A toddler, already?

Fiona is consistently tracking two to three months ahead of schedule developmentally - physically and mentally. I don't say this to brag, but more to elicit a little sympathy. It's been said that the will begins to rear it's head woolly head as early as 9 months old. In fact, toddlerhood is said to begin by 9 months.

And boy has the will ever reared it's head around here. She howls when she's tired and doesn't want to sleep. When I take contraband from her, she gets a wounded, indignant look on her face before crying and dramatically touching her forehead to the floor. (I'm so mean, too; I won't let her play with plastic bags or eat raisins off the floor. What's up with that?) I offer my hands to pull up on, once a favorite activity of hers; she will have none of that. A chair or sofa is more to her liking. Don't even think about helping her out of her car seat. She's had that one down since she was four months old.

"And don't you know, mom, that I want that bottle of water sitting on the table, like, RIGHT NOW and I'm going to howl and glare at you until you figure it out."

(We're working on some baby sign language. The signs for water and more are the most critical at this point.)

Every two months, I get a bulletin in the mail from a parenting support group with helpful tips and articles about what my child should be able to do by her age. For some reason they think our daughter is two months older than she is (maybe they're spying on us?). This month's bulletin was all about our nine and ten month old. The milestones section made me laugh.

Between 9 and 10 months, they tell me, my baby may work to get a toy that's out of reach. She crawls over her brother to get a toy and often lies flat on her belly to get at something UNDER a chair (usually a Cheerios). She may pull to a standing position, they say. Oh, that is so last month. She may even object if I try to take a toy away, they claim. Object is really too mild a term for her reaction. Apparently, she may also need help getting down from a standing position. "Um, no way, mom, I'll do it myself." She's very graceful, I might add -- OK, so I am bragging a little. I do think we have a dancer or a gymnast on our hands or possibly a heavyweight boxing champ ... she tried to bite her brother's ear tonight when they were wrestling. (No Mike Tyson jokes. I mean it.)

At this rate, she'll be ready to move out by the time she's 10. (MAYBE WE'LL ALL FINALLY GET SOME SLEEP THEN!!)