Over the past week and a half, Eliana has gone from learning to crawl to being quick at crawling! Her new found freedom has her following me e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. She has found the kitchen to be an interesting place. There are cupboards and drawers to open, the dishwasher to explore, and dish towels to pull down. Initially, we were thinking about letting Eliana have a drawer or two that she could get in. After having to clean up after her enthusiastic discovery, I realized that if I did that every time she went into the kitchen I'd be doing tons of extra cleaning. So, we decided to begin teaching Eliana that all of the cupboards are off limits. She is not thrilled with being told no and being flicked on the hand for disobeying. She doesn't appreciate that I don't want her in the dishwasher either. After a couple of days of being followed around in the kitchen, Kyle and I have decided to train Eliana to stay on the carpet in the dining room and to not come into the kitchen. It really isn't safe since she is a tripping hazard for me while cooking and I don't want her getting into all of the cupboards. Don't worry. The dangerous cupboards with chemicals and plastic bags have child locks on them. So far, having her sit in her bouncer while chewing on an apple slice inside its mesh teething toy has kept her occupied while I cook dinner.
Being outside is one of Eliana's favorite places to be! On Monday, I realized that as Eliana has gained new worlds of freedom, I have in turn lost some of mine. She didn't want to be entertained by any of her toys. She wanted to play with me and knew she could crawl to get to me. I found it a bit frustrating on Monday, so I came up with a plan for Tuesday. I'd embrace the season. Instead of still trying to do the things I normally do while she is awake, I'd embrace that she wanted to spend so much time with me. It won't be long before she finds other things to entertain her and doesn't want to be right by me. Her tongue twirling phase is already done, and I don't know how long this phase will last. On Tuesday, we filled the stroller with a blanket, toys, and The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom. We found a shady spot on the grass near our apartment and enjoyed the afternoon under the shade of a tree. Eliana was happy because I was close by. I was laughing while reading children's poetry to her. Life was good. Plus, we made lots of people smile who walked or drove by.
1 comment:
What a great mom! Enjoy these times, they go by way too fast.
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