The Perils of Potty Training

If you've been reading my blog, you know that we've been working on potty training since July. Yes, that's 7 months. S-e-v-e-n. long. months. Part of the problem was the inconsistency. She goes to daycare 2 1/2 days a week and before she moved into the 2 year old class, she had to wear diapers or pull-ups. Her classroom had a potty in it but her teachers weren't allowed to let her use it. The licensing agency for daycare facilities didn't want kids under 2 to be "pressured" into being potty trained. WHAT??? Seriously??? I know I started early compared to today's standards (I'm not judging, I swear...unless your kid is 4 and still in diapers), but if I choose to work on it and pay a lot of money for her to go to daycare then I should be able to ask them to send her to the bathroom every couple of hours. But I digress; we've come a long way since then. When she "graduated" to the 2 year old class in December, I started sending her in pull-ups. She stayed dry most days. I was still a little nervous to take the plunge and send her in panties. And I was really nervous to go out in public with her in panties. I finally got brave in January and bit the bullet. I should add that her teacher told me that she wondered when I was going to since she had been doing so well. She's done great! She's only had 2 accidents and school. And 1 with me...in the Disney store at the mall...a BIG puddle...I stayed very calm...and thankfully had extra panties and clothes...except extra socks...lesson learned. I am also very familiar with many of the bathrooms in the greater Jacksonville area. We visit one in just about every place we visit...sometimes more than once in the same trip. Yea! I love public restrooms! :-P
Well, I should add that this great success was only with #1. #2, not so much. We've been really working on that this past month or so. Our mall has a train and Caroline has been obsessed with it forever. I thought that would be the perfect reward (aka BRIBE!!) for her (especially since the 1st bribe I bought--a doll--had been sitting in our bathroom for a few months). I made a sticker chart with a big picture of a train on it and really talked it up. Yeah, she didn't care. She continued to poop in her pants (only at home...most of the time). I tried all sorts of things--making her go pants-less and panty-less, making her walk around with it in her pants, talking about pooping ALL the time....nothing worked. After about a month she earned the 7 stickers it took to ride the train (there were a couple of other rewards along the way--a cupcake, the infamous baby doll, some M & M's). Well, this train ride must have made a big impact on Caroline because she is squeezing out poop about 3 times a day (up from one a day or every other day). She will be filling up her monster sticker chart any day now if this keeps up. Rewards are in the form of a goody bag filled with fun things to do--trip to the park, dollar bin shopping at Target, a cookie, a princess balloon, etc. Caroline is in love with her pink flower bag. Guess I finally found something that worked! I'll let you know if it lasts!

The train ride!

Sticker charts!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I used to hate Valentine's Day. Back when I was single. When I got married, I still wasn't a huge fan. Don't get me wrong...I don't stop John from buying me presents. :-) But I never really understood the big deal.
Things have changed. I love all holidays now that I have Caroline! There are so many fun things to do! Plus I have an awesome secret pal who gave us even more fun things--heart ice cube trays, a heart necklace kit and a heart cake pan. I loved listening to Caroline pull out her cards from her friends on the way home that day and hearing her say "I got Pluto, Mommy! I got Buzz Lightyear, Mommy! I got Snow White, Mommy!". She was so excited about all of our Valentine projects--a handprint craft, making cookies for her school party, making a red velvet cake, writing on her cards, getting presents, making a heart necklace, and eating heart pizza. Can't wait to see what fun St. Patrick's Day will bring!

Birthday Parties Are Snow Much Fun!

Last weekend Caroline and I were invited to Luke's birthday party. He is one of the most special, awesome little kids I have ever met. I was very fortunate to meet him and his mom after following their story for a few months. Take a minute and read about his and his family's journey over the past year. Long story short...Luke was really sick and in the hospital last year on his birthday, so his parents told him that he could do whatever he wanted to this year. Well, what else would a Florida boy ask for?? SNOW! In the form of a 70 foot snow slide and a big ol' pile to make snowballs in. How fun is that?? We borrowed some snowman attire from our friend, Kailyn, and headed out. Caroline was beyond excited and had been talking about making snowballs at "Wuke's" birthday party for a few weeks. She had a great time! She was very brave and went down the big slide by herself one time. After that, she wasn't so sure about it. Brandi (Luke's mom) talked me into going down with her (ok, I'll be honest...it didn't take too much talking; I really wanted to try it!). As soon as we were at the bottom, she asked "I go again, Mommy?". So we did. 5 more times. :-) Check out how awesome it was!
Sweet Luke











Brandi finally did it!

