Potty Training Update and Emma's Big Girl Bed

I am happy to announce that the potty training has taken a turn for the better!! Yay for Emma and yay for Mommy!!! After purchasing the "froggie" potty chair Emma really started taking an interest in using the potty. At first she would only go tee-tee on froggie and resisted going poo poo for almost 2 weeks. I was getting frustrated with this because I would take her to the potty and try to bribe her with Hello Kitty stickers to go poo poo and she wouldn't go. Not even 5 minutes later she would go in her big girl underwear! UGH! It took bribing with Elmo stickers and watching Toy Story movie to get her to go poo poo. One day it just clicked in (or should I say the bribery worked because I am positive she knew what she was doing) and she has been using the potty ever since! We do still have the occasional accident which most often happens when she is playing too hard or intently watching a movie and "forgets" that she has to use the potty. As my friends warned me, she also LOVES using public toilets. Whenever we are out and about she wants to go potty over and over and over. Of course she then wants to touch everything and loves to flush it - YUCK! Those first couple weeks were really rough, but I think we are on the right track now which is really nice!

Emma also recently got her "Big girl bed." Her toddler bed converted back to a crib and was moved to baby sissy's room. Emma got a new twin bed with trundle, nightstand, and dresser. The delivery men were here one night until 9:30 at night setting up her bed. I was about ready to put her to bed in the pack n play (the crib was already all set up on the highest level for baby so she couldn't sleep in that) but she was beyond ecstatic that her big girl bed was here. She wouldn't leave the men alone who were setting it up and she kept screaming giddily "Emma's big girl bed, Emma's big girl bed." It was absolutely adorable. She was throwing her stuffed animals up onto the bed as I was trying to put the sheets on it so that she could go to bed! She did great the first few days, but did fall out yesterday during nap time. She fell out on Daddy's watch and he called me to say that her head was bleeding!! We aren't sure what she hit her head on since the nightstand was a long way from the bed. It must have either been the side rail or the trundle that was sticking out 1/4 of an inch. We have to monitor her now and if she keeps falling out we might get side rails.

I have been organizing and getting ready for baby sissy to arrive. Can't believe that our family of three will be a family of four in less than two weeks! Her room is organized, bottles are cleaned (although I will be nursing), car seat is installed, name picked out (FINALLY), clothes are put away, and I have begun packing the hospital bags just in case. I have my last ultrasound tomorrow to check on baby and her growth/weight. I have been feeling good, but the heat is killing me. Can't wait for fall and for this baby to come!

Enjoy the pictures below. I plan on posting a little update on Emma's behavior/growth before I go to the hospital.

New sign in Emma's room - which is still a work in progress

Her dresser



The "big girl bed"

Emma testing out baby sissy's vibrating chair

All the neighborhood kiddos at the ice cream social last weekend

YUM!

Her hair can now be french braided! I love having a girl!!!

She loves her braids and always ask to "look mirror" when I finish them. She also wants hair spray when she gets her braids.

Ahh.. a helper in training!! She really wanted to help vaccuum the couch and what mom would say no to that?!?

Sitting with her pal Lexie

The Potty Training Saga

Last week I decided to tackle the ever-looming potty training issue with Emma. I thought she was more than ready as she would often bring us a diaper to change her when she was dirty. She could say "poo poo" and "tee tee" and was very interested when anyone would use the potty, especially her friends. Also, with her baby sister being born in just 5 weeks I thought it might be nice to have just one in diapers.

I had prepared a bit for the big day - I had Elmo (her favorite, of course) rings to put on the big potty, pull ups for bedtime, M & M's as reward for her successes, and also read a short book about how to train your child in just three days. We planned to go cold turkey and put her big girl underwear on throughout the day (no pullups) and then to use the pull ups at night. Wednesday came and I eagerly raced upstairs to get Emma out of bed. I had her help me "throw away" (technically we saved them for her baby sister) all of her diapers. Then we went downstairs and immediately sat on the potty and talked about how much of a big girl she was. I let her pick out her "big girl underwear" to put on and of course she chose Dora. I told her over and over to tell mommy when she had to go potty and that Dora wanted to stay dry. Let's just say we had one success that day and about 10 or 12 accidents. All I heard all day long was "Dora's all wet" and "Dora's sad." Mom was frustrated at the lack of success on day one.

Day two comes with renewed enthusiasm. However, the results are more of the same. One success with 10-12 accidents. Mom gets sick of hearing about Dora and Mickey Mouse being "all wet". Emma starts crying when I try to take her in to the bathroom to go potty. She also starts having temper tantrums and crying for no reason throughout the day, which is very unlike my normal happy child. I realize that this is a lot for a two year old to take in, but don't want her to feel like going on the potty is punishment. It should be exciting and rewarding for her. Lots of people, including the book I read, said that it often times just happens on day 3. Emma had tested my patience to the limit that day, especially at bed time. She fought me tooth and nail to put her pj's on, then screamed when I tried to brush her hair, and wouldn't let me brush her teeth. Mom lost it (I will admit - normally I have a lot of patience but tonight I lost it) and hollered at her to get in her damn bed and we will NOT be reading a book tonight. I walk downstairs and all I hear on the baby monitor in a sobbing voice "Read book, read book, read book." I have to go outside to calm my nerves and let her fall asleep. I go to bed exhausted, tired of cleaning up messes, and feeling sick of being homebound for 2 entire days. I will admit that I like to get out of the house everyday.

