33 Months

There is never a dull moment with this spunky gal of ours! 

Between the sass and the cuddles, the laughter and the tears, she's a ball full of love and tenderness. 

The past month was a tough one for me. Bobby spent 11 days in China and my mom kept telling me that kids tend to act out when one parent is away for an extended period of time. I was SO looking forward to Bobby coming home and getting my sweet, obedient, love bug back. But of course, that didn't happen. The button pushing. The whining. The complaining. The refusal to do what I asked her to do. The tantrums. It was bad. It pushed me to my limit. A few times. So even though it did not subside when Bobby got home, I sure was glad to have backup!

On top of the behavioral issues, her use of the potty went down the drain! [At least something was going down there!] There was "accident" after accident. Number one and number two. Nighttime accidents. Daytime accidents. Accidents at the dinner table. Accidents behind the Fisher-Price playhouse. Loads and loads of laundry were being done to keep up. I even threatened to go back to diapers, it got so bad.
 

In hindsight, as J was sprawled across my lap in hysterical laughter the other night, I spotted something. Her last two molars had come through and now it all makes sense! Or maybe I'm just looking for something to blame it on. Either way, it made me feel better. 

In the midst of it all, I made her a Good Job Jar. Something that I'm hoping will drive home more positive reinforcement on behavior and use of the potty. When she fills the jar halfway, she gets to pick out a new toy and when she fills it completely, she gets to go to Build A Bear.

So far, it hasn't been too effective. I'm not sure if it's because she's gotten treats in the past for going potty, or because the nanny started bringing Disney Animal Cookies as potty incentives [ughhhhh - way to kill my strategy!], but more times than not, J wants nothing to do with putting a cork in her jar. [Yes, I'm using wine corks to fill the jar. I'm klassy like that!]

Her sass has dwindled to a minimum and her accidents have cut back a bit, but the jar isn't something she's stoked on just yet. 

Her sleep patterns are still the same, although her nap seems to be inching later and later and she now goes down around 2.

Meal times are a struggle more often than not, lately, but I'm starting to find that she loves eating off of B's tray. Maybe I'll just start making one BIG plate for B and letting them both have at it! ;o)

J is wearing more and more 3T and 4T clothes, but I still come home to see her squeezed into a 24 month or 2T shirt. Poor thing. 

I haven't tried any of her new shoes on her since she's spent the summer in her flip flops and sandals, but I think we might be in luck with them come fall.

J's obsessions as of late include:

the song Beat It by Michael Jackson

watching Max and Ruby

watching Peppa Pig

her little stuffed zebra [aka ZZ]

her stuffed dinosaur [aka Rex]

watching toy product reviews on You Tube [who's child is this??]

eating popscicles made of fruit and spinach

playing outside

playing with Play-Doh

 I keep hearing that age three is even tougher than age two and as J approaches that three year mark, I keep praying that I'm taking the right steps now to lead her down the right path. I know parenthood isn't easy, but hopefully we can set her and us up for success from the get go!

Another Month In the Books

It makes my head spin to think that our first born will be turning THREE in less than five months. Three going on thirteen. 

This past month was full of even more laughs than normal with J. I don't even know how that's possible. I feel like I repeat the same thing in every update post, but the whit that this girl has is unreal. It is so fun to see as she grows and learns and takes in every bit of life that she can on a daily basis. 

She is starting to use her Spanish more and more without prompting and it makes me smile every time I hear it. Her accent is better than mine...but that's not saying much!

She loves playing with her water table in the backyard, with her Little People (especially Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - and she can name them all), and her bed is starting to get a little cramped with her stuffed animal collection that she "must" sleep with. She started with just Monk Monk, her monkey. Then she got a lady bug Dream Lite for Christmas and that hangs out at the foot of her bed and must have the pink light on. Next to join the crew were Tom and Jerry that Grandpa and Memaw gave her when we went to Kentucky. And lastly, Dada brought her a Donald Duck from Orlando on his last business trip. When I got her up from her nap today, she was sitting on her bed, tucking them all in under her blanket and making sure they were nice and comfy. So sweet. 

She's still going strong with her hour nap a day, if not a little longer and she's in bed around 7, sometimes not falling asleep till after 7:30, and wakes up between 6 and 7. 

