Hurricane Edith

My spunky little gal has been keeping me on the run lately! The great loves of her life include destroying everything in her path and climbing up onto every surface in the house. At times it seems she has a death wish; if she happens to make it into the front yard, she will wait until someone is watching her, look that person in the eye, smile, and then book it directly for the road! I was bringing in groceries the other day when this exact scenario played out. I saw her looking at me, just waiting to see what I would do next. I didn't move, knowing she would take off. But she began to move toward the road anyway, just as a car was coming around the corner. I bolted, waving my arms wildly as she tore into the middle of the road. Thankfully we live on a slow, quiet street and the driver saw me in plenty of time. But I honestly don't know why I'm not going gray yet...

While part of her destructive nature is personality, another part is simply greater opportunity to create chaos. She manages to wander off unsupervised much more often than the others did; in our old house we were generally within eyesight of each other at all times. If a kid was missing, it took a matter of seconds to locate them. Now we have more square footage, many more little nooks and crannies, more bathrooms (!!!), and a lot more ways to sneak away. Plus, with three older siblings there are more craft supplies, more bathroom supplies, more toys with small parts, more markers falling onto the floor just waiting to be uncapped. More books just waiting to be pulled off the shelf. 

But the worst of all is the bathroom. She has learned how to open all of the drawers and cupboards, which hold such treasures as makeup, lotion, band-aids, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine products, and toilet paper, all of which have been poured out, unwrapped, squeezed empty, chewed on, or thrown in the toilet at some point or another. And then there is the toilet itself! I have found her washing her hands, dipping her toothbrush, wetting down her hair, attempting to drink the water... And it's always a toss-up whether the kids have remembered to flush or not. The worst, by far, was the day I caught her in the bathroom after a sibling (who shall not be named) forgot to flush a big job. She took it upon herself to "clean up" by throwing the mess from the toilet bowl into the bathroom garbage can! I caught her red-handed (well, not red-handed... you know what I mean), and I nearly died of shock and disgust before I was able to call in my dear husband to help with the cleanup.

But in spite of all the craziness, she is still the joy of my life. She keeps me laughing when she's not screaming at me, and she gives me the greatest snuggles in the world! Just a few days ago, she looked at me during dinner and said "Ya you, Mama" (which translates to "I love you, mama"). Melt my heart. Yes, you can have whatever you want!

 

And the joy it brings me when I see her siblings dote on her is indescribable! They love to read to her, hold her, chase her and sing to her. They can't get enough of her budding language skills; they constantly ask her to repeat phrases to them and then laugh at her attempts to say "Minecraft Creeper" and "Ob La Di, Ob La Da". They always want to be the first to offer her a banana and yogurt in the morning because they know that food brings her such joy.

    

She is growing up as the fourth child in a growing family, and in that place she has learned to make her needs known. Her screech could break glass, and when she throws a fit she will wail on anyone in sight. Paul has nearly gotten his beard ripped out on occasion. But she is well loved and she knows it. She is going grow up to be a strong and capable woman with a heart of gold. Just don't try to take her blankie.