Potty Training Bootcamp

Well, we attempted it. We had a little success with Caroline using the potty earlier in the week (she had some stomach issues for a couple of days so that derailed it a little), so I decided we would go full force with it this weekend. Camp out in the bathroom (we only left the house for a total of 2 1/2 hours ALLLLLLL weekend long), stock it full of fun stuff (movies, books, toys, my iPhone), and see how it goes. Here's the rundown:
Day 1--peed in the potty 3 times, peed on the floor 1 time, and pooped in her pants 2 times. Not too bad. She cried when she peed on herself, but the poopy pants didn't faze her.
Day 2--peed on the floor 2 times and pooped in her pants 1 time....and that was only after being up for 1 1/2 hours! I wanted to quit but didn't want to lose whatever we had gained yesterday, so I pushed through. She went through a grand total of 9 pairs of training pants. She does not like it when she has an accident; she cries and calls out for me. She also slipped after an accident and knocked her forehead pretty good on the floor--ewww! But she did tell me right after she pooped for the 2nd time (the 1st time I discovered it after it fell on the floor while she was dancing....ahhh, the life of a mommy!).
I'm doing the whole positive reinforcement thing--a sticker chart and a piece of candy if she goes potty. She really likes the rewards. Just not quite enough to prevent any accidents yet. I have a feeling it will be awhile before she makes it to daycare in undies. Wish me luck!!

Sitting on the potty chair


Eating her candy


Putting her sticker on her chart


What's cuter than a baby wearing only undies??


My laundry pile tonight

A Day of Firsts

Today was my and John's anniversary. 7 years...doesn't feel like that long! Since he was out of town for work, Caroline and I celebrated with her first trip to the movies. We went to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie. I figured it would be a good one to start with since it's only an hour long. We went to the 10:30 am show, so there was only a handful of people in the theater. She did great all through the previews and short movie after the previews. She started to get a little fidgety when the real movie started. She munched on about half a bag of yogurt melts and sat pretty nicely on her little booster...until about halfway through the movie. She was tired of sitting and wanted down! I let her walk around right in front of our seats, and she ended up making it to the end. It actually went pretty well! But I think it will be awhile before we try it again! Here is a pic from the previews:


After the movie, we headed to Babies R Us to pick up a couple of things. I got Caroline a new booster seat so she can sit with us at the big table instead of her high chair. She seemed to like it and only threw her fork and milk at dinner tonight. Much better than a bowl of spaghetti like last night! Here's the big girl:



We've done lots of talking, watching (Elmo potty video), and reading (Once Upon a Potty) about going potty this weekend. I planned on "officially" starting to train her this weekend, but her training pants didn't make it here on Friday (I had to order size 18 months because you can't find them in any store, and the 2T ones seems gigantic). I kept asking her if she wanted to sit on the potty--sometimes she did and sometimes she almost had a break down telling me "no" (drama queen!). Today, after her nap, she seemed excited to go sit on it so we hurried into the bathroom. She sat for a little while and then she peed in the potty! Woo hoo! I praised her, sang a little song, and gave her a Reeses Pieces. She did it again just before her bath tonight! Very exciting times in the life of a mommy!


PS--Since I wrote this post last night, she has used the potty 2 more times! (And almost 1 more--she peed on the floor as soon as I took her diaper off!!)

19 Months!!!

I guess since Caroline's crossed over the 18 month mark, she's officially a "real" toddler. She's on the downhill slide towards 2, and I really can't believe it. I say this every month, but this is such a fun age! Well, except for the running from me in parking lots, occasional tantrum, major stubborness (don't know where she gets that from!), and throwing her plate on the ground after almost every meal. :-) She is growing by leaps and bounds and looks more a like a little girl everyday. Here are some fun facts about Caroline:

*She is starting to put 2 and occasionally 3 words together.

*She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and The Fresh Beat Band (but it bothers me that they replaced one of the characters!). She also loves Toy Story 3! She will point out Mickey, Minnie, Buzz, or Woody when she sees them at a store.

*She labels everything, and if she doesn't know what it is, I hear, "what that?".

*Some of her favorite words: Mouse (for Mickey or Minnie), Eeh Beat (for the Fresh Beat Band), cookie, and nilk (milk).

*She will answer "no" but not "yes". She will repeat part of the question back to you to answer yes though (ex--Do you want cookie? Cookie!)

*She is a little parrot and repeats thing constantly (especially when I say "seriously?"). :-)

*We've been doing time out. She sits and says she's sorry and gives me a hug, but she still doesn't really get it. I know this because she usually does what she was in time out for again (like throwing her plate--grrrr!!!).

*Cute story--when we were at dinner for Father's Day, she threw her cup down. I picked it up, looked her in the eyes, and said, "we don't throw our cups down". She looked at me and signed and said "sorry". So sweet! But she still throws them down...oh well.

*She loved the ocean last time we were at the beach! After a wave came, she would say, "more, more".

*Another cute story--we went swimming at our friend's community pool that has a big twisty water slide. Caroline decided she wanted to go down. When we were almost at the top of the steps, she stopped and said, "no". She wouldn't slide and wouldn't go back down. We stood there for awhile, and she finally decided to try it. She laughed the whole way down and asked for "more" as soon as we were at the bottom. We rode 3 more times, and I think she would have gone down by herself if I would have let her!