Potty Training is going great!! About 80% of the times that she uses the potty are prompted by us, but the other 20% is her saying, "I think I have to go poooootty!" with a little smirk on her face. It's hard to tell if she's just playing or not, but we take her anyway and she goes, so we're not complaining. About two weeks ago, we stopped waking her up to take her before we went to bed and she hasn't wet the bed since! I'm so proud of her :)

She's wearing 3T and 4T clothes depending on the brand and I still cannot believe that she's been in a size 6 shoe since I can remember. I have about four or five pair of the cutest shoes in size 7 just waaaaaaiting for her to wear and every time I try them out, they're still HUGE. I'm afraid she's going to blow right past size 7 and jump to 8s when her feet do decide to grow. 

We're still waiting on her last two molars to come through on the top and I don't even want to think about the hellion she'll be when those puppies starting making their way out. I keep hoping that I'm going to look in her mouth one day and they'll just be there.....

Just in the past couple weeks I'm really able to hold conversations with her. My favorite is talking about bad behavior. I feel like she's understanding a bit more and can answer me when I ask why she was put in time out. I don't know if this really helps her to not act out again or not, but it helps me feel like she knows what she did wrong. 

I have heard quite a few parents say that three is even harder than two, so I cringe to see what three brings us, but for now, I'll soak up every bit of this little love that gets smarter and smarter by the second, is full of laughter, smiles, hugs, and kisses, is persistent, and is the best big sister a little sister could ask for. 

We love you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much Jordo! Thank you for being you!

Two And A Half

And boy is she letting us know it! I know this is just a phase she's going through, but man o man, this girl is testing our patience, pushing her limits, and seeing how much she can get away with. J is definitely two and a half. No doubt about it. 

If I had a dime for every time I had to remind her to be a good listener, turn her listening ears on, use her listening ears, etc.....I definitely wouldn't have to work, that's for sure!

Along with the boundary testing, her new favorite habit is to ask a question and mid answer she says, "Huh?" so you begin to answer again, only to be interrupted by, "Huh?". Drives me BONKERS!! Last night while I was making dinner, this was our conversation...

J: Where's Dada?

Me: He's at work still. 

J: Where's Dada?

Me: He's at work still.

J: Where's Dada?

Me: Jordan, if you're not going to listen to my answers to your questions then I'm not going to answer you. If you ask a question and want to know the answer, you need to listen to what I say.

J: Is sissy awake?

Me: No, she's upstairs sleeping.

J: Oh, you're aaaaannsweriiiiing me?

Cue bottle of wine being opened.

This is a phase, right? This too shall pass??? Right? RIGHT? 

On the flip side of that, this girl still melts our heart to pieces. She has such a whit about her that gets stronger and stronger every day and the sense of humor that comes along with that is unreal. Her movie and TV show quote log is ridiculous as well as her lyric bank. The other night when we got home from the airport we had heard Darius Rucker's Wagon Wheel twice in the car and as she was sitting at the dinner table, Bobby and I had both been singing the song randomly and next thing you know, she's finishing the verses for us! That's my girl!!! But don't be fooled, that song is nothing in her eyes compared to John Jacob Lalala (John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt)!

Potty training is still going. After she earned her special prize, she did SO so well for a while. Maybe an accident here or there. She also did wonderfully on our trip to Kentucky. Since we've been home, things have been rough. She had three accidents on Wednesday and another one yesterday while we were at work. She woke up dry this morning though and I have my fingers crossed that she's just getting back in her groove after being out of sorts for a full week. I have started making a Potty Chart with my Cricut and for a while I thought I wasn't even going to need to finish it, but I have it on my To Do list for this weekend in hopes that we keep up on the positive reinforcement for her and drive things home for her to be fully trained and not have to worry about why she's been sitting behind her Laugh & Learn House.
Is she playing? or is she taking a load off?
Having to wake her up to take her potty before we go to bed is a pain at times, but that has turned into one of my favorite times to be with her. She is so cuddly and tired and drowsy that she doesn't make any sense when she's talking and her tired, sweet little face is so incredibly cute. When I go to put her back to bed, she curls right up and closes her eyes with the occasional pat of her pillow as she says, "Mama, way down." and I rest my head on her pillow right next to her. Tell her sweet dreams and that I love her and she's fast asleep.

We're still waiting on her top two molars to come through (last two teeth!!!).

Sleep schedule is still the same with the occasional day of no nap because of the day's events, not because she refuses to take one.

We use Daniel Tiger references a lot to get her to do certain things. IE: try one bite of a new food on her plate, stop playing and go potty right away. 

She still loves her baby sister to death. The other day she asked Bobby and me if we could keep her. It was the sweetest thing ever. Yes, pretty girl, we can keep her!

