We've finally had a couple beautiful days, and we knew we just had to get out and enjoy some time in the park.
It's so great to go out without bundling up again! She was sooo excited to get outside and play. We went to the play area in the city park that's right outside the zoo. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised, but the place was totally packed! I guess everyone wanted to take advantage of such a beautiful day in the low 70s.
At first, she just looked in amazement at all the kids running around, and the things she recognized like the slides and swings. It wasn't long before she was asking to swing...but they were all full...with people waiting in the wings to jump on the next empty one...so we headed to one of the toddler slides. She looooved it of course laughing and saying. "Again, ....side again! So she did...many, many times!
She did get curious about the other activities, and once she started running around, she was just in heaven! She kept seeing things and going "I do it, I do it!" She loved the tunnel. It was hilarious how she would run through it...with her head rubbing the top the whole way through resulting in crazy hair static...and then turn back around and go the opposite way through often saying "boo" as she popped her head out the other side, only to turn back around and run through the other way again!
There were cool hanging chimes, that she loved playing with. Lately she loves anything musical! And these actually inspired her to stand in one place for a few minutes.
She was intrigued by the giant, sunken sandbox, and wanted to play in it...but, I'm not letting her do that any time soon if ever...and I know she'd hate it in a second. This is the same child who puts her hands in the air for help when she gets any dirt or fuzz or spilled milk on her hands! It's actually really funny when she gets a hair on her hand (which because of her obsession with running her hands constantly through her own hair or mine happens often) she immediately stops and concentrates intently on trying to remove the offending hair that dared to get caught around her fingers. When she isn't able to free herself from the entangled hair...she hollers "Hairee, hairee, hep...hairee!" with her arm raised to show us. She absolutely can't tolerate debris on her hands!
Anyway, she ran and played and had such fun in the park...she definitely didn't want to go home.
After a few litte whimpers...as we headed to the car she started with, "Hungee... home... hungee... home!" And then nearly fell asleep in the 4 minute car ride home. I whipped up some yummy turkey burger sloppy joes, and as she was waiting in her high chair watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Matt said that she had laid her head on her arms and was nodding off. Poor. exhausted little girl. It was only 7 oclock, but she had missed her late afternoon nap, so she could barely stay awake. After she enjoyed some sloppy joes, she went off to sleep pretty easily at first...
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Potty training continues...
It's crazy how one step in a kid's life can consume so much time and thought! We're trying to be consistent, and Avalai is such a willing, and earnest participant...just wanting to please us. It's so precious! Today she did her pee-pee in the potty several times, and also poopy once. We're so used to letting her play in her crib when she wakes up from a nap that it didn't occur to us that we should rush up and get her to the potty as soon as we heard her wake up...it's so fun to hear her talk and sing to her animals...so when Matt did get up there to get her, she had a poopy diaper...but overall, she's doing well.
She got to go to the store with Matt (a true treat for our little social butterfly who makes friends with everyone) and they picked out some "Princess Pull-ups". She's actually never seen any of the Disney princess movies, but I guess some things are just a natural thrill to a little girl. Once we told her that they were "princesses" (she doesn't actually know what that is)...despite her ignorance of the folklore...she was sooooooo excited! Gasping and staring at the picture on her new pull-ups as she held it right up to her face. She loooooved the idea of wearing pretty princesses as big girl panties (I know they're pull-ups).
She kept bending forward trying to see them better after they were on her. I've got to pay closer attention to what she calls them...I know whe throws in a lot of "p's" and it's hilarious to hear her say it. She was definitely NOT happy when we "covered them up" with her pants. She started to whine, but we just distracted her with the cool penguin on her shirt. She loves penguins, and that worked for now.
It's so funny how we can generally control her moods with distractions, or songs, or excitement. We do a toothbrushing song...and it works too well. She doesn't want to STOP brushing her eight little teeth! And she tries to sing with the toothbrsh in her mouth, so it's a little messy :)
Matt kept saying, "Are you done brushing? ... Alright, let's put your toothbrush away"...
Her response..."Nope" and she tries to sing the song again.
