No M&M Needed

Baby peed in the potty all by herself!  No bribing, no cajoling, no wait time.  Just sit, pee, and done.  It was amazing. 

Here's the story. 

I had been cooking in the kitchen and was letting Baby play in the sink.  Yes, she was literally in the sink playing with dishes and water.  It's one of her new favorite pastimes and keeps her occupied for a really long time so I can cook and clean the kitchen.  I turn the faucet on a steady dribble and strip her down to just a diaper or naked.  Sometimes she'll sit on the edge of the sink and stick her toes in the stream of water.  Or she'll ask for a bowl, fill it up, and pour it back out.  Who needs toys when you have a sink? 

Anyway. 

I had been letting her play naked in the sink before bath time.  (Yes, I realize this seems a bit redundant.  But it's like the difference between swimming in a pool and taking a shower.  One is for fun, the other for clean.)  I took her into the bathroom to start filling up the bathtub.  Her potty chair is right near the bathtub.  When I turned the water on she immediately sat on the potty chair and peed.  I don't know if she even realized what she was doing, but it was great!  I made sure to praise her and get really excited.  Then she got her bath. 

I've tried to get her to go again, but no luck.  Granted, she hasn't been playing naked recently either, so that might have something to do with it. 

Her First Chore

Tiger and Buttercup share a food dish and a water dish.  When Baby was younger, we had to hide the dishes or she would crawl toward them and upend the water dish or attempt to eat the cat food.  Now that Baby is older, (20 months!) we have the cat dishes on the floor in a corner of the kitchen.  Baby now knows that Tiger and Buttercup have their own food.

I have a system where I feed the cats when I come home from work.  I pick up their bowl and bring it to the plastic container, full of their cat food, that stays in the pantry.  Then I open the container, use their bowl (it's really a regular kitchen bowl from our dish set, but it works), scoop up the food, and return everything to its proper location. 

Baby has watched me do this countless time.  The last couple of weeks she has been helping.  I will say that Tiger needs more food, and she will go get the food dish and bring it to me.  I'll scoop more food into it, hand it back to her, and using both of her hands and walking as carefully as she can she will return the bowl to its proper place.  Then she will run after Tiger and yell at him ("Tiger! Tiger!") to go eat.  She will also click her tongue together like she has heard me do to get him to come. 

Today Baby took feeding the cats one step further.  I told her Tiger needed more food, so she went and got the food dish.  Then, instead of giving it to me to fill, she pushed me aside and grasped the bowl towards herself.  "You want to do it?"  I asked. "Yeah," she answered.

I opened the food container for her and let her try to scoop up the food.  She had a harder time with this than she thought she would.  She tried a few times, but wasn't really getting anything into the bowl.  Then she changed tactics and started scooping the food with her hands to put into the bowl.  Then she realized how fun it was to play in the cat food and stayed there for a good twenty minutes scooping and dumping cat food.  Tiger, who was waiting expectantly for his food, even tried to poke his head in there to get a few pieces. Baby yelled at him, "Tiger! No!"  Eventually I snuck in there, filled the cat dish, and told her to give it to Tiger.  (Which she did once I bribed her by telling her we could go outside after she fed Tiger.) 

I then realized that by feeding the cats, I've been teaching Baby to do chores.  I can't wait until I can teach her how to cook...

Bitten

There is another child at daycare who is practically the same size as Baby.  Baby is a few months older, but if you were to measure the to of them, they pretty much match each other. 

Daycare says Baby doesn't really care for this other child, who we'll call C.  C is very easy going and good-natured.  He always smiles at me when I pick Baby up.  Baby, however, is a little more domineering.  Whenever C gets a toy to play with, Baby will rush over and snatch it up.  Or she will scream at him in order to try and intimidate him into letting go (I know, I have a little bully on my hands). 

The other day I picked Baby up and M said, "Tell Mommy what you did today."  Baby proceeded to mumble a few unintelligible words and gestures.  I picked up that she pushed someone. 

This was indeed true.  She pushed C down so hard he smacked his head on the ground and had the hugest bump.  Needless to say, Baby got time out for her actions. 

As her mommy, I felt really bad for C and wouldn't blame C's mom for holding a grudge against Baby now. 

Fast forward to the next day and I go pick up Baby like normal.  Baby has a mark on her arm that M shows me.  Apparently C decided to bite Baby when she wanted one of his toys.  Almost a week later, and the mark is still on her arm.

Guess we're even now.   

 

A Conversation with Baby

Driving to meet Husband for dinner, Baby and I drove past a place where we had seen animals before. 

Me:  Do you remember going to see the animals there?

Baby:  Yeah

Me: Do you like animals?

Baby: Yeah

Me:  Do you have a favorite animal?

Baby (after pausing to think):  Yeah

Me:  What's your favorite animals? 

Baby: Hmmmm (Yes, she really did go hmm!)

(insert really long pause here where I thought I had lost her attention but didn't want to interrupt her thinking process)

Baby:  Miaow! 

Me:  A cat?  Your favorite animal is a cat?

Baby:  Miaow! 

What would you do for an M&M?

Baby would tinkle in the potty.  That's right.  For an M&M, Baby will use the little child's potty chair. 

Here's how the story begins. 

M (daycare) and I have been talking for months now about Baby and potty training.  I have a potty chair at home in our bathroom, and M pulled hers out too.  We both attempted working with Baby to get her to go in the potty, but she just liked to use it as a chair and protested heavily whenever we tried to get her naked to actually do something in it. 

Today M said Baby started saying "ew" over and over.  M investigated and discovered that Baby had done number two in her diaper.  M told her it wouldn't be "ew" if she went in the potty, and asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty chair.  Baby agreed (she responds with "yeah!" or "yep" depending on her mood.  Today was "yeah!")  so M led her to the potty chair, stripped her bottom half, and sat her down.  They read a book together and sent me a picture of Baby "trying." 

I showed up to pick up Baby and they told me I had just missed all the excitement.  Apparently M had told Baby that if she went pee in the potty chair she could have an M&M.  Baby really liked this prospect so she grunted a few times and out came a few drops.  She had to show me when I arrived and honestly  it was about the size of a quarter.  However, Baby did indeed earn her mini M&M.  M and I sang Baby's praises and told her what a good job she had done.   

Now I know the secret to getting Baby to go in the potty.   My  next dilemma; where can I find super tiny potty training pants?  My child is super skinny.  Seriously, just the other day she was comfortably wearing shorts size three to six months. 

I've Gotta Go

This story actually happened a while ago, but I think I forgot to write it out.  It's relevant to my supposed timeline of Baby's life, so I figured I better keep it in order.

Baby and I were hanging out at my parent's house when Baby tried to get my attention. She ran to the bathroom door, which was closed, and yelled, "Mama!"  I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, and just looked at her.  She did it again and banged on the door this time.

I asked her if she needed to go potty and she grinned in that way that she does when I actually understand what she is trying to communicate.  I opened the door to the bathroom and asked her again.  She nodded and tried to climb on the potty. 

I undressed her bottom half and sat her on there instead.  She was so excited to sit on there and hunkered down on the potty.  Then she wanted off.  But she hadn't done anything yet. 

I tried to explain to her that she had to go pee pee in the potty, that she wasn't done.  She hopped back on again, but then immediately wanted off.  She did this a couple of times, all the while with me trying to get her to go on the potty.  Eventually she ran to the door and looked at me with a surprised look in her eyes. 

Then she looked down at the floor.  And peed. 

Water Baby

Baby likes to play with water.  She will shake out water from her sippy cup onto her hands, then rub it all over herself.

If I give her a water bottle, she will carefully pour a little into her hands to then rub all over herself (she's actually quite talented for being one and a half.  Her precision is amazing.  Do we see a surgeon in the future?). 

When I pick her up in the afternoons (more like evenings with all the trainings and meetings I've had to go to lately), I usually have a half a bottle of water in my car that I've saved for her.  She asks for it, "Bol!" and I comply.  She has figured out how to unscrew the cap on her own (I sometimes have to help, or I leave it half screwed on for her), and will drink a little before starting her game of pouring water on herself.

The other day I inadvertently gave her a water bottle that was about a third full.  Baby had quite a good time pouring it all over herself and her car seat on her way home from daycare.  Her and her seat were soaked when I pulled her out of the car.

Now my car smells like mildew and I'm ignoring it in hopes that the smell just goes away.  It could be nothing, right?  Not her car seat getting yucky at all. Or the floors of my car.  Right?

Chapstick

Baby has figured out how to open a drawer in our bathroom vanity.  In this draw I have some makeup brushes, a few hair barrettes, some necklaces, deoderant,and a couple of sticks of chapstick, among other random items.

I don't use chapstick unless I have chapped lips and really need it.  Otherwise, I tend to collect it in random places, like my car or the bathroom drawer. 

Baby has seen other family members use chapstick, as well as one of the girls who helps at her daycare.  I think they've even shown her how it works.

The other day Baby discovered the chapstick in the drawer.  She was so excited and held it out to me to open.  She says, "OoohP" for "Open."  Then she indicates what she wants me to do and grabs my hand to open the chapstick for her.

I do and tell her it's for her lips.  She purses her lips and proceeds to apply chapstick about thirty million times.  She took off running (child who does not sit still), with the chapstick still held in her hand and pressed to her lips, the lid in the other hand.


Eventually she discovered she could use her finger to poke the actual chapstick part and scoop some out to put on.  Or eat, which is what she started doing. She didn't eat the entire thing, just a few small nibbles. 

I read the label and it doesn't say I need to call poison control.  I think I need to put the chapstick in a new spot, though.  

