Here comes trouble

It is quite hard not to compare kid #2 with kid #1. Since my only experience raising a child was with my oldest, there's just no way to get around saying, every once and awhile "G never did that."
I'm trying not to say it in front of my girls too often, since I know that comparisons can make them feel as if they are somehow better or worse then their sister.

All this to say - M is a stinker. I look back and try to remember what G was like at her age, and I just don't think that she was nearly as destructive and into EVERYTHING.

The best part is that she's rarely like this in public. When I take her to church or to playgroup, she is charming and generally pretty well-behaved and not climbing everything in sight.
Then we get home.

I swear G never had a major injury until we moved here. Which means she was over 2 years old. M, on the other hand, constantly has skinned knees, skinned palms and some sort of injured part. Her major incident was last week when she tripped up the concrete steps in front of our house and bashed her nose. Her nose swelled up twice its size and bled so much. We were a bit worried it was broken, but when she was fairly happy after an hour of putting ice on it and  her nose wasn't misshapen, we figured it was fine. Her face is still a bit bruised, but no permanent damage.
 Did hurting herself slow her down? Not in the slightest.

What has she done this week? Let me tell you. How about point form?

• played in the toilet (x3)
• opened the bag of flour and dumped handfuls of it on the floor and herself
• put both hands in the margarine container and squished
• jumped from the coffee table to the couch (x100)
• opened the toolbox and came running towards me with a hammer and screwdriver
• pulled all the books off the shelf (x5)
• tapped the fishbowl (x10)
• got into the box of crackers/cereal/raisins (x6)
• dumped soil from a houseplant all over the carpet/chair
• coloured herself with markers (x50)

And the pièce de résistance of the week: I made a concoction of homemade jewelry cleaner (hot water, baking soda, soap, salt) and was soaking my rings in it when M came and pulled it down on her head. I did not realize she was tall enough to reach something so far back on our kitchen counter! She was scalded and got soap in her eye, but luckily recovered quickly. 

I swear I watch her. I swear I don't leave her alone in the house. She just...does this stuff so quickly.

swollen-nosed stinker

Ah, toddlerhood. Welcome back and welcome brand new stuff. Only 2 more years of this.