Eva loves to cuddle. When she's playing throughout the day, she stops every few minutes to crawl over for a hug. If I'm ignoring her while occupied with something, like writing an e-mail, she'll get really fussy until I pick her up. Then I shower her with kisses, talk to her, give her lots of eye contact, and try to finish what I was doing. Sometimes that's OK with her, sometimes it's not. If she wants my undivided attention, she wants it NOW, and won't let up until she gets it. Toddlers can be very demanding that way. People talk about "getting through the first year" as if everything gets easier after that. The truth is, with every stage of development, you simply trade one set of challenges for another. True, she's good at entertaining herself now, but it's usually by getting into things she shouldn't. When, as an infant, she was spitting up all the time and going through three outfits a day, I couldn't wait until she outgrew that phase. But now I've simply traded the daily load of laundry for mopping the floor under the highchair after each and every meal. And though she rarely spits up anymore, it's much worse when she does. (Like a few days ago, when she baptized me, herself, and the living room recliner in chunky guacamole.) Lesson learned: be grateful for what you have this moment. The grass may look greener on the horizon, but it's often an optical illusion.
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