Things I forgot about 18 month olds

So Daniela is now 18 months old, which means she has officially gone from being a sweet, docile baby to being a wild, unruly toddler. Although she is my third child, I forgot about certain things that 18 month olds do (more like blocked it out of my memory- a coping strategy I'm sure). Here is a short list of some of her current obsessions.

1. The Bathroom. Everything in the bathroom. The toilet is number one of course. She sees it as her own personal kiddie pool. Why not put some toys in there and splash around? And then course try flushing those toys down the toilet. Daniela also likes climbing in and out of the bathtub, especially after someone has recently taken a shower, makes it more slippery. And let's not forget the toothbrushes. It's fun to put them all in your mouth and run around the house like that at full speed.

2. The climbing. Some kids walk around holding a teddy bear or blankie, Daniela prefers to drag around a kitchen chair, so she can hoist herself onto any surface too high for her to reach otherwise. We can no longer keep anything on our kitchen table, unless we hide all our chairs (which is incredibly annoying if you ever want to sit down) because Daniela will climb up there and have her way with it. Example, Mateo left a cup of water on the table the other day. As soon as she saw it, Daniela swung herself up there and yelled, "Wazz at?" She then proceeded to pour all the water out of the cup and run her hands through it. "Ohhhh!" she said, obviously pleasantly surprised, as getting wet is one of her favorite things. She then put her whole body into it and glided across the table on her belly like it was a slip and slide.

3. All things electronic. My cell phone. My laptop. The Wii. The DVD player. The DirectTV box. Anything with buttons that other people do not want her touching. She also likes to pull her chair up to ligh switches and turn them on, off, on, off, on, off...

4. The dog's food and water. The water holds the same appeal as the toilet. Splashing, slipping, sliding, getting the outfit I just put her in 5 minutes ago soaked, making as big a mess as possible. Daniela has an extensive wardrobe which she likes to make the best off. Often necesitating 3 or more outfit changes a day so she can show off all her clothing. No wonder I'm constantly doing laundry. And although she regularly refuses to eat her food, she is always up for a fist full of dog food.

5. The garbage can. Daniela loves putting things in the garbage can. So it is always wise now a days to check its contents before putting the bag at the curb. We have found, to mention a few things, toys, utensils, Mateo's shoes, and scariest of all my car key. Daniela also like to take things out of the garbage. Today she found a day old go-gurt that she tried to eat. Almost as tasty as dog food I bet.

Ahhh...and just as Nico is starting to calm down a little. Looks like the light at the end of the tunnel was the headlights of an oncoming train. No more sweet baby. Let's start counting down the days till kindergarten. Isn't that when everyone will calm down? Just agree with me, please. As Jack Nicholson famously said, I "can't handle the truth!"