I know I've sad it before, but it bears repeating: one is not my favorite age. It's the age of pure chaos. There is no common sense involved with decisions because so much about common sense is acquired through experience. It's an age filled with defiance and stupidity and just plain trouble.
Mila fully embraces all of these things.
But, the end is in sight. I'm starting to see the defiant little piranha consider paying attention to instructions. I'm not saying she stops when you tell her to stop doing things like feeding the dogs her dinner, but she does pause now more than she did before. A tiny bit. Sometimes Miss Mila hesitates before she runs into traffic, which is a definite improvement. She even looks over her shoulder to see if she's going to be in trouble when she tries to destroy the house.
It's a start.
Where the end isn't in sight, though, is in all manners stubborn. That child. That child has very strong opinions and absolutely no interest in hearing your thoughts about much of anything. That means that she has ripped me to shreds about a dozen times today about trying to take her pacifier. It long ago became a "in the car and in bed only" thing, but she is not budging on those two safety zones.
And she's upping her game.
We started a morning routine a long time ago where Mila loses her pacifier when she wakes up in the morning. I used to pluck it out of her mouth and throw it into her crib, but a few months ago, she became self-sufficient. She began to pluck and throw it herself. I think she was into the plucking and throwing because she knew she would be able to find the pacifier in her crib later in the day.
But then I took the pacifiers out of her crib. There was nothing to pluck and throw, and there was nothing to find later.
Except, ever since Christmas, our house has looked like someone broke in to rob us. It appears they tossed the place, found nothing of value, and left. It's TRASHED, is what I'm saying. There are so many things that need put away that I end up frozen with indecision about where to start and just don't. It's easier to pretend I don't see the mess.
But Mila sees the mess.
And she keeps finding treasure beneath it.
This morning Mila found a pacifier hidden amongst the piles of toys in the living room. SHE WAS SO EXCITED. She vibrated wth happiness right up until I told her we needed to leave. Then she hugged her precious little friend, sneered "MINE!" at me, and ran away.
"It has to go in your bed, Mila," I said. I figured we would find our way to her room, drop it off like we have so many mornings, and then I would discard of it later.
Mila pondered my statement, then toddled her way to the stairs all by herself. She climbed her way all the way to the top, toddled to her room, and headed straight for her crib. But, just when I thought she was going to throw the pacifier into the crib, she took things up a notch.
She carefully reached through the slats then tucked the pacifier under her stuffed monkey's shirt. With a pat, she covered the monkey with a blanket and happily walked away. She had hidden her treasure so carefully.
When I went to steal the treasure later, I found them. The stash. You guys, Mila had THREE pacifiers hidden with the monkey. I had no idea. She has been sneakily enjoying them, it seems.
This kid. She's three steps ahead of me and absolutely proving that one isn't as filled with stupidity as I thought it was.
