She is a whirling dervish of destruction wherever she goes. Imagine the Tasmanian Devil (the cartoon character, not the badger-like animal) flying through your house, but instead of protecting yourself from it, you have to protect it from itself. Bailey seems unable to learn what things cause pain, such as gravity. Last week she climbed her high chair while I was washing its tray, and she decided to base jump without a parachute. I follow her practically everywhere she goes, but it’s hard to predict the actions of a human pinball.
Whirling Dervishes are actually members of the Mevlevi religious sect in Turkey who twirl around in remembrance of god. Bailey twirls a lot, but her motives are yet a mystery.
You’d think all this activity, such as yelling “Run!” and running in a circle several times in a row, several times a day, would tire Bailey out. But she has actually started fighting naptime. What kind of unreasonable person would refuse a nap when the opportunity presents itself? Bailey would not take a nap today at her usual time, and she has learned to fake me out to escape naps. All she has to do is start yelling “Eat!” and as a slightly-better-than-negligent parent, I can’t ignore her cries of hunger. But much of the time, it’s a trick to get her away from bed, and she won’t eat. However, she is smart enough to eat some of the time, so I can never be sure if I’m being faked out until it happens. Yes, I have been repeatedly outwitted by a 19 month old.
Anyhow, she finally fell asleep today, two and a half hours after her usual naptime, in the comfort of her high chair, covered in shredded cheese, with Thomas and Friends music blaring, the washer and dryer running, and me clanging pans loading the dishwasher. At least now I know the proper sleeping environment for tomorrow.
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