Trying new things...

Paige has been a little challenging lately. A lot of whining, not listening, etc. Sometimes complete defiance. I have decided to take advantage of Rose's long afternoon nap to really spend a lot of quality time with Paige. It is good for both of us to spend the one on one time together like we used to. It is obvious that Paige loves that she is the center of attention for those few hours, and since Rose is away for about 3 hours our time isn't interupted by diaper changes, feeding, etc. I have to do any house work, laundry, etc. outside of that time. Although today we did a lot of playing before lunch as well, so she is watching a tv show while I blog. We usually go out in the morning, so the chores I do are usually early morning, or later afternoon.

I also decided to do the following things:

1. Change into daytime clothes right after breakfast. That way when we go out, all we need to do is brush her teeth and it isn't a big long process to get out the door.
2. Pyjamas on after dinner (if she has a bath we won't do this obviously, but she doesn't have one every night, and sometimes i have been giving her a bath before dinner if we are eating later).
3. Lunch earlier between 12 and 12:30
4. More time out front of our house where it is shady in the morning. The main toys are out back, but we can still do sidewalk chalk, bubbles, tricycle, etc. out front.
5. Backyard time before dinner where it is shady. Shade is key as it has been soo sooo sooo hot lately, and paige hates the heat. And I can't bring Rose out when it's like that.

I think having a bit more of a routine, and trying to do lots of different activities, combined with spending a lot of time together will really help.

Paige is still really in Rose's face all of the time, so I decided to get out some baby toys (even though she can't play with them yet) and I get Paige to show them to Rose as part of Rose's "awake play time" on her mat so that she can feel involved without resorting to acting crazy around her. Paige says "She likes it! She's looking at it!" So cute.