Ahhhh...finally, a time to write...

I've been on hiatus for a while...blame it all to the toddler in the house! :) 
Sometimes it's so hard to make her go  to sleep at night, I don't have the time to sneak into my blog site.  Other times, I feel so tired...I fall asleep before she does....but most of the time, I'm soooo loving every moment with her...I put all the blogging for later.

We knew that having a moving baby around the house calls for baby-proofing...and I "believe" we started early.  We received a lot of baby-proofing items from my baby shower and we were itching to use them!  So when our daughter started crawling, we have set up most of them.  We covered all the electrical sockets, made sure there were no sharp edges anywhere, and cleaned the floors to make sure there are no small objects she might choke on.  We live in a small apartment...we've done enough of this baby-proofing...right?  uhmmmm...WRONG!

I guess when you're a first time parent, you have this notion that you can fully handle your baby once they start walking.  I think it's like a "fairy tale" idea that once you baby-proofed your house, nothing can possibly go wrong...Your baby won't fall, won't hit their head and won't try to eat anything within reach.  Even if someone tells you to "be prepared" once your baby starts walking...you won't really take it seriously...because you THINK you've got everything covered.

So, fast forward to the future...Here I am now...with my walking toddler, a mess of a house and a feeling of 'the worse is yet to come'...What were they saying about the "Terrible Twos"...???  My daughter just turned one!!  So we're not even there YET??? 

Whatever we do, our toddler still finds her way to the trash, dirty shoes and indoor plants.  She even managed to give one of our fishes a heart attack (or so, i think) after repeatedly banging on the aquarium glass.

Now, we learned how to change things around the house base on our daughter's interests...In a month, we have:
1) placed a gate on the kitchen door (so she won't run directly to the trash, or the oven..or the fridge everytime)
2) remembered to lock all our cabinets (to avoid seeing clothes strewn in every direction..or paper ripped into a million pieces).
3) kept the dirty shoes and slippers as far away from her as possible (though she still finds a way to take whatever we're currently wearing in a flash!)
4) transfered our plants and aquarium to a much higher table (to avoid another loss of fish and to avert the possibility of leaves and soil ending on her mouth) 
5) made sure paper towels and tissue papers are out of her reach...powders out of reach, baby oil out of reach, baby wipes out of reach....and the list goes on...and on...and on....

Sometimes I wonder, with so much toys, why do toddlers spend so much time and energy going after the things they shouldn't?  human nature...?  Always trying to get something out of reach.  The challenge?  Curiosity?  Or maybe they just love the helpless, stressed and shocked look on their parents' faces?

The first few months of going after your walking baby is the hardest...at times you'll get frustrated...wishing he/she reaches the age of 4 (soon!) so he/she can just sit and play in a corner while you do the household chores. 

But then, it shouldn't be the case...the best thing to do to cope is to enjoy it.  YES!  Enjoy it!

It's funny, after a while you'll get used to having a toddler...As parents, we have to accept that we can only do so much with the baby-proofing.  Unless you cover your whole house in foam and remove all of your furniture, it will never be 100% safe.  In the end, we really have to be there with them...teach them what's okay and not okay to touch...to show PATIENCE.  To play with them.  Because really, I think they're just trying to get our attention most of the time.

Heck with the household chores!  I can do that later when my daughter is 4....for now, I'll cherish every moment of this toddler experience!  I'll let her play and be curious. 

Okay....I think I have to sign out now...need to take the dirty shoes from my daughter's hands!



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