Life With My Teenage Toddler

Sooo I am going to give blogging another go, things have been really busy the past couple months & I haven't kept up with it-- It is now Basketball Season and football is OVER!  I  can't pretend to be too sad about that.  We have been having fun going to basketball games and have been really lucky with the weather so far w/driving to the games.  There's little monkey on the left climbing the bleachers. I think she fell about 20 times.  But, bad mom let her keep doing it because it was making her happy!  She has done better than I thought with sitting in the bleachers, but she does a lot better when we have another kid or someone new sitting nearby to keep her entertained.

Everyday has been an adventure being home with P.  I have been busy making my tutus & hair bows and also started selling for Thirty-One Gifts as well.  There have been a lot of craft shows with the holidays so I'm ready to get through the last one this weekend and relax a little so I can stop spending every spare minute making stuff! 

Being a stay-at-home mom is definitely different, but I can't imagine going back to being away at work all day every day either.  I am the type that likes to have a lot of time to myself though, so it is an adjustment being together all day every day.  I am starting to get the itch to get out of the house a day or 2 a week without P if I find something that works out.  It is hard to imagine being away from her a full day on a regular basis though now.  I am so used to giving her her lunch & her nap, I would wonder what she is doing all day. Like what are they feeding her, and is she watching tv all day?!

Those have been two of our biggest battles lately.  It is pretty silly to have a power struggle with a one year old, but I find it happening! She has gotten pickier, and eats best in the living room, roaming around then coming for a bite when she wants one.  Sometimes in her highchair she has started throwing her food over to our dog, or spitting it out. Just yesterday I gave her a chicken salad wrap that she refused to eat in her high chair, but sat on my lap today in the living room & ate an entire half of a large wrap!  So, I am trying to decide if it is worth it to enforce high chair eating or to just let her roam & graze as she pleases, which can be kind of messy.  She also likes to sit at her little table & eat but she won't sit still at it. 

She is also starting with tantrums and just wanting her way in general. It can make for a long day when it is constant redirecting and "no" and her doing the same thing over & over again w/that look in her eyes like "I know it's wrong but I'm gonna do it anyway, are you gonna stop me?!"  The nasty attitude is the worst, it's usually in the afternoon after her nap, it's like this little she-devil baby replaces my little girl.  If she can't have or do something she has thrown stuff or slapped with that same defiant look on her face.  Oh boy, we are in trouble. They say that this age is similar to the teenage years in their stubborness & exploring their new-found independence and I would have to say I totally agree.  But then my sweet baby comes back & gives me a big hug and a kiss or pats my head. She's getting really good at hugging and gets more cuddly the older she gets.  Still only wants to sleep in her crib but I suppose I should be thankful for that because our bed is already full enough! 

My newest goal with her is to go back to keeping the tv off as much as possible during the day.  It has gotten a little out of control the past week or so with her pointing at the tv and getting the remote to get me to turn it on.  She is just starting to really sit and watch tv, and I was finding I was putting it on more & more mostly due to an increase in the behaviors & wanting to get a moment of peace!  But, no more using the tv as a pacifier.

 Yesterday we did well, no tv until daddy got home & hunting show was on briefly before bed.  So for next week I'm going to come up other activities for her to do in the afternoon (our toughest time lately!) to keep her occupied besides the tv.  Although yesterday I tried to do a craft with her & all she wanted to do was mess with the glue stick, which ended up in a semi-trantrum :/  Good thing there are lots of good blogs to give me ideas :)

So anyway, for the next 30 days, going to monitor how much the tv is on when P is up and try to have less than 30 minutes each day for her. Today she only watched a few minutes of Sesame Street while she drank her milk, so 2 successful days down! We had a b-ball game tonight so gave us something to do for the afternoon.  I'm sure on sick days or just really crabby days Sprout will be back on, it is just too easy sometimes!  But that is basically what is going on in our life these days!