Potty Training

I can't believe we are already posting about this!! Adelle is, roughly, 2 1/2 and she is learning how to use the big girl potty. We followed the advice of the Moes Family, and tried potty training Adelle in one day.

We got a bunch of things ready before we began, which really seemed to help. During the week I started planting ideas of going on the potty in her head by reminding her that some of her friends already do it, that we have big girl undies, and that she herself is a big girl. Here are the other things we got together:

• Snacks to munch on - Salty, sweet and healthy so she would drink lots.
• Juice, milk, pop, water - Anything she wanted to drink, we had!
• Stickers and a sticker chart for a visual reward
• Suckers for instant gratification
• Big girl undies
• Plastic undies for naps and night-time
• Her favorite doll - We used this along with one of her old medicine syringes. I filled the syringe with water and had the doll "go" and then run to the potty with her. I also had her go in the toilet and not have accidents.
• A towel and cleaner for accidents
• Big girl potty chair/toilet cover - We actually have a potty chair and a smaller seat to fit over ours. This worked well because sometimes she couldn't hold it in and HAD to use her little chair. We kept the little chair on a plastic mat where we were, and the smaller seat in the downstairs bathroom.
• A stool so she could get onto the toilet
• An apron for me to keep treats in
• Lots of enthusiasm from Mommy
• A photo album with pictures of special individuals - After going on the potty Adelle would get to call someone to share her news. We would flip through the album, or I would just ask who she wanted to call, and we did.
• Floor games and books - Nothing too distracting.
• A timer - You don't want to go too long in between visits to the bathroom.

We started our day with breakfast and turkey watching. We do this every weekend and Brian and I wanted to keep the majority of our routines. After we got back from breakfast I put undies on her doll and let Adelle "find" her! We talked about what she was wearing and what that meant, and I asked Adelle if she wanted to wear undies too. She said, "Yes, I do!!"  We put them on started the timer. I then started playing with her doll and made her have an accident. I ran from the accident to the bathroom saying, "No, No, No. We have to potty on the potty!" I did that a few times then asked Adelle if she wanted to try to go. She said yes so we put her on the potty and she went! I was really excited, gave her high-5s, a kiss, a sucker and then showed her the chart and the album. She put a sticker on the chart and called Nonna and Papi. They were SO excited!!

We kept this up for the rest of the day!!

We called lots of people and only cleaned up 4 accidents. Two were poo and I am not worried about them at this time - it's a different feeling! The other two were my fault because I don't think I was patient enough or persistent enough to make her stay on the toilet when she wanted to get off. Lesson learned!

She is doing SO well!!

Our Big Girl!

Even though it happened earlier this month, our beautiful little girl turned two. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, how big she's gotten, or even how much she's learned! There is something new every day and I love being a part of it all.

She loves watching movies, reading books, listening to music, singing, playing with cars, playing kitchen, playing dolls, building things, going to the zoo, and being fabulous!

One moment she won't get out of her pj's and another she won't leave the house without her 'princess skirt' or her Ruby Slippers.

She loves fruits and veggies (thank goodness) as well as the occasional sweet. While blueberries disappear by the bowlful, she also really likes strawberries, oranges, cherries,  and bananas. If she sees bread on the counter, she will ask for a piece of that to snack on. She drinks everything from water to prune juice.

I love the little phrases she says, too. 'Wait. Stop it!!' 'I do it!' 'Mommy/Daddy, help!' There are others, but these are my favorite.

Anyway, my Sweet Girl is two (already) and I've loved every moment of my time with her!

Here are some pictures from her actual birthday. We blew up balloons and covered her floor with them. After she woke up, we put them in her crib to play with them. What a blast!

Here are the pictures from her birthday party. She didn't blow out the candle right away, but it was adorable!  By the end of the day she was all tuckered out!

I love you!

Fall is Here

Fall is my favorite time of year. The air is crisp, the leaves turn color, and I FINALLY get to layer my clothes again. I don't like summer, or really warm weather because I don't like to bare my skin. I like wearing pants and sweaters!!

