Sophie's entering the challenging toddler years. I don't know if I can keep up this pace all summer. She's SO busy and quick. She started RUNNING for the first time a couple days ago. B.A. and I got a big charge out of watching her trot across the living room full speed, but this running cannot be a good thing in the long run.When she gets tired (which is pretty much always, since she FIGHTS sleep like it's the devil), she loses all of her sense of balance and walks around bouncing into things. She also lets us know she's exhausted by purposely getting into everything that she very well knows is forbidden. She's a bruiser, for sure. Her body has bruises all over it from falling and bumping into corners and such, but she rarely cries when she gets hurt.
She cries all the time, however, when she doesn't get her way. Shopping with her is no longer fun (money-saving bonus of the toddler years, I guess), since she doesn't care to stay in the cart and starts yelling, "Bye!" to other shoppers about ten minutes into a good shop, letting me know she's ready to head out.
Eating out isn't the greatest, either. Actually, eating (at least anything with any nutritional value) isn't a priority for Soph right now. She likes something ONLY if it's what the "big people" are eating, only if she can feed it to herself (and don't even think about cutting it down into bites, because she prefers it full-sized), and even then, only for a few bites. Then she begins throwing it on the floor to let us know she's finished, even though she knows the sign for "all done" and can even verbalize it. I guess throwing food is the more fun way to communicate.
What Sophie does like right now is being outside. She loves stroller rides and begs for them. She's always perfect, no matter how long the walk. All three of her siblings are great about taking her out for a little trot around the neighborhood once in awhile.
She also likes her mommy at bed time and her daddy in the morning. I guess she's used to Daddy getting her ready in the morning, because she'll hardly have anything to do with me, but lavishes hundreds of kisses and cuddles on Daddy. In the afternoon and evening, though, her preference changes, and I'm the popular one getting the kisses, while Dad gets the cold shoulder.
A final favorite of the moment is Little People. I got out some of Sadie's stuff, got out Sophie's Little People guys, and got her a couple Little People things at rummages. She's got quite a collection of Little People loot, and is having fun getting it all out right now. She tries to hug and kiss those little tiny kids, and that's pretty funny. Her favorite part of the set is the little amusement ride that I got on a rummage for a quarter.
The pictures aren't of all the naughty stuff Sophie's doing right now. They are of her acting sweet and adorable, of course. When she does naughty things, we tell her no and move her away, and I insist that the kids don't laugh at her or encourage her. I hope to have her on a nice little schedule and get rid of the naughties after a couple weeks home with her this summer. I may have to use the tough love/crying it out method, but I am determined that my resolve is strong enough to do it.
After our Chicago trip, I'm going to think about tackling weening her from her bottle, then yanking the paci, then working a little more on potty training. Jesus, what was I thinking having a baby in my mid-thirties? I must have forgotten about all of this exhausting, frustrating toddler stuff. I'm not exactly hating her snuggles and all of the funny stuff she does, though. :)
I'm defninitely thinking this is the last time I'm doing toddler years and looking forward to getting part of my life back in a few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment