Layla - Princess of Pop

There was a point in Layla's life where the only song she wanted to listen to in the car was Smooth Criminal. It was when we still lived in Illinois and she commuted an hour with me to work everyday. She would be SO crabby in the mornings and the nursery rhyme CD wasn't cutting it (and I could not listen to Hickory Dickory Dock one more time!). One day I turned on some MJ and all of a sudden, she stopped crying. So we listened to Smooth Criminal over and over and over again. I didn't mind ;o)

I let Layla listen to pretty much whatever she wants on my Ipod. My brother and I grew up on MTV, we used to get permission to leave the dinner table when Thriller came on and we turned out OK.  She even knows how to turn our surround sound on, plug my phone in and find what she wants (currently a LOT of Lady Gaga). This is pretty impressive since I can barely figure the thing out! Haha. She just loves music, and this makes my heart happy. :)

Anyway...today I had to run some errands. What a perfect day to do this...the high is 50 today! I promised Layla that if she was good on all our stops, she could get a balloon at the party store. Our first stop was JoAnne Fabrics. I hate taking Layla in there with me because I need to concentrate...and that's hard to do with a two year old that can't decide if she wants to walk or ride in the cart, drink juice or eat Cheerios, potty or not...etc. I tried to make the trip quick but she was getting a little crabby while we waited in line.

Now, I have no idea what possessed the folks at JoAnne's to have a box fan set to "high" on the floor but Layla thought it was hilarious. While I was checking out she kept creeping over there and all I could see was her sticking her fingers in there. I kept telling her "no" and roping her back into the checkout lane...and then the "terrible twos" kicked in. All of a sudden she takes off towards the fan, turns around to look at me standing right in front of it, and while I'm running over to get her...she does this:

I kid you not...fists in a ball, hair flying everywhere and yelling. If the above image wasn't the first thing that came to mind, I would have gone over there and taken her to the bathroom for a talk. But all I could do was bust up laughing. I mean I was literally crying because I was laughing so hard. And now all the workers there think I have a mental disorder because I couldn't compose myself. The more I tried to stop it, the harder I laughed. And of course Layla is ticked because now I'm making fun of her.

I know she has no idea who Michael Jackson is and where this came from (I swear if someone would have walked in with a top hat resembling Slash...I would have LOST IT) but it doesn't matter, it is still the funniest thing that happened to me all week. Did she finally get the timeout she so well deserved? Let's just say we had a discussion in the car. Did she get a balloon for being good at the next place? Yep...how can I deny the future Pop Princess a single pink polka dot balloon?

Let's dress up

After "nap" (aka- 2 hours of alternate playing and crying in crib) yesterday, Layla decided it was time to bust out her dress up gear. Since all the dress up stuff is in a drawer (dress up corner will be created when we get the room painted) she doesn't get them out often but something sparked her interest yesterday. All she wanted to do was walk around her room in her purple dress and strut her stuff in some gorgeous purple heels!

I really need to start painting her toe nails, she just doesn't sit still long enough. She does like to pretend paint her fingers and toes with the fake nail polish that came with her vanity set. She makes sure to hit every single nail. And after each foot/hand, she puts the brush back into the bottle to get "more" and starts on the next. I have no idea where she picked this up...I haven't painted my nails in front of her in such a long time.

Seeing her attempting to walk in those shoes yesterday reminded me of a time when I used to wear heels everyday (yes, even to career fairs where I'd stand for 3 hours straight). I can't remember the last time I actually wore them now...oh how your life changes when you stay home. I honestly think I'd have to practice in them before we left the house...it would be like walking a tight rope! ;o)

Next time we play dress up, my goal is to get her to wear the crown. What I wouldn't give to get just ONE picture of her with a tiara on her head...

Oh the drama!

One of the things that I love about having a little girl is the dramatics. I know I won't be saying that in a few years...but I happen to be a little dramatic myself (I know, hard to believe) and I can't help but laugh when Layla is being over the top.  This was taken during bath time last night. I'm sure I've mentioned that's he now likes to lick up bath water like she's a dog (sick!). I'm trying to get her to stop by teaching her that blowing bubbles in the water is actually a lot more fun. As she's trying to figure this out, she sucks up some water:

It is amazing how a 1 minute, 21 second video can sum up our evenings. Layla being dramatic, Mommy laughing at her, Daddy yelling at Oscar to "get off the table" and then two seconds later yelling at Moose for something...then at the very end Layla starts asking for Daddy and I turn of my camera because I don't want her to realize when she's older that she actually preferred him over me at this age. :)

Bye Potty

Layla is in the habit of saying "bye" to her potty now when we clean out her little potty and flush everything. For some reason this is a bigger deal to her than actually going so we make a big deal of it too. I grabbed my camera to take this video (with the wrong lens on it...when will I learn?!) today:

If that doesn't make you laugh, nothing will. And please note how Oscar HAS to be in the video...he is ridiculous. I have been working on L's 2 year photo book and it is basically like "Where's Waldo Oscar?".

Naptime, please come back!

Oh boy...I didn't realize that I was trading in nap time when we decided to potty train. I would have waited until she was 4 if I thought my 2 hours of peace and quiet per day would go away.

