Thursday, February 25, 2010

Adventures In Potty Training: Success! (well, sort of)

I didn't think I'd have anything exciting to post about potty training this soon. However, yesterday proved to be a very interesting day for all of us in this journey!

Tuesday night, we put Maria to bed around 8:30. She was still awake at 9:15, so I went to tuck her back in and I changed her diaper while I was in there.

Fast forward 10 hours...Maria woke up around 7:00 am. We did our usual routine...a cup of milk on the couch while we watch the Today show and wait for Naomi to wake up. About 20 minutes later, I went to change her diaper and realized she was totally dry! Seriously??? This kid went the entire night without peeing once? This coming from a child who very frequently has woken up screaming "Mom! I'm wet!"?????

So I calmly take her to the bathroom and explain that she did a great job keeping her diaper dry! The whole time I'm thinking "Sweet! This is the perfect time for her to sit on the potty. I know she has to go. I'm sure she'll go right away."

Once again...I was wrong!

She sat on the big toilet.

Then we moved to her little potty chair.

We read tons of books. (several potty books included!)

Turned on the faucet.

By this time it had been 20 minutes and she STILL hadn't gone. So I moved her little potty chair into the living room and let her watch TV. By this time Naomi had woken up so I needed to keep an eye on her, and I thought watching TV would get Maria's mind off of it and she would just go! After sitting there for a while, I had her get up and jump up and down...run around the living room a few times just to move around. I even gave her another HUGE cup of water/juice.

By this time it had been almost an hour. Are you kidding me? Eleven hours without peeing? Even I can't do that! Is her bladder working properly? Why isn't she going?

Maria decided she would move back into the bathroom and try to sit on the big toilet once again. Just as I was about to give up, I heard her yell "Mommy I peed in the potty!" I ran in to see and sure enough! It had been almost one hour and she finally went! I looked in the toilet and she said "See! It's yellow" I had to start laughing at that point!

So we celebrated and cheered and talked about what a big girl she was. I know it was only one time and we have a long way to go...but for now I am just excited that she had the experience of actually going on the potty.

Our victory was short lived, however. As soon as she got done eating breakfast, she cheerfully told me that she peed! Too bad she was sitting in her chair at the kitchen table. Of course she had a cloth diaper on so it was no surprise that she leaked all the way through her pants!

Oh well! We'll just keep trying!!!


Update: Maria asked several time to sit on the potty yesterday and has sat a few times already today! I am excited that she is so willing to try. I know we'll get there :)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Welcome to Adventures In Potty Training!

Welcome to my new blog series describing (in detail) the journey that's known as "Potty Training!" This wonderful milestone in our daughter's life is so consuming, I thought I would blog about it.

Let me start off the series by getting everyone caught up on the top 10 signs your child is ready to potty train. Using this handy-dandy check list, we'll see if Maria meets any/all of the criteria:



10)She's able to walk well on her own, and can pull down her own pants (elastic waistbands are good for this) and diaper.

Maria: Check!

9)She shows that she's aware of what's going on in her diaper-- either by saying something like "poo" or by looking uncomfortable when her diaper is full, or pausing in her playing.

Maria: Check! She'll even say, "I'm poopy. Change a diaper!"


8)She's interested in what you do in the bathroom, coming in to watch from time to time. She might help to flush, or wave "bye, bye" to the departing poop.

Maria: Check! Time to time is more like ALL THE TIME!


7)She's not completely caught up in needing to say "no" to everything you suggest (the automatic "no" stage is usually between about 18 and 30 months.)

Maria: Half check! She still says "No" but not for everything we suggest.

6)She has tried to sit on the potty, with her pants and diaper on, and doesn't seem to mind it. She feels "friendly" towards "her" potty.

Maria: Check! She has her own little chair and a Dora seat that goes on top of the regular toilet. She sits on them both voluntarily.

5)She understands when you ask, in a mildly interested way, "Do you need to use the potty?"

