It's about time for another update. Let's see, where do I begin? Right now the first thing that comes to my mind is that she can be a little stinker. She definitely takes after her daddy. ;-) I think we're in the midst of the terrible twos. She's definitely mastered "the tantrum." And ya know, it's usually over the silliest things. She's very determined and independent and sometimes if she can't do something she wants by herself, like she's trying to put dress shoes on with thick socks, that's enough to send her into a tantrum. For some reason, pretty much every time she goes downstairs with me, she wants to be carried back up. She's perfectly capable of walking up the stairs not to mention I'm almost always carrying something (laundry, etc.), yet she could care less and insists on being carried. And when she doesn't get her way because I told her that I'll hold her hand and walk with her, but she needs to walk up the stairs by herself, she will lay down on the ground crying. If I leave her there and ignore the tantrum she can't console herself and continues crying uncontrollably. Lately while this is happening, if something's in her way, she'll pick it up and throw it. Oh my goodness! Any advice? I need to do more research, I just don't know how to handle it.
It seems to really affect her if she's hungry or tired. And if I wait just a little too long before feeding her, it's too late and she won't eat because she's too grumpy and upset. In the past three weeks her two year molars have cut through, so I think that might bother her and she can't recognize that she's in pain. Sometimes she'll just be the happiest and sweetest girl in the world, and sometimes she's a little terror!
Although I hate to admit it, it makes me tearful to think about- I have never gotten as frustrated with anybody as I get with her. I used to be one of the most patient people ever, like never getting mad about anything. But not so much with her. I think she tries to push my buttons and see how much she can get away with and she tests me. She can just be so defiant sometimes. And I just don't know what to do. I know that God gives us only what we can handle. I wish I had tons of time to spend researching and reading books. I even have many parenting books, I just have to try to make more time for reading them.
Enough of the bad, now the good! Keira is just so much fun! She is just so funny, and cute, and sweet! She is so thoughtful and compassionate. She has become good at playing and pretending all by herself. She will carry on conversations with her toys. She's also becoming more nurturing and will feed her animals or babies "biscuits" or other food, give them naps, or bottles. It's so cute and so much fun to watch.
She is very influenced- so you better be on your best behavior around her! ;o) She has an amazing memory! Lately her TV program of choice is Diego (who is Dora's cousin) and he's an animal rescuer. Sometimes it seems like she could be a character in the show. She uses terms from the show and talks about animals being stuck, or that have lost their mommy. It's really quite funny. Today she was offering Chris toys as "instruments". Once she was talking about the habitat that some rain forest animal lives in that I had never even heard of the animal. (Or maybe I'm a dork and she made it up, or got the name wrong.) In the car on a long drive she sometimes watches a Leapfrog counting show with a pirate named Pirate Pythagoras. A couple of days ago I had a bunch of outdoor chair cushions in the kitchen and she was having a ball playing with them and would say his name, even though she hadn't watched the show in weeks. But her memory and influentialness can also be a detriment. Sometimes if she's mad at me she'll say "Do you understand? or "Do you want to go to time out?" or "I'm going to spank you Mommy!" or "I told you No!" That little turd!!!
She loves to be with people. If I'm cleaning or something, or even going to the bathroom, she'll often follow me from room to room. If I go downstairs, check the mail, take out the trash get eggs... she wants to come, and be carried. She hates her door to be closed and reminds us every time we put her down for a nap or to bed. Rudely and selfishly of me, I only let Keira watch a TV show if I have something I need to do, usually on the computer. But she LOVES it if I sit and watch it with her. She is very observant. One morning when she woke up she looked very concerned and pointed to the humidifier and said "it's broken." The water had run out and the little light had turned from green to red. She also notices what I'm wearing. If I need to change out of my PJs, she'll say "You need to get dressed." or "You need to take off your glasses." She compliments church clothes or curly hair and many other things. She's much more observant than her daddy. ;-)
Whom, speaking of which, she adores! She also loves her Aunt Laurie and Uncle John! You'd think the first words out of Keira's mouth on Christmas morning would be about Santa and presents, but they were "Are Uncle John and Aunt Laurie here?" I feel so blessed to have family close that love her so much!
This was at our Ward Christmas party. She wasn't quite sure what to think and she wasn't feeling well and got a fever while we were there.
I don't think she could live without her paci. ;-) She still gets it for naps and bedtime, usually at church if she's good and reverent up until and through the sacrament, and sometimes in the car. I don't know when I should take it away. Originally I thought one year old, we're far beyond that. It calms her more than anything, although usually she would only need it for calming during a tantrum, but she doesn't get it then. She's going to need to stop using her crib soon, so I'm thinking that might be a good time to take away the paci too. We've talked about giving it to her baby brother or sister, but that's not for another five and a half months. I've caught her once sitting up on the edge of her crib, several times with one leg over the edge, and once she somehow climbed INTO her crib to be with her paci and blanket when she was in the middle of a tantrum and I told her she needed to stay in her room until she was done crying. We've been lucky without falls so far, but we better not push our luck! She loves her blanket and will tell me if it's wrong side up when I cover her or if I try to substitute with another different blanket that once felt the same and was the same color. She also loves her pillow.
Her favorite toys change daily and sometimes hourly. But Dora, Boots, Diego, and Baby Jaguar are always among favorites. She loves different animals different days of the week, favorites being giraffes, lions, dolphins, dogs, and others. She also is liking her babies again. She loves accessories like jewelry, skirts, tutus, crowns, dress shoes, and a princess dress shirt she was given.
She wants to say every prayer, before meals and at bedtime. And sometimes that's enough to ruin a meal if I don't let her. Her own prayers sound like "Dear Heavenly Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." in her cute, shy, high pitched, squeaky voice. But she's good at repeating after me. She often asks/reminds me for "lessons"/scripture study. We try to have a lesson from the Gospel Art Kit everyday and she enjoys them and usually asks for more than one. She does get pretty distracted though and asks lots of random questions about the picture. The little stinker- once the lesson was about when Christ was crucified, which as you know, is sad. Well now she'll sometimes ask for a "sad lesson." She'll also ask specifically for the lesson about the Creation with all of the animals.
I'm trying to think if there's anything else you or us in the future might be interested in hearing about. Her routine? She usually wakes up around 8:00am, we get dressed, do hair, eat. Lunch is around 12-1pm. Dinner around 6pm. Snacks in between. Nap around 1-2pm, lately for a couple of hours! Bath time 7:30-8:00pm and bed around 8:30pm. Although sometimes for whatever reason she happily plays in her crib for on hour or so before going to sleep. I think she knows that Daddy gets home around 9:30 and will usually get her out of bed for a few minutes, sometimes even out of her room. (Insert grumpy face at Chris.)
Although she has her moments, all-in-all Keira is an absolute joy. Everyday I thank Heavenly Father for sending her to our family and allowing me to be her mother. I can't imagine my life without having children. I love her beyond my imagination!
Well I guess that's about long enough! Hope I don't bore you too much, and I hope I'm not forgetting anything important! :o)
