18 months ago I welcomed sweet baby Jacob. He did not always sleep as much as one would hope, and he sometimes cried rather a lot. There were hijinks involving spit-up and other bodily fluids that I could have lived without. But that baby stayed put, man. I could lie him down on a blanket in the middle of the floor and he wouldn’t go anywhere. He wouldn’t even reach out to grab a toy, because he didn’t even have control over his wee baby hands.
Babies like to change things up, though. Jacob started grabbing things and rolling and crawling and walking, and pretty soon I had a toddler on my hands. A terribly cute little person who is on a one-man mission to destroy everything in sight. Along the way he’s picked up skills like a short-term memory and the basic ability to plan. I imagine this is what Jacob’s internal dialogue sounds like, “I see a terribly dangerous object on the counter. I see a stool. If I move that stool to the counter, then I can get that dangerous object. Oh! Mama is moving the dangerous object and putting the stool back. OK, I’ll go get the stool again and move it to the dangerous object’s new location.”
18-month-old Jacob
At 18 months Jacob can climb higher and reach farther than is good for anyone. He can also remain dedicated to a goal in ways that both impress and terrify me. Whereas he used to get in trouble when my back was turned, now he is quick enough and tenacious enough to get in trouble right in front of me. Mayhem frequently follows him, like it did on Saturday when I was attempting to mix up a loaf of bread.
I gathered my ingredients on the kitchen island, and Jacob climbed on to the island to check them out. I moved him back to his stool and gave him a snack to occupy him. He brought his snack up on to the island. I took him off. We did this a few times, and then he climbed back on to the island and threw my whole wheat flour on the floor. The container holding the flour opened and a small amount spilled out. I picked up the container and replaced the lid, more securely this time. I placed Jacob in front of the pile of spilled flour, hoping it would entertain him. He climbed back on to the island and I moved the other containers on to the floor where they would be safe. He crawled down on to the floor and knocked over the white flour, and that container fell open and a large amount of flour fell out. Jacob proceeded to roll around in it.
Rolling in flour is fun!
You can draw designs in the flour with your fingers
I know that Jacob is acting his age. He is behaving exactly as an 18-month-old should, it’s just that his abilities are outpacing his judgment. His judgment will catch up at its own pace, and so I am trying to take it in stride as much as possible. All I have to do is keep everyone alive and remain approximately sane, and it will work out. But in the meantime, you may find me screaming into my pillow so that I don’t frighten the kids. And the muffled words you hear will be, “Toddlers are HOOLIGANS!”
Commiseration, or stories about the time you attempted to wash the dishes and your toddler nearly burned your house down, would be very welcome right about now.
On a slightly different but related note, I read once that toddlers are the most violent people on earth. I think it's absolutely true!
My son is a force of evil, I just know it.
Man…and I thought my girls were bad! If I have a third I definitely do not want a boy!!
Though, I will admit the stuff Jacob does makes me feel Amelia is a sweet ittle angel
So far i have been able to keep her from most stuff but she screeches bloody murder when you thwart her plans. So instead of burying my face into a pillow and screaming I am covering my ears to protect them from HER screaming!!
.-= Carrie´s last post ..I succumbed… =-.
Oh MY! How did you contain yourself? My son is 15 months and I can already see the glimmer in his eye for T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Right now he thinks it’s hillarious to play with our gas stove knobs while I’m cooking dinner. He also can reach door knobs but hasn’t mastered turning them, but I think I need to get a lock for the door leading to our basement…
.-= Sara´s last post ..cutting hair Organically =-.
what about the time that he pulled the dishwasher over and broke all the pots inside? Or the one where he ripped the border off the wall+ Or where he fed an entire loaf of bread to the dog (just this afternoon) and i now have nothing to give husband for his lunch tomorrow? Any of those help?
.-= Heather´s last post ..What Do You think Of Vlogging? =-.
I am amazed by your patience. I would never let my kids spill flour on the floor and roll around in it! I try to include them in what I am doing but not let them create an even bigger mess for me..lol. But speaking of curious toddlers, my youngest is three and is into much more than my six year old was at the same age. My now six year old only had to be told once “don’t touch” or “hot” or “not for babies” and she would remember, obey and generally not try to get into mischief. However, my three year old is into all the cupboards, pots and pans, she’s emptied my eye cream (I still don’t know where), used the toothpaste as paint in the sink, drawn on the walls with lip stick, filled the bathroom sink (and floor) with water…. I can’t turn my back for one second without her getting into something so I can certainly relate!
.-= Tanya´s last post ..Perspective =-.
Finally, a child like my own! Emma came out with a plan to take over the world! At 18 months she was dismantling my dishwasher from the inside out and could access the cupboard above my fridge! These things usually occured when I was peeing…silly, silly me….I didn’t always lock her in the bathroom with me! I have had frosted orange cupcakes ground into my rugs, Emma has decorated her entire body in markers while left with a babysitter too. Our house has always been utter chaos. Hannah might have been a different baby if not so influenced by her big sister. But no….I have double trouble…or had I should say. Those times are getting further and fewer between happenings, which is more than great for me. But, I feel your pain Amber. I have just tried to tell myself that children like ours will be the leaders out there in the world…the daredevils who are willing to put themselves out there at all risks!
Oh my goodness! Kieran just reached the climbing stage in the last month or two – now he climbs everything. Thankfully it hasn’t resulted in any big falls or messes yet, but I know my time is coming.
.-= Dionna @ Code Name: Mama´s last post ..Researching Circumcision, Part 2: What Is Circumcision? =-.
