Boot Camp: Day Two

(Posting late!  Went out to celebrate the 4th last night and just getting around to finishing this one!)

Day two started much earlier than expected. Emily was pretty violently crying at 1am. I went in to check on her, thinking that she'd had a nightmare. I picked her up, sat down in our glider and BAM! She heaved a mixture of hot dog and watermelon all over my bare back. Let me tell you, I was wide awake at that point! 

After getting Jacob's attention, I was able to hand off the kid and go jump in the shower to rinse off.

Emily had a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and everyone tried to go back to bed... But that's when baby decided he most wanted to practice his amnio-aerobics, so I was up for a bit longer dealing with that and stressing about potty training while sick.

Em woke up at about 7:30, still with a fever. But, by 8:30 the fever had broken and she'd gotten her first potty sticker of the day, so, decided to venture on! She'd been complaining about her teeth yesterday, so I'm hoping it's teething issues and not some bug!

Today was pants (but no underwear day), and it went well!  Day 2 of no accidents!  Also, day 2 of no number 2... curious how that's going to pan out. lol

I've been asking Emily every couple of hours or so if she needs to go potty.  When she tells me "no" I listen.  For the most part, she's been pretty good about going when she needs to when I ask her, but she hasn't yet initiated it on her own.

This evening we went to my in-laws place for a big Fourth of July BBQ event and to watch the fireworks from their houseboat.  Emily hasn't been eating much today (which wasn't a surprise to me if she did have some stomach something or other), and dinner was the same.  She ate some pretzels, but that was about it.  She also started to look kind of queasy during dinner and had a bit of a fever, so, after eating my share of the awesome food, and giving her another dose of Tylenol, I excused us and went back to sit in the house.   She fell asleep for about an hour or so.  Woke up, went potty, played for a little bit, and then was looking exhausted again.  When I asked if she wanted to put on jammies, she pretty much jumped at the chance.  And, after jammies were on, she grabbed a blanket and curled up in bed.  So, I left her sleep.  She probably slept for another 30 minutes or so and then was awake.  Since she's had such a late nap, we decided to let her try to stay up for the fireworks and play with her cousins.

I was a bit nervous about having her out of the house during potty training, but she did really really well.  And, like I said, no accidents!  So far I've been really happy with the experiences.  She's doing such a great job!  (And she's really digging the stickers! lol)

The Year of the Parent

Last year (2012) was definitely the year of the baby.  We were figuring out how to function with a new little person in our house.  This year, however, the "function" part was old news... suddenly what took precedence was the parenting aspect of the arrangement.  What would she eat, when would she go to bed, what activities were free expression and what would lead to a firm "no"?  Just how much whining could we ignore before we went absolutely batty?  I can definitely say that we made it out of this year alive... but the battle is not over yet. lol

Amongst all of the questions about our growing parenting styles, we also had so so SO much enjoyment watching Emily grow, learn, express and explore.  From walking to kicking to running to dancing to jumping to climbing... she's all over the place.  From crying to showing to words that we can understanding... she's communicating.  She's getting herself "dressed" (socks, shoes and hats) and, with that, comes her own sense of style.  She has a favorite TV show, a favorite blanket, favorite books.  She FINALLY likes to cuddle and will give hugs and kisses unprompted.  How much love I feel for my small little person is unreal.

2013 has been a good year.  And I am very excited to see what 2014 has to bring!

Christmas Wrap Up

I know.  Christmas is old news by now... but, I figured that I should at least say something about the holiday before I get my blog printed out for the year!  Surprisingly, this will not be a picture heavy post... as i didn't really take any photos.  I have noticed that, over the last 20 months of my daughter's life, I have really been more "in the moment" with her, and not stuck behind a camera.  Every now and then I'll put out my camera phone and snap a shot of her doing something cute, but I don't live back there like I did for years (maybe to avoid social interaction? lol).

Christmas Eve... Jacob had to work, so Emily and I spent the day together.  We went to OMSI and played in the kids area until she was pooped, and then headed home and (she) took a nap... her last nap in her crib... ever.

