What a month of pure joy with Mia. I laughed at her funny facial expressions and relatively understandable two-word sentences. I’m sure it must be some sort of giftedness to be able to reduce a whole sentence into two words and still convey an entire message. I love the way she has figured out how to tell me what she wants with what she’s got, using her limited vocabulary and a few gestures to make ample conversation that normally leads to many moments of laughter and joy.
Mia also decided that it’s time to potty train. I thought it was a bit early, but she persisted on sitting on the toilet even though nothing happened. All of a sudden, my own bathroom breaks were very interesting and Mia insisted on inspecting everything. You know, it’s already a challenge for me to deal with the fact that going to the bathroom is not a private affair when you have children … or dogs for that matter. You always have an audience watching your every move; however, it’s a different ballgame all together when the audience decides to become investigators. I’ll just stop here before I overshare, but the learning experience for Mia was pure amazement. Mia loves using the toilet and the best part for her is waving goodbye to the poo as it is being flushed away.
Seeing Mia discover her world just astounds me. I love to watch her learn and stretch her limits, experimenting how high she can climb or how fast she can run. She loves to stack things in her arms, way too many things to carry, and then she drops her newfound treasures everywhere she goes, leaving a little trail behind her.
She has discovered playing alone (fantasy play), which is a great plus for me because I can use that time to get dinner going or pack Janno’s bag for school. She loves to be in her own little world, exploring the garden or losing herself in the contents of the toy cupboard. Bath time is also a firm favourite these days. At first, I battle to get her into the bath, then I battle to get her out of the bath.
Mia knows what she wants and she will let you know, but sometimes she will change her mind as soon as she got what she wanted, which leaves us very confused at times. On one such occasion, when my husband couldn’t figure out what she wanted, he brought her to me saying: “I don’t speak redhead, you talk to her.†As if I can speak redhead … I’m a brunette. LOL!
I love everything about Mia; I love her on her good days and her bad days. Yes, we also have bad days, everybody does. Let’s close with what I do on bad days. I follow these three simple guidelines and it works well for our household.
- Bad days are usually associated with a child that’s tired or not feeling well. Keep that in mind.
- Pick your battles. You can’t fight with your 20-month-old about everything. Especially on bad days, it feels as if Mia is out to get herself into trouble continuously. Pick the battles that really matter.
- Give plenty of love and affection. TLC (tender loving care) can go a looooong way on a bad day, to turn that frown upside down.
MommaMia Tip: Bad days are just good days in the making. Laughter is power!