I have teeth marks on my face. No, she didn't bite me (although I've read that's a common toddler phase -- How scary is that?) Sometime over the last month or so Emily decided that if you really want to show someone you love them, you should kiss them... hard. Her love hurts. She literally presses her mouth onto my face and pushes as hard as she can, holding this "kiss" until I finally pull away whimpering. Last night her little teeth poked between her lips when she smashed her face against mine. Apparently it's hysterical when Mommy cries, "Ouch!" because Emily quickly swooped in for another smooch, laughing as I tried to bob and weave my way out of it. Where does she get this stuff?
She's incredibly gentle with other kids -- never hits or pushes and typically just puts an arm out as if to say, "This is my bubble." She felt crowded at the top of a slide once, turned to the older children behind her, stuck her arm straight out (stop sign) and said, "NO, Big kids!" That's my girl. When it comes to playing with Mommy and Daddy, however, our gentle girly girl can be a little rough. A few days ago I had a swollen and bleeding lip from a snuggle gone awry. We were sitting against the wall when Emily quickly lifted her head straight into my face while trying to wiggle onto my lap. I had the added bonus of slamming the back of my head into the wall at the same time. Good times.
Thankfully there's a nice balance of rough and tumble toddler play and gentle gestures (often mimicking what she sees / hears from us). There's nothing like a tiny hand patting my back or rubbing my arm during a hug. Even better when she says, "Thanks, Baby, I love your hugs." I love this. She may not be this gentle all of the time, but we're working on it. I show her how to give a gentle kiss and she responds with a head butt to my mouth followed by silly giggles. We obviously have some more work to do.
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