Maria: Check! She gets it. In fact, the other day we heard her say "I'll be right back. I need to go potty." And she headed towards the bathroom. We're still not sure who she was talking to, though.

4)She's fascinated by putting things into containers (blocks into the box, pouring sand or water in and out of a bucket.)

Maria: Check! Been doing this stuff for a while.

3)She feels proud when she can do something "all by myself."

Maria: Check!

2)Her diaper is dry and clean often for a couple of hours at least.

Maria: Half Check! Lately, she has been dry after nap time (which is usually 2-3 hours) and even stayed dry through the night. (once)

1)She's interested in "big girl underpants."

Maria: Check! She is very interested and asks to wear them, too. We have Dora, Minnie Mouse and polka dotted ones, too!

So as you can see by looking at the check list, she seems to be ready.

So what's the problem?

Here's what happens: I notice her diaper is dry. "Maria...You're dry. Do you want to go pee pee on the potty?"

"Yes!"

We run to the bathroom. I try to take off her pants and diaper quickly...she screams! "I do it!" she says.

Wait 5 minutes for her to get everything off.

By this time, she's either already peed in her diaper or we get her on the potty and........


NOTHING!

We wait....and wait....and wait!

I turn on the faucet so she hears runnung water.

We read books.

We sing songs.

We talk.

Still, nothing.

If she's been dry for several hours I know she must have to go - especially with the amount of milk this child drinks...

It is so frustrating. I just can't figure out how to explain to her to "go" on the potty. I have a feeling that if she just does it once, she might get the hang of it pretty quickly. (don't want to jinx myself, though.)

So, the other night Maria told me she had to go. I got her situated on the toilet and gave her some books to read. I stepped out for a minute to check on Naomi. When I came back, Maria was sitting there looking so innocent.

Just then, I looked down and realized that the toilet paper roll was empty. Empty? How could that be? I just put a new one on earlier that day. Oh no! Where's the toilet paper??? I don't see any on the floor....then it hit me! I pulled Maria off the toilet and this is what I saw:






Gerry's going to be pissed. How could this happen? I was literally out of the room for 60 seconds! I didn't even hear her do this! Little Turkey! I guess I learned my lesson!


Stay tuned for the next riveting edition of Adventures in Potty Training!!!!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Love is... a DQ Ice Cream Cake!





Since Maria was born, all I've wanted to do for Valentine's Day is eat a DQ Ice Cream cake. I don't really care about gifts, or going out anymore. So, Gerry and Maria went to DQ on Valentine's Day morning and picked one up! Needless to say, the girls liked it too! Jeff, Kelly and Hailey stopped by after dinner and had some cake with us as well.

Friday afternoon I started getting really crabby because I had a stiff neck. I don't know if I slept on it wrong, or what. But by the time Gerry got home from work, I was almost in tears it hurt so bad. It really ruined any excitement I felt towards watching the opening ceremonies to the Olympics.

I thought it would be better on Saturday after using the heating pad on it most of Friday night and taking some Ibuprofen. When I woke up Saturday morning, I truly was in tears. I couldn't turn my head to either side or tilt it backwards. I had plans to go to dinner with my BFF, Erin, that night, and I wasn't going to miss it. So, Gerry was nice enough to let me go back bed and sleep until 10:00 am.

Saturday afternoon Bobb, Laura and Olivia stopped by to bring us some Valentine's Day cookies they had made. Maria was excited that Olivia got to eat lunch here and the girls played for a little while. My neck was feeling a little better, but I still asked Erin to pick me up for our "date" b/c I didn't think I could drive. Had a good steak dinner at Tucker's and 2 bloody marys later, I was feeling pretty good. We ended the evening by seeing "Valentine's Day" which was actually a decent movie. I liked it!

Now, it is Monday afternoon and my neck still hurts. It's causing me to have a terrible headache as well. I guess I am going to have to make an appointment with the chiropractor. Today is the kind of day I wish I had a nanny!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Naomi is 9 Months Old!

