Miss Independent

In the past few weeks Rachel has become quite a challenger. She fights getting dressed most mornings. On days that we aren't planning on going anywhere I'll let her pick out what she wants to wear and usually that goes a little smoother. I have discovered though that it's time to do a clean out of her drawers. She's been sporting the midriff look recently. She must be growing! :) For about a week or longer it was practically impossible to get her in her stroller. She would scream, arch her back, put her feet behind the foot rest, and push away. Now she's pretty compliant though, because I simply tell her that I don't want the cars to hit her. So, she's constantly saying "cars hit you", "bus hit you". Hopefully she doesn't start having nightmares. I wouldn't mind her walking to the store, because she's gotten really good at holding my hand. However, when it's freezing cold outside I just want to get there as quickly as possible and we all know that a toddler can only walk so fast... About 2 weeks ago Rachel just started to refuse to sit in her high chair. Now, you must be thinking, just let her know who's boss and make her sit there. Well, sure, that might work, but then she is going to be so upset and screaming so loudly that forget about trying to get her to eat! :) I think my poor Dutch neighbor thinks that Americans must abuse their children. After trying several different solutions, we finally came up with one that's been working the past couple of days. Hopefully it will last. We just lowered her high chair and we pull it up to the table without the high chair tray on. She seems to like sitting at the table with us and is then able to reach her food. This also solves the issue of buying a booster seat that she would probably not like. We went to a baby store on Saturday and experienced sticker shock. We saw a stroller for 999,00 euros(they use commas where we use periods), that roughly exchanges to about $1,500. Craziness! Obviously there were some more reasonably priced strollers for less than 100 euros, but I just couldn't believe the first one I spotted. Rachel also hates having her hair done, so most days I don't fight her on it. You have to choose your battles, right? So, she looks like a ragamuffin quite often, but she's happy so I guess that is all that matters. Even though some of these moments can be quite frustrating, I am grateful to have a girl with such a strong will. It will serve her well in years to come. We just need her going in the right direction and she'll be fine... Here's some pictures of our dining solutions: