Sweet Six-Month Squishiness

Little Miss Vivien Leigh, you are not so little anymore! You are 1/2 of a year old!

You have two new bottom teeth that have recently poked through. You are eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables and especially love those puffs (or "pups" as Amity calls them!).

You love to be up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth.

You speak with lots of syllables and seem to have a lot to say.

No one can make you laugh as much as your sister. You love to touch her even though sometimes she would prefer to have some personal space.

You are such a sweet laid-back little girl. For all of your constant movement, you are still a cuddler and I just can't get enough of your squishiness. You have so much personality already and we just can't wait to get to know more about you!

The M says "mmmm"

Today, we ventured out of the house (aka "Our Potty Training Bubble") for the first time since Sunday. Lakeside Baptist Church, where we will attend MOPS next year, was hosting a storytime and craft at 10:00 this morning. I figured that the only place safer than home when potty training is being in a church with other toddlers and moms that, hopefully, understand when accidents happen.

The sweet lady that led the storytime used to be a school librarian and she did a fantastic job of reading books like The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen and The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Amity sat on her little square (I was glad it was vinyl just in case!) and was mesmerized the whole time. Afterwards, they went to another room to color a rainbow fish and do another craft. While Amity was coloring, she all of the sudden said, "Look Mommy, an M!" It really did look like a curvy M before she colored over it! While she tries to write other letters sometimes, this was the first time it didn't just look like a bunch of lines. I almost cried!

After the craft, Mrs. Barbara had Goldfish (Amity's love language!) and juice that she got to drink in a real cup. On our way out the church, we stopped at the restroom (apparently just to check out the scenery) and made it home without any accidents.

Soon after, her dry record was broken when she got too busy playing and didn't quite make it. I'm still thankful for the progress and proud of our Big Girl!

Priceless!

One pair of panties sent to the trash = approximately $.75

Four variations of potty seats = $40

Rewards (Stickers, Goldfish, Plastic Jewelry, Baby Doll) = more than $20


First poopy in the potty = Priceless!

Not to be outdone!

While potty training has overtaken our home, little Miss V has been working on her own skills like cutting her first tooth and sitting up and being easy-going. Pretty much the only time we hear her cry is when she gets lonely. She is a light sleeper and if she hears us come into their room to get Amity up to go potty, she is just devastated if she is not included. With a smile like this, we are usually happy to oblige!

Comic Relief

Before we went to bed last night, we checked on Amity and discovered that she was wet. We changed her clothes and sheets and she slept until 6:30 this morning and woke up dry. We broke the stay-at-home mandate of the 3 day potty training this morning because we had commitments at church. Our compromise was that I would go with Amity to her class so that we would be with her at all times. She was very fascinated with the big girl bathroom at church but was scared to be without her potty seat the first few times. This led to an accident in her class while listening to the Bible story. Soon after, she did brave the new big potties and we had one success.

For lunch, we went with some friends to Jason's Deli and discovered that one-stall restrooms are to be avoided when in the potty training stage. I had to end Amity's turn kind of abruptly because there was a line waiting on us. Shortly after, as we sat at a table full of our DINK (double income/no kids) friends, Amity had another accident right there on the floor. To her credit, she did tell us she needed to go. I just didn't want to mess with the restroom again. My fault! I have a feeling we prolonged the dink-ness of some couples today!

Back in the van, we tried to get Amity to use her new portable potty but she was not interested. We headed for home but she started panicking on the way. We pulled over by White Rock Lake. I am pretty sure it was obvious to anybody that drove by how clueless and helpless we were! Finally, we just told her to try to hold it until we got home.

And...she did! The rest of the day has been a series of mostly successes with a lot of false alarms and a few accidents. So far, no poopy but, as evidenced in the last portion of the video below, she sure does try! :)

When the Going Gets Tough...

Sometimes the tough ones STOP going...and then wait for an opportune moment to "go" in a swim diaper at a birthday party!