Circus Time!

Caroline and I went to the circus with our friends Julie, Todd, and Ella in January. Caroline loved the silly clowns and the baby elephant. And I was loving the lions and tigers! The girls did great during the long show and seemed to really love it! Here are some pictures from our fun day!

24, 25, & 26 Months

It is getting harder and harder to do these monthly updates. I swear Caroline learns something new every single day. She also fixates on something for a few days and then completely forgets about it (like saying "yes ma'am" to after almost everything I said to only answering "yeah"....did she turn into a teenager already??). Here are the growth stats from her 2 year appointment on 12/14/11:
weight: 26 lbs (45%)
height: 33" (25%--when she went to the ENT a couple of weeks ago, she was 33 1/2")
head circumference: 18 1/2" (40%)

Here are a few highlights from the past 3 months:
*She still is a terrible eater...unless it's a chocolate chip cookie. :-) She doesn't eat a big variety or very much of anything (except Multi-grain Cheerios...for about 3 weeks, she was eating about 3 bowls of them every morning). She will try just about anything I give her though and has started to eat more meat.
*She's on a kick now where she eats a couple of bites of dinner and then wants to get down. I make her sit for a little longer (hoping she'll take a few more bites), she gets down and plays, and then asks to eat more after the dishes have been cleared away. We're working on this...
*The tube in her left ear has fallen out but is still in her ear canal. The ear looks good though. The ARNP started her on a nasal spray once a day to help with some of the constant congestion that she seems to have.
*Some of her favorite sayings are: okey dokey artichokey, oopsey daisy, uh oh spaghetti-o, and whoa joe. Love it!
*She sings pretty frequently now and sometimes performs a mash-up (ABCEF...bringing home a baby [bumblebee] won't mommy be proud...twinkle little star up above....ABC--get the picture??).
*She is still such a little mommy with her babies--feeding them, putting them to bed, covering them up, going for a run with them in their stroller (monkey see, monkey do??). She's going to be a great big sister someday.
*The behavior problems have gotten better. She still has her moments, but the demon possessed meltdowns don't seem to be happening as frequently.
*People are really impressed with how much/well she talks. I graciously say thank you and admit that I'm a speech therapist. :-)
*Sometimes I wish she would stop talking. lol
*She can "spell" her name. While she was writing the other day, she busted out with "A R O N E". Not too bad for a 2 year old, especially for one with a long name!
*She loves to be outside to play with her balls, drive her car, "ride" her tricycle, and slide. I really wish we could put a swingset up in our yard.
*Her newest obsession is arts and crafts. She loves to draw, write, color, paint, cut, glue, string beads, put stickers on things and make things. I'm working on getting our craft cabinet stocked.
*She is really soooooo much fun (and then drive me crazy the next minute!), and I love our adventures we have!

More 2 year old fun:

More Christmas Fun!

Before Christmas, we celebrated with some friends here in Jacksonville. We made Christmas plates and ornaments at a pottery place with Ella and Kailyn. The girls had such a great time! And then Kelly invited all of us over to bake cookies. Her mom had made the girls super cute Christmas aprons--loved them! She was super organized and the girls had a blast piling on the sprinkles, making handprint wreaths, and exchanging Christmas presents.










After Christmas, Caroline and I got to stay almost a week to spend more time with my family (and enjoy not paying for 2 plane tickets one last time...I fibbed while booking our return flight and said that her birthday was Jan 5 instead of Dec 5--don't tell on me!). We got to do a lot of visiting and spend more time with baby Thomas (love him!). Our visiting included a trip to Tupelo to meet up with my BFF, Amy, and her little boy, Charlie. It was so great to see them, eat lunch at one of my favorite places (Harvey's), and watch the kiddos play together.
They just grabbed each others' hand. So sweet!

styling!

playing at the mall

cookie time

cake pop from Ladybug Bakery--yum!

holding baby Thomas

My awesome secret pal (Kate) gave me this. We didn't get around to making it before Christmas, but it didn't matter--Caroline still loved it!