blog slacker

Yes, I am a blog slacker. I've mostly been updating on Facebook lately and neglecting the blog. I'm sorry!

We have settled into life in Ellensburg. We have our routines and things we do, which are great. We love the Farmers Market each Saturday. We often go to the Children's Museum on Saturday's as well. We hit the local swimming pool most weeks so Aidan can work on her swimming - and we hope to wear her out enough that she'll go to sleep without too much fuss. (She still hates to sleep, but only gets up once in the night now). We have gotten rid of the pull-ups entirely and she now sleeps all night in big girl panties. We've only had a couple of accidents since we started this 3 or so weeks ago. She just passed her 3-year check-up with flying colors and also had her first eye exam, complete with dilation. She did great! There are glasses in her future, most likely, but for now, she's seeing as she should. We are excited that she will get to try out ballet classes this fall. It is a trial basis because we are trying her in the 4 year old class instead of the 3 year old class (which meets at a time that only parents who work from home can do). Hopefully, Aidan will not feel frustrated in it and it will work. If not, we'll stop for a year and try again. Aidan also requested to do gymnastics again this fall. We did it for a while in the spring, but the evening classes stop over the summer because it is too hot here (and there is no A/C in the gym). Here are the pictures you were hoping for:

Aidan exploring some career options:


Gymnast


Chef (That's fresh okra in her mouth)


Ballerina


Artist (This is a picture of Christianne. We gave Aidan some clues about what to include, but she drew it herself.)


Some pictures from our trip to Spokane to see The Wiggles:


Playing in the park after the show


Practice her arabesque



Ice cream cupcake after the show


Speaking of cupcakes...Aidan wanted to make "Ming-Ming Cupcakes" (a character from the "Wonder Pets." (Ming-Ming is a duckling that wears a flight helmet.) Here are some pictues of the process:


Working on frosting


Concentrating really hard


Happy with her work


The finished product


The chef


Aidan's school had a talent show last week. For the younger children, they did a fashion show for which each child got to pick their favorite dress-up costume. Aidan was Snow White.


Opening number


Snow white

We are having a baby - maybe 3!

No, not in real life. :-)

However, Aidan seems convinced that she (or we) are going to have a baby soon. Maybe in June. This has been going on for a few weeks now. It used to be that I was going to have a baby the old fashioned way (in my tummy), but tonight, Aidan informed me that the plan has changed. She stated that *she* is going to have a baby (which she will get from the baby hospital) and she will name it "Baby Girl." I will also have a baby and name it "Baby Woman" (because I am a woman). Christianne will have a baby and name it "Baby Mama." I asked her how we were going to feed all these babies and Aidan answered, "With baby bottles." Glad that was cleared up. I have no idea where she got this idea. And, for those of you hoping for additional, live children from us: don't hold your breath. I'm not sure what we'll do come June. Maybe dig out the baby dolls that she has not wanted to play with much so far and give them to her again. Very interesting....

Deep thoughts by a 2 year old

Me: Aidan, what do you think about life?

Aidan: It's pretty fine.

*******************************

Aidan: (Running around naked except for black patent leather shoes) "I have stinky bo-bo!!!"

*******************************

Aidan: Mama, I need this rock. It is a magic rock.

Mama: What makes it a magic rock?

Aidan: It sings.

*******************************

There are more, but the chronically sleep deprived mommy brain is having trouble remembering them right now...

The end of a big day

So, what happens when you are "Two and seven months" (as Aidan likes to tell people who ask her how old she is), have gone on an Easter Egg hunt, played at the Children's Museum, refused to take a nap, dyed Easter Eggs at home, helped clean up the yard, and had a melt down because you were not allowed to watch TV or play computer games after dinner (because you hit Mommy earlier in the day)?

This is what happens:



She was being a pill while we were eating and we gave her the choice of sitting with us and eating her dinner, drawing in her princess drawing pad, or going upstairs to her room. First we heard cries and then, before long, we heard little snores. The above picture is how we found her. She woke-up briefly while we were trying to get her pants off and a pull-up on for the night, but went back to sleep without too much fuss. Poor girl. I hope she sleeps long and hard so she can have a happy Easter tomorrow.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Update from Ellensburg - finally

Finally, an update from our new home in Ellensburg. We miss all of our Dallas friends and family soooooo much! You are in our thoughts and prayers all the time.

Here is a picture of Aidan helping us pack in Dallas:



Here's a picture of her attempt to put on make-up that Ms Ferzeta and Ms. Mona gave her as a good-bye present. I tried to tell her it was blush, but she insisted it was eye shadow:



Here are some picture of our new house (the Princess house as Aidan likes to call it):






Here's Aidan helping us unpack:



And her nap on the move-in day in Ellensburg:



Palm Sunday:



Playing at the park (fashion forward as usual):





Easter Egg hunt at her new school:



Ready for Easter Egg hunt on Holy Saturday:



Some picture of the area we live in (everywhere you look, there are hills and mountains in the background):

Singing in the shower

Aidan is working on her singing talents while getting clean. These were too cute not to post.

You are my sunshine:



Jesus loves me, this I know:

Update on the bedtime saga

So, I had a great conversation with my sweet friend Barbara, who also happens to be a great psychologist and play therapist (shout out to Barbara for always being willing to talk through parenting trials!). We brainstormed some things to try with Aidan. Among them was trying to get Aidan help brainstorm how to make bedtime better for everyone involved.

I also had the idea that perhaps a new stuffed animal that was specifically for bedtime might help things along. I was going to make a big deal about how this is her baby and she needs to take care of it and help it go to sleep by cuddling with it like Mama and Mommy cuddle her to help her go to sleep. This was my devious plan.

So, last night I picked her up from school and we had the following conversation:

Me: Aidan, you know how at bedtime you yell and get mad and cry and Mommy and Mama get mad. Do you like that?

Aidan: No.

Me: Well, I have an idea. What if we went and got something special that would help bedtime be calm and quiet. Do you think that's a good idea?

Aidan: Yes.

Me: So, do you think it is worth it to yell and scream and cry at bedtime?

Aidan: Yes.

Me: What makes it worth it?

Aidan: 'Cause...I *really* want to watch "Dora Saves the Ice Princess."

Me: So, if you got to watch Dora before bedtime do you think that would help bedtime be calm and quiet?

Aidan: Yes.

Me: What if after dinner, you put on your pajamas and brushed your teeth and then you got to watch some Dora before bedtime?

Aidan: That's a good idea.

Me: How long do you think you would need to watch Dora before bedtime?

Aidan: 10.

Me: 10 minutes and then you could go to bed and be quiet and calm?

Aidan: Yes.

Me: OK, so the plan is: dinner, pjs, brush teeth, Dora, bedtime.

Aidan: Yes.

And we went off to Build-a-Bear to get a special bedtime baby (aka Hello Kitty).

We came home and shared the plan with Mama, who gave her blessing to the plan. It went very well in the beginning. We had dinner. Aidan got her pjs on and did the best teeth brushing I have ever seen and got to watch Dora (more than 10 minutes) and then went to her room with no trouble at all. We tucked Hello Kitty into bed and Aidan got in bed an started to read stories (Oh, and I gave her a little homeopathic kids sleep aid just to hedge my bets), and then...

Aidan gets out of bed, starts running around the room, hiding in the closet, etc.

First we tried reminding Aidan that Hello Kitty needed her help going to sleep. Aidan gave the 2.5 year old equivalent of screw Hello Kitty and went back to playing. So, then I told Aidan that if she did not want to snuggle in bed and read stories with us, that we were going to leave the room and not come back until morning.

I called Aidan over before we left and asked her what was going to happen if we left. She said, "Don't come back!" I asked if that was what she wanted. She said, "Go!" So, we turned out the light, turned on her turtle start gazer, and out we went.

While Aidan and I were shopping for Hello Kitty, Christianne had been changing out the door knob to one that locks from the outside. When we left the room, we locked the door. It took Aidan about 3 minutes to discover that she could not leave her room. Boy was she MAD. She screamed, hollered, kicked, attempted to pick the lock. Never did she sound scared, however. Just not happy about her circumstances. So we just let her go and stuck to our word that we were not coming back in until morning.