I lay awake last night between 1-3 am wondering if I should check on Amity. We had woken her up just before we went to bed and sat her on the potty but she cried the whole time and just wanted to go back to bed. I was hoping to listen for her stirring and get her just before she had an accident. Somehow, I fell asleep just before she woke up crying and a little bit wet. We changed her and her sheet (so thankful for the Ultimate Crib Sheet!) and put her back to bed and Vivien seem undisturbed. Around 6:30 this morning, we were awoken to loud screams for Daddy. She was soaking wet this time. As soon as Vivien saw us, she cried too. Dennis bathed Amity while I fed Vivien and the morning continued with a few peepee successes and Mommy and Daddy on high alert for other possibilities....which never came.

One positive of the day was that Amity did wake up dry from her three-hour nap. She received another book as a treat.

After the nap, we headed to a neighborhood birthday party for one of Amity's friends. She wore "swim panties" under her swimsuit because the invitation had said come dressed to swim. It turned out being too hot to go outside so we just played inside. Apparently, in the midst of talking with the other parents, Amity took advantage of the "swim panties".

Oh well, both girls are now in bed! We'll see how night #2 goes! By the way, Vivien's first tooth has cut through! Exciting times at the Grover house!

Read All About It!

After peeing in the potty successfully several times this morning, she did have an accident during her nap and was a little upset about that. Since then, she often tells us she needs to go and changes her mind as soon as she gets to the door or as soon as she sits down. We are just thankful she is initiating telling us!

Before bed tonight, she said she needed to go and she sat on her princess potty. I pulled out the Elmo potty seat for the big potty and asked her if she wanted to try it. She replied with an emphatic two-year-old "No!" I told her that was okay but that someday soon she was going to need to try the big potty and, when she did, she would get a treat. I went to check on Vivien in her crib and when I came back, Amity asked to sit on the big potty. I moved her over and began cheering as I heard her start to tinkle. She very seriously looked at me and said, "Treat?" Thankfully, Dennis had made a trip to the dollar aisle at Target earlier today and she seemed content with a new Elmo book.

She is down for the night sans diaper. Again, we'll see how this goes! It makes me laugh to think of God's sovereignty and providence as he designed every detail of creation. He must have thought, "Just so they remember that they are NOT in control, I will be sure and throw potty-training into the mix!"

By George...

While Dennis was mowing the yard and Vivien was down for a nap, Amity drank THREE Capri-Sun juices while we colored and played with play-doh. I kept asking her if her panties were dry and reminded her to "tell Mommy if she needed to go potty".

The first accident happened when she got up to go play with her dollhouse. She was just a foot away from me and all of the sudden the floor was wet. I picked her up and ran with her to the bathroom and pulled down her panties. To both of our surprise, something else came out!!! Having changed her diaper for 26 months, it was more traumatic for her than for me! I cleaned her up and we cleaned up the floor and continued playing and drinking.

There were two more accidents within 15 minutes. Each time, I would pick her up and run her to the bathroom but not in time to get anything in the potty. The third time, she did say "Potty!" just as I heard the water hit the floor. After this last accident, her mood totally changed and she did not want to drink or eat or play. She just wanted me to hold her (which I was a little hesitant to do! :)). I tried to get her to help me cook in the kitchen but she just wanted to be held. We took Dennis a drink outside and shortly after we came inside, she said, "Potty?!?" I ran her to the potty and put her on the potty and heard the most wonderful tinkling sound along with the snazzy music played by her potty throne.

She was a little overwhelmed at first by all of the noises along with my cheering but...

the cutest little proud smile soon came to her face! By George, I think she's got it! :)

And They're Off!

The diapers that is! Amity has finally begun showing interest in her potty and waking up dry in the morning and after naps. Dennis and I have determined that we are the type of parents that like a method so we are trying the http://www.3daypottytraining.com/ as recommended by family and our neighbors.

One of the big things about this method is NO MORE DIAPERS! So, after breakfast this morning, all of the size 5 diapers were thrown in the trash!

However, they might have been rescued and stored to be shared with a little sister in another year or so!

I made a Wal-Mart run at 6:30 am this morning to make sure that we had at least 20 pairs of panties. The cupcake print were her first choice!

My job for the next three days is to stay with this little girl at all times and remind her to "Tell Mommy or Daddy if you need to go potty." and ask her "Are you keeping your panties dry?" While there are a lot of things I could be working on right now, there is nothing urgent for these next few days and I am going to take advantage of Dennis being home to help with Miss V. We'll see!

If only...

If only...

all of my cooking...

received a reaction as positive as this one!

Truck Drivin' Girl