Sunday, April 29, 2012
Just like that
My last post was about the beginning of potty training for Emma. Here we are 18 days later and my sweet baby girl is all grownup. Sure she still wears a diaper at nap and bedtime but most of the time it stays dry. Like most every milestone of becoming a little girl, it was sort of anticlimactic. No m&ms, no bribes. Just ta da. Every milestone has been this way. When Emma was ready to stop using a paci after discovering her thumb at three months, there were no more pacifiers. Samething happened when we allowed her to decide when to give up bottles at 15 months and when she decided to sleep in a toddler bed. Rarely is there drama or tears. Just Emma making the decisions and moving on to the next phase of childhood. I will say that it does make me very sad to see this last bit of baby Emma slip away so easily. Buti do have hopes that giving up her thumb might not be so easy!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
On Potty Training
Let me be the first to say that potty training is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. We started officially potty training yesterday. Big Fat Failure! On any other day my little monkey loves to go pee on the potty but put her in panties and the kid seals her legs shut! Throughout the day I wondered how many accidents Emma might have had until I got a phone call from daycare. Turns out Miss Toscano decided if she couldn't potty on her own terms, she would not potty at all. She held her pee ALL DAY! I got to school and we tried again with me, first in the kid's potty and then in the teacher's potty. All she did was scream. I might also mention that she still wears a diaper at naptime and in her stubbornness still held her pee, despite the diaper!
So off we went to our house. I immediately put her on the potty again. I was convinced she'd go on her own potty at home. Nope. When I say she threw the most heart wrenching tantrum I have ever seen, I am not exaggerating. Any momma would have been distraught! She cried her little heart out. So we got off the potty and I let her be. She cried for a good 15 minutes sitting on the kitchen floor until she peed on herself. Now this set off a whole new tantrum because she was upset that she had an accident. I was trying to soothe and strip her naked at the same time. Poor kid was so traumatized that I put her in a diaper and we snuggled and watched Toy Story.
Cut to today. I really, really, really wanted to put a diaper on her. I did. But we proceeded forward with panties on. Got downstairs and not five minutes later she grabs her crotch and says she peed. She did indeed. So fearing a fight or tantrum, I said okay let's go sit on the potty like Addison and Morgan do so Mommy can change your clothes. This works! She sits pitifully on the potty while I run and get her new clothes. Then as we are leaving for school/work, I go to put her coat on her only to find that she has pooped in her pants and said nothing! So gross. Now I have no experience with how to clean up that much poop out of someone's panties. In the end, we threw them out. I can afford to buy new underwear rather than deal with that. So now we've had our pee and poop accident and the child is at school STILL IN UNDERWEAR! I have no idea if she will continue on this stubborn streak of I'll do it in my own time or not.
But for you mom's and dad's who haven't ventured into potty training yet, be warned. Personally, my kid may be the one in diapers starting kindergarten!
So off we went to our house. I immediately put her on the potty again. I was convinced she'd go on her own potty at home. Nope. When I say she threw the most heart wrenching tantrum I have ever seen, I am not exaggerating. Any momma would have been distraught! She cried her little heart out. So we got off the potty and I let her be. She cried for a good 15 minutes sitting on the kitchen floor until she peed on herself. Now this set off a whole new tantrum because she was upset that she had an accident. I was trying to soothe and strip her naked at the same time. Poor kid was so traumatized that I put her in a diaper and we snuggled and watched Toy Story.
Cut to today. I really, really, really wanted to put a diaper on her. I did. But we proceeded forward with panties on. Got downstairs and not five minutes later she grabs her crotch and says she peed. She did indeed. So fearing a fight or tantrum, I said okay let's go sit on the potty like Addison and Morgan do so Mommy can change your clothes. This works! She sits pitifully on the potty while I run and get her new clothes. Then as we are leaving for school/work, I go to put her coat on her only to find that she has pooped in her pants and said nothing! So gross. Now I have no experience with how to clean up that much poop out of someone's panties. In the end, we threw them out. I can afford to buy new underwear rather than deal with that. So now we've had our pee and poop accident and the child is at school STILL IN UNDERWEAR! I have no idea if she will continue on this stubborn streak of I'll do it in my own time or not.
