{17 Months}

Hattie turns 17 months old tomorrow. This month has been one of big changes in the nap department. She is finally consistently on 1 nap a day. I'm glad we've finally made that switch because we have some predictability back in our lives. The mornings are long, though, and I can see that if I don't keep her entertained, she gets tired and fussy around 10:00 a.m. My goal is always noon, and she gets there most days. If not, it makes for a loooong afternoon because she will not nap again no matter how tired she gets.

Another new development this month is teeth. She has some big chompers coming in in the back, on both sides, up and down. She seems to be handling it pretty well. No major teething from what I can tell. She not fussier than usual. A grace from God!

One of her new favorite games to play is Ring Around the Rosie. She loves it and smiles through the whole thing. She always falls down a little bit before the song is over because that's her favorite part - impatient, just like her mama! She has also discovered the Old MacDonald song. Hattie loves when I sing it to her, so I go on and on and on. Lots of animals that you don't normally find on a farm live at Old MacDonald's farm like bears, elephants and tigers!

One HUGE mistake I made this month (there are always many!) was giving Hattie Ovaltine in her milk. I decided to buy some and give it to her to make up for some of the nutrition I was sure she wasn't getting. She was on a food-strike and was barely eating anything, so I thought it was a good idea. BIG FAT MISTAKE. She loved it and now refuses to drink plain milk. She asks for "choco milk" all day, every day - my little broken record - so Sean and I are considering buying stock in the product since it is now a staple in our household. I just wish other mommies would tell me about these kinds of mistakes before I go and make them. If there is a wrong way of doing things, I always seem to do it.



This brings me to another point, kind of off topic, but I have found that I knew a lot more about parenting before I actually became a parent. I knew exactly what kind of foods my child would eat, how much sleep she would get, all the t.v. that she would never watch, what kind of discipline to use to get her to act the way I want at any given moment. Then I became a mommy.....and well, I really don't know what I'm doing most days.

I feel like we have a good day if:
1.) Hattie eats some of the cereal along with all of the marshmellows in her Lucky Charms. I vowed I would never give my child sugary cereal by the way.
2.) She only watches 1-2 t.v. shows a day.
3.) She wakes up past 6 a.m. and naps atleast once in the day.
4.) I don't lose it before Sean gets home.

Okay, I'm kind of kidding about the last one. I only usually feel that way on Fridays. By then I'm generally about to lose it. One of the biggest realizations that I have had since becoming a mommy is that Fridays are still really exciting days, even when you stay at home with your child. I always thought that once I became a stay-at-home mommy, the days would all feel like the weekend. Not so. But seriously, I think if I would have had some kind of ability to see myself as a mommy of a toddler before I actually became one, I would have majorly disappointed myself. The bar has moved way down from where it was. I realize that being a parent is so much harder than I could have ever imagined. I love it and wouldn't trade my days at home with my precious little girl for those that were spent in a classroom with disrespectful children. Please. My current job, role, vocation is so much more fulfilling, but it's also super hard and humbling.



So as Hattie further grows into being a child for yet another month, I, too, grow into a deeper and a more real understanding of what this mommy thing is all about!