We literally went from this:

To this in the 1 hour that I made her sit in there and scream her head off just so I could get a few things done:

I know a ton of people suggest still putting her down for "quiet time"...but is it really worth listening to screaming for 30-45 minutes? Normally the first 15 minutes of her "nap" consists of her saying "mooooooommyyyyyy", "dadddddddyyyyyy" and sometimes "paw paw?" over and over again. Basically asking anyone within a 3 state radius to get her out of bed. Then comes the screaming. At first it's just a few little squeaks. They progressively get higher pitched until the dogs are running around the house with their tails between their legs. Next comes the full fledged crying, kicking and wailing. That goes on for about 20 minutes until I go get here.

So to recap: In the last 3 1/2 weeks Layla has taken 4...yes FOUR naps. Life as I know it, is over. See that face in the 2nd picture? The one slobbering because she is suffering from uncontrollable crying? The one with red and purple circles under her eyes because she's tired? That's what Bryan and I get to deal with from 2:00 - 8:00. Maybe I should just giver her some coffee to perk her up in the afternoons?

Seriously...someone tell me what to do! Layla and I are both going to loose our minds! ;o)

PS- as a side note, L had a change of clothes before nap because she had soup ALL over the red top.

PPS- She also did not wear pants for 90% of the day and when I put her down for nap, the only ones I could find were leopard leggins. So, my daughter was wearing a black and white polka dot shirt and leopard leggins with navy socks. Maybe she's afraid to sleep because the fashion police are going to get her? LOL

Snow day!

I guess technically I can't call this a snow day since it's Saturday...but who cares! We have a few inches of snow on the ground and in effort to get Layla better acquainted with the cold, we bundled up and decided to help Daddy shovel the driveway (snow blower is being picked up SOON! haha).

Before going outside, Mommy put two pairs of socks, pants and shirts on L. Plus her boots, snowsuit, coat, hat and gloves. Whew...we were sweating after all that bundling up! I didn't think she'd last long outside but we were out there for almost an hour!

First we helped Daddy shovel, then we rode around on her sled. Oscar and Moose played a bit too...but got cold so they wanted inside. Layla had so much fun that she didn't want to come in!

I need ideas...desperately

Layla and I went to Marshall's today and I can't step in there without wanting to buy one of the funky chairs, $200 mirrored jewelry boxes (even though I couldn't even fill 1 drawer) or a bright purple ceramic elephant that I have NO use for. But I could not pass this up today:

I promised myself I wouldn't by another dark or black piece of furniture. I just didn't resist and it can always be painted right?! This baby was on sale for $119 because of a few dings in the back and I had a few gift cards so this all makes it OK that I didn't tell Bryan about it until I got it home (he is going to make me get a job if I keep this up LOL). I even took it out of the car and carried it in by myself. Thank GOD none of our neighbors were out to witness that.

So now, to my dilemma. I just purchased another black piece of furniture for the purpose of putting it in our entry way and now it looks like this:

Impressive right? Ha! One crappy 6 year old lamp from Pier 1 that's lamp shade is lopsided and nothing else. I don't even have an entry rug. Here are my thoughts...paint the lamp white (and possibly the table), redo the shade and fix the lopsidedness (I can't believe that's actually a word), paint the walls a light grayish/bluish color to keep it light (even lighter than my terrible Photoshop work below...L is waking up and I need to hurry!!), add a mirror and some pics of Layla, accessories on the table, an umbrella stand and shoe tray and call this finished. Oh yeah, and a rug. I really don't want to cover these beautiful floors though :(

Any other ideas? Paint colors? Paint is a big decision because it has to be neutral enough to flow with the kitchen (thinking of gray), living and dining rooms (thinking of gray or blue to possibly match the foyer) and hallway (gray again...what is wrong with me?!).

Oh well, I shouldn't worry too much. Bryan will be home soon and will probably make me return it LOL. Just kidding...but I bet he is reading this right now and my phone will ring in 3, 2, 1... ;o) Love you BB!

Layla's room...making progress

I am freaking out about all the stuff we want to do to our house...inside and out. We have already done so much and we haven't even lived here 7 months. See here for a refresher. I know that when the house is done, I will wish I hadn't rushed things. But I just have so many ideas and want to get started!

The first room I want 100% D.O.N.E. is L's room. My initial inspiration (mostly for color) was this room:

I just love the idea of putting blue on a little girl's wall. And it is SO Layla.

My Grandma worked her tail off to do Layla's big girl quilt and a few pillows (she threw those in as a surprise!) and gave them to us at Christmas. It made my day! :) You can find the tutorial for the quilt here and pillows here.

After getting the quilt, looking for accessories and making sure I'm 100% OK with this paint color and pallet...I started to hesitate. Let's take a look at the paint chips (all Benj Moore) below and you guess why I'm a little freaked.  

