Mama's Little Daredevil

Abby. *sigh* This little girl has given me a run for my money...already. And she is only 16 months old! What on earth do you do with a toddler who has a fascination with the effects of adrenaline? Though I have no idea if she is aware what adrenaline really is, it can be the only explanation for her crazy antics. I remember reading things about little girls and how they are less adventurous and less likely to seek out danger than the little boys. Ha! apparently those books weren't talking about my wee little angel of a daughter. Ever since she got her legs under her, she has gone above and beyond the craziness that her big brother was capable of. I always thought that they don't get more daring than Alex is. I was always fishing him off of some high object or out of some dangerous place that he would weasel himself into. When Abby came along, I was all ready for a break from the constant obsession with danger. Apparently, she had other plans in mind. I truly believe that she has been twice as bad, if not thrice as bad, as Alex is. Just yesterday, we decided to move some furniture around so that I could have my old computer desk back to work on side projects. So the old faithful rocker/recliner that I spent so many hours rocking kids to sleep in, got moved to the living room. I didn't think that this move would create me so much worry and heartburn. From the second that blasted recliner moved, I've done nothing but peel her away from it. She will eagerly jump up on the recliner and then attempt to balance on the arm of it whilst the chair is still rocking. Now...this is actually quite impressive if you can forget that she is a baby and shouldn't be doing that. She's got crazy awesome balance for a 16 month old. This morning she was actually balancing on a two inch side of a ride on toy that should have toppled over from the awkward position she was in. But nevertheless, with every daredevil comes the inevitable slip-ups that cause the big boo-boos. And tonight, in the staple slow-motion parenting moment, she attempted her balancing act once more on the recliner. She then commenced in a very stylish back flip. I'm sure that she totally planned on landing on her feet, but due to the fact that she is not as old as she thinks she is, she landed on her head. By the time I got to her, I was ready for the trip to the ER. To my surprise, she cried for about 10 seconds and was rip-roarin' ready to go for the next daring stunt. I have watched her like a hawk all night for any sign that she might have hit her head too hard, but she was her normal self all night. She actually attempted to go back to the recliner again for a second go. So being without Josh for the week, I heaved that sucker back into my cramped bedroom by myself. *sigh* I have a bad feeling that she's gonna need her first stitches sooner than Alex did. Oh well. The recliner is gone. I now have a sore back and a sprained wrist, but at least I've removed temptation from her path...for now.