Day three arrives with skeptical enthusiasm as to whether this concept will magically sink in for Emma today. It doesn't. Not one success today. Lots and lots of crying when I try to take her to the bathroom. I even begin to try and bribe her with the M&M's (which I read you shouldn't do, but at this point I could care less). Mom has definately lost her patience as not only is Emma not successful, but she throws more temper tantrums for no reason. Dad gets home from work and he senses my frustration and tells me to leave the house. I happily oblige. It was like heaven to leave the house that night. I had come up with a new plan - I was going to Target to buy a little potty seat (instead of just having the rings to put on the big toilet) and try it out the next day. I had resisted buying these because I think cleaning them out is gross. I know millions of moms have done it before me, but I thought I could do it without the little potty seat. If she still threw temper tantrums with the new seat and cried at having to go potty then I was going to bag the whole concept until after baby was born. I didn't want Emma to associate potty training with punshment and I couldn't take much more.

Day four arrives and I immediately march Emma into the bathroom and show off the new "froggie" potty seat that I bought. She laughed and giggled and said "froggie" over and over. We sat on it and she immediately went tee tee! She loved it! We were successful 8 times on day four with just 2 accidents!! Hallelujah! She even came to me a couple times to tell me that she had to go potty. We got out of the house that day and went to the pool with friends, which was good for both mommy and Emma's sanity. I think she was also getting tired of being couped up in the house.

Things have been going well ever since we introduced froggie. She has a couple accidents a day. Mom had to scold dad yesterday because he yelled at her when she had her first accident at about 6pm. I had to tell him that she is just learning a big concept and she is going to have accidents. Daddy apologized to her and admitted it was probably a good thing mom was in charge of the potty training. He couldn't handle cleaning up the messes all day and couldn't understand why Dora has to be wet all day!

All in all we are coming along. I am still amazed at how naive I was thinking this would be easy. I guess you live and you learn! I am also having a hard time at not being able to get out of the house much. She is still in the early stages with accidents everyday and I am nervous to take her out and about yet. I know eventually I will need to just get over my fears. We did go to the neighbors for a short time yesterday and promptly returned home because she had an accident there (sorry Kim!!) I will keep you updated on her progress. So long for now.

Michigan Vacation

We recently returned from an extended vacation home in Michigan. Emma and I went a week earlier than Jay since this will be the last time for a while that I will fly alone with the kids. I also wanted to go a bit earlier in order to enjoy camping at Mullet Lake and spend some time on the boat. We arrived in Michigan on a late Wednesday night and drove up north to the campground on Thursday afternoon. We stayed until Monday and had a great time on the boat everyday, swimming, eating ice cream, playing with Jasmine (the family dog that Emma LOVES), and just plain relaxing. Emma also got to see Great Grandma Charney a few times and show off her ever expanding vocabulary.

We returned to Auburn on Monday and Emma spent the rest of the week playing with Nana, Papa, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Becky, and cousins Darian and Kennedy. She was able to spend quite a bit of time in the pool over the 2 weeks and has really begun to feel comfortable in the water (at times a bit too comfortable). She loves to jump in from the side of the pool (or the back of the boat) and doesn't really care if you are there to catch her or not! We also traveled to East Lansing one day to visit with Great Grandpa Bill. I took advantage of the babysitters we had in all the doting grandparents and even got to go out for dinner with one of my best friends Aimee, who was in town from Milwaukee. It was SO nice to have an adult only, kid free dinner! We don't get to see each other enough!

Jay joined us on Saturday and we went to his mom's retirement dinner Saturday night and spent Sunday and Monday with his extended family including Uncle Seth, Aunt Jenny and Emma's cousins Kole and Sydney. This was our first time to meet our new niece Sydney who was 8 weeks old and she is absolutely adorable!! She is so good too - already sleeping through the night. She pretty much sleeps all day and very rarely cries. She is precious and Emma really was interested in her. I am hoping she carries this interest over into her new baby sister when she arrives! Emma and Kole got some good bonding time too, and seem to play together well. I think Emma was a bit mesmerized (as was her daddy) at how much energy Kole has! He is a typical toddler boy who runs at full speed all day long! Emma also got to spend time with Great Grandpa Jay and her Great Nana.

Thursday Jay and I had to leave to drive to Plymouth for the rehearsal of one of Jay's best friends Tony's wedding. Emma stayed with all of the grandparents. Friday Jay hung out with the guys all day while I got to spend time with my cousin Betsy. We went out for lunch and went shopping in Ann Arbor. It was nice to spend time together, which we don't get to do very often! We went to the wedding Friday night and woke up to drive to the airport Saturday, where Emma and the grandparents met up with us. WHEW!

