Toothbrushes and Tantrums

Is it wrong that I think Bella’s tantrums are pretty darn cute? This weekend she had two almost in a row and I found myself almost happy because I was able to giggle/smile at her getting ‘mad’… Maybe because both times were at Daddy.

Tantrum #1 - She loves her toothbrush. She knows where it is and how to open the drawer to get it. While I’m happy she is excited about good dental hygiene, it has resulted in a few tears when we have to force her to put it away. For example, we will not let her run around the basement with it in her mouth or try to brush Leinie’s teeth with it. So one of her tantrums was because Daddy made her put it away when she wasn’t ready to be done.

Most of the time, tooth-brushing goes off smoothly. We get our Elmo toothpaste and sing the ‘brush your teeth song’ (when you wake up in the morning and it’s quarter to one, and you want to have a little fun you brush your teeth - …). She wiggles her little butt and dances as we go though all 5 verses (when it’s quarter to five and you JUST CAN’T WAIT TO FEEL ALIVE!). Then we are done unless she decides to ‘brush’ extra good and we have to go though the song again.

On that note, her top two molars are almost though and the bottom right molar just started. Poor girl is in some pain, I think. But she handles it well.

Tantrum #2 – Daddy wouldn’t let her hold the bubble soap (because she would have spilled it). This resulted in an all out “I’m not even going to look at Daddy” tantrum. Where do they learn this stuff?!

Oh the Wonderful Things Bella Can Do! She Can Go...

"Daddy" or "DaDa"
"Mama"
"Kitty!"
"Down"
"Nana" (banana)
"Leinie" or "Lili"
"ball"
"eh" (I think this means yes)
"nononono"
"eeee-ow" (Meow)
"mmmmmm" (moooo!)
"oooooAAAooOOoAA" (Ooo-ah ah! Monkey!)
"pfffff" (elephant noise...she actually doesn't make any noise but she pushes her lips together and tries!)

my baby ate peas for breakfast

Her newest thrill is feeding herself w/ a spoon or (baby) fork. So this morning she had cut up strawberries and a blueberry bagel in front of her, yet she kept pointing to where we keep her Gerber blended food until I took out what she wanted. So sure enough, she had blended peas for breakfast.

And of course, whatever Bella wants, Bella gets! :)

naptime...must resitst...

It's been great how easily Bella has been going down for bed and naps lately. I was a little worried since up until about 11 months, she only napped on me or JT at home (snuggling in a chair or on the couch). I knew we were creating a bad habit but it was just so nice!

It was nice to have a reason to just sit and relax. We could watch TV while she snoozed ,read a book or even nap ourselves. Now when she goes down in her crib she'll sleep for 2-3 hours and I feel forced to be productive. Booo! What I'd really like to do is go nap myself!

Everyone is really enjoying Leinie, the kitty. I think I finally 'get it'. I get why people are 'cat people'. I even have dared to call myself one. Maybe I should give it more time, but so far I may be a convert. Yes, I even tried convincing JT that we should go back to Chetek and get his sister (and name her LuLu!). Always the reasonable one, he helped me see how that might be a little too much right now. I have to agree - even though he is small that little thing needs a lot of attention and care! Totally worth it though :)