APRIL 2006
Next month will mark our one year anniversary with Morgan, and seems strange to me that it doesn't FEEL like we've been together that long...but I can look at her and see the changes, both physical and mental, that have formed the child I know now as my daughter.
Mo can speak in sentences and is coming closer to the time when we will actually have a conversation...that floors me. That I can soon hold a discussion with her, that she will be able to voice her opinions with an articulate speech instead of struggling to put the right words together. Amazing. This thrills me, and frightens me just a little...we'll soon know just how much of an influence we are on her by what she tells us.
She has just accomplished the skill of gently spitting out water, rinsing her mouth after brushing her teeth. This means she will soon be ready to use her "big girl" fluoride toothpaste instead of the simple plaque-removing gel she's been brushing with until now.
She also wants to use mouthwash (like Mama), but the warning label advises no use for children under twelve...maybe Tom's Of Maine makes something kid-safe?
She is starting to mimic me even more, and understands the concept of "Too"...
One thing that startles both Chaz and I are how many things she KNOWS that we did not teach her - the stuff that she is picking up from another experience, some how. It's wild...quite often now, my husband will ask me, "How does she KNOW that!?" and I have to admit that it isn't something I taught her...it's something she taught herself.
Nowadays, she is usually going down without me having to stay in the room, but she still has those pesky awakenings through-out the night. The time is moving back, now she starts around 3am...naps are down to one unless it's been an especially rough night previous to this, and there are days when she refuses any rest at all. Those days are somewhat disturbing because she functions on a third wind, not collapsing at bedtime as one might expect her to.
Her learning is both vast and selective.
I ask her if she wants to learn something new and she willingly offers her mind to me, but then there are days where she just doesn't want to play the game and I am left wondering what more I can do to make our time more beneficial. I know that she is absorbing almost everything (if not everything) because it surfaces later, but in the meantime I feel like we're not making the most of our day.
We continue to promote the "DADA is just as good' campaign...trying to get them together as much as possible (Dada do!) and for her to choose him for some of the things that normally ONLY Mama is good enough for. Being number one is not all it's cracked up to be, and I know #2 'taint no fun, either.
We just got over some sort of stomach bug, hers involving the stomach and mine something further below...and man, it is not easy caring for a very active toddler when you need to take care of yourself, too...there is no SAHM sick time, and this was blazingly clear when I was feeling my worst.
She is testing the boundaries in a BIG way and not listening to us when we set the limits...aggravating and normal...I already see a preview of her teenage years. However, Miss M is taking the danger baby thing a little too far, doing stuff that from day one was never allowed, not ever OK...and there are days that leave me feeling more 'policeman' than 'mother'. This being first and only child, I am often upset by the thought that I'm doing this wrong, because there is an opinion for every circumstance...and I catch myself having greater behavioral expectations than one probably should for a child so young...
Balance, find the balance. Ignore the Peanut Gallery.
All in all, I am certain that we have a happy, loving child. And she amazes me more every day.
It is good to be a Mama.
Mo can speak in sentences and is coming closer to the time when we will actually have a conversation...that floors me. That I can soon hold a discussion with her, that she will be able to voice her opinions with an articulate speech instead of struggling to put the right words together. Amazing. This thrills me, and frightens me just a little...we'll soon know just how much of an influence we are on her by what she tells us.
She has just accomplished the skill of gently spitting out water, rinsing her mouth after brushing her teeth. This means she will soon be ready to use her "big girl" fluoride toothpaste instead of the simple plaque-removing gel she's been brushing with until now.
She also wants to use mouthwash (like Mama), but the warning label advises no use for children under twelve...maybe Tom's Of Maine makes something kid-safe?
She is starting to mimic me even more, and understands the concept of "Too"...
One thing that startles both Chaz and I are how many things she KNOWS that we did not teach her - the stuff that she is picking up from another experience, some how. It's wild...quite often now, my husband will ask me, "How does she KNOW that!?" and I have to admit that it isn't something I taught her...it's something she taught herself.
Nowadays, she is usually going down without me having to stay in the room, but she still has those pesky awakenings through-out the night. The time is moving back, now she starts around 3am...naps are down to one unless it's been an especially rough night previous to this, and there are days when she refuses any rest at all. Those days are somewhat disturbing because she functions on a third wind, not collapsing at bedtime as one might expect her to.
Her learning is both vast and selective.
I ask her if she wants to learn something new and she willingly offers her mind to me, but then there are days where she just doesn't want to play the game and I am left wondering what more I can do to make our time more beneficial. I know that she is absorbing almost everything (if not everything) because it surfaces later, but in the meantime I feel like we're not making the most of our day.
We continue to promote the "DADA is just as good' campaign...trying to get them together as much as possible (Dada do!) and for her to choose him for some of the things that normally ONLY Mama is good enough for. Being number one is not all it's cracked up to be, and I know #2 'taint no fun, either.
We just got over some sort of stomach bug, hers involving the stomach and mine something further below...and man, it is not easy caring for a very active toddler when you need to take care of yourself, too...there is no SAHM sick time, and this was blazingly clear when I was feeling my worst.
She is testing the boundaries in a BIG way and not listening to us when we set the limits...aggravating and normal...I already see a preview of her teenage years. However, Miss M is taking the danger baby thing a little too far, doing stuff that from day one was never allowed, not ever OK...and there are days that leave me feeling more 'policeman' than 'mother'. This being first and only child, I am often upset by the thought that I'm doing this wrong, because there is an opinion for every circumstance...and I catch myself having greater behavioral expectations than one probably should for a child so young...
Balance, find the balance. Ignore the Peanut Gallery.
All in all, I am certain that we have a happy, loving child. And she amazes me more every day.
It is good to be a Mama.
posted by 33458 | 11:54 PM
1 Comments:
I love reading your blog. You are an insightful person and your daughter is lucky to have you. Miss M is a perfect match for you guys. It will be interesting when she starts communicating her thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Yoli
Mom to Sally in Inner Mongolia
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