Every age Little Bug has been has it’s positives and negatives. Like when she was a newborn … there is nothing like holding a brand new newborn baby girl, but the waking to eat round the clock every 2-3 hours? I don’t really miss that too much nowadays! Ok – I don’t miss it at all, to be completely honest.

Anyways, now that we have hit the one year mark I am noticing a “negative” that comes along with this age bracket.

First some background (that if you’ve read my blog for long is probably old news to you):

I’m a neat freak. I like my house orderly and clean. It can (and does) get out of order and dirty but I always clean it up eventually. And the reason it gets out of order and dirty is mostly due to the 2 foot tall little person that toddles around the house all day long. (Obviously, I don’t mind the messes this little person leaves behind at all!)

However in recent weeks – since Little Bug started efficiently walking – I have noticed that getting ready to leave the house to go somewhere has become a huge production. It is mainly because, for the past 3 years, I’ve been in the habit of leaving my house clean and in order before going somewhere so I don’t come home to a messy house.

Well, it only literally takes Little Bug less than 5 minutes to pull out twelve toys from the toy basket and have them littered all over the living room floor and it takes her just about the same amount of time to add about a dozen books to that mix. Not to mention, if she finds her way into my bathroom while I am trying to get ready to leave to go somewhere she will have that room in disarray in no time as well!

If I were to try to clean up before getting out the door, Little Bug would be off in some other area of the house making a mess there! It just comes with being almost 13 months old, I guess!

I’m just going to have to let it go during this season of life!!

If we leave the house and all the toys aren’t in the toy basket and all the books aren’t in the book basket it’s okay!

Part of our getting ready for naptime routine is to “clean up”. Little Bug is learning how to put her toys away in the basket. She gets so proud when I tell her, “Little Bug, go put your ball in the basket.” and she walks over there and puts the ball away! So, twice a day the house does get cleaned up.

And for now, that’s just going to have to be my new standard of clean because Little Bug is on the GO!!

- Elaine