I have always been a crappy correspondent. I mean well--I really do--but I'm easily distracted and caught up in that thing called life. And time gets away from me...along with other things.

Here's my current distraction:

How can anything compete with that degree of cuteness?

C, my little Tadpole, hit the one year mark just a few weeks ago. She is a charming, clever, busy, loving little girl. She's standing and cruising the furniture, but has yet to take her first independent steps. That's OK. They'll be coming soon. I'm not in a hurry, particularly considering the trouble the little mite can stir up without the ability to walk.

It's been quite a year. I still knit, occasionally. It takes much longer to finish things. I'm still knitting the Noro scarf I started the day I went into labor. It's the distraction thing again. Sometimes C just needs a hat. And I have to oblige her. And I'm learning to make dolls. And there's spinning. Plus, I'd really like to learn how to weave...

But all in good time. Right now, keeping track of C is plenty enough most days. And then there are the cats. We lost another this past fall--Gabriel fell ill and was gone within a week. It was really hard on the Beloved, and I think the hardest part was the feeling that we didn't give him enough towards the end of his life. In spite of saying our feelings towards our cats would never change even with the baby...they did. C demands all. And, largely, she gets it. Which means there isn't much left for our rather high-needs cats.

We still have Winston, and (as you can see above) he and C get on quite well. I'm really hoping that her chronic bronchitis is not due to a cat allergy because she loves her "'at." And he loves her right back. Piper remains the crazy cat and mostly hides out in her room, but comes out on occasion. C is not permitted to play with her as we refer to Piper as "Danger Cat." But she tries.

And so things continue. We've cut our first teeth over here in the past week or two and it looks like they're all planning on coming in at once. C hasn't been much for sleeping through the night since I went back to work, but between the teeth and the latest round of lung crud, there is not much sleeping going on at all in this house. I keep saying that I'm going to clean out her bedroom and work on moving her in there, but really? I'd miss night-time cuddles with my girl and I'm not sure I'm ready to boot her out of our room and out of our bed. I keep hoping she'll show some sign of wanting to transition on her own, but no such luck. It will happen eventually, but I don't really want to push it. It really does go by too quickly.