A Day in the Life of...

I now have a new appreciation for Moms everywhere, especially Moms of one-year olds. For some reason I always viewed the newborn stage as the most difficult prior to having a child. Wow, that seems like a breeze now. Abby is walking now and exploring everything. She can open drawers, cabinets, purses, boxes, just about anything. Thankfully she can't reach doorknobs yet. I feel like I spend all day saying "no" to her and trying to divert her attention off of something she is not supposed to have. She never stops moving except the brief moments she takes naps, which only last an hour and a half tops. She also gets easily bored so I spend most of my time trying to keep her entertained. I had no idea about this stage of parenting. How did I miss that? She is at that difficult stage of being big enough to move around and get into things but still too young to explore safely on her own. The second you take your eyes off of her, and I mean second, she has gotten a hold of something she is not supposed to have. I'm learning to be super-vigilant. I now know what they mean when Moms say they don't even have time to take a shower. Whew! If Abby's awake, then I'm probably not getting anything productive done around the house (note the "taking your eyes off of her" comment above). I try my best and somehow still get things done around here. If I do want to take a shower I have 3 options:

1. get up super early before Abby. (this is probably what I should do but this almost never happens unless we have to be somewhere in the morning)

2. take a quick shower during her morning nap which is hit or miss. This nap tends to be short and there is no telling how much time I have so there is no guarantee that I'll make it all the way to blow drying my hair.

3. take a shower with Abby in my bathroom. This is usually what happens. Abby stays confined in our bathroom and makes a complete mess while I shower. We have a sliding door on our shower and Abby loves to open it and stand there with water splashing in her face while I shower. She also likes to bring different toys and drop them into the shower with me or anything else she finds laying around the bathroom. Never a dull moment.



She has also started throwing fits. This just started about a week ago. They are very dramatic and quite a little show. She'll throw herself down on the floor and kick and scream all while keeping at least one eye on you to make sure you're still watching. We are working on a solution to this behavior- I'll keep you posted. We are introducing Abby to a new phase of discipline and hopefully she'll be receptive. She is strong-willed, to say the least, and I'm learning that even if I have to say "no" 500 times regarding the same issue, I can't give up because that's exactly what she wants. It's tiring and sometimes seems fruitless but I have faith that it will reap good behavior and an obedient child one day. If any of you Moms reading this have any discipline tips for me please let me know. Thankfully my dear friend Stacy is an amazing mom of 2 toddlers and a baby on the way and she has set the bar for biblical and successful mothering. I know I can always call on her for questions and she always gives me a great answer. She is full of wisdom that has come from a heart totally devoted to the Lord, her husband, and her children. I have learned so much from her and I'm so grateful the Lord has brought her into my life. He definitely knew I would need that. Of course I always have my mother and sisters that I can always depend on for advice and encouragement.

All this to say that I have a new compassion for mothers everywhere, especially mothers of mobile children. :)