Adelle is getting so big! She is picking out her own clothes, becoming more picky when it comes to food, and is babbling like mad!! She always has something to say and says it with such enthusiasm and expression!!

 For instance, she chose to wear this Snow White costume the other day. I convinced her to put on pants with it, and what do I care if she wears a costume? She has something on and she loves it! Good enough for me! Thank you Auntie Danielle and Cousin Isabelle for the costume!

Then, yesterday, she decided to wear her sunglasses. We've gotten her to put them on before, but she has never kept them on for any length of time. Well, she kept them on for a 10 minute car ride yesterday! And she looks so darn adorable!!

13 Months

Where, oh where has the time gone?!

Well, Adelle had an appointment for her helmet yesterday. She's had it on since September, when she started out with an 8mm difference between the diagonals of her head (front to back). Yesterday, she was down to a 1mm difference!! YAY Addie!! The doctor asked if we wanted to keep the helmet on and try to get down to 0 and we agreed. We already have the appointment set up, so why not?!

Adelle has also been a real mover and shaker! She is running walking around everywhere! She picks things up in one room and puts them in another. She LOVES putting all of her Little People animals into a bag then dumping them out. She also really likes to take blocks apart, put them into things, take them out, put them back in... it's a never ending story. Another thing she likes doing, is reaching for us when she wants us to pick her up or if she wants to go to one of us (when she's in the others' arms). She will also pick up a book, bring it to us and reach for us so we can read to her. It is adorable!! One thing we are happy about is that she is finally getting the hang of the sippy cup! She is getting in some/one molar and sucking on a bottle has been tough. So we have put her milk into a sippy cup and have been giving her milk to her that way. She seems to like it anyway. She's also tried some new foods: fish sticks, raisins, bran muffins, ribs, cheeseburger, fries, and a couple of malts!

*Speaking of malts, the BEST place to get a malt in MN is The Convention Grill in Minneapolis. I love their fries and they have great burgers too! I highly recommend it!*

The only thing that we'd like to see develop a little more is her oral development. I mean, she babbles quite a bit, but she doesn't say a whole lot of words. We say what things are, describe things, repeat things, are as explicit as possible! What are you other Mommies out there doing to grow your child's vocabulary?

We are looking forward to a low-key weekend. It's supposed to be kind of relatively warm this weekend, so we were thinking about taking Adelle out in her sled. How exciting! I am really looking forward to the warm up since it has been so frigid. Then the Big Game is on Sunday already. I really can't get over how quickly time passes! Anyway, how are you spending the weekend?

- Teresa

VERY Mobile Little Lady!

So Adelle started to take a few steps around Christmas. We got a few pictures and a video, but I'm having a hard time finding them. Anyway, she was taking as many as 11 steps up until last Friday. Something happened to our Sweet Girl over night on Thursday because on Friday, she was walking around like she had always done it!!

Even since then she has gotten more sure of herself, sturdy, and more mobile. She is just tooling all over the place! She will sometimes start to crawl again, but then I think she remembers that she CAN walk so she gets up and starts walking again.

She is so adorable because she will walk to a toy, squat to pick it up, stand back up, turn around and start walking again. Her little legs, and her strength, just amaze me!! Soon she'll start running!! Oh my, sometimes, she will get off balance, lean forward, and kind of run to where ever she was going. It's super cute!!

Sigh... she's getting so big!

Adelle Turns 1!

We can't believe our Sweet Girl is 1 already! She is getting SO big!! We went to the doctor today and she is 2ft 6 1/4in tall, she DEFINITELY doesn't get that from me, and is 18lbs 15oz. She is eating lots of veggies, some fruits and meats, but she LOVES spaghetti, something she DEFINITELY gets from me! :)

Here are some pictures from her first birthday. We celebrated on Sunday, her actual birthday, with our family! Bruce and Sharon, John and Dottie, Angie, Dale and Lila, Maria, Becky, Pat and Zoe, and Ben and Melissa. We were just missing Great Grandma Dolores, and Danielle, Mike, Isabelle and Gabe but we celebrated with them a few days earlier. It was so much fun!!

Here are some pictures: