Hooray for the potty!

Diaper changes have been such a nightmare lately because Keeley insists on doing it herself. She, unfortunately, lacks the dexterity to do it and that causes frustration for everyone. At least one time a day for the last few days we have had a crying diaper change because after 15 minutes or so of naked toddler running around and refusing to let me do it or help her do it, I have to hold her down. Today was no different - except for a minor complication in the middle. After 10 minutes of running around, Keeley was in the kitchen and I heard "uh-oh" I went in there to see that she was mortified because she had tinkled on the floor. She quickly let me put on her diaper and then clean up the mess that was distressing her.

At that point, I decided to start making a more conscious effort to introduce potty training - or at least familiarize her to it. She shows plenty of the signs: she can (make that insists) on taking her pants on and off, she is very interested when we are using the restroom, she identifies when she has or is about to dirty her diaper, etc. We have a seat that goes on the toilet but it scares her. I was hoping she'd warm up to that one because, let's be honest, a child sized toilet is just one more thing to deal with that needs cleaning.

When we went shopping today, we picked up a child sized potty and planned to research our selection when we got home. We thought we'd made a good choice because it looks like a toilet and it plays a little song when the kid actually goes to the bathroom. As soon as I got it out of the bag, Keeley got very excited talking about the "kids" and the "potty" and "tinkle". She started taking her pants off and then her diaper. So I was stuck trying to quickly assemble the potty with a naked bottom in the kitchen.

She sat on the potty a couple times in the kitchen and familiarized herself with it. We then moved it into the living room. She sat down and I turned to get the manual when I heard it playing the song. The song scared Keeley and she hoped up and looked in the little potty. Kelly, Keeley, and I were all very excited for her. She then pulled on a pull-up and made the all important call to Oma (who was also very excited). We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I am in no hurry to bring on the mess and timing issues of potty training. But I am ready for the independence struggles over the diaper being put on to end! A step in the right direction for sure!

First "sentence"

Keeley has TONS of words and is quite the little mimic when you speak. However, up until today, she only puts words together that I think she believes are one word anyway (wake-up, all-gee...). Today she told the dogs to go out, opened the back door for them, waited for them to leave, closed the back door, and then said "bye-bye doggies". She then gave a satisfied nod and continued to play.

Playing together

I'm loving every minute of the girls playing together and both being friendly about it. I know that the days are limited and that I should enjoy it before the fighting starts....Tonight while I was making dinner, Keeley was playing outside. She left the door open and Kayden was looking outside. It takes Kayden a while to work up the nerve to crawl over the threshold into the back yard. I looked down to cut some chicken and when I looked up, Kayden was standing up at Keeley's cottage. They played together for a while. Keeley decided after a bit that Kayden might want the little table to play with - but then decided it would be more fun for her to crawl all over it instead. They were so cute!


I guess the time has come for the toys to really be for both of them instead of just Keeley's. Unfortunately, the cuteness of their playing together didn't end well. Keeley said "bye bye" to Kayden and tried to close the cottage door. This didn't work because Kayden's arm was stuck between the door and the mailbox. She started crying because she was hurt and Keeley started crying because Kayden was crying....oh well! It was definitely cute while it lasted!

The World According to Keeley

Oh to be in the mind of my oldest.

* Everything must be blue. This includes her pacifier, her night light, all cups, and all plates.

* You must never wear someone else's clothes. My poor mom has been in quite a pickle at our house lately because it is exceptionally upsetting to Keeley if mom wears one of my jackets.

* Kelly has to put gas in my car. On the way to the doctor today I said we were stopping to get gas and Keeley kept saying "dada". I kept explaining that he was at work but she kept insisting Dada would put gas in my car.

* Diapers must have cookie monster on them or you hear "oh no" and "all gee" (all gone) a lot. Unfortunately for me, Elmo is the predominant diaper in the package.

* Kelly apparently has specific detergents for the washing machine that are his. She points to them and says "dada" with an emphatic head nod. This makes absolutely no sense to me.

* Her food frequently has to be placed in a cup (blue of course) even if it would be much more appropriate in a bowl or on a plate.

* There are only 2 songs in her world: Five Little Monkeys at the house and Elmo in the car. We listen to them on repeat all day long.

And then there is the independence factor:
* As most of you know, she is pretty opinionated about her clothing.

* Diaper changes have become a battle. This is because she wants to do it. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the dexterity to do it so diaper changes now take about 30 minutes. She tries to wipe and then moves all over the house trying to put on the diaper by herself. I've tried talking her into pull-ups. She got them on and said "no, diff" and then angrily took them off. I've tried fastening the diaper really loose and letting her step into it like a pull-up but this too was unacceptable. She just wants to do it by herself.

* She wants to put more milk in her cup. But she insists that she do all of it - the unscrewing of the lid, holding the lid and cup, screwing the lid back on....this does not work out well for mom.

* She wants to play her music by herself. This includes opening and closing the dvd player and using the "mote" to select the song.

* All lights must be turned on and off by her.

More surgery

Keeley's adenoidectomy is scheduled for January 15th. I once thought I had healthy children...they seem to be proving me wrong.

Major life discoveries

Here are some highlights of the big discoveries my girls have made the last few days.

Kayden learning to climb into a bookcase.

Keeley discovering the penguins at the Dallas World Aquarium.

Kayden learning to drink from a straw cup.

More climbing. Yes, my 7 month old is on top of all that stuff reaching for her food. Where my girls get their fearlessness is beyond me!

Learning to climb into the bathtub on her own...possibly not a good discovery.

Just like big sister

Kayden is obsessed with everything about her big sister. Here are some cute pictures that show just how much.Helping herself to some of Keeley's graham crackers.

Working on puzzles with Keeley.

Laughing about playing with Keeley's bike while Keeley was napping.

Playing in the diaper box together.