Parenting Mistake #4,285

And I'm sure it won't be the last...
I caved and gave Court back the bottle. She just wasn't improving and the fact that she was scared to death of her crib really upset me. It took about a week, but now she's back to normal...2 bottles a day. I'll try again in a couple of months. I just don't think she was ready and no one was going to convince me that what I was doing was in her best interest. No one can make that decision but Casey and I. At her 18 month well-check, we are just going to straight up lie to the doctor and say she's off the bottle. I just don't want to keep having that same conversation.

So, we have our wonderful little girl back. No more temper tantrums. I'm also working on making her less clingy and dependent on me. She only wants me if I'm around. No one can change her diaper, make her sandwich, comb her hair, or play with her dolls like mommy! She doesn't even give Casey a chance. I need to be firmer about not doing everything she wants. She'll just walk up to me, put her hand out and say "hand", and I'm supposed to grab her hand and go wherever she takes me. The sad thing is, until recently, I'd just grab her hand, no questions asked, and go. That's probably not the best thing for her. Real life isn't quite so simple. We were just so happy when she learned to talk and was able to convey her needs and wants that we just sort of did whatever she said. We created a monster

In fact, that's what we've been calling her. "The Monster". People will ask us to do things and we'll be like "ok, but can we bring the monster". Most people say yes, and actually would rather see her than us, but some people without children really don't get how much our schedule has to revolve around her right now. I'm hesitant to get a babysitter too much on the weekends since I'm away from her all week. And I refuse to go somewhere until she's had her nap, because she will become an even bigger monster if she's too tired. Ahhh, such is life! What's great about naptime, though on the weekends is that mommy gets to take a nap too! I hope she naps until she's like 5!

Well, now that the monster is getting bigger by the minute, I went through her mess of a closet and cleaned out all of the clothes that no longer fit her. I am giving away 4 garbage bags full of baby clothes and the kid is not even a year and a half old. That was evidence of overindulging and overspending right in front of my face in black and white. It's so hard to not buy all those cute clothes for such a pretty little girl, but I need to set some limits. That was just ridiculous. I saved one bag of nice, expensive clothes for her little sister that may or may not ever come to fruition, as well as the outfit she came home from the hospital in, dresses she took portraits in, and any other special stuff. I hold up these tiny little things and can't believe she ever fit into them! It makes me a little sad, but I'm so enjoying this stage now, that I don't believe I really miss the baby stuff.

Latest cuteisms:
When my husband ignores her pleas for attention, she goes up to his face and says "Case!" Because that's what mommy does.
She was around a 9 month old baby boy on Saturday and when he started crying, she went up to him and said "do you want a baba, k?" It was soooo damned adorable.

She's a constant source of entertainment.