I Want That

Recently we went on a quick trip to Disneyland.  It was a lot of fun and Baby had a great time going on the rides.  She loved "It's a Small World" and "The Little Mermaid."  We went on the "The Little Mermaid" three times!  It was a really good ride and now I need to track down the movie so I can watch it and sing along.  If you go on the ride, you'll be inspired too, I promise. 

We saw lots of little girls dressed up in princess dresses prancing around with their hair and makeup done.  Apparently Disney does this thing now where little girls can be transformed into a princess (for a price, of course).  I got a glimpse of the prices and the cheapest one was way too expensive for this cheapskate.

However, we did find the store where the princessifying happens.  It had walls of dresses, tiaras, gloves, glitter, hair extensions; everything needed to become a princess.  It also had stuffed Minnie dolls dressed in pink princess attire. 

We walked around the store and Baby pointed to the Minnie dolls.  She ignored everything else in the store and let me know that she wanted the Minnie doll.  She pointed, I carried her in the direction she was pointing, and moved in.  She snatched up the Minnie doll so fast and hugged her to her chest.  Then she said, "Mommy," and did the baby sign for outside.  She had clearly made  up her mind that we were going to take Minnie. 

I was so impressed at how decisive she was that I had a conversation with Husband and we decided that we could get it for her.  It wasn't very expensive and we hadn't gotten anything for her anyway. 

We brought her up to the register, but Baby started to scream when we tried to take Minnie from her to scan her.  Husband grabbed another one and explained to the clerk we wanted to pay but Baby wouldn't give hers  up. 

He paid and Baby and I walked out of the store with Baby happily hugging Princess Minnie.  From then on Baby made sure Princess Minnie rode next to her or on her lap in her stroller and was tucked in safe and sound.  

The Baby Stroller

I've been very very blessed in terms of having items given to me for Baby.  I have been overwhelmed by the amount of clothes, toys, gear, etc. that I received during baby showers, holidays, birthdays, and random times in between. 

They say having a child is expensive. 

Honestly, I can count only a handful of things I've bought for Baby, and most of the those items were not out of necessity.  I really think I have saved a ton of money by doing cloth diapers.  I can't imagine running to the store all the time to buy diapers, and those things are expensive!  That adds up after a while. 

In terms of clothes, Baby is set through her second birthday. 

Toys?  That's what birthday and holidays were for.  I'm not one of those parents who goes out and buys their child toys all the time.  Or at all. 

Until now. 

Baby and I went into Target to check out the Halloween costumes that they had (I have no idea what to dress Baby as this year), and we wandered up and down the aisles, just hanging out.  We happened upon the little girl aisle full of baby dolls.  Baby LOVED it.  She got so excited and cried out, "Baby!  Baby!"  We activated the giggling and bouncing baby doll and checked out the sleeping babies. 

Then I noticed the baby doll travel set.  Complete with stroller, diaper bag, and feeding tools, all for the little mommy.  How adorable is that?  It had the cutest little baby doll stroller with pretty pink flowers and a matching diaper bag.  Baby could put her new baby doll in it and push her around.  I had the perfect picture of her as a little mommy in my head.  

Let me backtrack as to why I was so excited here.  Baby loves her baby doll (gift from her Grammy), and likes to make her baby doll do everything she does.  Combine this with the fact that Baby loves to go on walks and has recently decided she would rather push her stroller than ride in it, I came to the conclusion that Baby needed a baby doll stroller. 

At Target. I made the decision to make the purchase.  Me, the one who never purchases frivolous items.  The person who knew that there was a cheaper version at a toy store in the mall the next town over (I'd been doing my research.  Honestly, when was I going to walk in to that mall anytime soon?). 

I came home and assembled the darn thing.  That took a lot of work, too.  Screwdrivers and everything.  After a few misshaps (wheels facing the wrong direction, putting the seat on backwards), the stroller was assembled and ready to go. 

Baby loved it.  She was so excited to push her baby doll around the house and carry the bag down the hallway (all the while holding my hand, of course.  Read the last post for more info there).

I realized after the fact that Baby's own umbrella stroller was cheaper than her baby doll stroller that I purchased from Target.  But it was worth it.   

Take My Hand

Baby is growing up, but she still needs her mommy.  All. The. Time.  I'm flattered and it's very sweet, but sometimes Mommy just wants to to sit down. 

Baby does not sit still.  Really.  Not unless we are with strangers and she wants to make Mommy jealous by climbing into their laps.  (Seriously, she likes to sit on the laps of other moms during play dates and baby classes).

Her new thing is taking me by the hand and leading me places.  She will take me with her and go from room to room throughout the house.  We will run up and down the hallway, hand in hand.

We will pet Tiger, holding hands.

She will try to use Mommy's hand as if I'm a marionette and bid me to pick up her toys for her, or feed her, or open the refrigerator to get some food.

Even though I complain (in jest), I love it.  It's the sweetest thing to have your child hold her hand out to you, say "Mommy" in her sweet little voice and look at you with imploring eyes.  One cannot resist, and I take her hand.