'Celebrating Kindependence'

I received an e-mail from the lovely staff members at Pampers Kandoo about a contest that they are holding about "Celebrating Kindependence." (If you are interested in entering, scroll to the end of my post.)

What is 'kindependence' you might ask? It's the child-sized version of "I can do it myself."

Ring a bell anyone? That two-year-old that "I can do it!!!!" when putting on their shoes or buttering their toast.

Let me give you another perfect example where my children are constantly practicing the "I can do it myself" kindependence.

Potty training as anyone knows is a daunting task that parents near and wide, dread. You dread it because you know your days will be filled with bodily functions, lots of laundry, a high water bill, and a new-found loss of patience.

I can now say that both of my girls, have proved that they are out of the baby stage because they are both potty trained. (Can I get an WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!) Now this may come at a shock to all of you, but I have been mourning this new 'kindependence' that they have both earned. I am mourning because both of my 'babies' are no longer babies. They have reached the milestone of exiting babyhood. Even though a two-year-old or almost three-year-old, is truly not a baby, they might still be in diapers/pull-ups or potty training, but not full on going pee-on-potty. It's not that they don't need my help sometimes, but usually they can do the potty thing themselves.

I am honored to say that not only one, but both of my girls, are being celebrated. I have been thinking of ways of celebrating their HUGE milestone of mastering the potty training deal: learning to hold their bodily functions in long car rides (remember we commute), waiting for their turn on the potty, cheering each other on each morning after dry sheets are achieved.

None other than any milestone, this one is huge. They are exiting babyhood and entering kidhood.

Therefore, I celebrate my girls and their new 'kindependence' and will go and buy them Princess dolls and/or sparkly black glitter princess shoes and/or the new Halloween Barbie, for this huge achievement.

I keep in mind that there are many, many more milestones to hit because the issues down the road will become more complex and less physically demanding. I will cherish this 'ah-ha' moment knowing times ahead will be in the rough. But now, I will celebrate by doing the happiest 'happy dance' you've ever seen! (No video, sorry!)

If you are interested in entering a blog post about how your children are 'celebrating kindependence' click here to the contest's Web site. Deadline is Oct. 31.

www.pamperskandoo.com/Kindependence

'Look what I found, daddy!'

Ever hear those words sputtered by one of your offspring?

"Look what I found, daddy/mommy/Grandma/etc?"

It's usually a boogie, bug, or an old, dried up raisin that resembles a boogie.

Well, let me take you on a hilarious short story that I was just told by my wonderful, loving husband (based on my awful memory).

***

While sitting in the barber's chair at my husband's hair cut, my girls were sitting very nicely watching cartoons in plastic, waiting room chairs. All was well with the world and they are usually better behaved when they are with him.

Until he heard this:

Ava: "Daddy, look at what I found, daddy!" racing around from the other side of the corner of the waiting room.
Daddy: "What did you find, Ava? Bring it over here!"

Ava races back to the waiting room side and brings back her treasure for daddy.

(Can you guess what it is?!)

Ava: "Look daddy! Look what I found!"
Daddy: "What is it? Who's is it?"
Ava: "It's Emma's. Emma did it."

Daddy thinks it's a chewed up piece of tootsie roll that she found on the ground. He holds it or gives it back, I'm not sure. I'm guessing he throws it away.

Ava: "It's Emma's!"

Once the haircut is over, he goes to Ava and smells her hands.

It was a piece of poop.

Daddy is speechless.

'You are at war'

After having a lovely morning commute conversation with my dear Grandma, she asked how we were doing!

"Oh, we're doing great!" I said.

"That's great, honey!" my Grandma responded.

"Well, we are potty training Emma. And that's hard. And she's refusing to go and then five minutes later is peeing on the floor. And I've had it. I know she's wining and I know I need to control my anxiety and patience. But I can't. It's so hard. Why is this happening? She knows what she's doing. She knows that she can do it, but she isn't," I said over and over and over again.

"Well yes, you are at war!" she said.

"Yes, that's it. We are at war, so I guess we aren't doing so well," I finished.

Potty girl Emma! .. take two!

