The miserable baby and the happy toddler

A child holds all the cards. Pulls all the strings. Pushes all the buttons. It's amazing the power they have.

Addison just turned 21 months old a few days ago. Only 3 more months until she's 2. I can't believe I have a (nearly) two year old running my life. She's just starting to come in to herself too. What I mean by this is I really believe she did not like being an infant. She was born a do-er, not a be done to. She was mostly miserable from birth to, oh, I'd say about 9 or 10 months old. But now! Now is when she's really blossoming into her little body. She embraces toddlerhood. She can do things now, and boy does she ever!

Climbing is her new facination. The higher the better. She does her little Flying Wallendas acts by balancing on the middle bar of her bike...usually while wearing slippery socks and for good measure she will extend one leg out, so she's just balancing on one leg while holding onto the handlebars. My child of few words will say "fall" while looking at me with her huge blue eyes and grinning ear to ear. All the while I'm trying to ignore her. I used to say "no, you'll fall" and she just giggle and seem to stretch higher on her tippy toes just to show me that yes, she could do it and would.

Another trick of hers is to stand on the arm of the couch and slowly rise. She of course is looking at us to see our reaction and as soon as we get up she'll fall in a fit of laughter to the cushions. *sigh* A few times she has wiped out, cried, we kiss her boo-boos and off she goes again. "No" is definitely not a word that works with her unless she's the one saying it.

Anyway, that was a bit off my topic for today. What I wanted to write about is my miserable infant and the happy toddler. As a baby, Addison did not like to be held or cuddled. She wanted her space. Her personal boundary stretched very far away from her. She'd push you away. I could never hold her before I put her down to bed because she'd squirm until I'd practically drop her. She didn't want to be sung to either. I got the message that I was bothering her. You could never get a hug or a kiss. She was a tense mass whenever she was being held.

What a difference a year makes. My child has been known to kiss people she barely knows. In the mornings, Greg usually gets her morning routine going while I'm finishing up getting ready for work. I find myself waiting behind the bedroom door so when she's done, she'll bust into the room. I have my arms stretched out and she runs to me to give me a hug. She runs to me! The last few weeks she's even put her head on my shoulder and completely relaxes. I don't even want to put her down. At bedtime (as long as blankie is there) she will relax as well. She rests on me while I hold her and sing to her, sucking her thumb and holding on to blankie. She's learning how to give a proper hug and I cherish those few extra seconds she'll give me when I'm holding her. A precious moment when she'll stop from playing to come over and rest her head on my lap...and even more precious when you get the random kiss. It's the most amazing experience...the love of a child.