*She will try to sing along with some songs we sing together and will do the motions (sometimes) for Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

*We went back to the ENT today for another check up. We found out that one of her tubes had fallen out last month, so they were going to keep an eye on the hole to see if it started to close up. We found out today that it had started to, so they put another tube in while we were in the office. I was glad that she didn't have to be put to sleep again even though it was really hard to hold her and listen to her cry and call out "Mommy, Mommy". Her tonsils were also a little big, but they said that might be from her strep throat she had last month.

*She is spicy and funny and sweet and a ton of fun!!

Special Visitors

My mom, sister (Rosanne, aka Roro), and niece (Erin) came for a visit last week. They ended up coming a day early and cutting their visit a day shorter than planned because my other niece (Meagan) was being induced on Wednesday (yes, folks, I am a [gulp] great aunt). While they were here we shopped til we dropped, spent the day at the beach, had a cook out, and watched some fireworks. We were really sad to see them go but are really looking forward to a trip to MS in August to see everyone again and to meet baby Thomas!

Enjoying some corn from Grandaddy's garden-- yum!!


Tickle time!


Thanks for my new toys, Andy!


Cute 4th of July outfit


Ready for the fireworks!

Summertime Fun

I've been meaning to update this thing every week, but it somehow never happens. We've had a fun month with lots of "field trips". And a lot of Mommy and Me time since John has been out of town for 2 weeks. Check out our adventures...

Impromptu playdate at MOSH with Karin and her kiddos (Maddie & Jaxon) and Jamie and her little one (Michael)





Girl's day at the zoo and splash pad (check out her awesome shirt that Kristin and I made!)





Trip to visit one of my Bama BF's and her little guys, Wyatt and Hudson






I've also been busy playing with my applique machine with Kristin!
shirts for the boys and their cousins

shirts for my pledge sister x2, Melanie

burp cloths for a friend of John's

burp cloths for one of the OT's I work with, Jenna


Stay tuned for the (gulp!) 19 month update and the visit from some of my family!

18 Months!

I seriously cannot believe that my baby is 1 1/2 years old! Her personality shines through more and more everyday. I absolutely love hearing her talk more and more, discover new things, and seeing her throw fewer tantrums! :-) She has her 18 month appointment in the morning, so I'll have to add in her growth info tomorrow. Here are her monthly facts:

*She has figured out how to slide on her little side all by herself. She's been able to climb up it for awhile but had trouble figuring out how and where to sit down.


*She became obsessed with the word "boo boo" for awhile after she got a blister on her foot. She would take her shoe off, point to it, and say (in the most pitiful voice), "boo boo".

*She's still not a great eater but will surprise you every once in awhile.

*She loves milk and water but could care less about juice.

*She's been paci-free for 2 weeks. The first couple of days were bad, but she doesn't look, cry, or ask for it anymore.

*When we went back to the ENT for a check-up, we discovered that her right tube had fallen out. They'll watch the hole for 3-6 months to decide if they'll put another tube in. Yea! More doctor's appointments! (can you hear the sarcasm dripping off my words?)

*Her favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and The Fresh Beat Band. She will dance and try to sing along with TFBB--so cute!

*She will sometimes give you a kiss on the lips when you ask for a kiss.

*She can show you her teeth, fingernails, toes, toenails, and back.

*She's not really a fan of brushing her teeth. She loves to chew on the toothbrush though (I'm hoping that kind of gets those teeth clean...).

*Her new favorite activity is walks in her wagon with Daddy.

*She calls John "Daddy" now and alternates between "Mommy" (aka "Mommmmm-meee!!")
and "Mama" for me.






(Big thanks to Miss Natalie for the super cute pj's!!)

Stats update
Weight: 23 lbs (25% percentile)
Height: 32.8 inches (85% percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (25% percentile)

Tebow Time!!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am tad obsessed with Tim Tebow. Ok, scratch that--I am very obsessed with him (but totally not in the creepy stalker way!). :-) When I heard he was coming to Jacksonville for a book signing, I wanted to know when and where because I was going to be there! On Sunday, Caroline and I headed to Books A Million at Jax Beach and lined up to buy the book and get a number for the signing today. We had to wait about an hour and a half outside (but in the shade--thank goodness!). Caroline should be used to waiting in line for him with me by now. I dragged her to the mall for a photo op when she was just 3 months old! If you missed that pic, you can check it out here.

Here are the coveted items of the day...


Caroline got a little bored while we were waiting, so she decided to write Tebow a little note. (Ok, so I really did write him a note and gave it to him. I know, I'm a dork. I'm fine with that. Who knows if he'll actually read it, but we'll see!)


She was pretty restless by the end so I wasn't able to snap any good pics while we were waiting--bummer!


Finally it was our turn! The nice man in front of us was kind enough to snap a picture for me. (Please excuse my large, white legs!)


Here is a very happy Dara not wanting to wash the hand he touched or put down the book he signed! :-)


My 2 prized possessions! One copy is mine, and I have big plans that I hope will come from the 2nd one. More on that later!