Six months is a long time in anyone’s life, especially when the sum of your entire experience isn’t yet 20 months. I spent so much time in this space sharing the hard parts of Alice’s first year and grappling with her intense personality. Six months further on and I am delighted to report that while no one will ever mistake Alice for an easy-going people pleaser, she is a fun, spunky, precocious toddler who brings joy and laughter to my days.
People ask who she looks most like, and I think the answer is Mathaus. Her personality is similar in many ways as well. She has very distinctive likes (ducks, hats, rabbits, cheese, and books are at the top of her list currently) and dislikes (a good many of these are clearly sensory avoidances). She is vocal about her wants and needs. She doesn’t mind going against the grain. And she’s clearly smart as a little whip.
Alice doesn’t mind if her days don’t follow an exact rhythm, which is a very valuable characteristic in a caboose baby. She wakes up when she wakes up (usually around 7:30 or 8 a.m.), and enjoys a leisurely cup of plain Greek yogurt with a dab of honey and handful of granola before having her diaper changed. This is an important thing to note, because attempting to change her before the yogurt, well… not wise. Also please note that she likes to clean herself up afterward. Handing her a warm, wet paperless paper towel is the ticket.
From there, she often asks to go outside. It’s a good thing the ducks don’t mind wild-haired toddlers in pjs, pink boots, and puffy winter coats chasing them, because that’s usually how they start their day. If the play kitchen catches her eye first, she may stay in and prepare a tea party for us. Or if she’s feeling cuddly, she may demand someone’s full attention on the couch, where a stack of books must be read.
Alice is generally an easy toddler to homeschool with. Some area not; the general consensus is that the hardest stage of homeschooling is not when you have a new baby, but the years between his or her first and third birthdays. Generally, if we can take school outside, Alice is content. If that’s not an option, she will occupy herself, or find contentment with a Montessori-inspired toddler activity at the table alongside her siblings. Sorting is her happy place, as is her oldest sister’s treasured collection of Schleich animals. (As expensive as those things are, the fact that here we are two decades later playing with them daily yet again says so much.) Lavishly illustrated books— the kind with beautiful details— can hold her attention for long windows. She adores baby dolls. I can’t stress that one enough. Soft baby dolls and stuffed animals will be toted all the day. She loves to be active and involved, so small efforts towards making her feel included go a long way. She adores serving snacks to the older kids, and running things to the laundry or trash. She is happiest when she is busy.
Naps have finally found a rhythm. I wasn’t sure they ever would, but here we are. Alice goes down at 1 p.m., and will be up by 3:30 if not before. She is fine without a nap, surprise surprise. She needs a good chunk of outdoor play every day, no matter the weather. “A good chunk” is literally hours. She loves her sandbox, and we moved the plastic play kitchen from her Mamaw and Papaw to the front porch, where it sees constant use. She is a big fan of swings, and I don’t look forward to the day when she outgrows the Little Tikes playset we inherited years ago because oh, she adores that slide. Visiting the “ho ho” (horses) in the field is one of Alice’s favorite things as well. Really, there’s nothing outside she doesn’t like, except maybe when Jude mans the leaf blower. The noise is “too laow!”
So that’s Alice, in a nutshell. She is friendly, outgoing, brave, and active. She is the little dose of sunshine we didn’t know we needed. But God did. I’m so grateful He sent her to us!