How in the WORLD did that red get in there?! This was not my intention...I don't want my 2 year old having a red, white and blue room (Oh say can you see, By the dawn's early light! ugh...). So in an effort to make me feel better about this, I have spent hours...and I mean hours on Pinterest. Now I'll be honest, I get side tracked and if I would have just focused, I could have found this in 2 minutes. But in my effort to make myself feel better, I found this gem:

Those pics are a little yellow, but I believe the reds she used are more of a super dark pinkish orangish color (these are all very technical terms of course). Now I feel better about the red and I have redesigned L's alphabet art work to reflect and incorporate the red to make it look like I did this on purpose. Take a look:

 

I'm feeling better about things now. Whew! I was scared my Grandma was going to have to make another quilt (LOL...just kidding Grandma!). Now for our "to do" list to finish L's room:

1. Paint (the thought of holding a paintbrush for even 5 minutes after painting the entire house this summer makes me shudder)

2. Figure out shelves for and where to put her reading nook (the pillows in this post are going on the floor in that corner)

3. Order and hang artwork (picture above, pictures from this blog and frames, maybe more shelves for accessories?!)

4. Figure out window treatments...which will be the death of me

5. Hang mirror, wall hooks and find a cute basket for her dress up area

6. Hang chandler in front of closet 

7. Maybe find rug if we have any money left...doubtful LOL

I'm feeling pretty accomplished now that I've written this post. That's why I love writing blogs...I get great ideas from people, can put my to-do list out there and HAVE to stick to it, and this is really the only way Bryan and I communicate ideas. Haha, hope you are reading this at work BB...you have some shelves to build! :)

Potty Training - 1 week later

I know I said that I was going to stop doing updates...but I just can't help myself today. Layla has done AMAZING today and I must share!

Layla has had NO ACCIDENTS this morning. NONE! And to top it off, she has told me every single time that she's had to go (3 times). She says "moooooommyyyyyy pottyyyyyy" and then runs over to her little potty. :)

And the icing on the cake today is that she pooped in the potty!! She started making the face and I rushed her over to it. She sat down with no trouble and a second later, she pooped! I'm so proud of her. :) When she finished she stood up and waved hi to the poop in the pot LOL. Then as I was flushing it down the big toilet she yelled "bye bye poopieeeeeee". Only my daughter...

So overall, it has been a terrific day! Now if I could just get this girl to take a nap. I think we are going on day 4 or 5 of no nap. :( I still put her down for quiet time, but it just isn't the same.

Yellow Shirt time- 2 years old

We have been so busy with potty training that I almost forgot about our yellow shirt project. See this blog and picture for a refresher:

I probably won't do another storyboard of the whole picture until we can see a bigger difference, but here is our official 2 year yellow shirt entry :)

It has only been 6 months and I can not believe how much she has changed! Take a look:

Obviously the main difference is the hair. It is getting so long and wild! Haha. She also is a bit healthier since 18 months, she is eating so much better and finally gaining a bit of weight. She had kissable cheeks then, but REALLY kissable cheeks now. Just the way we like it!

And that brown spec in her eye is still there. I think it is my favorite part of her.

And here is an absolutely ADORABLE storyboard of our photo shoot. I plan to use the three of these as art work in her new big girl room...maybe 3 big pictures above her bed? I don't know...but I could blow these babies up wall size and stare at them all day. I just love our beautiful little 2 year old girl.

How precious are THOSE?! I am so proud of her for letting me take her pictures this time...she is getting used to the bribing (this time, it was with the juice box picture above lol). I know soon enough I will have to start paying her in quarters, dollars...I'll probably have to write her a check in Jr. High just to pose. Haha.

Layla's date and fun weekend

Layla had a "date" over on Friday night. I was so busy with potty training and chasing these two around that I didn't get a ton of pictures, but we had a blast!

When Landon first arrived, we had a quick snack and then it was time to play. And by play I mean take EVERY toy we own out and put it on the floor. :) I think Layla was showing off, and Landon was just curious to know what all these girl toys are about.

Then we had a quick snack and watched a few minutes of Finding Nemo. The kids got bored really quick and so I broke out the Play-Doh. Landon decided to try and eat it while I wasn't looking...but I'm just a quick as these sneaky 2 year olds! Layla thought that was pretty hilarious and then tried to put it in her mouth.

After about 30 laps around the house and lots of potty breaks, it was time for dinner. Layla and Landon love to share their drinks and food. So Landon would take a bite of banana and hand it to Layla. Layla would lick a cracker and hand it to Landon. And trying to explain that they each had their own drinks? Forget it. Good thing neither one of them is sick!

After playing "1, 2, 3 GO!" up and down our hallway (I can't believe how fast these two are!) we took a bath. This was the only time I could get pictures because they were pretty much stuck in there and couldn't run away!

After bath, it was time for Landon to go home. We had some much fun with him! Thanks for coming over to play Landon!

Last night Layla got a special treat...one of her favorite things in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD for doing such a great job with potty training. Ice cream! Now, she normally likes chocolate but when it comes in a cone she'll eat anything. She even got to eat it on the couch and share a bit with Moose.

Potty Training 5.5 - 6.5

Day 5 (after nap):

Layla surprisingly didn't poop during nap today...this might not be pretty. She also didn't take a nap...so my day is ruined. She was up out of her crib at about 3:00 and I was expecting a loooooong afternoon.

Right before I got L out of bed, we had a visitor dropped off for the evening. Layla's friend, Landon came over to play for a few hours and they had so much fun! I thought this would mean that Layla would forget all about potty training...but it turns out Landon might just be our lucky charm!

After 15 minutes of drinking juice and snack time, L went up to both her potties (in playroom) an started doing "the dance". I took the undies off, she sat right down and a few seconds later grunted and peed! Not just a few tinkles...this was the real deal!!

She jumped right up (before I had a chance to wipe her...sick!) and started jumping up and down screaming "mommy mommy mommy!!!" "pee pee!!" and pointing. I have never been so happy/proud in all my life. Having your kid pee in the potty by themselves for the first time is like winning the lottery. Landon was also VERY impressed!