Although, she finds our last nerve and jumps on it, she is such an incredible joy to be around. She makes us laugh harder, smile bigger, and love deeper each and every day.

In six quick months we'll be celebrating her 3rd Birthday and I truly cannot believe how fast our first baby has turned into a little girl. With each stage comes a new adventure, a new challenge, and a new level of fun. Parenthood is truly the most amazing thing. 

We love you Jordan!

Proud Mama Moment

Last night marked a huge milestone in J's potty training journey! When I went through my first bout of desperation after we started potty training, we took J to Target and let her pick out a special prize. It was explained to her that she would get her special prize when she kept her underwear dry and clean for a week. Her special prize has been sitting on the top shelf in the bathroom ever since. I'm too embarrassed to even calculate the exact amount of time.
Her special prize was a set of Minnie puzzles. 

Well, I've gone through numerous bouts of desperation in this journey, the latest being my modified bootcamp that just about drove me to throw in the towel and had Bobby wanting to go out and buy 10 more sets of sheets for her bed because the two we have were needing to be washed constantly. But somewhere, somehow, everything fell into place. Isn't it crazy how that always happens? Our nightly routine is a bit tedious - no drinks after about 5:30pm, Bobby makes sure she goes potty twice before he puts her to bed, and then one of us will wake her up and take her potty one more time before we go to bed - but hopefully we wont need to go to these lengths for much longer. 

Long story short, last night was a big night in this house. It marked a full week of J having no accidents!!! But not only that, she's also telling us when she needs to go sometimes! GAH, I am SO proud of her! Here she is getting her special prize.

Earlier in the evening she also made me proud by reciting a verse from This Old Man. She has a book of nursery rhymes that we read for the first time last Friday before bed and she already has so many of the songs memorized. It's amazing.

I am one proud mama, can you tell???

Weekend Recap

This weekend was finally one with no plans (aside from house stuff), no out of town trips, and no visitors. It was refreshing!

I got home from work on Friday and had two very happy little girls that were so excited to see me. Must have been my lucky day! I fed B, made sure she wasn't due for a nap and then asked J if she wanted to go bye-byes. Her reply? "I want to go shopping wiff YOU, mama!" Alrighty then. Shopping it is! I got her dressed in some of her new summer clothes since it was so beautiful and warm outside and off we went. Mama needs a new dress and matching hat for the Kentucky derby, but I didn't have any luck on Friday.

Where did my first born baby go?? This precious one is such a little girl already.

Side note: Potty training has been going SO well lately. I hope I'm not jinxing it! We removed all diapers from the equation and it went well for the first couple days, then I was about ready to throw in the towel, and now she has gone almost a full week without any accidents!!! I started making a cute potty chart and am going to plan out milestone prizes/treats. The first prize is something J picked out a long long time ago. It's a set of Minnie puzzles and she was told that she could have it after a week of no accidents. She has to make it through tomorrow and then she will finally get it! I am so excited and proud of her. Fingers crossed!!

"New" old toys were brought in from the garage Saturday morning and they were a hit with both girls.

So were the strawberry pancakes with whipped cream!

Dada got to work on the master bathroom and the girls and I took off to the mall. The first few stores we hit made me want to forget the whole thing and put some sweat pants on and tell Bobby we'd be watching the derby from his dad's couch! But the search continued and I finally found something that was do-able. Not amazing, but do-able. Excuse the bra straps and chopped off head. I haven't found a hat or shoes yet.If you have any suggestions, I'm open to affordable options!

As long as the Cheerios were flowing, B was content.

We returned home for lunch and were able to enjoy some sun and fresh air on the front lawn for a bit. I took this opportunity to get out my camera and get some shots of B. I've been feeling so guilty about not using my good camera as much as I did when J was a baby. I'm no photographer, but some of these turned out super cute.

J wasn't couldn't have been bothered with modeling for mama...

After J's nap and I was able to spend some time sorting through B's closet and getting clothes put away. She spent some time trying to crawl, but only moving further and further away from the toys she was trying to reach!

Hydration was a must after all that exercise.

Proof of dada's hard work!

Sunday morning, I was up bright and early with the girls (6:30am on a Sunday??? C'mon man!). We watched some cartoons and cuddled on the couch for a bit and then I meal planned and made a grocery list while the girls played. I guess J thought B looked hungry...

I feed Sissy, mama!

B showed off more of her ability to move backwards and got herself stuck under the couch just like J used to do.

