And then a strange thing happened...

We know my little quirky, weird Zalah is a handful. She explores what she wants, and gets mad if you take her away. Even if she put herself in a dangerous situation and doesn't understand why we don't let her do what she wants to.


She's funny, she makes us laugh, and she's full of personality. Like most babies, her favorite word is "no!" even if no one said anything to her first! When it is in response, I often find myself saying "That's not a yes or no question." She runs off and dances around to any music, anytime. And I really did have to tell her not to eat the lube.


But amazingly, she's starting to listen. She doesn't always do what I say or want, but I've noticed that when I ask her nicely and slowly, she's starting to comply. For example, she got her ears pierced a few weeks ago, and hated when I had to clean them. About a week after it was done, I cleaned her ears with a q-tip, something she always let me do, and then asked her nicely if I could clean her earrings. She squirmed a little, but was much better than before. Then we started asking her to bring a toy she was holding to someone else, or "Go show daddy!", and she's doing it! We are really happy that the wild child takes some direction, and for a 16 month old, she's a pretty good listener! There are times I've wanted to sit on her to cut her nails, or force her to do something. But I know from her personality and mine, that it doesn't always work to force a child into something. It can be traumatizing, and doesn't give them way to learn to deal with it on their own as they grow. They get used to fighting back and don't realize that something, like cleaning a cut, might not be so bad. This is why we are so happy that she now listens (sometimes) and doesn't have to have a bad experience with some things. I can't get her to listen always, like that the doctors office won't hurt her (maybe because it's bullsh*t...) but it sure is a nice relief that she's starting!

Sometimes...