About 20 minutes later, the kids were playing on the couch and Layla all of a sudden jumped down and ran into the kitchen. She was looking for her potty which I had moved into the living room. I called to her "it's in HEREEEEEEE" and she came running and tried to sit on it with her underwear on. I quickly pulled them down and she sat right there and peed again!

I was so busy with both kids that I completely lost count of how many successes we had with L. She was a peeing machine last night! I couldn't believe it...every time I turned around she was running over to her potty! She did have one accident in the kitchen but things were a little chaotic (I was making dinner and the kids where chasing the dogs around) so I think she just lost focus for a bit.

Day 6 (morning):

We have been gone most of today. We went to Toys R Us to pick up L's new play kitchen, ate sushi for lunch (3 bowls of miso soup for L) and ran by the Post Office. Layla wore undies while we were all getting ready to leave but didn't pee on the potty or have an accident before we left. She was in a diaper the whole time we were gone and bounced around whining a few times...I explained that it was OK to go in her diaper and we did have a couple of wet ones.

I'm glad that she's still showing us signs when she's in a diaper. I'm just not ready to battle the war that will be a public restroom. I want to have a solid good week at home training (with very little accidents) before we try in public.

So the secret to all this success? I mentioned it earlier but I'm 100% sure having Layla help us "potty train" her baby is what made it click for her. I'm so glad we came up with that idea...it is genius really. We only had the baby "go" on the potty 2 times and have 1 "accident" yesterday and 1 of each today. Layla is so into it that she hugs and kisses her baby ALL over when she goes in the potty, and then tells the baby (nicely) "no no potty floor" when she has an accident. I can't believe how something so silly and simple could make such an impact on this.

My suggestion to all my Mommy friends reading my blogs...use a baby to help (even for boys!). Just get a cheap baby at Target if you don't already have one and use your bulb sucker thing from the hospital for the "pee". If I could turn back time (now I will have Cher stuck in my head ALL day), I would have had L train her baby for a few days before we started on her. Maybe she wouldn't have been so frustrated with sitting on the potty at first and had some earlier success.

I think this is the last of my daily potty training blogs. I'm sure I'll have plenty more stories to share along the way but Bryan and I are very comfortable now with Layla's potty schedule and her new found ability to pee on the potty. ;o)

In closure to all this, let me just say that this has been a very challenging week. We tested our patience, ability to parent, humor and above all, our marriage. LOL. Seriously, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy...and I think we had it easy in relation to some people's stories. I'm glad that so many people got a kick out of these blogs. And for those of you that have yet to potty train your kids...please write things down so I can read them and laugh at your misery. ;o)

Potty Training Diary - Days 4.5 - 5.5

Has it really been 5 days since we started? Part of me feels like it has been 10 years but realistically, the days go by SO quick when the only thing on your mind is pee.

Day 4 (after nap):

I get Layla up and find a soaking wet diaper, even though I went to her room at the first sign of her stirring. I put her on the potty and she sits for a few minutes but no pee.

Layla drank 1 juice box and a sippy cup FULL of applejuice and had a small snack. I just knew within 30 minutes max she was going to burst but 2 1/2 hours later she still hadn't gone. I could tell she was in pain from holding it and she was just running around the house crying like crazy. Finally she had a small accident in the hallway and we got her to the toilet but nothing came out. As soon as she got up she started crying again and leaning over...then peed all over the bathroom floor.

No pee for the rest of the night.

Day 5 (morning):

Layla had her 2 year check up today with the doctor. She is in the 75% for height and 25% (woo hoo!) for weight. Doc is very proud of her weight progress...she is definitely eating more FINALLY! Doctor and I had a serious potty training discussion. I told him that I felt she is holding it too long now and she seems nervous/scared to go on the potty. He said that although it might feel like too long for me, it is amazing that she has learned to hold it already and that's a great thing. Next we just need to work on getting her to go on the potty...something that he feels like she's being defiant about (not scared).

Ok...so new game plan: sit her on the potty only when she's showing the "gotta go" signs to try to make those times really count. We don't want to burn her out by continuing to try to put her on the potty just for practice anymore. Also, Bryan did some research on potty dolls last night. Layla is very into her babies right now and we thought this would be a great way to help her practice and put a little peer pressure on her. ;o)

She was in a diaper all morning while we were out and you better believe she took full advantage of that situation. When we got home, she was doing a little dance in the kitchen and I knew she had to go. I was struggling with getting her leggins off (she hasn't worn pants in a week...I forgot how long it takes to get those off LOL) and she peed in her diaper. But I think that it was great that she was "telling" me she had to go, even with a diaper on!

We had lunch and lots of juice. I got out one of her baby dolls and set her on the potty all through lunch. Every once in awhile I'd turn around and tell the baby to "try to pee in your potty". Layla thought this was pretty entertaining. After lunch I filled up a nose sucky bulb (you know...those blue things the hospital gives you) and hide it behind the baby. I called Layla over so she could tell her baby to pee and while she was looking, I squeezed the bulb. Baby peed in the potty!! Layla was SO excited! She gave her baby a great big hug and kiss.

I let L go in the other room and play while I kept the baby. I spilled some water on the kitchen floor and said "oh no baby!" really loud. Nosey Rosey came rushing in to see what all the fuss was about and saw the "pee". She told her baby "oh no!!" and helped me clean it up. I think this is really going to help things click with L.