Soooo...we have to get creative and say..."Let's put the toothbrush to sleep...Say nite-nite toothbrush"...and she suddenly thinks it's a great idea and goes right along saying "Nie-Nie too-bush...Awwwww". And then we're fine to move on :)
At the store, Matt also got her a 97 cent easter rubber ducky that she just couldn't live without. And she was loving on it, and then being rough with it, and throwing it, and picking it up and kissing it, and then throwing it...when I caught her doing this, my first reaction would normally be to scold her and remind her that we don't throw things...which always ends in tears...but something told me that a different approach might work better. So I played the role of the poor little ducky that had just gotten thrown down and I was so sad that Avalai wasn't being nice to me...and her compassionate side kicked into gear...I said "Poor ducky, you should say you're sorry for being mean to her...she's so sad!" Avalai's eyes showed her concern, and she gingerly picked up the rubber ducky and said "Si sowwy, I niiiiice," as she hugged the duck again. I showed her how to set the ducky down "easy" if she was done playing with it, and she caught on quickly. It was so funny to see her repeatedly set the duck down ever so carefully saying "Eee-seee, eee-seee" She even felt the need to show Matt when he came in the room saying "Daddy...eeee-seee...nice ducky" I'm sure it was a better lesson than just a reminder of the rules.
She's really such a soft-hearted, precious girl. We have issues now and then with her little 2-second temper fits that we can usually quell with a stern look, and she definitely doesn't like to sit still unless she's watching Einstein DVDs (she has been begging for "Eye-Tine" since she was not much over a year...and lately "Nemo" is a very frequent request) or stacking her blocks, or reading a book. But she's a daily joy that I never realized that she'd become.
She got to go to the store with Matt (a true treat for our little social butterfly who makes friends with everyone) and they picked out some "Princess Pull-ups". She's actually never seen any of the Disney princess movies, but I guess some things are just a natural thrill to a little girl. Once we told her that they were "princesses" (she doesn't actually know what that is)...despite her ignorance of the folklore...she was sooooooo excited! Gasping and staring at the picture on her new pull-ups as she held it right up to her face. She loooooved the idea of wearing pretty princesses as big girl panties (I know they're pull-ups).
She kept bending forward trying to see them better after they were on her. I've got to pay closer attention to what she calls them...I know whe throws in a lot of "p's" and it's hilarious to hear her say it. She was definitely NOT happy when we "covered them up" with her pants. She started to whine, but we just distracted her with the cool penguin on her shirt. She loves penguins, and that worked for now.
It's so funny how we can generally control her moods with distractions, or songs, or excitement. We do a toothbrushing song...and it works too well. She doesn't want to STOP brushing her eight little teeth! And she tries to sing with the toothbrsh in her mouth, so it's a little messy :)
Matt kept saying, "Are you done brushing? ... Alright, let's put your toothbrush away"...
Her response..."Nope" and she tries to sing the song again.
Soooo...we have to get creative and say..."Let's put the toothbrush to sleep...Say nite-nite toothbrush"...and she suddenly thinks it's a great idea and goes right along saying "Nie-Nie too-bush...Awwwww". And then we're fine to move on :)
At the store, Matt also got her a 97 cent easter rubber ducky that she just couldn't live without. And she was loving on it, and then being rough with it, and throwing it, and picking it up and kissing it, and then throwing it...when I caught her doing this, my first reaction would normally be to scold her and remind her that we don't throw things...which always ends in tears...but something told me that a different approach might work better. So I played the role of the poor little ducky that had just gotten thrown down and I was so sad that Avalai wasn't being nice to me...and her compassionate side kicked into gear...I said "Poor ducky, you should say you're sorry for being mean to her...she's so sad!" Avalai's eyes showed her concern, and she gingerly picked up the rubber ducky and said "Si sowwy, I niiiiice," as she hugged the duck again. I showed her how to set the ducky down "easy" if she was done playing with it, and she caught on quickly. It was so funny to see her repeatedly set the duck down ever so carefully saying "Eee-seee, eee-seee" She even felt the need to show Matt when he came in the room saying "Daddy...eeee-seee...nice ducky" I'm sure it was a better lesson than just a reminder of the rules.
She's really such a soft-hearted, precious girl. We have issues now and then with her little 2-second temper fits that we can usually quell with a stern look, and she definitely doesn't like to sit still unless she's watching Einstein DVDs (she has been begging for "Eye-Tine" since she was not much over a year...and lately "Nemo" is a very frequent request) or stacking her blocks, or reading a book. But she's a daily joy that I never realized that she'd become.
Friday, March 6, 2009
A double dose of potty success on Day 2
It's amazing what a 20 month old will do for some cheers and an excited, jumping "potty dance".
I seriously think that is her main reason for doing so well on the potty.
Today Avalai did her pee-pee on the potty several times. She's really getting the hang of it, and wants so badly to impress us. Matt's been doing a good job with being consistent with her.
