Let's just pretend that it hasn't been three months since my last post, mmkay? My list of excuses ranges from vacation to potty training to being super pregnant with a toddler in the summer to a broken computer, etc.
Quick recap of the last couple o' months:
Summer 2013 was FUN. It was pretty much the summer of Lillian and we tried to throw as much fun stuff her way as possible. She was in the water almost every day between our neighborhood pool, my parents' pool, the ocean, the water table in the backyard, pool parties with friends...like I said, FUN.
We vacationed in San Diego in June and spent the first part of our 10 day trip with my family, staying in a house on Mission Beach with my parents and sister who flew over from Hawaii. We pretty much ran non-stop with Sea World, the San Diego Zoo (highly recommend!), the seals at La Jolla, visiting the Hotel del Coronado, lots of good food and other adventures. Then we spent the second half of our trip staying in downtown San Diego with some dear friends from Charleston who bravely volunteered to host us and our crazytown toddler for six nights. It was wonderful to "do life" with them for a few days, and Lillian absolutely loved both of them. Some highlights from this part of the trip include yummy Mexican food, the Wild Animal Park (again, awesome), the dessert place next to their apartment and games at night, and visiting the lighthouse at Point Loma.
Other fun things to report from this summer: Lillian is potty trained during all waking hours (HUZZAH) and continues to be a delightful almost two year old, and oh yeah WE HAD A BABY last Sunday!! Elliott William is one week old today and is on the whole a wonderfully content and happy addition to our family. I plan to write out his birth story soon.
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Well, didn't see that one coming!
Disclaimer: potty-related talk ahead...you have been warned.
Ah, potty training. The end result of which every parent longs for, but the process every parent dreads. When Lillian was 18 months old, we hauled out the little potty chairs that we'd been given by generous neighbors and had one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs bathroom. L was pretty interested in "bathroom-related things" aka watching us (yep, privacy is a non-starter with toddlers), and we started to talk about the potty. For the next month or two, she would occasionally ask to sit on it but nothing ever happened and she squirmed off in about 3 seconds. We decided to buy a seat for the real toiliet to see if that would help. Nope. I took it easy for a few weeks and didn't ask if she wanted to use the potty but would put her on it if she asked me, which she did every few days.
Right at 20 months T's parents came to town for the weekend and L peed about 2 drops in her little potty. We cheered for her as if she had just kicked a game-winning goal in the World Cup(GOOOOOALLLLLL). The next day, I attempted to repeat the conditions sans grandparents and she cried and squirmed off the seat. I prayed about it, and just decided to drop the whole potty training issue for the moment. I didn't want it to be traumatizing for her, or stressful for me. I came to a peace about two kids in diapers, but most of all, I knew that L would do it when she was ready (b/c she's just that kind of kid). She has all the "readiness" signs--interested in the potty, wakes up dry after naps and in the morning, knows when she is going, etc., but I didn't think there was any point in forcing it.
On Saturday afternoon, I got a hankering for something sweet and came back with all the fixins' for rice krispie treats with M&Ms. Which I never got to make because SOMEONE decided they wanted frozen yogurt that night instead. :) (No complaints here though!). Anyways, L saw the M&Ms and asked for some and on a wild hair, I told her that if she peed in the potty she could have a piece of candy. Like she'd been doing it all her life, she ran to the little potty and peed. Then she immediately demanded her treat, which we handed to her in a state of shock. Side note, she says "M&Ms" just like she says "animals," and when you think about it, they really do sound alike! She went four or five more times that evening and a handful of times yesterday when we were at home, including the Big Kahuna. Naturally she has figured out how to work the system and oftentimes she will go, come to the kitchen and demand an M&M, then go back and finish up and ask for more M&Ms. At this point, we are being pretty liberal with them since this is all such an experiment. She's enjoying her Elmo underwear and the chocolate candy, so we are sticking with those things for the moment and enjoying a few diaper free hours.