I feel your pain…I have two boys. One is 3 1/2 and the other just turned 1. The oldest is a handful to say the least. I was fortunate in that he was NEVER a climber, but he has made up for that in so many other ways. And now we’ve reached the important development milestone whereby all he wants to do is fight. I kid you not, as soon as my husband is in the door the only words that come out of his mouth are “Daddy, let’s fight!”. Until recently, this scared me to death. I’ve since learned how normal and important this is. But I’ll be honest, it’s got me screaming into my pillow too asking myself what I will do with my boys.
.-= Christine LaRocque´s last post ..And then he was 1 =-.
Hahaha, I hope you keep your sanity. I remember the day well when my daughter grabbed hold of a plastic pack containing 1kg of red lentils and threw them on the floor… the bag burst and lentils everywhere…
.-= Mel´s last post ..Intentions =-.
Much as Alexis was nodding violently, I laughed hard… and nervously as I read this. You’re so right, it’s age appropriate, but I don’t think I can truly appreciate how challenging it is to one’s patience. My little 6.5 month old is still pleasantly immobile. No rush, little one!
.-= CaroLyn´s last post ..A Quickie: Some of My Favourite Parenting Posts =-.
The part that is the best about this story is that instead of stopping him or cleaning it up, you went for your camera!!
My son once spilled a can of paint in my sister’s bedroom when he was supposed to be napping. He smeared it all over the floor and was splashing in it when she found him. Thankfully, I was at work at the time.
.-= BluebirdMama aka @childbearing´s last post ..Let Them Play =-.
I would totally let my kids roll around in the flour and take pictures.
My kids haven’t been the most destructive. Eve did once find a container of Vaseline petroleum jelly and smear a bunch of it in her hair while I was in the shower. Ew. And there was the orange nail polish spilled on my bedroom rug — oh wait, that was me.
.-= allison´s last post ..***************Head in the Clouds =-.
Love it. My son is really pretty disaster-free so far. He mostly likes to up-end every box of toys he owns, his chairs, and rocking horse, but limits himself to his own things. God only knows where he got his sensibilities, because it wasn’t from me!
Time will only tell, though. I might have a teenaged hooligan on my hands!
.-= Jessica – This is Worthwhile´s last post ..A worthwhile post #3: Bored Mommy =-.
My daughter is just figuring out how to be a hooligan. This morning she got a hold of my son’s glass of milk (without me knowing it) and proceeded to decorate the entire living room (furniture and all) in milk.
.-= Marilyn @ A Lot of Loves´s last post ..Times are Changing =-.
What a hooligan! I love it! My son also would love to spill flour everywhere too! Despite his rebellious and danger seeking nature, Jacob is really cute!
.-= Old School/New School Mom´s last post ..Can I Help You? =-.
Honestly, I’m not sure that his abilities are outpacing his judgement. I think that rolling around in flour sounds great fun; it certainly looks it! What else is life for? (But if you saw the state of my flat at the moment, doubtless you’d count me among the hooligans.)
I am so glad my boy is not very adventurous because I have trouble with patience even for the little things. I love reading blog posts where I’m reminded (again) to take their explorations in stride and look at the fun they’re having.
I think partly I have a “don’t waste food” mentality even though some food is super cheap, much cheaper than some toy he’ll play with once and forget about! Why not spill some flour and roll around in it?
.-= Lauren @ Hobo Mama´s last post ..How to make a doll sling: A tutorial in pictures =-.
Amber, You’re cracking me up! First of all, your son is such a cutie but he’s even cuter when he’s rolling around in flour. Great story, by the way.
If it makes you feel any better, my son knocked over an entire candy display next to the cash register in a very busy grocery store when he was 2-years old. He then proceeded to throw himself on the floor and scream. Thankfully, we survived the candy incident but it hasn’t stopped there. Even though he’s 14, he continues to do things that make me shake my head. Don’t believe me? You’l have to read me latest Not My Child! Monday post. It’s all about him.
Kristi, Live and Love…Out Loud
@TweetingMama
.-= Kristi´s last post ..Not My Child! Monday – What A Shocker! =-.
Oh my. I’m not sure how I can compete with rolling around in flour, but my present toddler is quite a handful in her own way. She always up on the counter and table, spilling orange juice on the new upholstry (I told the hubby we should wait until they were older!) and not listening when I tell her to eat at the table resulting in banana being mashed into the living room furniture. She also likes to run into the road, run away in stores and cut anything that can be cut with scissors, including suitcase handles, her hair, her sister’s art project from school and her new dress.
.-= Melodie´s last post ..I’ll Be Brief: How To Overcome Breastfeeding Challenges =-.
It’s a good thing he’s soooo cute!
.-= Lady M´s last post ..Celebrity Twitter! and Figure Skating Nonsense =-.
My daughter decided to channel her inner-Jacob right after I read this post yesterday by emptying the contents of my filing cabinet in a big pile while I was on the phone with the landlord. It was awesome.
.-= BluebirdMama aka @childbearing´s last post ..Let Them Play =-.
I think both my kids are hooligans. Sometimes it seems like my days are full of nos and redirection. Yesterday she was drinking from the syrup bottle under the table and he was trying to pick all of the peices of dark chocolate out of the granola bar batter.
What really gets me is that they both get this gleam in their eyes when they do something they know they aren’t supposed to. How do I know they have a gleam in they eye? Because they like to look right at me while they do that thing they aren’t supposed to do!
.-= Capital Mom´s last post ..Some =-.
I am pretty sure that I need to blame you for my toddler being a royal pain in the bum in the kitchen now….
I saw one of your posts and felt so bad that I didn’t let me kid help me in the kitchen. I’m too much of a messaphobe (him rolling in flour would cause me to have an anxiety attack. But I thought, hey, I’m making your cookies, why not let him help by pulling up a chair!? And yeah, now he always pushes the chair to the counter. ALL THE TIME!!! AHHHHH!!!! I blame you!