This went on for almost an hour. About 45 minutes in, she seemed to calm down, accept her fate, and turned on her pirate story CD. She climbed in bed with Hello Kitty and finally went to sleep.

We went in to check on her after she was asleep and made sure all was well. She's pulled the covers all the way over her head and was sound asleep. We unlocked the door and left it ajar in case she needed anything in the middle of the night.

Here's the interesting part. I heard her wake up around 4:00 or so. She got out of bed, found her sippy cup, and went back to bed without coming in to get me. Hooray on that front!

Aidan, if you are reading this years from now, just know it broke our heart to let her cry it out and lock you in your room, but it seemed the only option left. We love you!

Pictures finally!

Two year old prayer

Aidan asked me to repeat the following last night:

"Jesus saves our house."

"Jesus Church of Christ."

"Jesus is waiting outside our house."

She then informed me that her friends were coming over last night; her friends Joseph, Mary, and Ava. I'm sure Ava's parents will be happy to know she's been elevated to the status of the Holy Family.

First real poop!

Last night, Aidan, went poop in the potty. Totally in the potty with none in her panties! Very exciting. She needed a little help to get to the potty, but she waited and then did it. What a big girl!

(And it is pretty cute to watch her go. She sits there and makes a scrinched up face and says, "Puuuuuusssshhhhh! Come on poop! Come on!"

Another step on the road to potty training success.

Stories I don't want to forget

Story One:

After our traditional "taco-rice-and-beans" (pronounced as one word) meal following swim class on Thursday, Aidan came home with a little tummy trouble. (This was bad when she was in pull-ups, in big girl panties - oh ick!) As I was cleaning her up, I commented, "Aidan, what was that?" Aidan looked down at the remnents and said with great certitude, "Salsa Verde!"

Story Two:

Aidan and I were grocery shopping last night. She was doing something that had to be done just the way she wanted it to be done (she was trying to be helpful). I said, "You are a little high maintenance, you know that?" Without missing a beat, Aidan replied, "I am Princess!"

Bedtime is still a miserable event. We are working on it. Threatening to treat her like "a little baby" seems to make some small impression. We keep trying...

Santa's a Blackmailer

Well, bedtime was a little better last night. It still took an hour from putting on PJs to actually being asleep, and we can't just leave the room and expect her to stay in bed. However, little screaming, crying, or body tackling, so that's an improvement, right?

Our new plan last night was to allow some going back and forth and quiet play (but no hiding in the closet) until she started to wind down. But still, actually getting in and staying in the bed was not going so well. The previous night, I had finally gotten her in bed by changing the Dora Christmas book and suggesting that Santa had been going to bring Aidan presents, but had to skip her house because he heard she was not cooperating and Santa only brings presents to girls and boys who cooperate at bedtime. Last night, when Aidan started to escalate, I picked up the phone and had a conversation with Santa. It seemed that Santa was making a pre-Christmas present for Aidan, but when he heard that she would not go to bed, he said he couldn't bring the present. Santa told me to tell Aidan that if she went to bed without a fuss for 10 whole days, he would bring her the present. Aidan got right in bed after that and (mostly) stayed. I think we need a chart to keep track of how she does.

Suppose she'll be mad about this when she realizes that Santa's not real?

This morning's conversation

Aidan: (Lying in bed looking sad). Mommy, I look sad.

Me: Yes, sweetheart, you do look sad. Are you feeling sad?

Aidan: Yes.

Me: Why are you sad?

Aidan: I need candy.

Me: No, you can't have any candy.

Aidan: Please...

Me: No, but you can have Cheerios.

Aidan: (Sounding dejected) Okay....

She then refused to get dressed this morning and screamed all the way to school because her breakfast in the car was cereal with dried strawberries instead of a "car-waffle." Life if difficult when you are almost 2.5 years old.

We turned Aidan's crib into a big girl bed with big girl (princess) bedding in the hopes it would make going to bed more attactive.

Can I just say, "No dice."

On to a new (as yet to be developed) plan for tonight. Stay tuned...

Bedtime fun

Well, it finally happened. Aidan learned that she can climb out of her crib, adding a new dimension to bedtime. She won't stay in the big bed either. Here's how bed (and nap) time went this weekend:

Me: Aidan, it is time to go to your room to get ready for nap (bed).