30 minutes later L is watching TV and starts bouncing. I told her to take her baby and put her on her potty and that she needed to try and "make pee" in hers too. So we sat in front of the TV with L bouncing and whining about it. She stood up and peed a bit, I put her straight back down and she stopped. Dang! But after a few seconds of coaxing and LOTS of bouncing she finally did it! She had another great potty success!!

10 minutes later she had an accident in the dining room. No warning...just stood right there and peed. Dang!

Now she is down for nap and talking again...I'm sure she'll poop in there, I'll go check in a few minutes. Let's take another moment to reflect on our success:

*Day 1- Getting her acquainted with the potty and repeating the concept of "pee goes in the potty" 1,000 times. Plus she's learning to hold it. CHECK! Lost count of accidents but had 7 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 2 - Getting her more comfortable sitting on the potty than she was on Day 1. Getting more pee in the potty than on Day 1. CHECK! Had 7 accidents and 4 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 3- Getting her even more comfortable on the potty and getting more pee on the potty. Also, recognizing Layla's "gotta go" signs. Getting her to pee in the pot without having an accident right beforehand CHECK! Had 6 accidents and 5 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 4- Reduce the amount of time L is on the potty by reading her "gotta go" signs. Get more pee in the potty. She had 3 accidents and 1 great potty.

* Day 5 (so far)- Getting her to have more potty success. So far we've had potty in our diaper, 2 accidents and 1 great success.

Potty Training Diary - Days 3.5 - 4.5

Day 3.5 (after nap):

I knew it...she pooped again at nap! I ran in, changed her and told her to "Go.To.Sleep.". She's still in there talking. I purchased Elmo's Potty Time on iTunes, can't wait to try it out after nap!

Sat on potty after nap, no pee but did enjoy 5-10 minutes of our newly downloaded Elmo's potty time.

Sat on potty about 30 minutes later after having half a cup of juice. Reading her "Together at Heart" book from Gma and Gpa Bawk Bawk...I'm running out of new ideas to keep this fresh! No pee.

Mommy ran to target to get more toilet paper, flush able wipes, pullups and a new potty. While I was gone, Daddy was in charge. I got back to a little girl holding an ice cream cone with a BIG grin on her face. Apparently she was running around crying, Daddy knew that she had to go and tried on the little potty but he didn't want to. Then he took her to the bathroom to try the big potty. She started going on the floor and daddy quickly put her on the pot. After a little more coaxing, she went like a champ! This wasn't just a little tinkle...this was a full blown pee pee experience!! Daddy and Layla were so proud that they ate ice cream to celebrate. :)

Tried to potty before bath on her new potty...she seems to really like this one but no pee. Mommy is just excited to not have to run around the house holding a toddler toilet all day now that we have two.

Probably peed in the bath because she didn't pee before bed either. It was an early bedtime today since Layla didn't get a nap.

I'm so proud of the progress we made today! Let's hope we can keep this up!

Day 4 (morning):

We had a terrible night. Layla was wide awake from midnight to 3 am. They say when babies learn something new (rolling over, crawling, sitting up...) that they don't sleep as well because they want to keep practicing. Maybe this applies to toddlers and potty training?

Unbelievably she woke up at 8:30am. I feel like I've had 3 minutes of sleep. In that 3 minutes I had 2 dreams. In one, Layla pooped on the potty. In the second, Will Smith came to our house to potty train her. Apparently this is going to take an effort of Men In Black proportions. I'm expecting Tommy Lee to ring our doorbell at any moment.

Layla sits on her potty without a fuss while I make breakfast but doesn't "make any pee".

I'm staring to recognize Ls potty patterns. She really only goes once before lunch. So we have a big glass of milk for breakfast and a 1/2 glass of AJ/water. My guess is in 30-40 minutes we'll be running around crying because she has to pee.

It has now been 30 minutes and I can tell Layla is exhausted from our long night. I have a feeling this isn't growing to be a very productive potty day. I sit her on her potty to watch some Little Einsteins while she screams "I want ice cream". Thanks for starting that last night Daddy...I decide to never leave the house alone again. I watch as no pee is produced and Layla stuffs her clean underwear in and out of her shirt.

I have never in my life prayed for something so stupid as for my child to pee in her potty. I have no shame.

10 minutes later she starts running around and crying. I tried to get her on every potty we own but she just wanted me to hold her. Finally she started peeing standing up and I rushed her to her potty. Lots of pee made it in the pot after some screaming and fit throwing. An LOTS of pee made it on Mommy. Thankfully the floor was spared. But this is great! Second success in a row where more than a few drops made it in. I just hope she starts to realize that it's okay to go on the potty...she's really starting to get ticked when she has to hold it.

I've learned that dressing in layers is an absolute necessity when potty training...less clothes for the toddler, more clothes for the Mommy. While Layla was still on the potty, just in case, I start peeling a layer off to get cleaned up. I take my eyes off her for TWO SECONDS and turn around to her putting her hands in her pee and then shaking them violently. The is pee on the dogs, floor, back of the couch, all of her and her potty, and several books. I am going to light a match, burn the house down and rebuild when this is all over.

As I'm making lunch accident #2 happened. I didn't catch this one at all so no pee in the pot.

Finally naptime....she sat on the potty for almost 30 minutes watching cartoons. I have a feeling that we need to switch our strategy. She's obviously holding it and knows not to go in her pants, but she's having a hard time understanding it is ok in the potty. After nap I'm just going to read her signs for having to go and stop forcing her to sit to hopefully reduce both of our frustrations. We'll see how that goes.