Then...after a successful morning of pee-pee...I was at a 5:00 appointment when I got a call from Matt. I quickly silenced the ring, and then once I got back to the car, I saw that he'd left a message...saying...that Avalai had done POOPY in the potty too!!!! I was so proud of her!
Two years ago, I would have thought that getting excited over such a thing might be slightly over-the-top, but it's crazy how your perspective changes when little ones wind their way into your entire purpose of existence.
This evening we had a relaxing night with DJ & Susan and some of our favorite Uno's pizza.
They were laughing at how she's become such a little copy cat. If we say for instance, "Let's put on your coat." She follows with, "Your coat...?" Or "Would you like some of this?" she follows with "Of diss?" etc. She copies almost EVERYTHING she hears!
We watched the movie "Flash of Genius" about the guy who invented the intermittent wipers. It was a cool real-life story. Avalai won't ever sit still, or go to sleep in anyone else's house. So, that's always challenging, but we had a good time and got to catch up with them.
She's gotten good at saying her name. If you say, "What's your name?" She proudly says "Aaaa-vay". Susan is often "Newd-sen" and she calls me "Laur-lie" if I don't respond quickly to "Mommy".
I seriously think that is her main reason for doing so well on the potty.
Today Avalai did her pee-pee on the potty several times. She's really getting the hang of it, and wants so badly to impress us. Matt's been doing a good job with being consistent with her.
Then...after a successful morning of pee-pee...I was at a 5:00 appointment when I got a call from Matt. I quickly silenced the ring, and then once I got back to the car, I saw that he'd left a message...saying...that Avalai had done POOPY in the potty too!!!! I was so proud of her!
Two years ago, I would have thought that getting excited over such a thing might be slightly over-the-top, but it's crazy how your perspective changes when little ones wind their way into your entire purpose of existence.
This evening we had a relaxing night with DJ & Susan and some of our favorite Uno's pizza.
They were laughing at how she's become such a little copy cat. If we say for instance, "Let's put on your coat." She follows with, "Your coat...?" Or "Would you like some of this?" she follows with "Of diss?" etc. She copies almost EVERYTHING she hears!
We watched the movie "Flash of Genius" about the guy who invented the intermittent wipers. It was a cool real-life story. Avalai won't ever sit still, or go to sleep in anyone else's house. So, that's always challenging, but we had a good time and got to catch up with them.
She's gotten good at saying her name. If you say, "What's your name?" She proudly says "Aaaa-vay". Susan is often "Newd-sen" and she calls me "Laur-lie" if I don't respond quickly to "Mommy".
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Avalai goes pee-pee in the potty!!!!
After a fitful night of Avalai waking up from teething pain, we had a successful morning.
We've been slowly working on introducing Avalai to her new potty...sitting her on it a couple times a day for a few days...she would always read books and sing with us, but no pee-pee...until this morning!
She slept in a little later than usual this morning, and when I got her up...she was soaked through again (this has been happening lately) so I took a naked, little, shivering girl to the potty for a quick try before I got her all dressed again. While she was sitting there shivering, reading one of her books...I ran to get her some fresh clothes, and by the time I got back...and started to dress her as she was still sitting there...I looked down and saw that she had gone pee-pee in the potty! I screamed excitedly, and she looked down and mirrored my excitement. I said "You did it...you went pee-pee in the potty!" She gasped and said "I deed eet! Pee-pee, potty" and cheered and clapped for herself. We called Daddy to come and share in the triumph...and we all rejoiced in her achievement.
Yay...a successful morning in potty-training world!
We've been slowly working on introducing Avalai to her new potty...sitting her on it a couple times a day for a few days...she would always read books and sing with us, but no pee-pee...until this morning!
She slept in a little later than usual this morning, and when I got her up...she was soaked through again (this has been happening lately) so I took a naked, little, shivering girl to the potty for a quick try before I got her all dressed again. While she was sitting there shivering, reading one of her books...I ran to get her some fresh clothes, and by the time I got back...and started to dress her as she was still sitting there...I looked down and saw that she had gone pee-pee in the potty! I screamed excitedly, and she looked down and mirrored my excitement. I said "You did it...you went pee-pee in the potty!" She gasped and said "I deed eet! Pee-pee, potty" and cheered and clapped for herself. We called Daddy to come and share in the triumph...and we all rejoiced in her achievement.
Yay...a successful morning in potty-training world!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The teething has begun again! Avalai played with Celia tonight (she came with Cara her mom) and Avalai just follows her around (Celia's 4) trying to do whatever she is doing.