Happy 9 months to our little Naomi! I wanted to wait and post this month until we went to the doctor for her 9 month check up so I could get her numbers. She weighs in at a whopping 17 pounds, 1 ounce (still hanging on to the 25th percentile), she is 28 and a half inches long (75th percentile) and her head is 18 inches (75th percentile).

Her doctor wasn't overly concerned about her lack of love for the bottle. She was encouraging by reminding me that we only have 3 months left of dealing with bottles, nipples and formula! This thought makes me somewhat relieved, but sad at the same time. (sniff, sniff) It means my baby won't really be a baby anymore.

Other than that, her doctor visit was very successful. She had to get 1 vaccine, and of course Maria wanted a turn, too. I pretended to give Maria a shot after the nurse left. It was funny!

Naomi has made some great accomplishments in this 9th month of her life! She is officially moving forward by doing a cute little army crawl. I posted a little video of it in the previous post...check it out if you haven't already! She is regularly going from all fours, to a sitting position and back down again. While sitting up, she is able to brace herself if she starts tipping over, and she has pulled herself up to her knees while playing at her discovery table.

She claps all the time, especially when someone shouts "Hooray" or "Yaayyy". She waves bye-bye and tries to mimic the sound. During meals, Naomi and Maria will communicate with each other by making all kinds of funny sounds. Naomi will mimic her sister and then they both giggle. It's hilarious! Speaking of mealtime, Naomi eats almost everything we eat. If we can find a way to mash it or cut it up and give it to her, then we do. And she loves almost everything we give her.

She is getting in to EVERYTHING! It is becoming increasingly hard to walk away from her for any length of time. We frequently find her rolling around in the dog bed, harassing the dog, getting stuck under the coffee table, trying to "play" with whatever Maria is playing with, or getting pushed out of the way by Maria. With her new mode of transportation, she has made her way into the kitchen and she has discovered the dog bowl. FUN! We have officially started using the gate in our hallway again so I can put Devon somewhere when Naomi won't leave her alone. We can't wait to see what she will get into next!

Here are a few pics I took of her playing around in the kitchen yesterday!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Naomi is on the move!

Okay so Naomi isn't technically crawling but she's "army" crawling all over the place! Here's a cute little video of it! (And of course, Maria had to get in on the fun, as well!)

Enjoy!





ps- "I go to Hollywood!"

Monday, February 8, 2010

Surprise For Karen & John!

I know I haven't written anything in a while, but I've been having some issues uploading pictures from my memory card onto the computer. Not sure what the problem was but I think I figured it out. I have been meaning to do a post on the Surprise Engagement Party we had for Gerry's sister, Karen and her fiance, John...so here it is!

On January 30th, Bobb, Laura, Emily (John's sister), Gerry and I threw the lovely couple a super surprise party for their engagement. Bobb and Laura graciously had it at their house. The guest list included the parents of the betrothed, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and close friends. After a heartfelt champagne toast given by Gerry, guests spent the evening noshing on sandwiches, little smokies, meatballs, chips and dips, Gus' pretzels, a cheese ball, and huge cake. We had quite the spread!

We tricked John and Karen into thinking they were just going to a relaxing family game night. They said they were surprised...but I'm not totally convinced. We typically see Karen all decked out in comfy sweats and tee shirts, especially when she knows she's going to be chilling with family members. See for yourself - she looks just a wee bit too dressed up to be going to a casual game night. (Sorry, Karen! Dead give away!)) :)

Everyone had a great time, nonetheless. The last guests didn't leave until after 1 AM, and some even spent the night.

Karen and John: We hope you guys had fun, too! This is just the beginning of many fun times ahead on the road to your wedding day! Enjoy this time while it lasts! It goes by fast!

Here are some pics of the evening's highlights:

The Surprise:





The happy couple toasting:



The bride and her parents:


Opening their gifts:


John and his grandmas:


Mmmmmm...little smokies!


The Fam:


Gerry and his baby sister: (AWW! She's all grownsed up!)


The bride with her bridesmaids:
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