Where is all this headed? Honestly, I'm not sure. We're going on vacation soon and there is no way I'm lugging a potty chair across the country or sticking her cute little butt on a public toilet seat. Ideally we'll take a break for a couple of weeks and "hit it hard" when we come back. Then she'll have a few months to get used to it before Little Bro Regression is born. Don't worry, I will be sure to keep you posted since I'm sure you are all dying to know the ins and outs of L's every potty training move. We are pretty proud of her for her progress so far and we are enjoying how perfectly reflective it is of her personality.
Ah, potty training. The end result of which every parent longs for, but the process every parent dreads. When Lillian was 18 months old, we hauled out the little potty chairs that we'd been given by generous neighbors and had one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs bathroom. L was pretty interested in "bathroom-related things" aka watching us (yep, privacy is a non-starter with toddlers), and we started to talk about the potty. For the next month or two, she would occasionally ask to sit on it but nothing ever happened and she squirmed off in about 3 seconds. We decided to buy a seat for the real toiliet to see if that would help. Nope. I took it easy for a few weeks and didn't ask if she wanted to use the potty but would put her on it if she asked me, which she did every few days.
Right at 20 months T's parents came to town for the weekend and L peed about 2 drops in her little potty. We cheered for her as if she had just kicked a game-winning goal in the World Cup(GOOOOOALLLLLL). The next day, I attempted to repeat the conditions sans grandparents and she cried and squirmed off the seat. I prayed about it, and just decided to drop the whole potty training issue for the moment. I didn't want it to be traumatizing for her, or stressful for me. I came to a peace about two kids in diapers, but most of all, I knew that L would do it when she was ready (b/c she's just that kind of kid). She has all the "readiness" signs--interested in the potty, wakes up dry after naps and in the morning, knows when she is going, etc., but I didn't think there was any point in forcing it.
On Saturday afternoon, I got a hankering for something sweet and came back with all the fixins' for rice krispie treats with M&Ms. Which I never got to make because SOMEONE decided they wanted frozen yogurt that night instead. :) (No complaints here though!). Anyways, L saw the M&Ms and asked for some and on a wild hair, I told her that if she peed in the potty she could have a piece of candy. Like she'd been doing it all her life, she ran to the little potty and peed. Then she immediately demanded her treat, which we handed to her in a state of shock. Side note, she says "M&Ms" just like she says "animals," and when you think about it, they really do sound alike! She went four or five more times that evening and a handful of times yesterday when we were at home, including the Big Kahuna. Naturally she has figured out how to work the system and oftentimes she will go, come to the kitchen and demand an M&M, then go back and finish up and ask for more M&Ms. At this point, we are being pretty liberal with them since this is all such an experiment. She's enjoying her Elmo underwear and the chocolate candy, so we are sticking with those things for the moment and enjoying a few diaper free hours.
Where is all this headed? Honestly, I'm not sure. We're going on vacation soon and there is no way I'm lugging a potty chair across the country or sticking her cute little butt on a public toilet seat. Ideally we'll take a break for a couple of weeks and "hit it hard" when we come back. Then she'll have a few months to get used to it before Little Bro Regression is born. Don't worry, I will be sure to keep you posted since I'm sure you are all dying to know the ins and outs of L's every potty training move. We are pretty proud of her for her progress so far and we are enjoying how perfectly reflective it is of her personality.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Proof positive...
...that Lillian is a climber!
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| glorious mullet |
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| my mantra at these times is, "don't think about the germs, don't think about the germs" |
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| getting as close to the germy surfaces as possible |
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| "are you watching, Dad?" |
Thursday, January 12, 2012
A quick note
(Hillary, you may want to skip this post. It mentions poop.)
On our tube of diaper rash cream (which is made out of gold, by the way, since we have to buy a very particular kind to go with the cloth diapers), it says in bright! fun! letters:
On our tube of diaper rash cream (which is made out of gold, by the way, since we have to buy a very particular kind to go with the cloth diapers), it says in bright! fun! letters:
Safe!
Natural!
Fun!
Natural!
Fun!
Now, I don't know about you, but slathering cream on Lillian's girly parts and butt while dealing with a variety of smells and liquids is not really my idea of Fun. I am very grateful for her well-functioning digestive system, but diaper changes are probably not my favorite part of the whole baby deal. Also, she's had very little diaper rash; we are loving our Bumgenius stash for that.
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