Some days, I just want to laugh, cry, and pull my hair out all at the same time. This morning was one of those days. Brooklyn was up and ready to start her day by 6:30 AM. No sleeping late for this mom. By about 8:30 AM, she had already busted her chin up on an open drawer AND hit the corner of her eye on the coffee table (Yep…two separate incidents within an hour of each other!). Somewhere in between those two things happening, she made a huge mess with her yogurt during breakfast. On purpose…flinging it all over the floor. After all of that, I was really wishing I could hit “rewind” and start today over again!
Obviously, the accidents weren’t her fault. She just loses her balance occasionally, and today she happened to fall in the wrong place. Poor thing. Knock on wood…her busted chin is probably the worst injury she’s had so far, despite falling down the stairs twice now. I guess that’s a normal toddler thing?
Hopefully, her chin will heal up before the wedding in a few weeks!
If she was trying to get stitches to match Mommy’s and Daddy’s, she chose the wrong eye! (Travis and I both had to have stitches on the outside corner of our left eye after accidents when we were little. Isn’t that a weird coincidence?)
This expression is a perfect representation of Brooklyn lately. She doesn’t want to be told when or what to do. EVER. (Side note: I thought it was supposed to be the terrible TWOs…someone tricked me, I guess, or else we’re just really lucky…haha!). She doesn’t want me to touch her bowl or spoon when she’s eating yogurt. She doesn’t want my help doing something that she thinks she can do herself. She does things that she knows we don’t want her to do like eat cat food (I thought we were past that!) just to see my reaction. She runs away when I try to get her to do something she doesn’t want to do, like get her diaper changed. Last week, she learned how to say “no” and it has quickly turned into one of her favorite words. At first, I wasn’t sure that she knew what it meant, but I’m pretty sure she knows now.
I’m struggling to know what battles are worth fighting and what stuff to just let go. Obviously, we want her to mind us and do what we say, and we do spank her when we feel like it’s deserved. But, should I be getting upset when she flings her yogurt everywhere on purpose during breakfast? Is it a big deal if she makes a huge mess or just another thing I have to clean up? I know she’s going to make messes and act like a normal toddler, but sometimes I get tired of the messes and putting the same stuff away day after day. By the time I’ve picked up the stuff in one room and moved onto another room, she’s going behind me and taking the same stuff back out again. I’m not very motivated to clean up anything when I put the same stuff away 5 or 10 times everyday. And how do we deal with her telling us “no”? Should I be putting a stop to that already? Some days, I just feel like I have no clue what I’m doing…
In spite of her determination to test the limits, Brooklyn can be the sweetest and smartest little thing. I don’t want to appear like I’m complaining about her because I’m not. She is the light of our life, and we love her more than anything…but she can be frustrating at times :) But who knew 16-month-olds could be SO perceptive? She definitely understands what we tell her and ask her. I can ask her to bring me just about anything, and she will do it. I asked her to bring me her sippy cup yesterday, and she went and found it and brought it to me. She brings me my cell phone when it rings without me asking her to. She picks up on social cues REALLY well: She can tell when we are about to leave somewhere, and she waves and tells everyone “bye bye!”. (This is before we’ve even said “bye” to anyone ourselves!). She picks flowers in the backyard and brings them to me. She knows how to lift up the lid on the scanner, and she knows to put paper in it. She tries to brush her hair with a brush or comb. She carries around my lunchbox on her arm like a purse. She has started singing at church sometimes. I had no idea she’d be able to do all those things this early!
Carrying Mommy’s phone around
This is how she “talks on the phone” —apparently, she has a third ear on the back of her head!
But, her latest trick is the one that really melts my heart…
What a sweet thing! Giving kisses has turned into one of her favorite things to do since last week. She walks around sometimes and just gives us kiss after kiss. It is seriously the sweetest thing ever. I just hope she doesn’t figure out how much we love it and start using it against us :)
As much as she drives me crazy sometimes, life just wouldn’t be nearly as wonderful without her. So for now, I’ll just hang on for the ride…
…enjoy the few moments of peace and quiet I get each day…
…and try to pick my battles wisely. After all, who really needs to wear pants anyway? ;)
2 replies on “Spunky, Charming, And Super Sweet”
It will get better. And, yes, you do have to pick your battles. The main thing is just to be consistent. Teach her “yes.” The “no” stage will get better. She will eventually learn what boundaries she can’t cross without consequences….as long as you are consistent.
Ditto. Limits. Consistency. You and Travis are learning to set limits. What is acceptable behavior and what is not. You are setting those limits because you love her and want the very best for her. But it is hard sometimes because she is trying all these new things and does not know, without your help, what is allowable or not. We had the same fun times with you and Jenn. You all are doing a great job. You are learning also how to be parents. You and Jenn helped us learn.