Oh, The Places She Did Go ...

 Miriam is 15 months old now ... I knew this phase was coming.  I honestly dreaded it just a little bit.  I didn't mind that she didn't want to walk until about a year old ... because now - now that she's fully mobile - I can describe my baby in one word:  BUSY. 

 A few days ago, she discovered tissue boxes.  I thought they were all safe from her ... but today, she found the one on the top of the toilet tank (after she'd found that unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper was WAY fun!!).  I didn't have the heart to stop her as she pulled one tissue after the other out of the box & joyfully threw it in the air to watch it float down onto the floor ...
Believe me, she hears NO many times a day as it is - so much so that she shakes her finger and says, "NO NO" at herself, or if she is feeling really dramatic, she'll crumple into a heap on the ground and put her head to the floor and sob ...

 Most of the lower cabinets in the kitchen are Miriam's - full of plastic ware and sealed vitamin bottles that shake and tupperware and rubbermaid containers.  I try to lock some of them - but for the most part, I'm just giving in & letting her have free reign while I cook or try to get SOMETHING done. 

 And it's not that Miriam doesn't have any toys ... she has 2 baskets full of toys in the living room, easily accessible to her.   Right now, though, she seems to be going through a book phase.  She likes to look at them herself - which is fun to observe.  If a book is upside down, she will work until it is facing the correct way.  She points and "reads" to herself.  But mostly, she wants ME to "read" - which generally just involves pointing at certain animals & making their noise.  We also have to sing at certain places, especially if we see a STAR; then it's "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." 

Children grow up fast ... every phase has its new adventures ... and its messy challenges.  ;)