K is always putting her own headbands on (wrong of course..well maybe not "wrong" just not how I think they should be worn) and then she tells me "I'm gonna be a runner" and she will start running around the room. I have no idea where she got this from.
We are 4 weeks from PT bootcamp and she is doing great. When we are out, she'll tell me she has to go and is still dry by the time we get all the way to the bathroom (wherever we are) She's had 2 pee-pee accidents in her carseat, I guess it could be worse. When we are home..I'm at a loss. She almost always has some wetness in her panties by the time she gets to the bathroom. I don't understand how she can hold it when we are out and not at home. Oh well. It definitely could be worse...my situation could be reversed. Anyways, we are very proud of her!! And last weekend..she made it in the car for over an hour on our trip down to see the Roselli clan and on the way back!! We did not put her in a pull-up, as it was the middle of the day and I did not want to confuse her.
She may have been doing this for a while, but I just noticed how often she is doing. From sorting the colors of blocks when stacking, sorting out play dough back into containers, or crayons. 
While I was cooking dinner the other night I came out to find her sorting all the small pieces of play dough she had played with earlier in the day. So cute to see her always learning and growing.
Kelsey wanted to help clean out her cup before dinner..she pulled her stool over and turned the water on. She even knew to use the brush (she's just like her daddy)
Mozzarella Rice Shreds, Mushrooms and Turkey Pepperoni... It was a hit! I tried it and it was good, but as usual Lou & I don't eat her food as it is $$$ and I'd rather stretch it out and make it last for her. It was $8.69 for a box of 4 personal gluten/dairy free pizza crusts, but I figure it makes 8 meals for her as she can only eat 2 of the slices at most.
So Happy!! She had broccoli and cherries to accompany it
While perusing the shelves at the local nutrition (ie expensive as all get out) store, Kelsey and I found Rice Cheese!!! They had both a cheddar and mozzarella shreds version so we bought both to try out. (It does have a little bit of casein in it, so we won't be using it all the time) But Kelsey got to have a grilled cheese sandwich today, something she used to LOVE, and I bought some gluten free/dairy free pizza squares and she is going to have pizza this weekend!! Wohooo!!
Funny thing is I asked her if I could try her sandwich ( I like to taste her new things to make sure they are not just way gross) and she said "No. Mommy this is my cheese. It is gluten free (she thinks everything she has has to be gluten free even though I try to tell her its dairy free) and it's estensive (expensive). Your cheese has gluten and I can't have it, so this is mine. And my new wipes are estensive too (we bought the flushable wipes for poopoo time)"
I'll post a picture of her eating some pizza this weekend :-)
Background-----As much as I hate using correct terminology, we try to use it with kelsey when talking about her girl parts. So we have taught her the word vagina, but it's not like we talk about it or use it all the the time. Now for the funny part!
Kelsey and I were just talking about how I need to put a bottom on the slipcover I am making for her bean bag. This is how the conversation went:
M: Mommy still needs to sew a bottom on and then it will be finished
K: I have a bottom too
M: yes you do
K: it's right here (spreading her legs in her footie jammies and points to her vagina)
M: No, your bottom is behind you (I turn around and pat myself on my bottom)
K: oh, right here (spreads even farther and bends forward and reaches through her legs to reach her bottom)
M: Yes!! That's your bottom
K: (repointing to the front) And this is my china!
M: (chuckling) yes it is....
I caught her doing this the other day and didn't have my camera. She finally did it again when my camera was upstairs. She climbed up on her spring horse with her (too small) cowboy hat in hand. I laughed out loud literally when she took the hat off to say Yeehaw, she did this totally on he own when I didn't have the camera!!
So after a really good day 3, we decided to venture out some days 4-6. Well day 4 we HAD to b/c I had my 24 week appt. Our goal before we get in the car is to make sure she goes on the potty. She did really well in the dr's office and told me she had to go peepee a few minutes after we got there. She did have an accident Day 4 when we were at my friend Megan's house..mainly because I think I was taking too long to get her leggings off. The rest of the day was good though.
Day 5 we were scheduled to meet our friends at the park. I was a little nervous since the bathrooms are not right there, you have to leave the gated area and walk about 75-100 yards (that's alot when you have a little one who is just learning) Right before we left I kept reminding her we were gonna go on the potty before we got in the car, after I had everything packed up and brought her in the bathroom, she had gone in her underwear and her leggings were wet. Arrrgghhh...now I was really worried about going to the park. When we were walking up to the gate she pointed down the sidewalk and told me that's where the potty is (she has older friends in the group who are always going there) About 45 minutes after we'd been there she walked over and opened the gate and started leaving, I asked where she was going and she said to the potty. I grabbed my potty seat and wipes and grabbed her hand and we ran (as fast as a 2 1/2 yr old & prego not supposed to run can run) We got there, she was dry, I put her on and she went!! VICTORY!!! She did poop in her sleeping pants at naptime, but sleeping times I am not as concerned about at this point. The rest of the day was good until right before dinner my world crashed...first the ****** dog came in with muddy paws and tracked them all over the tile floor, so I had to grab the steam mop and clean, then right as I finish that Kelsey goes running for the bathroom so I go right after her and she had already pooped in her panties (something we have not had to deal with). Pile all that on top of my prego hormones and I ended up crying a few minutes after Lou got home.
