Heart Attack Girl

from the mom

Kyri has taken to leaping off the couch. At first she would pull a chair or a stool over so she could climb up it and then she would jump. Now she can climb onto the couch without assistance. At least three times she has fallen off.... The noise of her hitting the ground will bring me running from the kitchen in time to watch her react with a stunned look and then get back up to go do it again. Her dad and I are constantly telling her not to jump and we both keep a close eye on her. And yet, we would have to put her in a tall playpen to completely protect her from herself. Apparently 19-mo old children don't understand cause and effect and consequences. I read this a few weeks ago and hardly believed it. But I've seen it with my own eyes now. You can try to impress on the girl that her head hurts because she disobeyed and jumped on the couch and fell. She looks blankly, secures a hug and kiss, and runs off to find more danger.

So we pray and hope that we're close enough to catch her. She brought me a tiny box of my small earrings the other day. It was put in a secure (I thought) place that she couldn't reach so I was a little baffled. Later she came with a teeny-tiny earring and I then checked the box to be certain she hadn't swallowed one. Later that afternoon I caught her brother rummaging through my dresser and pulling out my jewelry and the mystery was solved. She has help in her drive for danger. Fortunately he understands consequences.

My mom had two strong-willed kids. I didn't expect anything less but I figured that being strong-willed myself, I would be able to win the battle of wills. But now it is two against one and I by far am the most tired. Lunch yesterday was a battle of wills over what we would eat. I finally succeeded with Ben (he understands consequences) but failed with Kyri who absolutely refused so much as a bite of soup. She went back to bed rather than eat anything she didn't personally order.

And she may not talk but she does communicate. She shakes her head yes and no, very emphatically, and she points well. At 3am two nights ago, she screamed and pointed at her changing table until my foggy head figured out she wanted a new diaper.

Ben has named himself her interpreter. Frequently I will hear, "Kyri would like honey graham sticks," or "She doesn't like it Mama." He usually is very clued into her and right on the money. She does seem to talk but no one can usually understand her. She babbles on sounding like she is speaking in sentences in a foreign tongue. Her tone is usually pretty clue. I hear a lot of something like, "No one ever listens to me."