Aidan: No.

Me: Yep. Come on. Its time. Do you want to read stories or sing?

Aidan: Goes to room and slams door in my face, blocking my entry with her body.

Me: Aidan, I'm going to count to 10 and then I'm going to come in.

Aidan: Goes and hides in the closet or behind the rocking chair while I'm counting.

Me: Aidan, I'm going to count to 5 and if you want to read stories, you come out of the closet. Otherwise, I'm going to pick you up and put you in your crib. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Aidan: Collaspes on floor of closet (or runs to closet if she's behind the chair).

Me: Pick up dead weight named Aidan and place her in the crib.

Aidan: Start screaming at top of her lungs and crying hysterically while attempting to climb out of crib.

Me: Blocking escape attempts physically and placing her back in her crib while say, "Aidan, you may not climb out of your crib. If you would like to sleep in the big bed, calm down and use your words. If you want to sleep in the big bed, you must cooperate.

Repeat for 20-40 minutes

Me: Would you like a hug?

Aidan: Nods head finally.

Me: Pick up Aidan and snuggle her. Get her calm but don't let her feet touch the ground. When calm, ask if she wants to sleep in the big bed or crib. Place her where she chooses.

Aidan: Changes her mind.

Me: You may change your mind one time. If you change it again, you may not move.

Aidan: Changes mind again or attempts to leave big bed and hide again.

Repeat previous cycle.

Aidan finally falls asleep while I'm snuggling her and she gets put to sleep wherever we had our last battle.

Aidan: Wakes up early, climbs out of crib or bed and comes padding into our room.

I don't know what the solution is. Leave her in her room until she falls asleep wherever and when ever she wants? Taking way things doesn't work. I took away things at naptime on Saturday (e.g., her starlight turtle) and she started handing me other things and told me to take everything. Shaming doesn't work. Firm tone doesn't work. Empathy works some, but she has to rage first and that's hard on both of us. Giving her the big bed right away doesn't work because she gets out to hide and it is harder to contain her in the big bed. I hope if we are consistent in our message, she will eventually stop the testing, but this is hard! Maybe a toddler bed with princess bedding...

Coupons

Well, this story may fall in the TMI category, but it is too funny not to share and guaranteed to embarrass Aidan when she gets older. I'm thinking it will be a good one to share when she's a teen and I don't want to forget it. I know you would rather see pictures, but trust me, it is a funny story. My apologies to anyone who is offended by the TMI portion.

So, we've been staying in a hotel the last few nights while our floors were being refinished. I was unpacking things and a tampon fell out of my toiletries case. Aidan picked it up and asked what it was. I told her it was a tampon. I figure it is best to give straight-forward, age appropriate information to her about bodily things so she learns to that they are things that can be talked about. Best to start young. And, since we are working so hard on potty training, well, let's just say that there isn't a lot of bathroom privacy at our house these days. I'll leave it at that and let you infer from the rest of the story.

Aidan's still working on some of her word pronunciation, so she was calling the tampon "coupon." I corrected her a couple of times, but coupon stuck.

Now, Aidan has had a miserable rash for the last several days. The doctor thinks it is viral and we have some anti-itch medicine to give her. I didn't give it to her early enough before bed last night, so she was itchy as she was trying to go to sleep. Now, we were all in the same bed, because we were in the hotel. Aidan is rolling around in bed (kicking me in the process), trying to claw at her backside, and repeating over and over (with the utmost distress in her voice), "Ow! There's a coupon stuck in my bo-bo."

She was so upset and miserable and we were trying to comfort her but at the same time, we were trying not to burst out laughing.

So, be careful, everyone: Don't get a coupon stuck in your bo-bo. It, according to Aidan, is VERY uncomfortable.

I hope this doesn't mess her up for life...

A sweet story

Last night, we were at dinner and waiting for our food. Aidan starts singing, as she often does these days, and I'm only half listening until I realize she is singing "You are my sunshine." It was so sweet and just melted my heart. I know she doesn't understand all the words or what the song is really saying to someone, but it was just so sweet to have her singing those words to me (and later in the evening to Christianne). I must ask her to sing it 5 times a day now. :-) She learned it at school in preparation for their Valentine's Day concert. So sweet!

