I forgot How Busy Toddlers Are........

The title tells it all, really.  I truly forgot how busy the house is when you add the unique dynamic of a toddler. Maybe it is our toddler, but we sure are busy! It was funny this morning as Jeremy called to check-in with us I gave him a laundry list of what Mariah had been into before 10am. We have already purchased outlet covers and cabinet door locks! 

I believe it is partly her age but also the fact that she has never had the freedom to roam as she does now. We limit that roaming to the main living floor for now. 

We have taken her to our basement a couple of times. She is not impressed! Our basement is a finished basement but I think the size of everything is just too much for now. 

So here is what I caught her doing in my kitchen.....

Of course when I came closer, she closed the door and smiled at me! I really did not mind. 

I've done things with this baby that I said I would never do. I have put her in bed with us (gasp!), laid beside her in our bed to get her to sleep, woke her from naps (only to help reset her biological clock to eastern time), redirected her instead of disciplining, and fed her between meals. I'm sure there are more things but I'll spare you all.

Now to explain the "redirecting" part. She is not a child who was born to our family and raised in our home. She was born 8,000 miles away from here and lived in a completely different culture for 18 months. Everything was ripped away from her and she had absolutely no choice. That explains any possible behavior we anticipate. I would be behaving so much worse if I were in her shoes! 

This is why Jeremy and I have made the conscious decision to be her only caregivers. We will probably be the only ones holding her, changing her, and feeding her for a while. I wish I could give you some kind of idea for time, but I cannot. Every child is different. She is learning to trust us and learning to accept our love. This is an entirely new experience for her. She is opening up with us and allowing us more access to her sweet yet very silly disposition. 

See what we mean? Isn't she sweet? Something so simple such as eating her puffs and playing with a measuring cup.

So for those of you familiar with the movie Despicable Me you will understand why my older kids keep telling me that Mariah looks like Agnes from that movie. For those of you who haven't watched the movie a million times, here she is. 

The story is oddly familiar......she was an orphan living in an orphanage or group home. Gru comes to the orphanage pretending to be a perspective parent and fool people to gain more power. He adopted a group of girls under false pretenses yet ends up falling in love with these three girls and becomes a daddy who is head over heals in love with these three girls. It didn't occur to me until we were leaving to go to church how correct my older kids were in comparing the looks of these girls! Either way, both girls just adorable.