But for you mom's and dad's who haven't ventured into potty training yet, be warned. Personally, my kid may be the one in diapers starting kindergarten!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
What happens next?
Many of you who read my blog know about my friend Deanna and her daughter Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn passed away on Thursday from Neimann-Pick Type A. It was an awful, grueling battle to watch from a distance. I can't imagine what it was like to watch up close and to live every day. Though we all knew the end was near, it still shook me to my core. I still check Deanna's blog every day expecting an update. The reality that God now has Kaitlyn has not set in for me. This brings me to where my thoughts are today. Today Kaitlyn is being laid to rest. My thoughts frequently turn to what do the Bourgeault's do now? Deanna and Chip have literally been by Kaitlyn's side day and night for months. Chip said on Facebook the other day that the two have not been in the car together in he can't remember how long. Deanna literally never left the house and probably rarely the master bedroom toward the end. Their dedication to loving their child is awe inspiring. Now, with Kaitlyn at peace, I imagine it must feel strange and maybe a little overwhelming to find some new normal. What do you do with all of those hours you filled caring for sweet Kaitlyn? My guess is you spend it trying to keep Cole's life "normal."
What I do know is that it really does put in perspective life and love and giving and healthy children? You know? So as the weeks and months go by, let's all say a prayer of thanks for what we have and one for the Bourgeault's as they adjust to life without their sweet girl.
What I do know is that it really does put in perspective life and love and giving and healthy children? You know? So as the weeks and months go by, let's all say a prayer of thanks for what we have and one for the Bourgeault's as they adjust to life without their sweet girl.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Happy Birthday Sweet Emma
Dear Emma,
You celebrated your second birthday on Friday. I can't believe that you are two. It seems like you were just learning to roll over. You have learned so many things over the last year. You have mastered walking and have mastered running too. You really like to practice running away to the swings! You have started singing songs to us which is completely adorable. Twinkle, Twinkle Mommy Star is your favorite. Though you have been known to bust out in a rousing rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes too! And let's not forget the Itsy, Bitsy Spider! You are also learning your ABCs. You can recognize letters as letters and then start singing ABCDEFG mumble mumble mumble Q R S T U V and then you move on. 5 and 7 are your favorite numbers and your favorite color must be yellow since you think all things are yellow. You are very well mannered and always say please and thank you and sometimes even you're welcome if we don't say it fast enough! You are also a great helper and love to help with the laundry and unloading the dishwasher.
The thing that I love most about you is your spirit. You are a girl who knows what she wants and I love that. As we look toward this third year of your life I am excited to see what crazy antics you come up with. I'm excited to watch you learn to use the potty (I'm not excited about the mess.) I'm excited for you to sleep in a big girl bed and I'm excited to hear the stories you come up with. Mostly I'm just excited to have you as my daughter. I love you baby girl.
You celebrated your second birthday on Friday. I can't believe that you are two. It seems like you were just learning to roll over. You have learned so many things over the last year. You have mastered walking and have mastered running too. You really like to practice running away to the swings! You have started singing songs to us which is completely adorable. Twinkle, Twinkle Mommy Star is your favorite. Though you have been known to bust out in a rousing rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes too! And let's not forget the Itsy, Bitsy Spider! You are also learning your ABCs. You can recognize letters as letters and then start singing ABCDEFG mumble mumble mumble Q R S T U V and then you move on. 5 and 7 are your favorite numbers and your favorite color must be yellow since you think all things are yellow. You are very well mannered and always say please and thank you and sometimes even you're welcome if we don't say it fast enough! You are also a great helper and love to help with the laundry and unloading the dishwasher.
The thing that I love most about you is your spirit. You are a girl who knows what she wants and I love that. As we look toward this third year of your life I am excited to see what crazy antics you come up with. I'm excited to watch you learn to use the potty (I'm not excited about the mess.) I'm excited for you to sleep in a big girl bed and I'm excited to hear the stories you come up with. Mostly I'm just excited to have you as my daughter. I love you baby girl.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friendships and Singing
As I watch Emma playing with her little friends, especially Morgan, I hope that she has the gift of life long friendships. This has been weighing heavily on my mind lately. Most of my friends I have had for years and years. As an adult it is really hard to make new friends. All of my new friends are actually moms of kids in Emma's classes. We have a lot in common in that we are raising toddlers to be good people. We can commesurate on not being able to go out in public, bedtime routines gone astray and how to get our toddlers to eat more than 5 things. I love it. I'm very grateful for my new found friends.
