Irrational Exhuberance
Jan. 13th, 2005 12:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomikritzerKiera is almost sixteen months old now. I've been remembering, recently, that this was a very difficult age for me with Molly, as well. It's a delightful age as well, of course, and Kiera is a really delightful toddler most of the time. But there are a couple of specific things that I find difficult about this stage.
1. She's mobile, yet totally unreasonable.
She has the ability to get into almost anything: she can climb well, she knows how to move a chair around so that she can use it as a stool, she can open cabinets and drawers and even simple latches. But she lacks the most basic levels of common sense. We have a rotating cabinet in the corner of the kitchen; she has pinched her fingers in it so many times I've lost count, and yet that hasn't made her wary of it. On Monday, I baked chocolate chip cookies with Molly. Kiera woke from her nap while we were working on them. I pulled a batch out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. Kiera saw them and her face lit up. She grabbed a chair, shoved it over to the edge of the stove, climbed onto it, and reached for a cookie. Molly might reach for a cookie, but if she hears me say "No! Don't touch, that's hot!" she will probably back off and wait for me to give her one. Kiera, I have to physically grab, and she will scream and kick and hit because I'm removing her from something she wants.
2. She makes amazing messes, and does not clean up.
Kiera is starting to try to be helpful (I watched her try to feed the cats the other evening, which was hilarious...she carried dry cat food over to the bowls a fist full at a time) but for the most part, she is a maker of messes, not a cleaner of them. Molly loves to draw and do crafts, so we have a bunch of craft things stored in boxes in the dining room; Kiera will strew them through the house. Cleaning house with kids always feels kind of futile, but it feels particularly sisyphean when Kiera is following me around, taking out the things I have just put away.
3. She still sleeps very badly.
She does sleep better than Molly did at this age, thank goodness. But she does not sleep through the night (or even close), she does not go to bed at a predictable or reasonable time, and some days I can't get her down for a nap -- she naps in my lap.
Molly didn't sleep through the night until she was over two. And she napped in my lap until she gave up napping at 2 1/2. I think I'm the only mother who was vastly relieved when her child gave up naps.
4. She is heavy, but fairly regularly has to be carried.
Kiera is a bit over 20 pounds, which isn't THAT heavy, honestly. But she's also squirmy. I find this the most difficult to deal with in parking lots. I really feel that I have to carry her in parking lots. I also feel that I need to hold Molly's hand, so that leaves me carrying Kiera one-handed. My arms ache a lot as a result, and this puts me in a foul mood when we go anywhere that requires a long parking lot trek.
On the plus side... she is so much fun just to watch. The other day Molly started jumping up and down, and Kiera tried to imitate her. She dances to music -- anything, from musical toys to my singing to CDs. The cuteness of Kiera's dancing is really not describable, I think, nor can it be adequately captured in a photo -- I would need a video camera (and I'm tempted to get one, just for the dancing). She gets more capable every day, and each new thing she can do is deeply satisfying to her. She got her arm into one of her coat sleeves the other day, all by herself, and was immensely proud. Oh, she can also take her mittens off, all by herself, and she's rather proud of that, too.
She's opinionated. (So is Molly. I'm sure that everyone is just shocked that Ed and I would produce opinionated children. It must be one of those things that skips generations.) I let her choose outfits. And shoes. If she sees one of us eating a banana she'll run up and demand some -- which cracks me up, because Molly hated bananas (and still does -- they're one of a handful of foods she really doesn't like).
Anyway. My complaints are not complaints, really. I wouldn't trade this time with Kiera for anything. But it is a difficult age for me as a mother, and it was hard when Molly was this age, too. I have to remind myself that it didn't last all that long -- at some point, the joy of strewing things through the house cooled slightly. Well, either that or she got old enough that I could make her pick them back up again. I can't remember which.
1. She's mobile, yet totally unreasonable.
She has the ability to get into almost anything: she can climb well, she knows how to move a chair around so that she can use it as a stool, she can open cabinets and drawers and even simple latches. But she lacks the most basic levels of common sense. We have a rotating cabinet in the corner of the kitchen; she has pinched her fingers in it so many times I've lost count, and yet that hasn't made her wary of it. On Monday, I baked chocolate chip cookies with Molly. Kiera woke from her nap while we were working on them. I pulled a batch out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. Kiera saw them and her face lit up. She grabbed a chair, shoved it over to the edge of the stove, climbed onto it, and reached for a cookie. Molly might reach for a cookie, but if she hears me say "No! Don't touch, that's hot!" she will probably back off and wait for me to give her one. Kiera, I have to physically grab, and she will scream and kick and hit because I'm removing her from something she wants.
2. She makes amazing messes, and does not clean up.
Kiera is starting to try to be helpful (I watched her try to feed the cats the other evening, which was hilarious...she carried dry cat food over to the bowls a fist full at a time) but for the most part, she is a maker of messes, not a cleaner of them. Molly loves to draw and do crafts, so we have a bunch of craft things stored in boxes in the dining room; Kiera will strew them through the house. Cleaning house with kids always feels kind of futile, but it feels particularly sisyphean when Kiera is following me around, taking out the things I have just put away.
3. She still sleeps very badly.
She does sleep better than Molly did at this age, thank goodness. But she does not sleep through the night (or even close), she does not go to bed at a predictable or reasonable time, and some days I can't get her down for a nap -- she naps in my lap.
Molly didn't sleep through the night until she was over two. And she napped in my lap until she gave up napping at 2 1/2. I think I'm the only mother who was vastly relieved when her child gave up naps.
4. She is heavy, but fairly regularly has to be carried.
Kiera is a bit over 20 pounds, which isn't THAT heavy, honestly. But she's also squirmy. I find this the most difficult to deal with in parking lots. I really feel that I have to carry her in parking lots. I also feel that I need to hold Molly's hand, so that leaves me carrying Kiera one-handed. My arms ache a lot as a result, and this puts me in a foul mood when we go anywhere that requires a long parking lot trek.
On the plus side... she is so much fun just to watch. The other day Molly started jumping up and down, and Kiera tried to imitate her. She dances to music -- anything, from musical toys to my singing to CDs. The cuteness of Kiera's dancing is really not describable, I think, nor can it be adequately captured in a photo -- I would need a video camera (and I'm tempted to get one, just for the dancing). She gets more capable every day, and each new thing she can do is deeply satisfying to her. She got her arm into one of her coat sleeves the other day, all by herself, and was immensely proud. Oh, she can also take her mittens off, all by herself, and she's rather proud of that, too.
She's opinionated. (So is Molly. I'm sure that everyone is just shocked that Ed and I would produce opinionated children. It must be one of those things that skips generations.) I let her choose outfits. And shoes. If she sees one of us eating a banana she'll run up and demand some -- which cracks me up, because Molly hated bananas (and still does -- they're one of a handful of foods she really doesn't like).
Anyway. My complaints are not complaints, really. I wouldn't trade this time with Kiera for anything. But it is a difficult age for me as a mother, and it was hard when Molly was this age, too. I have to remind myself that it didn't last all that long -- at some point, the joy of strewing things through the house cooled slightly. Well, either that or she got old enough that I could make her pick them back up again. I can't remember which.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-13 02:39 pm (UTC)Hang in there and enjoy the good bits. :) '
And don't stop writing! I'm still waiting for your next one...
no subject
Date: 2005-01-13 08:09 pm (UTC)