As I'm typing this, I can hear L's monitor flicking on and off. I run in there to find her unplugging the monitor (it is right behind her crib) and what do you know...she pooped. Ugh, she will not be pooped trained until she's in Junior High if she keeps this up. I'm now back from starting laundry and she is SCREAMING bloody murder in her room. She has to be tired....I am exhausted.

People that say they potty trained their kids in one day and it was "no big deal" are liars and I hate them. Man, I need a nap.

Time again to reflect on our success:

*Day 1- Getting her acquainted with the potty and repeating the concept of "pee goes in the potty" 1,000 times. Plus she's learning to hold it. CHECK! Lost count of accidents but had 7 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 2 - Getting her more comfortable sitting on the potty than she was on Day 1. Getting more pee in the potty than on Day 1. CHECK! Had 7 accidents and 4 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 3- Getting her even more comfortable on the potty and getting more pee on the potty. Also, recognizing Layla's "gotta go" signs. Getting her to pee in the pot without having an accident right beforehand CHECK! Had 6 accidents and 5 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 4 (so far)- Reduce the amount of time L is on the potty by reading her "gotta go" signs. Get more pee in the potty. So far we have had 2 accidents and 1 successful GOOD potty experience.

Potty Training Diary- Days 2.5 - 3.5

My first thought after putting Layla back down after the napping poop incident on Day 2 was "how easy would it be to just keep a diaper on her?!". It has been less than 48 hours and I'm sitting here thinking that we have both lost our independence. I feel like I had this parenting thing down, I was Super Mom! Now I feel like I have a newborn again...no clue what to do, no time to eat or shower, the house is a disaster (don't feel too sorry for me, I'm sitting hear blogging instead LOL). I'm scared to death of my 2 year old, but she has to know I'm in control. Will we ever be happy again?! I know, I'm SO dramatic...wonder where L gets it?

I'm sure these are all normal thoughts, this is so tough. Do you like how I'm giving myself a pep talk here?

Okay, so on with day 2 (after nap):

Woke Layla up at 5:15. We rarely do this because she is SO grumpy unless she wakes up on her own, but it was getting too late! I tried to sit her on the potty but all she wanted to do was cuddle with me. How could I resist?

5 minutes later she pees in her playroom. Daddy ran her to her potty chair. No pee made it to the pot.

Tried to sit her down after dinner, she didn't want to sit on the potty and decided to throw a fit. Went right to couch to watch Wow Wow Wubbzy.  I feel like this is how we spend most of our day. Please note that her underwear is hiding behind the potty. This is because if I let her take them off, she likes to "hug"them. I hope this is not a habit that stays.

Ran into her playroom to get some toys and peed. Again, Daddy ran across the house with a child dripping pee. No pee in the potty.

10 minutes later sat on her potty while eating cookies. No pee

Sat on the potty on and off all evening. Not too much fuss about it, she's just bored with all this. We got a tiny little tinkle while watching pirates in the living room yay!!!! Basically we went from the living room to the bathroom, from her little potty to the big potty from 5:30 until bedtime at 8:45.

I must note that we are getting amazingly creative with "potty games". Tonight we sat on her little potty in the bathroom facing the bathtub and gave her foam letters to throw in. Although this was fun, no pee made it in the pot. I must also note that surprisingly Mommy is being much calmer than Daddy and is handling this better...Layla can sense the fear and doesn't care for Daddy helping with this potty thing.

Went to brush her teeth on the potty right before bed and she peed alllllll over the bathroom floor (at least that's easier to clean than carpet). We went immediately to the potty with a little fuss but I think that's because she was covered in pee. No pee made it into the potty. 

Diaper went on and she went to bed. Daddy is drinking a beer and Mommy is eating ice cream and going straight to bed. I feel like I have completed a triathlon. Can't wait to do it again tomorrow (Lord help me). 

Day 3 (morning):

Woke up at 9am. Went in to get L and she had a smile on her face. I hope this is a good sign! She laid right down to let me take her diaper off and picked out some "lellow" undies. She sat on her potty while I got her clothes ready (still in just a shirt, undies and socks). No pee.

Ate breakfast and then played for a bit in her playroom. I had her potty right next to her and she decided to try to sit on it with her underwear on. Progress?! So I helped her get out of it an she decided that was not in her plans. After a little coaxing and me bribing her with apple juice, she sat for a few minutes but no pee. I decided to be brave and jump in the shower. L sat on the potty for a couple of minutes while I got things ready and watched the Ipad. No pee in the potty but I got to take a VERY quick shower with no accidents to take care of after. Whew!

Drank an entire cup of AJ in 2 minutes. Asked to watch Wubbzy so we watched 10 minutes on the couch and then it was time to sit on the potty. I put on an episode that she hasn't seen (to hold her interest a little more) and she sat on the potty for 30 minutes. It seemed like 17 hours, but no pee.

A few minutes later she was running around the house crying. I knew she had to go, poor thing just didn't know what to do. Finally she stopped right in front of where I was sitting on the floor (next to her potty) and started to pee. I quickly took her undies off and plopped her on the potty. She finished (so I thought) on the potty!! YAY! This is the first time she got a significant amount in the pot. 

We wiped her down and as I was cleaning the floor, she started crying and decided to pee again standing right next to her potty. I quickly put her on the potty, but no pee made it. Whew...that's got to be the end right?!