Then bedtime comes, and Avalai tries to sleep, and ends up waking up 20 minutes later with her teeth. Poor girl, it's just pitiful to see those crocodile tears rolling down her face. She's half asleep, but in pain begging for "mulk" .
Matt laid down with her for a few minutes and looked at one of her activity books with her... and he said that when they came to a page with a younger guy who happened to be a florist on that particular page...Matt told her that he was DJ...and she lit up and was sooo excited. When he would turn the page, she would beg for "DJ...peeez???" So Matt had to keep turning back to that page and she would giggle and say "DJ...DJ" He said that it was so cute!
Hopefully this icy slush will melt and she can go outside again this weekend. She's been such an angel child for the past week. This teething stuff just messes her up...personality and all.
I'll be glad when they're all in. Then it will probably be something else I'm sure.
Then bedtime comes, and Avalai tries to sleep, and ends up waking up 20 minutes later with her teeth. Poor girl, it's just pitiful to see those crocodile tears rolling down her face. She's half asleep, but in pain begging for "mulk" .
Matt laid down with her for a few minutes and looked at one of her activity books with her... and he said that when they came to a page with a younger guy who happened to be a florist on that particular page...Matt told her that he was DJ...and she lit up and was sooo excited. When he would turn the page, she would beg for "DJ...peeez???" So Matt had to keep turning back to that page and she would giggle and say "DJ...DJ" He said that it was so cute!
Hopefully this icy slush will melt and she can go outside again this weekend. She's been such an angel child for the past week. This teething stuff just messes her up...personality and all.
I'll be glad when they're all in. Then it will probably be something else I'm sure.
Listening to Avalai sing and talk to herself over the moniter ...
As I sit here trying to get some work done, I hear Avalai rambling on and on over the baby monitor. "Bible .... Book ... I Did It! ... mmmm ... Lalala" and much more. She was calling for "La Lie" several times this afternoon. She's very cute at this age with her nonstop chatter.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I'm so behind on this blogging thing. I'll try to update better soon.
I haven't felt that great the past couple days so I hope I can bounce out of it and not have to go back on Lyme medicine. We'll see.
We got snow yesterday and Avalai just loved it of course. We bundled her all up so well, that as she's standing there waiting with a onesie, a long john suit, a shirt, a sweater, three pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, boots, mittens and a big puffy brown coat...as we are getting our layers on, she finally looked up at us and said "Hot...hot..." I thought awwww...at least she translated that into her feeling hot. She understands when water is hot, or her food is hot...but she figured out that with all those layers on, she was HOT :)
Oh...and as we were bundling her, we kept asking her..."Where do you want to go?" She knows that when she gets shoes and coat on that she's going somewhere, of course. We expected her to say "ahsseye" to see the "peety, no"...which she had been excited about earlier when we showed her out the window. But no...she wasn't thinking about going outside and playing with us...she said..."(long dramatic gasp)...Nenan nenn Nenny!" with as much excitement as ever. Great, we thought...she doesn't actually believe that WE'RE going to go out and play with her! Oh well. We're glad she loves them so much!
Once we got outside, she was in awe for a short time, but it didn't take long for her wonderment to turn to pure glee. She was running through the snow, loving the crunch beneath her feet. She pointed out the "pint" (plant) that was growing up through the snow...and she fell down a few times, and was anxious for us to get her up quickly...but overall, she loved it, despite the freezing temps.
Cathy (our neighbor) saw us and sent us to retrieve her plastic toboggan sled from her shed. Boy did Avalai love that! Matt pushed her several times in it, and if Avalai could have chosen, she'd have had him push her on that little disc all afternoon! I did get it on video a few times. She was a good little girl, and we had fun, even though I couldn't feel most of my appendages!
Cathy left for her new job last night... and Avalai often asks for her... so it's going to be hard to not see her often now. I'm hoping something will open up so she can stay here...she just couldn't find a comparable job here...so she's staying with her sister in VA Beach while she works down there and makes sure that she likes it.
I saved $230 on my grocery bill too last night with triple coupons. Avalai was a trooper! Considering that we were in Super Fresh from about 9 until after midnight...she's so adaptableand was nice to everyone, poor little girl. She slept well that night!
Tonight she went to the Verizon Store with me, (I so dread that place, but I needed to transfer contacts to my new Blackberry Storm that I'm still not sure that I totally like!) and even though we had a long wait as usual, Avalai made friends with everyone she saw. I was trying to teach her how to introduce herself. I would say "What's your name...tell them what your name is..." And she would point to her chest and say "Av-way" and nod her little head. She met a little 2 and a half year old boy... a 6 or 7 year old girl, and a couple of college kids chilling on the couch. It's so funny now because when she meets someone new and they tell her their name, she immediately tries to say it, and she's usually pretty right on...and always so adorably funny!