Big Girl

Yesterday, Aidan had a big girl accomplishment. She stayed dry in big girl panties all day at school, stayed dry in her big girl panties (no pull up on for back up) all evening with me, and then stayed dry (in a pull up) all night, and got up this morning and tee-teed in the potty (with some coercion to do so). It was a big accomplishment and we are very proud of our big girl! I offered to let her just wear big girl panties today, but she wanted a pull up. But, this is progress. Hooray!

Aidan's reasoning

The other day, Aidan came into the room carrying her gas drops and announced she needed medicine. I asked her why she needed medicine and she said, "I have germs in my tummy."

She didn't get any medicine, but it seemed like a well-reasoned argument to me.

Future moutain climber?

Aidan figured out how to master this rock wall all by herself, but needed a little help to figure out how to get over the top. Once she got it, she was good to go and did it her favorite way: HERSELF!

Pre-Christmas pictures

Cute stories

OK, so I am a total slacker on the picture front. I apologize. Between Christmas, trying to stay healthy for surgery, surgery, and recovery, I just haven't gotten to the pictures. They are all on the home computer and I'm blogging from bed on my laptop.

However, there are some cute Aidan stories to immortalize.

First, Aidan has developed her own swear word. There's a bit of a back story. For halloween, she was a fairy princess so, of course, she had a magic wand. Christianne taught her to say "Bippity, boppity, boo!" from the Cinderella movie. Aidan played with this for a time, but then started using it when she wanted us to go away. Funny how you can tell her intent from her tone at such a young age. Now, she has shortened it to "boppy!" whenever she is angry, sad, or frustrated. The other day she got stuck some place and she forcefully said, "Boppy!" as she finally escaped. It is so cute, even when she is angry. We try not to smile.

Second, her latest sentence is "I have an idea." She then proceeds to offer her suggestion for a solution to a problem. It is really sweet - and she has some good ideas.

Aidan was sick yesterday, including a cough. I asked her where her cough came from and she said, "Um.... From my cheeks!"

Aidan has done fairly well with my surgery and recovery. We are thankful for that. She still doesn't understand that I can't pick her up, but we've not had too many more tantrums than usual. Although, she is quickly approaching 2.5 and is attempting to exercise control at every turn. Her favorite thing is to say, "I'll be right back" and go off to the bathroom, close the doors, and do whatever her heart desires - usually something involving toothpaste and water - sometimes it is trying to change her poopy pull-up by herself.

Aidan continues to show little interest in potty training. She does it at school because that's what everyone does, but at home she is too busy to be bothered. We're going to have to find some big incentive program at some point. But right now, I'm not worrying about it too much.

She received a princess dress up trunk from Grandma for Christmas. This has been one of her favorite presents. She is frequently dressed up live Sleeping Beauty and often sleeps in her costume as well.

And she is in love with "Fancy Nancy" (a book series) and everything is now fancy. Thanks for Fancy Nancy, she knows words like "dapper" and "fiasco."

One of the sweet things Aidan does is share her food. She's not always excited to share her toys, but she is ever so concerned that everyone have enough to eat. It is sweet.

One of the not so endearing things she does is she now uses intensifiers. She we get, "But I really, really, really want to watch Wonder Pets." And, "But I really, really, want Wiggles." She also has started yelling for help in Spanish (Thanks, Diego). I won't spell it out, because I will butcher a beautiful language. Suffice it to say that it was cute for about 10 times. It is not so cute when combined with throwing herself on the floor and kicking at everything within a 3 foot radius.

Overall, she is just growing and changing at an amazing rate. Her conceptual understanding of things and her memory are just blossoming. She is using full sentences on a regular basis and picks up new words every day. She knows her colors almost all the time, knows most of her basic shapes, is starting to connect counting with actual quantities, and her physical abilities just keep growing too. And she has such a tender, sweet heart and really cares about people. That's the best part. Oh, and her imagination is taking off too. She is imagining various people with her including Grandma, Gomma, and Bruce (who make the most frequent appearances). She is just amazing!