Life

I read lots of blogs. I kind of got addicted when we lived in Taiwan and I had nothing to do. My favorite blogs are the ones that are realistic. There are a few that I read that have gotten to the point that I know the author is purposely trying to make everyone think they have the most perfect life and perfect kids because it's just so over the top. I don't want to be that person, so I thought I'd write about the rough couple of days we've had.

{Love this outfit}

Lily and I have had a rough week; something has just been off. She has a little bit of a runny nose, but I don't think that's it. Her third tooth broke through, so I don't think that should be bothering her either. But, she cries when I put her down for a nap, she whines during independent play, and she doesn't want to eat; all things that I thought we had already conquered and moved beyond. I'll be honest, yesterday, I just didn't feel like being a mom. I wanted a day off. I was tired of saying "No, don't touch the cable box/PS3/Xbox/electrical wires/toilet/trash can."  I really just wanted to take a day off and let her do/touch whatever she wanted and just sit and watch. I guess that's what makes being a parent hard is that you can't take 5 minutes off, let alone a whole day. As soon as I allow her to touch something she's not supposed to, I know she will stop listening to me. I'm also determined to not remove those things from her reach because I want her to learn boundaries and self control. I want to be able to take her out in public and to other people's houses and know that she's not going to destroy everything in her path.

{Recognize this bow, Aunt CC?}

I know she's getting bored being cooped up inside during this heat (I've decided we won't be spending another July and August in this country!!) and she's getting bored with her toys. I feel like she's in an in-between stage with toys: baby toys are boring, but she hasn't figured out the toddler toys. Every time I go the mall I go to the toy store, but I have no idea what to get her, and toys are insanely expensive here. Every time I buy her a new toy she plays with it for 5 minutes then could care less. $40-$50 down the drain.

{Naked baby on the loose before bath time}

I don't know what's going on with her eating. Our doctor in Houston mentioned that her appetite will drastically decrease around age 1, so maybe that's it. However, it seems like she's getting picky and lazy. She's especially picky about dinner and will stop eating if her food has cooled down too much. Sometimes she'll just stop eating and then I'll test to see if she's really full and pull out a packet of puree and she'll down it in 5 seconds. But then what do I do? Give her more puree? She's always loved feeding herself! Even if I heat her food back up sometimes she just doesn't care for it. Is it common for babies to get tired of feeding themselves? Even her favorite fruits she's apathetic about, but if I pick up some fruit and put it up to her mouth she'll eat it.

Unfortunately, Lily's 'off' days are usually my fault. I know she feeds off of me, so my tiredness and lack of enthusiasm affect her big time. I woke up this morning with a purpose to make sure I hug and kiss her even more and play with her for as long as she wants - the dishes and laundry can wait. (note: no matter how blah I feel I kiss those chubby cheeks all day. who can resist??)

{Not wanting to leave mom's lap}

So far today we've had a better day. We got out and went to the aquarium at the mall with some friends, and she did really good. She even stayed in her stroller the whole time. Eating was still a challenge, but her naps were better. Sometimes we just have off weeks, but we come out of it better. My friend said she thinks babies have off weeks when they have intellectual break-throughs and are overwhelmed with learning to process the new input. I think that's so true sometimes.