Potty training woes...

It's not like I expected Katie to figure this out overnight, but I thought for a second that we could possibly be that rare case where the kid just "gets it."  I want to cringe every time someone tells me about how their potty training process was basically effortless.  Well, pin a medal on you!  I'm not so lucky.  I thought I'd get some good advice this weekend while at a friend's baby shower since everyone there had kids.  The one girl who sat down and talked about it said it was pretty effortless for her, which sent me into a rage of jealousy.

I shouldn't complain because we JUST started this process.  The first two days were kind of effortless.  But, today, Katie has had four accidents and it's only 1:30 p.m.  This is hard work.   I thought that taking her to the toilet every 15 minutes would be the part I hated most.  But, she has proven me wrong by peeing four different times in her pants in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom floor.  How could someone so little have such a big bladder?  I don't even get it.

I'm hoping that she doesn't give up, but all of a sudden she has started to say, "Katie can't do it." WHAT?  Where did she even learn to say something like that?  I sound like a broken record telling her not to say "can't."  Not to mention, she has also started saying, "no means no." WHAT?  I'm not sure where she is picking up all this negativity, but it's not fun at all.  She's such a happy kid and I'm just wondering if she's playing around, trying to push buttons or test limits, but who knows.  Hopefully, we'll have some positive progress this afternoon to lift all our spirits.

Time for Potty Training!

I'm so happy that our new computer is up and working just in time to tell the world that Katie went poo-poo in the potty last night!  It was a wonderful event full of praise and excitement!  My goodness, she was so happy to have done it!  Well, I'm sure it helped that she got a Buzz Light Year figurine for a job well done, but it was still so cute.  She shouted with glee, "Katie did it!" She's yet to do #1 or #2 in the proper place since then, but we're still riding the high from her first poop in the potty ever!  What a milestone!

Up, Up, and Away!

I know we have to teach children about letting go at some point or another, but after our traumatic trip to the grocery store yesterday, I don't ever want to let go!!!

There they floated, in all their glory, high over our heads with dangley colorful strings to entice tiny eager fingers. The grocery store balloons. Katie was being wonderful during our somewhat spontaneous evening grocery run. I packed the racing cart higher than I planned, but Katie sat peacefully waiting for me to finish walking up and down the aisles waving and honking her fake horn at passersby. She sat patiently as the cashier checked us out. I thought we could make it to the car without any issues for the first time in her two and a half short years. Just as I began to push the cart toward the exit, a sweet, but oblivious manager walked over to Katie and said, "Would you like a balloon?" Well, of course she wants a balloon! "What color would you like?"

"PINK!" Katie grabbed the PINK balloon, and even said "Thank you" without being provoked, leaving the manager feeling warm and fuzzy inside, I'm sure.

As we headed outside, I held onto the end of the string, without Katie's knowledge since she has to do everything herself, to save it from disaster. The whole while, I kept telling Katie that she had to hold on tight or else the balloon was going to fly away and she'd never see it again. I held onto the string as long as I could, but she wanted to do it herself while I unloaded the groceries into the back of the car. So, I let go.

I finished putting the last bag into the back of the car when I heard Katie shriek, "Mommy, catch it! Mommy, catch it! Catch it! Reach!" Katie was trying to climb out of the cart to reach high in the sky to catch the balloon which was already way out of reach. With all the compassion in the world, I said something like, "Katie Bear, it's gone. I'm sorry, honey, we can't reach it anymore. Look up there, see how far away it is already? It's too far away. We'll have to get another balloon the next time we come to the grocery store, but you'll have to make sure to hold on so so so tight so it doesn't fly away." Her eyes welled up so fast and she began crying the most pitiful cry I've seen to date! She looked up in the sky and said, "Bye-bye, balloon." Oh, my poor munchkin, if only mommy didn't let go...

Damn you helium!

Study Guide

Since family is arriving around July 2nd for a long weekend visit, I thought I would create a list of Katie's odd vocabulary. She generally pronounces words correctly, but there are a few words or phrases that often make us laugh because we just can't figure out where she comes up with them.

1. Flip-Flops = Foo-Farts
2. Charolette (Whitaker) = Shart
3. Strawberry Milk = Chocatte Berry
4. Yogurt = Yurt
5. Robot = Boobot
6. Fruit Juice Snacks = Yummy Fun or Juicies
7. Spoon = Boose, sometimes boosey
8. Madagascar Movie = Animals
9. Most names that start with the letter J = Jeremy (but she can say "Josh")
10. Tom and Jerry = Jeremy
11. Mickey Mouse = Mouse
12. Napkin = Cane-keen
13. Kitchen = Chicken
14. Caroline = Coin
15. Coffee = Chachee
16. Cracker = Caw-Caw

The following three words/references are used interchangeably and are sometimes hard to decipher:

1. Danimals = Momo (she can clearly say "animals" when referring to the movie Madagascar, but cannot for the life of her say "danimals.")
2. Grandma = Mama
3. Nemo = Momo

Katie is very polite and will usually say "peeze" and "thank you or thanks" for most anything. Likewise, she will eagerly apologize for wrong doings when prompted. When you yell for her she will yell back, "OK, Mommy/Daddy, I coming." But, she is also demanding and requests that we "A'mon, Mommy/Daddy! Follow me!"

Katie is very loud and doesn't have much of a quiet button. She doesn't like it when babies are sleeping, so she will get close to their face, whisper "baby seeping," then out of no where scream "wake up!" She loves how things echo and is always yelling "echo" everywhere to see if her voice will indeed echo. She is so fascinated when it actually does.

We've recently discovered that Katie is the life of the party. Hmm, I wonder where she gets that???