Ornery Little Thing

I've been marveling lately at the things toddlers learn that you really don't think about when you imagine how your child will develop. Here are some examples:

• Learning to walk backwards
• Walking on tiptoes and trying to jump
• Predicting what comes next- whenever I grap the diaper bag or put my shoes on now, she says 'Bye bye!'
• Fimding new body parts- yes, well, maybe not so terrific since it led to Poopocalypse 2012.
• Answering questions- any questions you ask her, the answer is 'No.'

I think that for the first year, everyone knows the timeline for standard developments, like sitting up, crawling, walking, but to me these other things just kind of pop up out of the blue. When she started walking backwards last week, she had the most amazed look on her face, like 'Hey, check me out, I can move the other direction without turning around!'

Yesterday, it seemed like everything that Amelia knows how to do converged into one string of ornery events. Let's start at the beginning.

In the morning, I decided that I was going to be lazy. Every time a break rolls around for me, I pack it full of get togethers and things to catch up on, then I end up being more exhausted than I was before I went on break. I spent the beginning of the day on the computer and knitting, while Amelia watched Sesame Street. A half hour later she walked over to me and handed me crumples of a purple crayon. Apparently, Mommy had forgotten she had let her color. I discovered she had eaten half the crayon, and she was sitting not ten feet away from me while doing so. It's a good things crayons are non-toxic.

A couple hours later, she decided that the crayon was not enough to satisfy her appetite, so she brought me her new economy size box of goldfish. This box is half the size that she is, and here she was, stumbling around after me with it in her arms, proclaiming, "More! More!!!"

Her goldfish are not the only thing she can reach on our lower shelves. She can also get to the dogs treats, which I often let her feed to the dog. While I was in the living room cleaning up a bit, she decided Molly must be hungry and retrieved the entire container of treats, opened it (don't ask me how because it has a latch on it), and sat next to the dog feeding her treat after treat. By the time I caught the gluttonous duo, Molly had consumed at least ten dog biscuits.

SIGH.

Although the above descriptions probably paint the portrait of a mommy with her head up her butt, I can assure you that I do supervise Amelia all day. These toddlers sure are tricky, aren't they?

The icing on the cake was when I had to scold Molly for eating Amelia's peanut butter sandwich from her hands. I felt a little bad for yelling at her since Amelia is just as guilty for feeding her all the time, but I had already told Molly to lay down and stay. Instead, she snuck away while I was preparing my own meal and attempted to devour Amelia's food. I was less than impressed and went on a tirade. When I was done, I huffed off and returned to what I was doing. Not a minute later, I hear Amelia saying "No! No!" I walk back into the dining room to find my daughter wagging her finger at Molly and scolding her. Monkey see, monkey do!

All of this really wears a girl out:

Note how she is still gripping her snack cup. I assume she is concerned that Molly will thief her cheerios while she sleeps :)