Testing My Limits

It's hard to believe this sweet little face can be the source of so much unrest!

Today we survived church. Barely. For the past little while Blake has been on a schedule that did not allow him to come to church with Brooke and I. And I admit during that time I was a little lax with the things I let Brooke get away with. In my defense, it was all I could do to get us out the door on time and I always sat in the very back row, on the end, by the door. It made for an easy exit as well as gave Brooke some extra space to roam and play. Her roaming, however, is getting out of control. There are no limits to where she can roam because I didn't set any. When I was by myself it was just easier to let her make friends with the people sitting in front of us than to try and contain her and fight a battle that would result in she and I out in the foyer with her screaming.

But now it's come back to bite me. Big time. Brooke thinks the whole chapel is her playground and that she should be free to roam wherever she pleases. And I definitely don't want that. I've been foolishly telling myself that she is still a baby so it's okay. But now, she's getting old enough to learn that she can play in the space in between Blake and I on the bench or floor, or sit in a classroom with one of us holding her and not able to get down at all. We definitely spent more time doing the latter today. By the end of sacrament Blake and I just looked at each other with an exhausted "we made it" look on our faces. We've been doing this for about 3 weeks now and while some days are better than others (today not being one of those) sometimes I swear it would just be easier to give in and let her roam around. Then I have to remind myself that she has got to learn this, and if not now, then when? 3 years old may still be a ways away, but I feel like if we just let Brooke do as she pleases, she's going to be a primary president's worst nightmare. But knowing that doesn't make it any easier. After sacrament, Brooke ran (literally) down the hall to nursery where she was in heaven for the last 2 hours of church. Also, the only time Brooke is content to sit with us is when we are singing. Then she likes to sit on our laps so she can see the chorister and mimic like she is leading the music too.

Here are some totally unrelated pictures of Brooke with my great-aunt Ruth & her cats. Thanks sis for sending me these!

I love Brooke's facial expression in this picture.
Then I think the cat must've said something funny...

I think these cats were happy when Brooke and my niece Olivia left & stopped torturing them.