No and Nothing

A little help here please!

I have come to the conclusion that the hardest thing for me to say as a parent (or really any time) is "no." "No," you may not pull heavy things on your head. "No," you may not eat the random fuzz that you found on the floor. "No," you may not shred those important documents. Why is it so hard to say no? Well, for starters, the sad-eyed, pouty lipped cry is sure to follow just about every time. It breaks my heart and makes me want to laugh all at the same time. Seriously? The little drama queen knows how to lay it on thick. On the bright side, she does understand enough and will occasionally even comply without my needing to physically remove her from whatever the temptation was.

Quickly following the hardest thing to say - the hardest thing to do is nothing. I know that there's a really good chance that she's going to lose her balance or swing too hard in jumper, and she's going to bonk her noggin. It's not going to really hurt her; I know, but it's not fun to watch. Today, she managed to face plant while trying to learn to crawl, hit her lip on the stool she was trying to eat, and scared herself when she successfully kept herself from falling over backwards. Big crocodile tears every time.

Um, this was like this Mama. I promise.

In other news, while not quite to crawling yet, a certain little girl has definitely gone mobile scooting across our floors on her bum in order to find any bit of anything that I missed while cleaning. I spend more time cleaning than ever before, and I feel ever more inadequate in my housekeeping abilities. Between pulling random bits out of her mouth and picking up a chihuahua's worth of dog hair every day, it has not been good for my confidence.

More lemon please!

We now enjoy lots of veggies and fruits. Mandarin orange slices were recently big hits as were green peppers and baby spinach. While some goofy faces get made for new foods, there really hasn't been anything yet that she doesn't like. However, she does think that paper tastes good, so maybe not the most discerning palate.

Non-baby related news, Charlie started his welding classes today. Aside from nearly having a heart attack when finding out how much textbooks cost, he is excited about the program and finally getting to start this next chapter in life. It is meaning that he is gone in the evenings until after the pixie's bedtime. She made a valiant effort to stay awake until he got home, but finally, she succumbed to slumber and passed out cold. Hopefully she will be willing to adjust to a new bedtime routine that has her goodnight kiss before he leaves for classes. It could be a long couple of nights while we make the adjustment.

Gretl has now gotten to be over 70 pounds which means that we're needing to be more persuasive since we no longer can just pick her up and haul her where we want her to go. It's a good thing that she's starting to follow directions. Now we just need to get her to sleep through the night like her big sister does, and we'll be cruising along.

Here's to wishing you all a happy 2015!