Young and Restless: August 2012

Thursday, August 9, 2012

If sending Sailor to me was Heavenly Father's way of telling me He trusted me with a "spirited" child, I sure hope He changes His mind with the next one.

It seems as if I mostly only share the positive things about motherhood on my blog. Well, let me tell you, motherhood is not always positive. If you think it is, you're not a mother. Or perhaps you are one of the mothers who is in mine and Sailor's Mommy and Me swim class. One of the moms whose child floats along peacefully in the water and kicks his/her legs at the exact moment that the swim instructor tells him/her to. Unfortunately, I am a mom on the other side of the spectrum. A mom whose child screams whenever he/she is told to make a simple splash in the water (something that this particular child does OVER and OVER in the bathtub when he/she is told not to). A mom whose child screams when told to do anything, for that matter.

As you have probably surmised, today has not been a good motherhood day for me. It all started at about 5 AM this morning. Sailor awoke for her usual morning bottle earlier than normal. She has one every morning at around 6 and then goes back to sleep for another hour or so. Totally normal for a 19-month-old, right? Wrong. If you would've told me 19 months ago that Sailor would still not be sleeping all the way through the night, I would've laughed. Who's laughing now? Not me.

She continued to wake up about every 20 minutes or so until she finally got up for good around 7, at which point we ate breakfast and started to get ready for swim lessons (a process which was not without at least a tantrum or two).

Then there was the Mommy and Me class. These lessons started on Monday and Sailor has gotten progressively less obedient each day. Today she had me on the verge of tears several times until I finally told the instructor that we were leaving early.

And then there were the errands we ran after swim lessons to stall before going to Sailor's doctor's appointment. At the otherwise silent bookstore, Sailor made her screaming entrance as I told her that she could not try on the sunglasses that were by the front door. We then proceeded to the children's section where she decided to pull every book she could find off the shelves while I frantically searched for a couple of books that she might like to have at home.

Lastly, the doctor's appointment. I knew this would be a failure. It always is. "Wait," you say, "Sailor had to go to the doctor today?" Yep. Go figure. It was a follow-up appointment from her surgery, but still. I feel like I've spent half of that girl's life in the doctor's office. Anyway, she refused to watch the children's movie that every other child in the lobby was fascinated by. Instead she chose to walk around and touch every dirty trash can or anything else she could find that looked shiny or hazardous. When we got to the back room, she continued to touch everything in sight, open every drawer she could reach, and climb on anything she could manage to pull herself up on. Any attempt to get her to stop ended in the most blood-curdling scream you could possibly imagine from a 19-month-old. That poor doctor probably couldn't get us out of there fast enough.

Thank goodness Glen was home when we got home. I went into the back room, locked the door (which Sailor was NOT happy about), and had some much needed time to myself.

A "spirited" child: "one who is more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent and energetic." That's what the parenting book I'm reading tells me at least. And that definition could not fit Sailor more. I often wonder how Heavenly Father could trust me with a child who is so strong-willed. I never in my wildest dreams expected parenting to be this hard. Will it ever get easier? Will my next child be this exhausting?

I needed some time by myself (and a much needed nap) before I could start thinking again about all of the things I love about Sailor. Yes, she is volatile, but she has more personality than any toddler I've ever known. Yes, she's constantly getting into everything, but she is curious and so smart. And, yes, she's loud, but she is zestful and opinionated.

As I was tucking her in tonight, she sang 'I am a child of God' to me, in her sweet, little voice. Thank goodness for those little moments that keep us moms going. Now if only I can remember that moment during swim lessons tomorrow ;).

Sailor at 18 Months

Sailor,

You are now 18 months old and I can't believe it. Because you are growing up so fast and there are so many aspects of your personality that I never want to forget, I'm writing you this note in hopes that I will remember this time more easily in 20 years or so.

You are SO much like your daddy. Everyone says you look just like him and, while I can't necessarily see the physical resemblance, I see similarities in almost every other aspect. You both have so much personality. You both love to dance and can't contain your moves whenever you hear music (even during Sacrament hymns). You both have dry skin and get cracks in your feet (haha). Both of your happiest times are right after you've had a bath/shower. You are exactly what I picture your dad to have been when he was your age: sociable, fiesty, smart, stubborn (but only at times ;)), and adventurous. Your Grandpa Young tells a story of your dad when he was younger that totally reminds me of something you'd do when you get a little older. Your dad had poked someone in the eye and your grandpa was trying to discipline him for doing it. When your grandpa asked him, "What if I poked you in the eye?" your dad looked him square in the eye and said, "Do it." Haha!

I honestly can't say enough about your personality. You have a more outgoing, sociable and volatile personality than anyone your age I've ever known. You are constantly making people laugh with your dancing, laughing, singing, extreme friendliness, and advanced speech. You really are a little firecracker. We can't go into a store without making new friends because you say 'hi!' to everyone we pass. If they don't notice you or don't say 'hi' back, you will continue to say 'hi' to them, even if it means yelling it from down the aisle. You have never had a fear of strangers. It is only recently that you have become more hesitant to go to others if I am holding you. But even now, you could walk away from me in an amusement park and be lost for hours and probably not even care.

You love older kids, especially boys. You are totally uninterested in anyone near your age. You usually just want to play with their older siblings. For instance, you are obsessed with our 7-year-old neighbor boy, Shawn. We play with him in the front yard sometimes and he occasionally comes over to the house. You just can't get enough of him. One day we were in the backyard and when you heard a noise in Shawn's backyard, you said, "Shawn?!" Whenever we see anyone who looks even remotely like him, you shout, "Shawn?! Shawn?!"

You have an incredibly strong will and a pretty bad temper. You know what you want and are NOT happy when you don't get it. I feel like some days are just one tantrum after another. And boy do you know how to throw tantrums. While your strong will is frustrating and exhausting for me (and probably you too) right now, I'm sure it will transform into something great later in your life. And hopefully the temper will subside eventually ;).

You are SO curious and active. Seriously, you never stop moving. Everyone tells me that it's because you're smart, and I'm starting to think that's true. You want to explore everything at all times. You don't care about toys much.. you just want to walk around and find new things. Because you never stop moving, certain things like church are a nightmare. I look around at other moms who are holding their babies peacefully on their laps and am so envious. On a similar note, up until now, you have not wanted anything to do with cuddling. The past month, however, you've started to give hugs and kisses and tolerate small forms of cuddling. I can't tell you how much I love that, even if it's only in small doses.

You love animals of any kind, especially dogs. You used to call them "doddys" and would yell it out whenever you saw one on TV or in real life. You thought every animal was a "doddy" for a while, but now you know about birdies and kitties. I know you'd love it if I got you a dog, but, unfortunately, you are about as much as I can handle right now ;).

Most of all, you are the light of my life. I see now why everyone says that motherhood is the hardest yet most rewarding job in the world. As exhausting as you may be some days, your smile and laugh (and occasional little cuddle) makes it all worth it.

I love you!

Your first day of nursery. We were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Young's ward and you loved it!

Utah

Just hours after Jenna's graduation in Washington, my parents, Jenna, Jenna's friend, and Sailor and I packed into the car and drove to Utah through the night. Jenna started school at BYU three days after graduating from North Thurston, so we had to hurry down to Utah to get her settled. My family stayed at my grandparents' house for about a week before heading back home, so we still got to spend quite a bit of time with them in Utah. Sailor and I stayed with Glen's mom for a few days and then, once Glen flew to Utah, we drove down to Mapleton and stayed with his dad for about a week. We took Sailor to Seven Peaks and Chuck e Cheese for the first time and she loved both! We also spent a lot of fun family time with Glen's family while we were there. After staying in Mapleton for a week, we went back to Glen's mom's house for another few days. Ben, Cali and their family were there for a couple of days, along with Rachelle and her girls. It was so fun (and a little hectic!) to see all of the cousins together. Oh how I wish we lived closer to family.

While we were in Utah:

In order to get Sailor to sit still while I do her hair every morning, I have to turn something on my laptop for her to watch. For several months, she loved to watch a Youtube video of a marriage proposal where a young man did a flash mob at Disneyland to the song 'Marry You.' She learned how to sing part of it this month and sang it as, "Hey baby, I gu getchu" (Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you). Haha! The best part is that it often sounded like, "Hey baby, I gu kill you."
Sailor learned "The wheels on the bus go wow and wow, ah do do town." She also knew the wiper and daddy verses.
Probably the cutest thing Sailor learned this month was how to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ("Kinkle Kinkle Wittle Star"). She could sing most of the words, along with the correct tune. She could also sing her ABC's by the end of the month, with most of the letters being intelligible.