Playing in the sand at OMSI

Last nap in her crib  =(

While she was napping, I hauled her toddler bed out of our closet.  Her Nana and Papa got it for her at a garage sale a few months back, and I was waiting for Christmas to switch it in... not because of "Christmas" but because a) I had taken the entire week off of work, so new that, if the transition went poorly, I wouldn't have to worry about getting up early for work the following day(s) and b) I knew we'd be out late both Christmas even and Christmas day, so she'd fall asleep in the car anyway.  ;)  So, I pulled out the bed, and, when she woke up, made the switch.

She was thrilled.  The moment that I got the mattress on the bed with a new sheet and pillow, she grabbed her blanket, crawled in and laid down. lol.  She was very happy about it... and still is... it was a super easy transition.  We are so lucky with her!

After Jacob got home from work, we packed up the car and drove up to his parents place (about a half hour from our house) for Christmas Eve dinner and a white elephant gift exchange with his extended family.  Lots of good food, good fun and fun presents.  Emily was up WAY too late... and we suffered for it all night long (she kept waking up and crying until one of us would go in there... she never left her bed though!).

First night in her new bed!

The next morning we packed up the car again and headed down to my parent's place (about a 2 hour drive).  Thankfully, the drive was good--Emily slept the whole way, and there was (surprisingly) very little traffic.  We opened presents at my parents house, and then went to my grandma's place for Christmas dinner and more gift opening.  After Christmas Eve, Emily had the unwrapping thing DOWN and we had to protect everyone else's presents from her... which she was really  not a happy camper about!  Last year she didn't really get it... this year it was "watch out". lol

We left at a little after 6:00 to drive home... two hours before Emily's bedtime.  She fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up until the next morning.  The whirlwind of present opening wore her out!  ;)

Jacob and I didn't bother to buy any gifts from Emily this year (or last year) because we knew that "Christmas" doesn't mean anything to her right now (and that her grandparents/aunts/uncles would get her plenty of stuff), but, next year I don't know if we'll be able to avoid it again!  I'm just hoping that she'll be a little nicer to Santa next December.  ;)

Playing Twister with her cousins after Christmas dinner.

Checking out her new blocks!

Santa's Favorite

'nough said.

One Adorable Little Girl Eating a Sucker

So, before I go into a recap of our Halloween and some ADORABLE photos, I have to state my utter disdain for this women.  You may have heard about her, the one who, for Halloween gave out candy to some of the children, and notes to those that she thought were obese urging their parents to make better dietary decisions for their children... just thinking about this again makes me want to cry.  This woman is doing SOO MUCH MORE damage to these poor (probably already self-conscious) children than any "good" that she thinks may come from these letters.  I am all for promoting healthy eating, but do NOT single out children like that!  Hand out fruit snacks instead of tootsie rolls.  Hell, give all the kids a damn granola bar... even that is better on Halloween than placing blame on parents, and judgement and embarrassment on young children.  I'm really curious if that woman got "tricked" this year...

OK, rant over.... on to more happy things.  Particularly, pictures of my adorable little pirate.  =)

We weren't planning on taking Emily trick-or-treating this year.  We didn't really think that she'd "get it".  Plus, we don't really give her candy to eat, and she can't actually SAY "trick or treat".  So, our plan was to take her to the golf course down the street that was having a Halloween event.  I didn't realize that the indoor spooky trail (or whatever they called it) was actually a trick-or-treat loop where local businesses handed out candy to the kids and coupons/advertisements to the parents.  It was a nice little intro to trick or treating (and she actually really did get into it!), and Jacob and I both walked away with some free chiropractic care and half off massages... so.. it was win-win.  (Plus, we get to eat the majority of her candy... so... there's that, too).  =)

And now, the photos... there's lots of them.  She's cute.  Deal.  =)

 

 

 

So What?

Linking up with Shannon for So What Wednesday!