Day 6, for some crazy reason I decided it was the day to go for a longer drive in the car. We drove cross town (~25-30 min) to go to Kohl's. I was smart and packed her little Elmo potty (we don't really use this in the house and I got this idea from a friend) in the pack of my SUV. She went to the bathroom before we left the house and then when we got to Kohl's I took her in the back of the car and she went again. She was great in the store and then we stopped at Gma/Gpa McD's house on the way home. Once again she had poop when I got her after nap. The rest of the day was good. She still has small accidents where she doesn't make it to the potty dry, but nothing that is soaking or leaving puddles. She is getting it. It's a learning process and we are very proud of her!
Day 6 we decided
Oh my..WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!! Lou got K up this morning and took her straight in to the potty and changed her into her big girl panties. Again we spent some time snuggling in bed while she drank her milk. We had a lot to accomplish today so we were dressed (well as dressed as we were gonna get K w/ only a long sleeve velour shirt) & downstairs within an hour. Prior to making breakfast I had been asking her if she had to go and she always said no, at about 1 hour I just took her b/c I was worried while I was cooking I'd miss her. After that, EVERYTIME she had to go she told us. Sometimes we made it to the potty with dry panties, sometimes there were a few drops, and sometimes they were wet, but there were no puddles left behind like yesterday or the day before. Sweet! We had friends over this evening for the Superbowl, so we went back to taking her every 1/2 hour or so b/c we didn't think with all the people and her friends around that she would be as aware. I do have to venture out in the AM tomorrow for a Dr's appt, but after that we will stay in one more day. I am very impressed with the difference between yesterday and today. We are very lucky (as we've been told) that Kelsey seems to understand the "poop" feeling. She has not had an accident with that. All 3 days, she has consistently told us when she needed to go poop. I know that some people say their kids pretty much hold it all in during potty training and it becomes such a struggle. I'll take another day or so of the pee so long as I don't have to deal with the poop becoming an issue. We've been using gluten free/dairy free chocolate chip cookies and brownies, that I found at Publix, as her special treat for being a big girl and going on the potty. Today she put it all together and the 2nd or 3rd time as she was sitting on the potty, just finished peeing mind you, she holds out her hand and says "can I have a cookie now?" So funny coming from a child who really has never had cookies. I am praying that she will go back to drinking just water. I bribed her with lots and lots of juices this weekend to get her to dink enough so she'd have to go to the potty often.
Later I'll put up a pic of what she was wearing today. It was quite chilly for FL (low 60's with a breeze). Since I still didn't want her in anything but her panties on her lower half I found the longest long sleeve shirt she had in her closet (thank you cousin Allison) which was velour. She then had a jacket on over that and pink crocs (as I still did not want to put her in regular shoes/socks in case she had some "running down the legs" accidents.)
Today started out really well...as soon as I got K out of bed she went pee/poop on the potty!! Score. That was the end of the good for most of the day. She was outside and at one point just stopped and stood there, spread her legs and looked down and watched herself pee. She never stopped..just kept on peeing. Aye... Then it happened again, inside this time on the rug!! The third time she at least caught herself part way through peeing on the rug. (Have to be happy for small miracles) I pretty much ditched the timer today which is why I think we started having these accidents again. But I wanted her to be able to learn the feeling and not just know she has to go when mommy takes her to the potty. At one point Lou asked me, "So what do we do if she doesn't have the hang of this tomorrow?". The simple answer is I'll continue doing it during the week, by myself :-( which will suck. She went down for nap and we put her sleeping pants on. About an hour into it she started calling my name, so I ran in (which I normally don't do) thinking maybe she had to go poop. She had taken her pull up off, it was dry though. I put it back on her and convinced her it was still nap time for a bit longer. When I finally got her up, her pull-up was off again. (Even though we don't refer to them as diapers or anything like that, K calls them diapers. Trying to break her of that.) We went straight to the potty and she went. Luckily her bed was dry!! I was still taking her to the potty after nap every 20-30 min or so as she would not tell me when she had to go with me prompting. Finally she was sitting on the tile and got up quickly and said I have to poopie (which is what she has been calling going to the bathroom in general) and started towards the bathroom. I expected to see a puddle, but she was dry!! I put her on and she went both pee/poop!! Then a little bit later she was on her kitchen stool and quickly got down saying I need to pee (starting to understand the difference I think) There was a little bit on the stool, but she made it to the potty for most. Then as she was finishing dinner she pushed away from the table and started to get out of her chair. I let her down and she went straight for the bathroom!! These last three events leave me feeling more positive for tomorrow.
Reminder to self for next time...DO NOT USE TIMER ON THE FIRST DAY. I feel like this set us up for failure/frustration this morning. Next time just let them have the accidents the first day and learn the feeling. Let them learn that they do not like pee running down their legs in one day instead of two!!
