THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL CAN BE A TERROR

Oh my gosh, I love her, but I'm starting to see the hints of toddlerdom peaking through. And I can't say that it is always pretty. While she's awake, I'm now chasing her through the house, trying to keep the toilet paper on the roll, every dog hair from ending up in her belly and ensure that she does not fall off of the vacuum cleaner every time that I move it (she crawls after it as fast as her little pudgy limbs will take her).

She is eating much better, which is a huge relief, though she still gags on anything that isn't a puree (though for some reason there is no gagging on the dog hair). However, her overzealous love of her water bottle tends to make her vom because she gulps crazy amounts down and her little tummy revolts. We have switched her back to a baby sippy cup. It also stops her from being completely drenched after a water bottle session.

Then there is naptime. I know that good parenting practices would insist that I should be able to put Lauren down and leave the room and she will magically fall asleep. But reality would insist otherwise. I am able to put Lauren down and leave the room, but then she cries so hard that within three minutes she will successfully make it out of her crib and back into my arms because I will be washing vom off of her, her bed, and perhaps even the carpet in her room if she got good distance.She will be happy as a clam because we all know that she l-o-v-e-s bath time!

So I have accepted that I sit Lauren to sleep. I used to rock her to sleep but then I figured out, probably by falling asleep myself, that if I pretend to be sleeping, Lauren will just lie in my arms and then fall asleep. It generally happens within five or ten minutes. I actually enjoy that time, having a quiet moment with my eyes closed, thinking about whatever I want, while being warmed by the little baby heater in my arms. But today, I did not enjoy it! Lauren was tired and we were having our beautiful moment and then she suddenly decided that she wanted to cry and cry and cry. I tried putting her down. No dice. I tried moving her to the other side. Nope. How about up and down? No way. But she didn't want to be up either! Argh!! I was getting so frustrated. Where was our beautiful time? That time that lets me ground myself and enjoy the soft baby hair and warm little body in my arms. Instead we spent an hour on the merry-go-round of in the arms, crying, in bed, crying, in the arms, crying, in bed... and so on and so forth. An hour! And I had the pleasure of doing that all over again for her afternoon nap. What a monkey!

It is so frustrating but that nap time is so important for both Lauren and for myself. At least, once I get her to sleep, there is that promise of a baby that will wake up and give me the hugest smile in the world when I walk into her room to get her.

And in other news, today Lauren spent a good five minutes licking the knobs in the bathroom. I knew there was a reason that I felt the need to wipe everything in the bathroom down with disinfecting wipes yesterday!