My Messy Neat-Freak

My little ladybug is so particular about some things and complete craziness when it comes to others.

As she Army crawls throughout our house, for example, she stops to pick up each and every speck of fuzz she finds along the way – things you would only spot if, like her, your eyes were but a few inches from the carpet.

She knows well enough now that she is not supposed to put anything she finds on the floor in her mouth. Instead, she proudly, excitedly squirms her way straight to Mama with the “ew, dirty trash” item secured in a death-pinch between her thumb and first finger. She waves it toward me until I take it (even when there’s nothing there), thanking her for her help. Olive then moves on to collect the next bit out of place. Honestly, if we owned a vacuum we would have no use for the little one – I kid.

She’s just as picky about anything she deems to be a mess on the tray of her highchair. The fact is, stuff gets on there. Between the crackers, cookies, bananas, green beans and various other finger foods she eats, there are going to be at least a few crumbs that happen upon the tray during each meal.

Waiting to clean the tray until after Olive’s done eating is not an option, at least not if I’d like to keep everything from ending up on the floor.

She’s great about declaring she’s done with something and that she wants it out of her way. She’ll wave, she’ll grunt, she’ll “Aaaahhhhhh.” If I catch on quick enough and ask, “All done? Give it to Mama if you’re all done,” Miss Olive will politely hand me whatever soggy bites she’s had enough of. But, if I’m not quick enough or if I DARE to just move the rejected items out of her reach she will either A) drop the rejected items over the table top to get them out of her way or B) lose all focus on finishing the rest of her meal until the unwanted parts are off her tray.

For all that cleaning, Olive has recently taken up a new habit – putting her very messy hands and any food she’s eating in her hair. I guess it shows that she likes to be tidy but not so much clean.

Olive sporting one of her 'dos after rubbing a Cheesy Carrot Wagon Wheel in her hair during dinner.

I’d prefer food get just about anywhere other than in her hair. At only nine months old, she’s still little, so we only takes a bath every couple days. Though I can wipe gunk out of her hair, it’s just not the same as washing it.

Try as I might to avoid goopy hair, she’s quick. She’s very quick. Much, much quicker than me. Babies have amazing speed, which is compounded by their distracting cuteness. One second I’m cheering her on as she takes a big bite of something new, and within the next second, Olivia’s swiped it from just above her eyebrow, across the top of her head, to all the way behind her ear, and back in her mouth again.

Bananas are the worst, followed closely by Gerber Arrowroot Cookies – two of Olive’s favorites. She enjoys eating and coating her hair in them much more than she enjoys me getting them out of her hair afterward.

I assume this is just one of the many exploratory phases of babydom.

Did your baby go through a “let’s see how this feels on my head” phase?

What are some of your least favorite baby messes to clean up?