You may or may not care to read this..this post is mainly for me to look back on when it comes time to potty train #2)
Before going to bed last night I got her cup filled with milk in the fridge, filled the dog bowls with food and brought treats and a banana upstairs...all to be prepared to make my morning routine faster than normal so I could try to get to Kelsey before she peed in the AM. No such luck..she hadn't even been up minutes by the time I was in there and she was already soaked. Oh well..worth a shot. She was very excited to become a big girl today. We took a picture getting her last diaper changed and she threw it in the diaper champ by herself. Then we sat on the potty (just for show) and picked and put on her first pair of big girl panties. We literally had 1 diaper left in the house, so I had her get it and throw it away in the garbage..NO MORE DIAPERS!!
We stuck with our normal morning routine of watching TV in mommy's bed and drinking her milk while snuggling. I was hesitant to snuggle too long as she wouldn't sit on the towel I tried to put on my brand new mattress. I let her run around in her shirt and panties only. We went downstairs and I got her some mango juice and a cup of apple juice, let the hydrating begin. She said mommy I feel the poopy, so we went in and sat on the toilet and WOOHOO she went poop!! Then she was wondering around on the patio and then stopped and looked down, she had peed. We talked about how gross it was to pee in your panties and how yucky it was running down her legs. Not even 5 minutes later, same thing, this time I ran her to the potty (thinking it was for show) and she finished on the toilet. It happened again less than 10 minutes later she was on the swing set and wet her panties again, we ran back to the patio and sat on the little potty outside and she finished. Happened 1 more time before I changed the timer to 10 minutes. After that..life was much better. We found 3 online potty videos and she loved watching them on my computer (over & over again) After lunch she went upstairs and went pee pee before going to her nap. We used "sleeping pants" (aka pull ups) for nap time. She slept for 2 1/2 hours and was wet when she got up, but I fully expected that. The rest of the afternoon went great. Lou took over for an hour when he got home so I could get out for a bit. She had one accident while he was on duty. Right after stories, but before prayers, she went in and peed one more time. She told me how everyone was very proud of her today! We are so very proud of her!! Hoping the rest of the weekend goes as well. I plan on starting the timer at 10 min in the morning, but trying to have it up to 15 before nap. Wish us luck on day #2....
Part of Lou's new territory (with his new job) is Puerto Rico. After getting home from work late on Tuesday night he searched the internet and then around 11:30 PM said "Hey, looks like this weekend would be a good weekend to go over to PR. Wanna go?" So we decided to do it and since it was late at night we decided we would take K with us. By 1:30 AM we had booked tickets and booked a hotel as well. We were leaving late Thursday night. We decided to take the 11:45 PM flight figuring K would sleep...NEVER AGAIN!! We borrowed a travel carseat from a friend, which was very helpful. Normally she goes to bed at 8, but didn't even close her eyes until 12:15. She slept for most of the flight but her ears popped when we were descending and she woke up..and stayed awake through the long wait to get the rental car and until we were in bed at the hotel (around 6 AM their time..they are 1 hour ahead) Needless to say we missed out on the complimentary breakfast that morning as we slept in till 11.
The weekend was filled with many firsts for Kelsey... first time she slept on a big girl mattress (the porta crib they had their was all metal and she was too big for it. Luckily another friend had let me borrow this toddler air mattress and I packed it just in case.) I was worried she wouldn't nap and sleep on it, but she did great. Putting it between the bed and the wall I think it was more confining and more like her crib.
Each night from 4:30-7 they had the manager's reception, which was complimentary snacks (popcorn and chips/ salsa) & drinks. So K got to try popcorn and would ask for it all day the following day until the reception again.
Friday & Saturday Lou went to work and K and I hung out. Friday was a dreary day so we pretty much stayed in the room and read books and watched TV and made a fort. Saturday was somewhat dreary, but K & I managed to go down to the pool and the beach. We built castles in the sand.
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You might be thinking.."Gross..WHAT?!?!?!" Actually they are pretty tasty. Within 1 1/2 weeks I received 2 separate emails from different friends about this. I save the email to try them with K. While at Publix this week I remembered to pick up a bag of Kale for the experiment. They are really simple to make and Kelsey just gobbled them up. She has started not liking spinach and kale in dishes as much as it becomes chewy (she'll still eat it if I chop it small enough). This was a perfect solution. They were very good, other than the one spot where Kelsey decided to help sprinkle (make that dump) salt on. 
I've taken Kelsey twice to the smoothie shop to get a smoothie (non dairy of course). She really likes them and every time we drive near the store she asks for one. In talking with a friend the other day, I realized I can/should make them at home for her. I always have frozen fruit on hand, K loves frozen blueberries and cherries. So, after nap we made "kitchen sink" smoothies. I threw a little of everything I had in there...blueberries, strawberries, cherries, watermelon, a fresh banana, mango nectar, peach nectar and some apple juice. It was actually pretty yummy and Kelsey Loved it and kept bringing her empty cup to me and taking more of mine. Guess she didn't want to share with the baby :-)