Overall, we had a great time! The two weeks went by super fast as we were extremely busy with lots of traveling. We enjoyed the cooler weather and Emma showed off to all of her relatives. Everyone was amazed at her expanding vocabulary (she will copy anything you say now) and mom and dad were amazed that she learned everyone's names! After returning home she has asked for everyone by name including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great grandparents, and of course the dog too!

I am feeling pretty good and counting down until baby #2 comes. I actually was extremely sick the day of our flight home and was very nervous that I would have nausea for the rest of my pregnancy. It lasted a couple days and has since gone away - thank goodness! It must have been a stomach bug or something. I had an ultrasound this week and they confirmed that baby is in fact a girl. She kept sticking her tongue out at us! We could also see her hair so she will be like her big sister born with lots of hair. They estimated her to be over 5lb, which is over a week ahead of schedule! The time is coming!!

We also started potty training this past week, but that is a whole other blog post. Stay tuned....

Emma sporting her Dora boat coat with Grandma

A little scary Grandpa to leave Emma at the helm

Swimming with mommy

Emma sleeping in the motorhome with baby, Eddie, and of course Jasmine

She loved feeding the baby ducks!

Emma carrying on a Charney family tradition of taking her bath in Mullett Lake!!

Happy Fourth!

Posing with her cousin Kennedy

Do we have a Vegas Showgirl in our future? Lets hope not!

Her first Merry Go Round - of course it had to be at the Auburn Cornfestival!! Thanks Darian and Kennedy for taking her!

Emma driving her cousin Darian

Her first bite of an Elephant Ear with Uncle Ryan

She looks a bit tired posing with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Becky

Seriously mom, do I have to fish?

Emma with mom's cousin Betsy

Great Grandpa Bill with all of his granddaughters

Emma with her pal Benjamin

She took a big interest in her new cousin Sydney. Here she is helping Aunt Jenny change her diaper. Hopefully she is this helpful when her baby sister arrives!

Jay's cousins and brother's family

32 weeks - yikes that belly is getting big!!

Cousin Laura with Sydney

Emma with her cousin Kole (and of course Eddie) going for a ride in the burly

Pushing sweet baby Sydney in the swing

Cooling off on a hot summer day

Emma and Kole

Peek-a-boo I see you Kole!

Nana and Papa with their grandbabies

The happy newlyweds

Emma cashed out after being in the car literally 3-4 minutes after the long plane ride home to Texas.

Let's Play Ball!

We have been busy trying to survive the Texas heat! It has been extremely hot and humid here, which makes for nonexistent play time outside during the day, unless, of course we are at the pool! We tend to make it there at least a couple times a week. Emma is getting a cute little sun tan despite mom's due diligence at applying sunscreen. She insists on taking her blow up fish with her every time, although she hates it and refuses to use it in the pool!

We recently had a week visit from Nana. Emma enjoyed seeing her again and being spoiled by her. She took Emma shopping for a new kitchen set for her birthday and Emma absolutely loves it. It has a little high chair for her dolls and Emma spends a lot of time preparing the meals for the baby to eat. She also makes sure to give them milk with their meals! We have found Emma's babies in the "oven" and even her real milk in the "refrigerator". Have to watch out for that one! Emma got lots of good one on one play time while Nana was here and even learned how to do Nana's knee exercises with the Thera-band.

We also recently bought Emma a little tee ball set. She has a love/hate relationship with it. Sometimes she loves to hit the ball, other times she loves to chase the balls that daddy hits, and sometimes has no interest in it whatsoever. She does ask frequently to "pay ball" and daddy is usually happy to oblige as he would love to have a little ball player on his hands. He gets frustrated at her lack of enthusiasm after about 5 minutes of hitting the ball. The other day he was literally mad at her because she wanted to put on her pretend lipstick instead of play ball with him! It was hilarious and he kept asking "when is the kid gonna be able to play ball with me?"

She is 100% all girl. She LOVES getting her toes painted, putting on her pretend lipstick, and also insists on carrying her purse everywhere we go. Yesterday she threw a fit and wanted to take her purse with her on the short walk to the mailbox. Not sure if daddy's dream of a ball player will ever come out of this girly girl!!

We are looking forward to our trip home to Michigan next week. We are excited to see all of the family and to enjoy some cooler weather!

Carrying her fish and bucket to the pool

Ready to go with her purse in hand!
Playing with her new kitchen set

Time to feed baby!

Sleeping at nap time with a tight hold on her baby and her thumb in the mouth - that is going to be a tough habit to break!

Exercising with Nana's Thera-band

Lovin up on Nana

Look at those ringlets!!

A softball star is born!

You can hear her say "Ready, Set, Go" in the beginning of the video. She loves to chase the ball.