There are many advantages to having a toddler; you get an opportunity to laugh a whole heck of a lot more than you used to, you become more aware of things like leaves and lizards and you (usually) are able to sleep more than when that same toddler was a newborn. Now that Genevieve is no longer such a total newbie to this world I am also discovering that, like so many other things, with the good also comes the, well, not so good. Frequently that infectious laughter is followed (all too quickly) by a frustrated wail and the wonder of a sharp pointy stick swiftly becomes a bellow of rage when said stick is removed from a certain little girls hands because we don’t want to make that first trip to the emergency room just yet.
So our quest these past few weeks has been to try to navigate our way, to the best of our ability, through the daily toddler storm that inevitably blows through our house. My father taught me well… when going out for a hike, or any such outdoor experience, one must prepare and pack for all weather. You know, have a rain coat in case of rain, sunscreen in case of sun… that sort of stuff. So Patrick and I decided that our first step into this maelstrom would be to pack our parent bags with the necessary tools, aka the house rules. This way we can make our way through the storms and enjoy the sun more ☺ Here are the top four:
Rule No 1: Food (and sleep) is the stuff of life, aka feed Genevieve when she is hungry and let her sleep when she is tired. Seems like a no brainer but hey ignore this rule at your own peril.
Rule No 2: “Look, over there, a ____,” aka, beat back the impending doom with a little harmless distraction. “Ohh sweetie instead of that large, dangerous metal object you just found why don’t you play with this awesome mud instead.”
Rule No 3: Ignorance is bliss. Sometimes it just works better to pretend you didn’t hear the blood-curdling scream that just escaped Evie’s lips… even if it broke your glass.
Rule No 4: Know when to act. Although most of our “discipline” is really pretty weenie we have established a few actions that absolutely deserve a reaction… at the top of this list right now is biting… that bad boy gets the 18 month old version of a time out.
Thankfully even with all these rules and micro-bursts we are still able to have a whole lot of fun. This past weekend was no exception!! On Friday we took off for Ben and Annie’s place in Nutrioso and hung out there all weekend with the Wallace-Ilkas and the Ericksons. There was a great hike up Escudilla, lots of kid running, some mean horseshoe games and a fabulous pony keg of Four Peaks beer ahh life is good!