WRONG. Aaaaaaaand she peed one more time, in the exact same spot. This time I did get her on fast enough to get some pee in the potty. My arms hurt from scrubbing the carpet and the upper body workout I'm getting from quickly lifting L onto her potty. I'm pretty sure she has whiplash.

I went to get new undies and socks while L sat on the pot (at this point i might duck tape her to it). Pretty sure I walked in to her putting her hand in her pee and then picking a cookie out of her snack bowl and eating it. My child is disgusting.After I got Layla "dressed" in new undies and socks, I discovered pee on toys, her potty chart, floor, and blankets. I decided it was time to make lunch and give Daddy a phone update.

Layla was dancing and singing in the kitchen and at one point I thought I heard her say potty but she didn't stop so I didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later it was time to eat and as I picked her up to put her at the table, her undies were wet. So we went to sit on the potty while I got a new pair. No pee in the pot.

Put a new pair of undies on, went to put the wet ones in the washer and came back to slightly wet undies. I'm not sure if it's pee or if she was slightly wet from the wipes we use to clean her off. I decided that I'm not declaring this an accident because I'm sick of accidents and she stayed in this suspicious underwear through lunch.

Right after lunch I put her on the potty to watch more Wubbzy. She sat right down, no problems at all. I gave her some stickers and she decided to put them all over her legs, belly and arms. ;o) I walked away and gathered some laundry, did the lunch dishes...was probably gone for about 5 minutes. She kept saying "Moooooommyyyy" which is typical when we are in separate rooms, just making sure I'm still there. I walked back into the living room to find her still happily on the potty. I sat down next to her and asked if she "made pee in the potty". She got up turned around and O.M.G...there was pee in there! Our first REAL success!! Finally, pee in the potty without having to throw her on it dripping in pee after an accident!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!

I cleaned her and the potty up and went to FaceTime my Mom so Layla could tell her what she did. While we were on the phone she was chasing Moose and then came over to me with her legs crossed. I didn't act fast enough and she started to go, but I threw her on the potty and she went a little bit more. We are making progress!

Put a diaper on her and now its nap time. She's still in there talking and I'm really hoping she didn't poop again.

Now it is time to reflect on our success to this point (so I feel like I've accomplished SOMTHING):

*Day 1- Getting her acquainted with the potty and repeating the concept of "pee goes in the potty" 1,000 times. Plus she's learning to hold it. CHECK! Lost count of accidents but had 7 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 2 - Getting her more comfortable sitting on the potty than she was on Day 1. Getting more pee in the potty than on Day 1. CHECK! Had 7 accidents and 4 successful tinkles in potty.

*Day 3 (so far)- Getting her even more comfortable on the potty and getting more pee on the potty. Also, recognizing Layla's "gotta go" signs. Getting her to pee in the pot without having an accident right beforehand CHECK! So far we have had 5 accidents and 4 successful tinkles in potty.

Potty Training Diary - Days 1 thru 1 1/2

I love documenting moments like this because #1-  I want Layla to have a GREAT guide when she grows up and decides to have children. #2- I like to look back on stuff like this and laugh hysterically. ;o) So for the next few days (hopefully this will be a nonevent VERY soon) I thought I'd keep a little Potty Diary.

Let me just start by sharing why I think Layla is ready for potty training. First of all, she's 2. I know plenty of people that have trained their girls before two and even some around 18 months! Second, she hates to have a wet or dirty diaper. Third, she has been hiding to go potty in her diaper. Fourth, she's smart and independent enough to get this.

Now for our known roadblocks - there is no rewarding L with food. She hates eating. She also hates sitting for long periods of time, gets bored pretty easily and things get really old, really fast. And again, she's 2...enough said!

Day 1- This first day is just a summary because I had NO time to write anything down. We started off the day by having all her new underwear out and diapers put away. All her potties were out and ready to be used. Plus we had plenty of flushable wipes and towels on hand. Whew...this was hard work already!

Our philosophy was to not make a huge deal out of this, no rewards, no punishments...just talking her through everything until it clicked. By 8:30 PM we changed our method 110 times. No rewards turned into Oreos everytime she even looked at the potty. No big deal became a parade when the tiniest drop of pee hit the potty. And no punishments turned into "Layla NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" when we carried her from one end of the house to another with pee dripping down her legs, our arms and all over the floor.

Here are a few things we learned from Day 1:

- Two drops in the pot = success!

- Layla has already learned that she doesn't like to be wet and now holds it

- Layla spent 90% of the day crying. It was kind of heart breaking but everyone has to learn sometime right?!

- No diapers, no pants...just undies and socks (socks help absorb excessive liquids running down legs)

- We own 21 pairs of Dora, Hello Kitty and pink underwear. ALL of them were washed yesterday.

- Layla peed in the potty 7 times, but mostly just drips. We lost count of accidents.

- At 9 PM we were ready for bedtime. She cried at 10pm and said "I peed"...changed a soaking wet diaper but I think this is progress!

- We spent the evening looking up professional carpet cleaners and a divorce attorney. (Just kidding about that last part...although there were a couple of minutes that I walked out of the room so I don't know what Bryan was doing LOL)

Now for the first part of Day 2:

 - Daddy went to work today, we are still happily married.

- L Woke up at 9am happy, sat on potty with no tears first thing!

