Oh, Mercy

The flu we all caught earlier in the month was not kind to Miss Mercy. While she was the only one to vomit, I'm pretty sure she threw up enough to compensate for the rest of us. One day she was only awake for about two hours out of 38. She had the lingering cough like her Mama, and since she can't talk yet, who knows what else she was suffering from. She did eventually get over it, but something about being sick has made her Grumpy McGrumpypants for the past couple weeks.

The tantrums and crying could also be attributed to the undeniable fact that our little girl is growing up. Having survived two two-year-old's, I can recognize a fit being thrown as a result of limited communication skills. This girl has a mind of her own and while I can often deduce what it is she wants, she's rather particular on the how, when, and where, and that I have no way of knowing. She is building her vocabulary, though her pronunciation is the worst yet of our kids and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that understands anything she says. Some of her more solid words/phrases include: Mommy, Dad, yeah, no, thank you, please, up, eat, see, eew, where'd it go, potty, baby, moose, show, and shoes. There are some other things she says with some regularity that I just haven't been able to translate yet. She can also identify several body parts: nose, eyes, ear, hair, tummy, and toes. She's really good at answering yes/no questions, which is helpful. Though, if we ask and she says no, there's no chance of her complying without a fight. The Mercilator does things on her own terms. For example, one day she decided she was done sitting in her booster chair at the table. She pushed that chair away, pulled up a regular one, and that was that. She eats her meals in a big chair now just like the rest of us. Bedtime is another example of her strong will. If we put her down before she's "ready" she will scream and cry until someone comes in and gets her. She'll play or sit with us for a few minutes, then voluntarily head into her room and happily go right to sleep. She's also figured out how to open doors, putting us in a new phase of "baby proofing" the house. This has been tough since she is a curious one. At least she's not particularly destructive. 

While grumpy is a mood we are seeing more often, it's still not her default. She gets in some pretty silly moods, and smiles and laughs and plays and is so, so happy. She always wants to play with her brothers, is eager to wrestle with her daddy, is in Mama's lap whenever it's available (usually with a book), and as long as she's not alone she loves to be on the trampoline. Her make-believe play is getting more and more involved, and she is very attentive when taking care of her babies. She has cute little pony tails and rosy cheeks and most of the time I just want to squeeze and cuddle my little Mercy.