Dada made more headway on the bathroom while the girls and I went grocery shopping. I did about 5 loads of laundry in lunch and naps and then helped with some tiling. We got a bit further on the tiling than this picture shows, but we've still got a ways to go.

The weekend ended with B's first bath in the BIG bath tub, two girls off to dreamland, and time for mom and dad to catch up on Grey's Anatomy before passing out themselves!

Looking forward to another weekend of similar happenings this weekend before we head off to Kentucky on the 30th!

29 Months

TOP LEFT Using her bagel as a phone TOP RIGHT Safety first! BOTTOM LEFT In the dog crate with Cousin JP BOTTOM RIGHT Burping her Monk Monk before heading to Bakersfield for Gma's surprise party

As J quickly approaches 2 and a half, I cannot believe sense of humor and whit that this girl has. She must pick up a lot of it from TV, but the way she uses phrases/quotes is hysterical. Some of our recent favorites include:

"Are you kidding me, mom?"

"Ah, c'mon, mama! Are you kidding me?"

"Ah, c'mon, man!"

"Swiper, no swiping!" (Took us about a week to figure out what she was saying here. Bobby and I have never watched Dora with her, but she watches it with the nanny. I finally asked her one day who Swiper was - "It's da fox!" - and then I asked what he swiped - "Dora's packpack!" Then it all made sense.)

I love that she has a complete understanding of what I am asking her now and can formulate answers that make sense. I was tearing the family room apart the other day looking for the package of wipes that I keep downstairs and I said to myself, "Ughhh, where'd I put the wipes??" She was sitting in her seat eating lunch and she says, "In da baftroom, mama." While they weren't in the bathroom, she was right because I had taken them in there with me to clean her up after having a potty accident (more on that later...).

Some other cute/fun things she says are:

"Snug as a bug in a rug." (Every night when we tuck her in.)

When we go shopping, she NEEEEEEDS this and NEEEEEEDS that! My neighbor Meghan had told me a few weeks ago about how her son was saying that he NEEEEEDED everything and now we get to experience it as well. Little toddler minds are amazing. 

Instead of saying "she" or "her" J always says "he" or "him". I try to repeat what she says with the proper subject use.

"Can you help you?" (This is how she asks for help. Bobby loves this little quirk of hers.)

Lastly, she's been adding a "t" to the end of words that end in "n" and some others - and is andt, then is thent, both is boft, and bath is baft.
Size 2T clothes are getting tighter and tighter by the day and I am working on getting 3T stuff switched in. She is still in a size 6 shoe and this mama cannot wait until she fits into the 4 pairs of 7s that we have waiting. They are so stinking cute!
Coming home from work, I never know what I'm going to get. Happy J that missed mama so much, or crabby J that screams and cries and would rather me turn around and walk back out the door! Obviously, I prefer the former, but either way, I am always happy to come home and see my girls. 

Potty training is the never ending battle over control. I think. Nothing has really changed. She'll do great for a few days and then revert back to a million accidents. This past weekend, I worked from home on Friday because Jordan was coming down with a cold and Brynnlee randomly threw up in the middle of the night, so when I had cleaned up throw up at 1am, a poop accident mid morning, and a pee accident at lunch, I was so over it. I decided to start a modified potty training bootcamp. I pulled the plug on all diapers and put J down for her nap without one. I wasn't going to mess around any longer. She woke up dry and I praised her up one side and down the other, got her a special treat, and talked about how fun it was to be a big girl now and how proud of her I was. The rest of the day was flawless and I just kept reminding her to tell me when she needed to go potty. At one point, I think she started to go in her pants and then told me she needed to go, so she finished on the potty, but her underwear was a smidge wet. I count this as a huge success. She totally gets it. She went to bed that night without a diaper and I woke her up before I went to bed around 10:30 and took her to the potty. The next morning, she was dry! WOOT WOOT! So, on to day two....the day itself was decent. She had one poop accident and I really don't understand why. I could tell something was up as she kind of hid behind the couch while watching TV and I kept asking her to come sit down and to remember to tell me if she needed to go potty. She would shoo me away if I got close, so I thought she had already had an accident, but when I check, she was completely clean and dry. I must have told her about 20 times to tell me if she needed to go potty and she insisted she was fine....until it started to come out. I ran over to her and could tell she had already pooped, but I scooped her up and took her straight to the bathroom. She finished in the potty and I praised and praised and praised. That day, she also woke up from her nap wet. No big deal, she's learning. Night two was fine. I saw her sit up in bed around 9, so I went up and took her to the bathroom and put her back to bed. She woke up dry again! Day three, she had another pee accident while she was playing with her toys and Bobby and I weren't paying attention. Then she had another accident in bed last night. Ughhhh, This girl. She knows when she needs to go. She knows how to hold it. So some how I need her to feel like she's 100% in control over all of this and get her completely trained. Any ideas????
Aside from that frustration and her off the wall crankiness from her bottom molars finally coming in, she is becoming such a big help. She loves to help clean, take out the trash, give sissy toys, get diapers or wipes for sissy, fetch burp rags, etc. And, as you can see, she loves helping her sissy drink her water!