- Spent the next few hours on and off the potty. She'll sit on her toddler potty or on the big toliet and likes to play with water, puzzles and watch pirates as she thinks.

- Went until 12:00 with no accidents but no pee in pot. She's holding it...is this a good thing?

- After lunch we had our first success. Layla sat on potty in her room while Mommy took her big stuffed monkey and hit moose across the head with it. No harm was done to moose, and Layla laughed a little pee out.

- 10 minutes later we had a visitor at the door and soaking wet underwear. Why does she wait until its embarrassing to have an accident?

- 10 minutes later another accident, this time on the kitchen floor, all through the dining room and living room. Not a single drop made it in the potty.

- 2 minutes later while talking to Aunt Ash, Mommy discovers some very wet undies. No idea where the puddle is.

- 20 minutes later, 3 drops in the potty while watching pirates. Mommy explains to Layla that pirates a love to pee on the potty. She rolls her eyes.

- Put Layla in her room to read a book before nap. Went to grab her potty, came back to an accident. Put her on potty and we got 3 tinkles. Put her in diaper for nap, left room to clean out potty and the dog pukes in the hallway. I hate my life, must find a job to pay for carpet cleaning.

- Finally naptime!! Time to take a shower and do laundry, get thank you cards designed, feed the dogs...oh wait, Layla's been talking for 20 minutes, I better go check on her. Sure enough, Layla pooped in her diaper.

Are we going to survive potty training? Yes. Are we going to give up? NO! Is this the hardest, most frustrating thing I've ever done in my life?! Not quite...the eating problems are MUCH worse, but this is very high on my list. I think we have made some progress today. Now I am just trying to cope with the fact that I will never be able to leave my house again (at least until she goes to Kindergarten).

Our family Christmas

This is the 2nd New Year's Eve in a row that we could have cared less about the New Year. Two years ago we brought Layla home and slept in the living room because I couldn't go up our stairs. Last year and this year we were just getting home from IL and putting together all our new toys.

Bryan and I have made a special deal with Santa. He comes to our house on New Year's Eve so Layla can enjoy Christmas at home with us when we get back from IL. In exchange we have told him he can borrow Oscar and Moose anytime he needs help with pulling the sleigh. ;o) He hasn't taken us up on our offer yet, but he keeps his end of the deal.

Waking up on "Xmas" morning to discover this!

She literally went right up to the presents and started opening!  Good thing we had the camera ready

She is obsessed with these sunglasses. Apparently she needed to wear them to finish opening presents.

She got a vet kit...watch out Oscar and Moose!

The vanity was actually her birthday present from us this year. She absolutely LOVES it!! She went right up and started doing her makeup and blow drying her hair.

We might need to work on how to apply lipstick. It went right to the nose...

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, and Happy New Year Layla! Words can not describe how much Mommy and Daddy love you. You are the best part of life and I can't wait to see what 2012 brings for our family.

Time for a Bird-day Party!

It literally seems like we just cleaned up from Layla's Pink Paris Poodle First Birthday...how could she be 2?!

Let's be honest, last year's theme was pretty much for Mommy. ;o) It is kind of hard to get a 1 year old to explain to you what they are into...so we did Paris one last time while she still didn't have an opinion. This year, she still didn't really "get" it but we do know that Layla LOVES birds. So the decision to have a Bird-day party was pretty easy. I had a ton of help in planning and I think it turned out absolutely adorable!

Here are the invitations I designed:

I made dirt cake and got cupcakes from Walmart. Napkins were from Ikea. And I designed and printed all the food labels.

Grandma Barton had a lot of birdie themed items around the house. Layla and I did paint those bird houses though.

Aunt Ashley made this adorable banner!

I found this recipe on Pinterest...it is hard to see from the picture but these are bird shaped croissants with raisin eyeballs! Grandma and Aunt Ash did these...we all know I would have completely destroyed these. 

Grandma Barton did this birdie arrangement...she's so talented!

Another one of Grandma Barton's creations

The menu consisted of "Tweet" Tea (thanks Dad and Cindy!!!), Chicken Noodle Soup, Birdie Bread, Bird Seed Salad, and a few Birdie "Tweets" (pasta salad and chip dip...thanks Mom and G'ma Lucky!)

I couldn't be more happy with how these favors turned out. Mom is a Master Baker in my opinion.

I designed the labels ("Thank you for making my bird-day party so tweet") and Mom did the cookies...these are to DIE FOR!

And of course...here are some pictures from the actual party.

Time to sing Happy Birthday!

Layla doesn't like cake or frosting (I know...I know...) but she loves Oreos. So her birthday treat was 2 Oreos. LOL

Love this cute family pictures

Look at that wild hair and I believe she is drooling here. ;o)

Getting ready to open presents!

We were so happy to have some extra kids at her party. This is Layla telling Nathan (aka- our future son-in-law) goodbye. Nathan and Layla are womb buddies...his Mommy and I were both pregnant at the same time. I think they still remember each other! LOL

Another shot of the kids minus Kayla...she was rolling around in wrapping paper ;o)

She was doing great opening presents until we got to Uncle Jade and Aunt Lisa's. The world stood still when she opened this package of glow bracelets. My daugher, the pirate, immediately thought it was a telescope and decided she was done opening presents. She wanted to walk around the house looking through her new eye piece. LOL

We were able to finally round her up to open a few more gifts.

What a perfect party! Thank you so much to everyone that came and helped out!