It's so clique but I'm going to say it anyways: "I cannot believe she's gotten so big! Where has the time gone?!" I just dropped $50+ bucks on baby proofing stuff at Wal-Mart and all her clothes have an "18 months" tag in them. Wha?!?
Gone are the baby days of eating, crying, sleeping, and repeat. Oh no, my friends. We are on a whole other level now.
We pick apples and pose for pictures.
We "help" with chores.
We love to play with playdoh and color.
We act silly and try to be like Daddy.
Having a toddler is kind of like being on a nonstop roller coaster ride. We are cruising along having a good 'ole time and WHAM! 90 foot drop at 60 mph. We go from giggles to collapsing in tears within 30 seconds. And don't' get me started on Emily....
But seriously, I get it. I. get. it. It's tough being a toddler! I mean, seriously. Think about it from their perspective: Every moment of your day (basically life) depends on someone else. Someone else that you can't communicate with. It starts from the moment you wake up. You have to wait for someone to come get you out of your crib, feed you, change your diaper and clothes....and so on until the end of the day when they finally decide to take you back to your crib to sleep.
You'd be a little on edge too, right? So, yeah I'm learning to manage the ups and downs. I'm learning the name of the game is distraction, distraction, distraction. Food, music, toys, dogs, other kids, tv (don't judge)....whatever. You just gotta switch it up to dry up the tears and keep the giggles coming.
It's clear I'm a professional, top-notch, got-it-all-figured-out parent. Right? That is clear, correct? Ok, maybe not so much. But what I think is clear is that I'm a grinning-from-ear-to-ear, light-up-my-life, 100% proud mama. This kid says words like "dog, bye, baby, hey, no (I learned that from her day care teacher!), and Mickey Mouse." She loves to climb and explore. She loves to color and put stickers on everything. She waves at everyone she meets (seriously, everyone). She "talks on the phone" with pretty much any toy she puts up to her ear. She walks all over the place and loves it when we "chase" her. She eats everything like a champ. She squeals when I pick her up from daycare and runs from across the room to give me a hug. She gives the best hugs. She still wants me to rock her to sleep even though she's a good at going to sleep on her own. She's basically the most beautiful, all around awesome baby there ever was.
Yeah..... I'd say that's pretty crystal clear.
Here's to fun and fearless 15 months!
*M