This week I'm saying SO What if:

- I've written more "So What?"s recently than anything else... maybe I should just call my blog "So What?"  =)

- I got a little emotional talking about getting rid of my old couches last night.  We just bought a new (to us) sectional and I had someone via Craigslist and come and take my old couches tonight.  Those couches were a college graduation/first grownup job partial gift from my parents.  They were a pretty good buy and have treated me well these last 8.5 years.  They even went to Canada with me.  We have moved those things SIX times... and you could start to tell.  Plus, the cat got to it after the last move and totally destroyed one of the arms.  We've been talking about getting a sectional, and this was kind of an impulse buy (someone nearby was selling their old one).  The price was right and we decided to get it as an "interim" sectional, until we can save up some money to get the style that we (read: Jacob) really wants.  =)

- Emily's dinner consisted of gluten-free/vegan brownies.  I didn't intend for it to be that way, but she wanted a snack while we cooked dinner (which, tonight, was hurried grilled-cheese).  She liked them so much she ended up eating a pretty decent sized piece.  In all actuality though, that "brownie" with it's bananas, black beans, and oatmeal was a lot better for her than the grilled cheese. lol

- Today my daughter is 18 months old.  In 6 months she'll be two... and I already know where we're having the birthday party. lol  It's not weird that I started planning before she was halfway through the year, right?

- I'm getting a little sick of my daughter's love for books.  "Book" has become her new favorite word, and her new favorite past-time.  I LOVE that she loves books.  But I'm really tired of reading the same three or four books over and over again... and over again.  Sometimes I just want to sit there, cuddle, and watch some TV! lol

- I bought Emily's Halloween costume (no pinterest crafty-shit for me), and I got a "boys" costume.  All of the girls costumes were princess-y, flower-y, girl-y.  We do we need to ultra-feminize our little girls?  My daughter can be a fireman or a sailor or a baseball player, too!  She doesn't need to be a damsel in distress.  And she's gonna be damn cute.  =)  Halloween this year starts on Saturday for us with our first kiddie party.  =)  Pictures sure to come!

Memorial Day

Alright... almost caught up with my posts! lol  Sorry to blast everyone with so many all at once!

For Memorial Day we packed up at went to Jacob's family's beach house at the coast for the weekend.  Every year the little community that their house is in has a pig roast/potluck event.  We haven't gone for a couple of years, so this was Emily debut... and her first trip to the ocean where she actually could understand what was going on. lol

The weather was great on Saturday for the main event, and for some beach play.  You'll notice by the pictures below, but, out on the beach, we just continued to take off more and more of Em's clothing, as she just kept getting wetter and wetter in the water. lol.  She was VERY excited!

Sunday was a bit cooler and windy.  We had some family photos taken (should be getting those back in a week or so!), and Emily wasn't too happy to be out there.  I think she had her fill the day before... she was just cold and wind blasted during the photos. lol.  And on Monday, it poured. Typical Oregon weather.  But, at least we had Saturday!  =)

Photo overload below!  She's just too stinkin' cute!  =)

Mothers Day

I'm home sick for the third day this week.  I have already read most of my magazines, watched my Netflix video, and obsessively checked e-mail/facebook waiting for someone to post/send something cool/weird/entertaining.  Looks like what I'll be doing today is catching up on back blog posts... and there's a lot of them.  =)

Let's start with Mother's Day (yeah, I know, right... that was LAST MONTH--I"m really behind).

The forecast called for some pretty unseasonably warm weather the week leading up to Mother's Day, so, I decided to risk it and book us a camp site at a near by regional park for the night.  Emily had never been camping before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, and I figured best to go for one night, somewhere near by, so we could make a quick escape to our own beds if we needed to.  =)  But, as with most of my other fears, they were unwarranted.  She did fantastic.  Had one wake up at about 1:00 am (I think she was cold).  We took her into bed with us to warm her up, and she thought it was play time.  After about 20 minutes of wrestling her to lay down, I finally just wrapped her up in a couple of blankets and put her back in the pack and play, where she slept until morning.  =)

Saturday the weather was great.  We played on the "beach" (off of the Sandy River), took some walks through the campground, watched a couple of deer that came (almost) right into our camp site, and cooked up some hot dogs for dinner.  Sunday, on the other hand, it poured.  Our stuff was pretty wet.  But, thankfully, we were headed home, and home was a very short distance away! 

We have another camping trip planned for August, and, thanks to this impromptu trip, I'm not as concerned about it... and am even hoping to take another one before then!

Here's some photos from our 24 hour adventure.  =)

Headed down to the beach!

The water was COLD... she was too interested in exploring to notice. lol

Love this photo of Jacob in the background. lol

Bambi!

In our new tent Emily has her own "room"... LOVE it. lol

She looks like she should be at summer camp. lol

Collecting pine cones

Hmm... how many can I carry?

Reading the paper with Dad