I have a goal this week, starting tomorrow. A goal I've had since Emma was born.

I am going to potty train Emma this weekend and will hopefully succeed.

My plan is to do what I did with Ava. Take off the pull-ups and let the girl roam free. She has her big sister to cheer her on and for moral support (and to share the win for those tasty, colorful M&Ms).

Wish us luck! This is the hardest week (besides the first week of infancy). The days of having to bring numerous outfits everywhere we go, changing peed on clothes in parking lots and lots of frustration.

Let's go EMMA!!!

Get your 'big girl' panties on

So the last package of diapers has been emptied into the basket on the changing table. And the fresh new box of pull-ups have been purchased. It's time to get Emma potty trained. I swear I could of trained her months ago, but I didn't think she was really 'ready-ready' and I wanted to hold onto my last baby for just a little while more.

But I am so proud!!! She will pee in the potty and poop in the potty! Not all of the time, but when given the chance she does it and does it well. She knows the drill. You get candy and a sticker after you pee or poop in the potty!

But mama knows better than to be dishing candy out here and there... before the 'real' training begins. I've had to stop offering it because Miss Ava will just go pee and then have to pee a minute after consuming her leftover Easter jelly beans.

So to encourage her and to encourage Ava to help with the training, the daily candy will resume and the stickers on the cool Sesame Street chart will start! (Can't wait..... NOT!) ;)

So best wishes are asked for a smooth potty training experience with Miss Emma ... which we will slowly move into once we are settled into our new house. We'll start with the pull-ups for now and get her used to the idea of being a 'big girl.' She's going to do great!!!

Musical potties

Have you ever played this game? Musical potties? I didn't know it existed until now! :)

This is how you play: train two-year-old on how to go pee-pee and poop on the potty. She masters it, yet occasionally pees the bed. Some weeks are better than others and some days are rather not perfect.

Have a lower potty seat in the girls' bathroom along with the normal porcelain god. And it's even better if you have a two-bathroom place.

You go from potty-to-potty and allow your child to pee in different potties. FUN! Especially when she insists on closing the door and then continues to put toilet paper in the potty. Or when the younger one fights for the lower potty to go "PEE PEE IN THA POTTY MOMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIEEEEEEE!"

It's fun!

Potty girl Emma!

What's up with child #2 doing and wanting to do everything early? And especially if it's your last??!!

That's Miss Emma I'm talking about. I swear she was just born last year. She's going to be 2 soon! So obviously- we're thinking about potty training. Ava is fully potty trained and has the occasional accident at night since she sleeps in her big girl underwear.

Emma has been requesting to wear big girl underwear lately with her soft-spoken words. Last night she pulls off her underwear (not the traditional way, she pulls down from the front and looks down and is surprised why it's not off yet) and pulls off her diaper. She then proceeds to say "pee pee" and sits down on the potty. This girl wanted to sit on the potty with no diaper on for a half an hour. Girlfriend!!!! I don't have 30 minutes! It's bed time! ;) I have a million things to do! (Like watch TV right up until daddy gets home and I gotta make his dinner. haha)

I'm ready with the skills I need to get the girl trained. But I'm not ready emotionally for my baby to be potty trained.

A WOO HOO!

Well! We've made it! We've made it to no longer preparing and washing bottles for Emma AND no more pull-ups for Ava!!!!!!!!!!

A WOO HOO!

One of the happiest days of my life was today at lunch when I realized that these two things no longer exist in my world!

Ava has been doing great peeing on the potty (poop in another thing for some reason, she stopped doing it on the potty when we put the 'big girl' underwear on her). Three things I learned: 1) Thick underwear only makes them think they are wearing diapers, you have to put the big girl underwear on only (daddy figured this one out!); 2) you have to have a variety of candy for them to choose one, including ALL of their faves; 3) peer pressure is very important when potty training. If one does it, they all do it. This was proven to me when we were visiting one of my friends' house with a little girl the same age who was introduced to the potty, but not yet in the pull-ups. Well she peed three times on that potty while we were there! Same with my niece-- everytime she went on the potty, Ava HAD to too!