 My last little gloat for this post...We were outside playing with bubbles and chalk yesterday and I look down and noticed that J was doing a great job of getting all of the chalk pieces standing up. Then I noticed.....she was sorting them by color! Color me impressed! Way to go Sweet Pea!

My little girl also managed to get quite a boo boo this past month by falling off of her chair while I was feeding Brynnlee. Full on belly flop onto the floor and look at this bad boy on her chin!

She was such a good sport and even let me wrap the ice pack around her head for a little bit!

To my sweet and sassy one, 

Keep the laughs coming! You keep us on our toes and never seize to amaze us with everything that you understand and pick up. I can already tell that you are going to quote movies and TV shows just like your Dada. I love that about you, but I hope you don't expect me to keep up! Keep your random hugs and cuddles comin'! I don't ever want those to stop. You are one special little lady and I hope you know it!

XOXOXOX

Another Month Gone By

Jordan hit the 28 month mark last week and just when I was thinking her imagination, speech, and humor were blossoming into this adorable little girl, she EXPLODED with more. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I think she picks up most of it from TV, but in my little mommy brain, I like to think she's just this super smart, quick whitted two year old! 

The other day we were in the front yard playing and she randomly came off with, "Ay ay, Captain Mama!" when I responded with, "Ay ay, Jordan!", she got a little 'tude in her voice and said, "Ay ay, Captain JORDAN!" I then had to repeat her and knew that I was to call her Captain Jordan from then on!

Side walk chalk in the front yard is still a huge hit and J can often be accompanied by her adorable neighbor friend, Donovan!

She's still willing to cuddle up on the couch and watch TV, especially if there is popcorn involved!

I've started teaching her the art of making silly faces ;o)

and she has learned how to lift weights...complete with the grunting sound effects!

She made Bobby and me our first homemade cards from her for Valentine's Day (thank you, Maria!) She was so proud of them!

In the past month, Jordan also had her first Disneyland experience (more on that to come)!!

Her sleep schedule is still the same, but we are back to hour long naps, MAX!

Some of her favorite foods are waffles, eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, apples, bananas, raisins, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, string cheese, fruit strips, peanut butter & jelly, peanut butter & honey, quesadillas, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, french fries, beans, peas, meatballs, avocado, and turkey. 

She's still in size 6 shoes and 2T clothes, but her shirts are getting a bit snug! 

Potty training took a huge turn for the better. It was like a light switch went on and she would stop what she was doing, get all excited and say, "I HAVE TO GO POTTY!" and she would take off running and be on the potty before we could even catch up. That lasted for about a week. Then we went to my mom's for the weekend and someone turned that dang light switch off and we haven't figured out how to turn it back on. Ughhhh. She does great holding it, does great in public, and I know she knows when she has to go, she just doesn't do it 100% of the time and still only really goes when we make her.

Speaking of potty training....we took a family trip to Lowe's a few weeks ago and just as we were finalizing some decisions on new flooring and tile for our bathroom, Jordan told me she needed to go potty (told you she does well in public!). Bobby says he will take her, so he turns around and puts some stuff in the cart and then heads off to get her, but can't see her. I told him to turn right up the next aisle. The aisle she went down was an aisle of half displays, so I could see Bobby's upper half....when he turned right, his eyes bugged out of his head, his mouth dropped open and he says, "Oh no!!" The next thing I see is him lifting her up with her pants and undies at her ankles and her bare buns hanging out! She had climbed up on the display and made her self at home on one of the display toilets in the middle of Lowe's. Straight out of a commercial! I never in a million years thought I would live that moment. I was on the floor, holding Brynnlee, and laughing hysterically! Luckily she hadn't gone yet and they made it to the bathroom in time. I will never forget that day!

I know she's growing and learning every day, but she still blows me away with some of her antics! I love this little girl to pieces!!!!