We also had to run by Lowes and Target, and she was a charming little angel. She stayed with me, rode in the cart and read a little cookie monster counting book I picked up for her. I let her pick out a new cereal bowl with a yellow birdie, and a new flower fork and spoon set. She even helped me put the items on the checkout counter. She was tired, since it was almost 10 o'clock, but she was such a sweetie pie!
Avalai was so cute today...as she often does...she fell asleep reading books, and after a little fuss when she first woke up...she played for at least 30 or 40 minutes in her crib. Reading her Elmo activity book...telling her animals that she loves them and giving them lots of kisses. It's soooo adorable, I could just squeeze her every minute.
If only I could invent something that would make us rich enough that I wouldn't have to work and could just stay home with her...maybe someday :)
I haven't felt that great the past couple days so I hope I can bounce out of it and not have to go back on Lyme medicine. We'll see.
We got snow yesterday and Avalai just loved it of course. We bundled her all up so well, that as she's standing there waiting with a onesie, a long john suit, a shirt, a sweater, three pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, boots, mittens and a big puffy brown coat...as we are getting our layers on, she finally looked up at us and said "Hot...hot..." I thought awwww...at least she translated that into her feeling hot. She understands when water is hot, or her food is hot...but she figured out that with all those layers on, she was HOT :)
Oh...and as we were bundling her, we kept asking her..."Where do you want to go?" She knows that when she gets shoes and coat on that she's going somewhere, of course. We expected her to say "ahsseye" to see the "peety, no"...which she had been excited about earlier when we showed her out the window. But no...she wasn't thinking about going outside and playing with us...she said..."(long dramatic gasp)...Nenan nenn Nenny!" with as much excitement as ever. Great, we thought...she doesn't actually believe that WE'RE going to go out and play with her! Oh well. We're glad she loves them so much!
Once we got outside, she was in awe for a short time, but it didn't take long for her wonderment to turn to pure glee. She was running through the snow, loving the crunch beneath her feet. She pointed out the "pint" (plant) that was growing up through the snow...and she fell down a few times, and was anxious for us to get her up quickly...but overall, she loved it, despite the freezing temps.
Cathy (our neighbor) saw us and sent us to retrieve her plastic toboggan sled from her shed. Boy did Avalai love that! Matt pushed her several times in it, and if Avalai could have chosen, she'd have had him push her on that little disc all afternoon! I did get it on video a few times. She was a good little girl, and we had fun, even though I couldn't feel most of my appendages!
Cathy left for her new job last night... and Avalai often asks for her... so it's going to be hard to not see her often now. I'm hoping something will open up so she can stay here...she just couldn't find a comparable job here...so she's staying with her sister in VA Beach while she works down there and makes sure that she likes it.
I saved $230 on my grocery bill too last night with triple coupons. Avalai was a trooper! Considering that we were in Super Fresh from about 9 until after midnight...she's so adaptableand was nice to everyone, poor little girl. She slept well that night!
Tonight she went to the Verizon Store with me, (I so dread that place, but I needed to transfer contacts to my new Blackberry Storm that I'm still not sure that I totally like!) and even though we had a long wait as usual, Avalai made friends with everyone she saw. I was trying to teach her how to introduce herself. I would say "What's your name...tell them what your name is..." And she would point to her chest and say "Av-way" and nod her little head. She met a little 2 and a half year old boy... a 6 or 7 year old girl, and a couple of college kids chilling on the couch. It's so funny now because when she meets someone new and they tell her their name, she immediately tries to say it, and she's usually pretty right on...and always so adorably funny!
We also had to run by Lowes and Target, and she was a charming little angel. She stayed with me, rode in the cart and read a little cookie monster counting book I picked up for her. I let her pick out a new cereal bowl with a yellow birdie, and a new flower fork and spoon set. She even helped me put the items on the checkout counter. She was tired, since it was almost 10 o'clock, but she was such a sweetie pie!
Avalai was so cute today...as she often does...she fell asleep reading books, and after a little fuss when she first woke up...she played for at least 30 or 40 minutes in her crib. Reading her Elmo activity book...telling her animals that she loves them and giving them lots of kisses. It's soooo adorable, I could just squeeze her every minute.
If only I could invent something that would make us rich enough that I wouldn't have to work and could just stay home with her...maybe someday :)
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