Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Mommy's Little Helper (Hindrance?) Part I

Macie is a jack-of-all-trades. In her mind, she can write a paper, mop the floor, bake a cake, wield a blush brush, and do a lunge like a pro. She’s at that age where she wants to do everything you do.  When Macie demands to join me in daily tasks I know that she is either fascinated by what I am doing or annoyed that I am giving my attention to something other than her majesty, but it seems that she thinks I need her help with everything. Obviously I am not doing things to her satisfaction.

Macie often demands to be held when I am cooking, cleaning, working (homework and work-work), applying makeup, and working out. If you don’t give into her demands she stands at your knees and yells “UUUPPP” in baby talk until you comply. She also wants to eat and drink everything that you put in your mouth. If you don’t give her a bit of your food and drink she makes throaty/nasally noises similar to the sound a cat makes while watching a bird out the window.

The problem is that you can’t do anything well while Macie is “helping” you- she is really more of a hindrance. It takes longer to complete any task Macie is involved in and the job is never done as well as I would like. If you don’t let Macie “help” she will throw such a fit that you won’t be able to finish the task anyway. On a positive note, it is entertaining to watch her grin and giggle as she acts like a big girl and simultaneously wrecks your progress (imagine a one year old applying eye shadow to your entire face). I can’t wait until Macie is old enough to do chores on her own- then I will happily encourage her big girl helper moments.

_____________________________


Food Sharing

Macie likes to eat. Preferably what you are eating exactly when you are eating it. She will spit out what is in her mouth just to make room for a bite of what you have in your hand. Macie expects you to give her a bite of your food and throws a huge fit until she gets a mouthful. And don’t think that you can just get away with one nibble- she verbally reminds you that she wants more while chewing so you don’t forget to keep it coming. Lately I have had to trick her into eating broccoli and other healthy food by pretending I can’t get enough of it. This is a win-win because we both eat healthy and I end up loosing weight.

Macie, being the helpful baby that she is, wants to make sure that I am eating enough as well. So she feeds me food that has been sitting in her watery high chair tray (she ends up with as much water on the tray as in her mouth). Her amusement is evident as she throws her head back and laughs hysterically after successfully placing a soggy piece of food in my mouth.

While the food sharing is a common practice in our household, we do very little liquid sharing for a number of reasons. First, Macie drinks mostly formula- which smells like a bad case of athletes foot (or my dog Sophia). Second, I drink mostly caffeinated drinks (coffee and diet soda) that would have her zipping around the house like a hummingbird on Red Bull. Third, and most importantly, I cannot give her the alcoholic beverages that I occasionally consume. I don’t think the Division of Family Services would like it if I had a tipsy toddler streaking through the neighborhood mooning people (I automatically associate a drunk baby with Will Farrell’s streaking scene in Old School).

What Macie looks like when she sees food:



What Macie looks like when she doesn't get food fast enough:




What Macie looks like when she is offering you food:


_________________________

Come back next week for Mommy’s Little Helper (Hindrance?) Part II
Subtopics Include: Hardly Working, Cooking and Cuddles, Cleaning and Clinging, Makeup with Macie, and Bootcamp for Babies

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Pinterest

Follow my Pins with Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/maeganbowersox/
 
© Baby Dolls, Bouncy Balls, and Bunny FuFu

Graphics for Website Background by Sassy Designs
CoffeeShop Designs