This past year and old friend and I parted ways. Honestly it was something that had needed to happen for a long time. Yet, I am still grieving the loss. Really I'm grieving the loss of who she was and who I was and the friendship we had long ago. Over the years we have both changed and grown in different directions. In hind sight, maybe she and I were never that great of friends anyway. Friends give and take and I'm not sure that happened with us in a balanced way. Still I grieve. And the hardest part is that we have mutual friends so we still see each other and I get a little sad. It's hard to explain.
So as one friendship has ended, others have grown. My next door neighbor (Morgan's mom) and I have really gotten to know one another over the last few months. Trying to keep toddler's entertained will do that I guess. Our husband's are similar and share similar interests which is nice and our kids fight like sisters. The funny part is that we let them because they are both only children and it's good for them to be challenged and to have to share. Having kids makes making friends a lot easier!
And now for the update on the toddler. She turns 2 on Friday. I cannot even believe it. She transitioned to early preschool a few weeks ago and has picked up some new tricks. In the middle of playing with her toys she will burst into song. It is absolutely the most adorable thing ever. Twinkle, Twinkle Mommy Star (from her new CD) and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes are her favorites. And she is in the "I do it" stage. Except she says "Emma do" or "Me do" or "Ma do" most of the time. It's cute. She has also learned to put on her own coat! We lay it upside on the floor and she puts her arms in and flips it over her head. Ta Da. It's wonderful. She is growing up so fast and learns so many new things every day. Last night in the bath tub she was saying "Oh gosh" which reminds me to curb my language. Mental note on that one. And I really think she is going to love gymnastics. That kid loves for her daddy to throw her in the air, flip her over, help her jump on the couch...all that crazy stuff. Too bad I haven't found a gymnastics class for 2 year olds. She does do Romp N Roll at school and she loves it.
So that's the update for today. Enjoy.
This past year and old friend and I parted ways. Honestly it was something that had needed to happen for a long time. Yet, I am still grieving the loss. Really I'm grieving the loss of who she was and who I was and the friendship we had long ago. Over the years we have both changed and grown in different directions. In hind sight, maybe she and I were never that great of friends anyway. Friends give and take and I'm not sure that happened with us in a balanced way. Still I grieve. And the hardest part is that we have mutual friends so we still see each other and I get a little sad. It's hard to explain.
So as one friendship has ended, others have grown. My next door neighbor (Morgan's mom) and I have really gotten to know one another over the last few months. Trying to keep toddler's entertained will do that I guess. Our husband's are similar and share similar interests which is nice and our kids fight like sisters. The funny part is that we let them because they are both only children and it's good for them to be challenged and to have to share. Having kids makes making friends a lot easier!
And now for the update on the toddler. She turns 2 on Friday. I cannot even believe it. She transitioned to early preschool a few weeks ago and has picked up some new tricks. In the middle of playing with her toys she will burst into song. It is absolutely the most adorable thing ever. Twinkle, Twinkle Mommy Star (from her new CD) and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes are her favorites. And she is in the "I do it" stage. Except she says "Emma do" or "Me do" or "Ma do" most of the time. It's cute. She has also learned to put on her own coat! We lay it upside on the floor and she puts her arms in and flips it over her head. Ta Da. It's wonderful. She is growing up so fast and learns so many new things every day. Last night in the bath tub she was saying "Oh gosh" which reminds me to curb my language. Mental note on that one. And I really think she is going to love gymnastics. That kid loves for her daddy to throw her in the air, flip her over, help her jump on the couch...all that crazy stuff. Too bad I haven't found a gymnastics class for 2 year olds. She does do Romp N Roll at school and she loves it.
So that's the update for today. Enjoy.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Snow Play
During Emma's first year of life we had a few snows but she was always sick or not walking or something so she never went outside into the snow. Today, she sledded for the first time. It wasn't much snow but it sure was fun!
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