Proud Moments

It is the dichotomy of life. The busier you are and the more life events you want to share, the less time you have to share them. This is where I've found myself for the last while and will probably continue to be until the end of the year. I was already quite busy in my current role, but now that I'm officially an employee and not a consultant, I have the additional burden of taking on my new role as well. That is, until December 31 when my old role goes away and I am down to doing just the new employee gig.

I'm really optimistic that once the new year comes I'll have more time for family, friends, my blog, and myself. I just keep thinking, "just get through the end of the year and life will calm down." I'm finally at a point in life where I realize that won't just happen on it's own. I know I have to make time for the important things and not let other little things fill whatever new found time I may have after the first of the year. I'm saying that more for my benefit than yours. I constantly have to remind myself that I have to consciously make the time and set boundaries in this new role or I will end up just like I have every other year. This year I want to be different; unlike the last ten years where I said the same thing and I made no change.

So all of that to explain why wonderful things are happening with my family, random light or deep thoughts are occurring with me, yet nothing seems to materialize on the blog. Again, just let me get through this year and things will be different, I think. I hope. No, I commit! In the meantime, let me tell you about the girls and some of their latest milestones...

Bailey is now ten months old and continues to be the happiest, cutest joy to everyone she meets. She now waves, signs "milk", throws her hands up in the air when you cheer, and crawls and cruises almost fast enough to keep up with Reagan. She says bye-bye, uh-oh, da-da, and ma-ma. She's just starting to test her boundaries by knowing "no" but continuing to do something while watching you. All with a big a grin on her face and waiting to see how you'll respond.

Now on to Reagan. Can you continually talk about a two-year old without at some point mentioning bodily functions and the control or lack thereof? Well, I'm going there. Reagan is nearly potty trained and for better or worse, has done it pretty much on her own. We just started putting panties on her one day, put a baby potty in the play area, and said if you have to go, go. We don't put her on at any intervals and never ask her if she needs to go. Yet she has probably had three accidents ever. However, she would never poop on the potty. She would just hold it as long as she could or would even ask to have a diaper on so she could go.

So this past weekend Bill was on the computer across the room and got a whiff of something. I saw him scrunch up his nose and start looking around for the cause of the offending smell. About that time Reagan proudly said, "I pooped in the potty!" Bill realized then, "Oh, why yes, yes you did!" as he kind of half gagged.

Proud moments are not always rose scented.

Misadventures in Potty Training

A common topic that comes up on my "mommy board" that I frequent is, "How do I know my toddler is ready for potty training?" Good question. Equally as important though, I can tell you when he/she is NOT ready for potty training.

1) When she does this

2) Or this

3) Or this

4) Or when you hear phrases coming from your husband like, "No Reagan, don't bite your potty seat." Or when you hear the phrase "I did it!" from your toddler but it simply means she was able to worm herself out of the seat after wearing it like a beauty contestant sash. (In her defense it really was an accomplishment to get herself out of the potty seat beauty contestant sash. I thought we might have to call the fire department on that one.)

To explain myself, yesterday I went shopping and took Reagan to get a "big girl potty." She is afraid of sitting on a regular toilet seat and I abhor cleaning poop out of the baby potty so it seemed like the way to go. Of all of the seats, she picked the Dora one. I guess Elmo is still leaving her a bit gun shy. I figured since she got to pick it she would be more likely to want to use it. She carried it all through the store and all the way home and up the stairs into the house. But wouldn't you know, as soon as she got to the top of the stairs she turned around and tossed the Dora potty back down the stairs and said, "no potty." Yeah, this isn't going to go well. I tried to show her the Dora potty sitting on the big potty and she wasn't having it. But she is happy to use it as her latest form of entertainment and point out all of the places Boots appears.

Yeah, my toddler is NOT ready for potty training.

Oh, and yes, her clothes are on backwards. She wears a uniform to school and one of the uniform options is these overalls. I always send her to school in them going the right way and they send her home with them on backwards. If they didn't she'd be naked all day and they seem to frown on that there. She can unbutton the straps quicker than houdini could escape from a locked chest so it's their only option.

And here is one more pic I took tonight that I'm posting just for the cuteness factor.