Stalled

We had 3 terrific potty-training days. We only had 1 or 2 accidents each day despite running around completely bottomless all day long, and most of them happened on or around the toilet. Suddenly on the 4th day, however, Abby decided she no longer wanted to sit on the toilet. I don't know what happened. The novelty wore off and she suddenly became scared to sit down. We haven't been pushing her too hard since because I don't want to end up with the first kid to ever graduate high school wearing diapers because her Mommy gave her a fear of toilets! We still ask her every so often if she wants to go sit down, but she always answers with a scared little "no." Oh well, we'll just give her some time and try again when she's ready.

This is what happens when Mommy's snowed in for 2 days and is going stir crazy!

This Potty Training Thing is Easy!

Ever since I bought that cushion yesterday, Abby has wanted to do nothing but sit on the toilet. All. Day. Long. She didn't have as much time on it as she would've liked yesterday because we were busy, but today we're homebound. I've been letting her run around the house bottomless because it's too much trouble to help her out of her pants/diaper every 3.2 seconds when she wants to sit on the toilet. So far, we haven't had one accident yet. But I'm sure I've just jinxed myself. Not only have there been NO accidents, but she's peed in the toilet TWICE! The second time I knew it was coming because she stopped watching The Wiggles to sneak into the bathroom. I followed but stayed outside until she was done. Then I was able to do the happy pee-pee dance and cheer her on.

UPDATE: The only accident of the day so far happened after I put her in panties. Bottomless is best. Also, she just POOPED IN THE TOILET!

UPDATE2: I had to run to the design studio this evening and while I was gone, Damon said Abby successfully peed in the toilet AND WIPED HERSELF AFTER! We're nowhere near ready to get rid of diapers completely, but I'm amazed at how well this first day has gone.

24 Months

It's been a long time since I wrote a big update. Her 2-year checkup was on Friday, and she's now 29.5lbs. and 35" tall. She finally seems to have quit growing by leaps and bounds in height since she only grew by .75" this time. She's around the 80th percentile for both weight and height this time.

Friday was a busy day around here. After her checkup, we met with the project manager for our house and he walked us through the entire construction process, but that's a post for another day. That afternoon, we had a birthday party for her at a local pizza place. We ended up having 8 kids there, which was a nice manageable number. I wish I would've been able to take more pictures, but I was too busy.


Late last week, I was letting her run around naked after her bath when I noticed her squatting as if she was about to have an accident. I scooped her up and sat her on the toilet, and she loved it. Now she wants to sit there all the time, so I bought her one of those cushions today. I'm so not ready for this! I was planning on waiting until at least the summer, once we're well settled in the house, before even thinking about it but she seems to be ready now. I can't get her off the toilet now that she has that cushion! She was having such a good time sitting there today, she decided to make herself comfortable by grabbing the magazine off the counter.


I took her to see the mall Santa today, and she did a lot better than I expected. She kept trying to get off his lap, but she never cried.


Her vocabulary has grown like crazy recently. She started putting two words together about a month ago, and since then she seems to learn a ton of new words every day. While we were visiting family during Thanksgiving, she finally started calling me "Mommy" all the time. Before that, she'd only scream "Mommy" when she was ready for me to get her out of the bath. It's music to my ears. The last few days, she's been testing out "Mom" and "Mama" too.

She's become very maternal toward her dolls recently. When we first moved here, the residents threw a little welcoming party for us and gave Abby a doll. She's been sleeping with it in her crib since, but she's never been particulary attached to it. A couple months ago, she became attached to her Po doll again. She insisted on taking it everywhere with us, and she'd lovingly sit it next to her in the grocery cart. Shortly after, she found a small Po I'd bought awhile back in the hopes of leaving the big one at home, but it backfired. Suddenly, she had to have both of them with her. They all sleep with her too. Now, she has to sleep with both Poes, the baby doll, a big doll that's supposed to teach her how to button/zip/tie her shoes (thanks Susie!), and a giraffe we bought her at the zoo when we went to the Electric Safari. She also has one of our pillows, a down comforter, and 2 quilts that Damon's grandmother made. She refuses to sleep without any of that stuff!


Before Abby was born, I was prepared for all the changes we'd see in the first year. Everyone always talks about how much babies grow in that time. What I wasn't ready for, however, was how much she'd change during this second year. She went from a toddling baby who didn't understand much of what we'd say to her to a full-fledged little girl.

Santa Cheated!

We took Abby to the "Electric Safari" at the zoo tonight. I told her we were going to see Santa and that she'd get to sit on his lap, so she'd be prepared. The entire way over we heard "Santa. Santa. Santa." from the back seat. When it came time to sit on his lap, though, she got scared, so Santa had Damon sit in his seat instead.


We stopped to see the giraffes while we were there because it's Abby's favorite exhibit. This was the first time she got to feed them, so we were surprised that she loved it!