Dealing with the Heat (and 18 Months!)

I am so over summer right now.  I have been day dreaming about cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, and the crackle of leaves under my feet.  The temperature has risen once again and once again I rant and rave all day long about how I will never again live in a place without central air.  So we congregate in the bedroom wearing the bare minimum of clothing with the window unit blasting.

Oh yeah... Sadie is 18 months old now!    When she is happy she is so very happy.  She is full of love and life.  It is amazing.  But then the next minute she will be wailing like it is the end of the world and pounding her little fists on the floor.  She has always been what I've seen described as "spirited" (strong willed, extra emotional, super curious about the world around her) but as she edges closer to two her defiance and temper tantrums have seemed to increase.  Between her temper and the heat (damn heat) mama has unfortunately lost her patience a time or two.  I just ordered this book, so hopefully it will be helpful in learning how to cope.

Here are some of Sadie's highlights this month:

- She loves to grab my soaps from tray in the bathroom and smell them (with a super exaggerated breath in) and then say "oooooooohhh!" or "mmmmmmmmm"

- Mia has been promoted from being called "kitty" to being called "Mimi!"

- When she wants to go for a walk she points to the door and says "Go!"

- Instead of just saying "Bye" she now says "Ba ba ba ba byyyyyyyyye"

- She got her first set of crayons and loves to draw

- She also just got her first set of silverware (before she was just using a plastic spoon)

- She is seriously a monkey and has scaled every piece of furniture we own.  She even figured out how to climb to the top of the dresser by pulling out the drawers to make a staircase.  I swear, this girl is too smart for her own good.

- She now points to her diaper when it needs to be changed.  Not every time but often enough for me to be excited about it.  We got her a little potty and when I go to the bathroom I've been explaining the steps.  Sooooo we'll see if she shows any interest.....

We recently cut back breastfeeding from "on demand" to three times a day (morning, afternoon nap, and bedtime.)  She has had issues for the last 6 months with not wanting to eat any solid foods.  At first cutting back nursing was really helping and she was eating a ton for a while.  But for the past couple days she reverted back to not eating and has been making up for it by nursing all night long in our sleep.  I am hoping her appetite for food with go back up when this heat breaks. I don't feel like eating when it's hot either.  Obviously from the picture you can tell she is getting enough to eat from my milk alone :)

Have a happy weekend!  Note to self:  Remember to stop and breathe.