If any of you would like to know what an "era" is, I refer back to Friends....
Monica: An era is defined by a significant period of time!
Well, this past year has certainly been an era. And we are on the verge of another one!
My daughter has changed. She turned one last week, and I swear, this girl, has gone from easy going, chill, relaxed, to OP-INION-ATED! It's kind of weird, actually, you go to bed with one child and wake up with another. Don't get me wrong, she is still as sweet as can be, but she is just, well, one year old now. She can get around on her own. she is very independant, she wants what she wants when she wants it. She is starting this thing where when I take her hand to lead her somewhere else, she will start throwing her arms back and forth and whine because she doesn't want to do what I am trying to get her to do. She is also becoming a picky eater! Before, I could feed her anything. Now, all she wants to eat is bread for dinner. And barely any, I might add. She is becoming harder to please.
I think we are going to have to start some Supernanny tactics. I don't mean discipline, I mean, get down on their level, ask for things you need. I also like Michelle Duggar's take on raising kids. She tells her kids that you need to be obediant, but she says it in a calm, rational voice. I like that. So I try to talk to Avery like that, as much as I can.
For example, she likes to whine for stuff she wants. Especially if I am not getting it fast enough for her. So this morning, we had her morning milk on the counter and she started whining. I got down and said, "Avery, say "milk please." I know she can't say milk or please, but she can say something. I said, "Say momma, please." Every time I asked her to say it, just got frustrated and would grunt and whine for it. I stayed calm and tried to get some effort on her part to ask for what she wanted and she finally did. I have a feeling it's going to be like this, starting now.
It's really hard when you hit this age because they still seem like babies and the stuff they do is still cute, even if they are not acting so nice, so you don't want to discipline them or expect more than you think they can do. Like, trying to get her to ask for things. But in that moment, all I could think is, she is going to learn patience and manners, if I stay on this path.
She is also at this phase where she wants to be picked up all the time. Well, neither Jason nor I want to pick her up all the time. So, that's something we are working on right now.
Don't get me wrong - I love the age she is now. She is alert and smart, she can communicate with you, she can play. She loves books so much, she already has some of them memorized. She has books with flaps, where you lift the flap to see the animal or picture. The second you start to read that book, she knows the flap goes up and she will do it for you. She turns the pages when you ask. She can follow directions, which I love, so when you say, "clap your hands!" or "point to your nose!" she can do it (we have a book that has her do all of that stuff.)
She loves to dance, and she knows when music comes on, it's time! She also has this thing her Gigi taught her. You say, "Go crazy!" and she will start waving her hands in the air and smiling with delight.
I tried very hard to get a picture of her in her carseat this morning, but of course none of them turned out right.
She kept trying to lick her coat, and I am not really sure why...
Such a cutie girl!
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