Severe Behavior Alert

Lili is now officially........a MANIAC...and starting to adopt the crazy and unpredictable behavior of a 19 month old. To be quite honest, I don't even know what to say to the kid in response to half of the stuff she does. My 1st instinct is always to laugh hysterically, so I'm usually so focused on trying NOT to laugh that I have no brain power left for any type of discipline. We have been attempting to implement timeouts and of course we tell her "no" (probably a little too much), but so far we have been unsuccessful in getting her to stop whatever it is she's doing or to not do it again...and again...and again...and again...and again... I can't even begin to tell you how many times we have used her full name in a reprimand..."Lilian Audrey, ___ ___ ___!" We have used sweet voices and firm voices...and on occasion shocked, frustrated and slightly threatening voices...but all we get is an evil little smile in return. I pull her off of the coffee table at LEAST 10 times a day...out of the garbage at LEAST 15 times a day...away from the dishwasher and its dials and buttons at LEAST 20 times a day...away from Will at LEAST 100 times a day...it's exhausting! Our greatest fun is when Drew isn't home and it's just me and the kids. Lili already knows that "feeding time" is the time to push Mama's buttons and wreak havoc through the house. With Will in one arm and a bottle occupying the other, there are no extra hands to deal with Lili. I'm getting better at propping the bottle under my chin and then hoisting Lili off of or out of whatever it is she's on or in with the other arm, but after the 20th disruption...AHHHHH!! I'm currently working on a new invention for adding handles to the backs of the one-piece, fleece, footie pajamas that Carter's makes. Since I usually only have one arm to deal with Lili and since she's almost always in a position that doesn't allow me to easily pick her up, I have been leaving her in her pjs all day on the weekends and literally picking her up by a handful of the extra fleece in back. To tell you the truth, it's working pretty well. I feel like I have a pretty good grip on her and I am no longer in fear of dropping Will in the process. Believe me, I have tried everything I can possibly think of to keep her distracted with a toy or a book or a fun little game or a song, but most of the time she wants nothing to do with any of it. Most of her enjoyment comes from climbing and doing all of the things she KNOWS she shouldn't be doing. Forget the gazillion toys cluttering up our house, pulling a pop can from the garbage and letting the tiny bit of leftover soda dribble all over the kitchen floor is WAY more fun! Sigh...I love my little monster but SHEESH!!

Here are some recent pics of the munchkins. As you can see, I bought her some tub markers (to distract her from the screaming she recently decided to unleash throughout bathtime each night)...she got her leg stuck in a giant Mr. Potato Head bucket (I made her stay in it long enough to take the picture...HA!)...she used her new Crayola Tadoodles and Strawberry Shortcake coloring book (I LOVED this activity because I could confine her to her highchair)...we played with fun winter hats...she got "stuck" climbing up the side of Will's changing table (she can get up, but she can't get down!)...and then there is our Grumpy Gus, Mr. Will (He looks pretty pi**ed, huh? Yeah well, he hates us right now...especially Drew!)...poor thing...