cute, but please don’t do it too hard. I don’t enjoy the bruises you get from doing so. Especially when I start to fear a visit from CPS because a “concerned neighbor” called believing that we hit you on the head with whatever was in sight at the time. That will not happen until you are at least ten. So you are safe for another 9 years. Geez.

You try to mimic words that Daddy and I say. Sometimes I swear you are really saying them. Some of your (and my) favorites are “uh oh!” with the ‘o’ face held afterward, “baby”, “heyyyy!!” and (while clapping) “yayyy!”. I just love the way you sound when you are saying these things. Did you know that you even pretend to be a little monster? You walk around making monster sounds. Just thinking about it I can hear your little “rarrr” and the cute faces that come with it.

Circles. I can’t believe it, but you love to turn in circles. Circles going forward, and going backward. You’re not even a 1 year old yet and you’re already doing it like a pro. You have the cutest little smile on your face when you do this. Sometimes you even do it so much that you get dizzy and fall down afterwards. Then your adorable little laugh escapes you and I just want to pick you up and squeeze you so tight.

You love to play. Your big sister is your favorite when it comes to playing, but if she’s not attentive enough, you come looking for someone else. That someone is usually me and you won’t stop bugging me until I pick you up and start tickling you, make funny faces, or throw a small blanket or shirt over your head again and again.

Just last night you sat in the kitchen with your sister’s pink shorts and tried over and over again to put it on your head. I caught you doing it and decided to help you the first time. Then you got up, walked around laughing, pulled it off and then went back to trying to put it on your head again. Can you guess what happened? After your persistence, you did it! You got the shorts on your head, got up again, and started walking around all happy and proud. Daddy and I couldn’t help but smile and clap.

Unfortunately, for me, not everything you do is a happy time for me. Your naps have become far and few. This means I have to put aside all my chores and duties to do your every wish. This would include laying down on the living room floor so you could use me as a pillow or face to poke, or sitting there while you run around doing whatever you feel like doing. If I get up and try to do some work, you get upset and throw a fit until I return to my position in the living room. Half the time you don’t even play with me or anything, but I’m not allowed to move. I’m not sure I’m in a hurry to see how you will be when you get to your sister’s age. Or older!

I know that just by posting this I’m jinxing myself, but I want to document this.

The past two days Maeby has been sleeping through the night. Normally she would wake up around 1:00AM and then again at 4:30AM or so. Then she gets up at 7:00AM and refuses to go back to sleep. After getting into bed past midnight every night, you may be able to imagine how tired I’ve been.

It’s been nice the past two mornings. I’ve been able to get just a little bit more sleep. I just hope that it continues. I need more sleep these days because I have to have the energy to keep up with Maeby and her big sister. They wear me out, but I love them. Believe me, they are lucky they are cute!!

Here’s a picture of Maeby wearing a cute t-shirt from a good friend of mine.

Believe me, she did.