of toddlers and kittens

she stretched out her paws to rest them on my leg and then fell asleep like that

I wish I had captured today on film, but the photo above is the first photo I took all day.  After a weekend where my camera barely left my hands, I was DSLR’d out.  So the camera never took a picture, and even my phone mostly sat by itself.

That’s fine.  It’s just that today was so peaceful and homey and full of love.  I wish I had a few more photos capturing the little moments.

Lena slept so much today.  Two 2.5-hour naps… what?!  My poor darlin’.  I guess she’s still recovering from jet lag and travel exhaustion and she also had a super busy weekend with friends and festivals and hikes and late bedtimes.  She was a happy camper today, though, with a sweet attitude that just made me so glad to be at home with her, savoring every day of her being 18 months old.  I watched her as she busied herself with her toys.  She is very into stacking and sorting things.  Later I found all her wooden puzzle pieces in two neat little stacks, one for each puzzle.

(I wonder if I will have another daughter?  I have been sorting and storing all her outgrown clothes from this summer.  Will another girl of mine ever wear them?  Or is she my only one?)

Lena can’t really say “cat” yet (“ca… ca?”  or “dee-tee” for kitty) but she can say “meow,” and so that is Siena’s name in Lena’s mind right now.  Watching her squat down beside Siena and gently rub a hand in her fur, then stand up and look at me and giggle gleefully… oh, my heart just melted into a big puddle of love juice.

As for Siena and me, well… I’m smitten.  OK, I wasn’t so smitten when I saw her on my kitchen counter licking butter out of my butter dish, but she is just five months old and part of me thinks of her as a toddler in need of guidance.

The other part of me looks at her as this beautiful, foreign thing–a cat!  in my house!  my cat!–and marvels at her, the mystery of her, the delicacy of her grooming, the lightness of her leap, the austerity of her gaze.

But I think she loves me.  She followed me all over the house today.  She really is like a dog, just like they say Maine Coons are.  At one point she lost me–I had gone into the laundry room and partly closed the door–and I heard her yowling at the top of the stairs.  I stuck my head out and called, “Here I am, Siena!” and she took one look at me and came bounding across the room to join me.

Big puddle of love juice.

In other news, this is how we blog now, apparently.

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11 Responses to of toddlers and kittens

  1. lucyanngreen6 October 23, 2012 at 1:28 pm #

    aawww…this is the sweetest blog! i laughed looking at the photo of how you are going to blog. siena looks as if she has totally adopted you, and will have it no other way than to be right in the middle of things!

  2. Autumn October 23, 2012 at 1:58 pm #

    just like Luna!!!!

  3. Sarah October 23, 2012 at 2:00 pm #

    aww…love this. wish i could meet your sweet Lena. and what a beautiful cat! maine coons are the best. I had a cat that was half maine coon, and like you said, he was just like a dog. followed us around everywhere.

    • Becca October 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm #

      Sarah, we’re thinking of breeding her sometime… hopefully with a full Maine Coon, but maybe we’ll go halvsies. Can you imagine her kittens?!?!?!?

  4. Colleen October 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm #

    Hi there! I came over from Minimalist Mom, I simply couldn’t resist when I saw where you are based.:) I really look forward to reading more of your blog, although I have just read this post so far, it looks like a lovely one. I have such a love for anything Italian.:)

    Beautiful writing and beautiful cat! I love her name!

    Wishing you a happy day today!

    • Becca October 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm #

      Thank you for stopping by! Look forward to reading your blog too. :-)

  5. esther. October 23, 2012 at 3:14 pm #

    I am terrified of cats / (donotlikethem) – which you may or may not have known. BUT you keep saying this lady cat is just like a dog so if I ever get the chance to meet her I will try to keep that in mind! ;-) Also, I have a very similar picture of Juneau and myself (without a baby belly) while I was trying to study a few nights ago.

  6. Becca October 23, 2012 at 3:56 pm #

    Haha, am I taking something away from her by saying she is so much like a dog? Probably. Poor cat. But dogs are pretty much all I know, and I am surprised by the similarities. It’s nice. Familiar-like.

    Also… studying? For what?

  7. Unknown October 23, 2012 at 9:16 pm #

    There is a reason why there are no cat obedience schools….

  8. Milynn {Love + Whimsy} October 24, 2012 at 5:20 am #

    SO cute! seriously! I love lap cats :) Mine follows me everywhere all the time too!

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