I'm hoping Emma will be quick to learn! As you know, she joins the party everytime we hit the bathroom and gets very mad if we leave her with daddy in her high chair at a restaurant. :)

Emma was a piece of cake to take off the bottle, which we did about 2 months ago. The nighttime bottle I kept, because, well because, I thought she was soothed by it and loved it. That ended this past weekend and there was no fuss. What a good girl! :)

What is weird, is that I miss hitting the baby section of Target. I miss shopping for baby foods and I miss shopping and thumbing through my coupons for the best deal on wipes and diapers!!! I am so bizarre, I know it! :) And no, no pictures of my girl on the potty to show on the page. They are still on the digital camera waiting to be downloaded. :)

Gotta have a variety!

Ava has now been sans Pull-Ups as of Wednesday and is doing great!!!!! Upon pick-up Tuesday night, Paola, our lovely day care provider, informed me that Ava had been wearing 'big girl underwear' all day without any accidents. So Wednesday was the day! The first two days weren't the funniest, and I *almost* put her back in the diapers/Pull-Ups, but I didn't.

Wednesday was the worst of it. Seriously. We were running around shopping for Christmas presents and our last stop was Costco. She peed right on the toy isle. Nice. I was embarassed and husband was d-o-n-e. It was only her first day, poor little girl. So we continue running the girl to the store potty, changing her clothes in the parking lot, and sitting in dirty restrooms waiting for her to go 'pee-pee in tha pottay!'

One word of advice for those that are training.... given up on training for a while... or are going to start soon. GET A VARIETY OF CANDY!!!! M&M's will work for a while, lollipops will work but will make a messy baby! Reese's are the fave right now, but weren't doing it on Saturday. So my advice to all you mommies and daddies-- get a variety of candy! Skittles, M&M's, Whoopers, Reese's, Tootsie rolls, etc. because your child will get bored with the same old sticker/M&M dance. Trust me. :)

Ava did and I accommodated her resisting and now she's having less accidents by day. WOO HOO! Let's keep this going little girl and hopefully Miss Emma will be a piece of cake.

Treats

Happy fall everyone!!!

I had huge plans to decorate our balcony and porch for the neighbors' kids and our kids, but didn't get around to it. Hopefully soon! Loving this cooler weather as opposed to the three digit weather the Bay Area was blessed with last week!

Potty training has been going very well for Ava. She gets treats and that's her incentive to keep going! So we offer her M&Ms everytime she goes. Last week when picking Ava up from day care, I was informed that she receives 2 M&Ms for pee and 5 M&Ms for the other. "Yikes!" I thought, I better step up my game if I'm going to get this girl trained! :)

Well, as you know, Emma joins in on the party in the bathroom when we go 'pee pee in tha pottay.' Well she also joins in on the M&Ms after-party too! And Ava now insists that as soon as she receives her 'treats' that Emma gets her 'treat' too. Even starting at the ripe age of two, Ava has her sister's back.

What love!

(Photo courtesy of Leah-- so great to have seen you at the park! Thank you for this Kodak moment that you captured!)

'Pee pee in tha pottay!'

Potty training. Two words that bring a whirl-wind of different feelings. :) In stages of course!

We started potty training Ava a week ago today. She had been peeing on the potty for months and we made it 'fun' and exciting for her- and for us. But Friday was the big dip into the Pull-Ups and big girl underwear.

It's going quite well, but the deadline I've given her, myself and Martin, is another week of that and then hopefully start with the thick underwear and then the pretty Elmo, Dora and froggie princess underwear she's been wearing on top of the Pull-Ups.

What frightens me is the nighttime. Luckily for us, Ava has not climbed out of her crib, therefore it's still a crib and hasn't been transformed into a toddler/day bed.

Does anyone have any tips for the nighttime??

Emma on the other hand-- loves to join the 'pee pee in tha pottay' party in the girls' bathroom. She sits on a stool and reads books with us. Like our day care provider said, 'Emma would probably be trained a lot quicker than these other girls that are being trained.' Which is true. But I can't let go out my last baby that quickly! :)