Texas in Indiana

Thank you global warming! We have been experiencing a record warm spell here in the midwest. Baby girl is loving going outside and we had to go find some sandals since she does not want to wear shoes with socks. I'm hoping we stay warm, even if it cools some. However, it's really going to screw up the crops and things. I've had poor luck germinating my seeds for the garden so far since it's been over 100ºF in the greenhouse. Most of the seeds like temps in the 60-70's to germinate. They don't quite know what to do in summer temps. That, and something is trying to eat my seeds. I installed mouse traps, but I think it might be bugs. We'll see if things start coming up, I suppose.

Ellie is walking like a champ. She is crawling less and less. With the warm weather, I've been putting her in dresses that are impossible to crawl in, so she's figured out that it's just easier to walk. We've been socializing with the neighbors since everyone wants to be outside more. We've already talked to them more this week than the last three years put together I'm afraid. There's a little boy just 3 months younger than Ellie just across the cul-de-sac, but he's playing shy and Ellie has a bit of a crush on his bigger brother. She thinks every little boy is named "David" because of our other friends. And, she remembers which is his house and where exactly we've run into them along the sidewalk, even though that was a few days ago.

I've just about decided to not use the Y Childwatch program anymore. Ellie has a fit every time I drop her off and then someone has to hold her every time. I offered to go get her started playing to help transition her, but that is apparently not allowed. Last time, I sent her with a snack hoping that it would give her a familiar ritual/object to focus on. They took it away (instead of telling me when I dropped her off) and caused her even more anxiety. Apparently, snacks aren't allowed except under 12 months and on Drop off (which is why I thought it was ok). I feel like there's a new rule every time and that it's just impossible to make Ellie feel at ease. I have a shortlist of sitters that I need to start culling through. We have been doing play dates more often and with different kids, so between that and starting Montessori in June, I think she's getting socialization. She's actually a fairly friendly child, so once we can get past a little unnecessary shoving and learn to share, I think we'll be golden.

Potty training is kind of meh. We have good days and not good days. She has started identifying when her diaper is wet if you ask. But, the question is, "Do you need to go potty?" and the answer is, "yes". So, we have a little clarification to work on. She's so active now, that she has to really need to go in order to want to sit on the potty. Still, we're sort of on a schedule and she's comfortable with the whole process. She's even started wiping herself, which I think is a good sign. We're going to go diaper free this summer and hopefully get this all under control. They also work on potty training in Montessori, so she should have additional reinforcement.

How we roll these days – minimal clothing and on two legs (no standing still here)

Boom-boom – One of our favorite activities, jumping on the pile of pillows. She gets upset if I try to put them on the couch :(

Wearing a cute frock Grandma made. With temps in the 70's, this isn't your typical Midwestern March attire....

A Tale of Two Toddlers

We're back at home. We seem to be recovering nicely from our not restful weekend. In short, we followed Daddy and the company pilot to a training weekend in Florida. I opted to try it so we could get some warm weather and not have to stay home without back up for three days. In hindsight, it was not my wisest decision. The pilot brought his family too (son is18 mos.), so while the Daddies were getting smarter, the Mommies and kiddos tried to stay busy and somewhat on schedule. It was interesting and exhausting, to say the least. Neither toddler liked the pack-n-plays very much. Ellie would sleep for 9-10 hours and then wake up around 5 and not go back to sleep. Luckily, she did nap–even in the car. However, we did a lot of driving around and visiting parks. There aren't just a whole lot of activities for kids that young. We also contributed heavily to the Starbucks economy in Lakeland, Florida.

Luckily, the mom and I got on very well. She was pretty laid back and helped navigate. We both were pretty taken with Lakeland. It was a cute little town of about 100,000. There were downtown shops and restaurants with character, a Saturday street market, a botanical garden, a dedicated playground for preschoolers, Detroit Tigers Spring Training, nice wide streets with reasonable traffic, etc. We also found a food franchise that we need in Valpo. Crispers. It's a salad sandwich place with flatbread. It had wonderful ranch dressing, good combos of flavors, several vegetarian options, and reasonable prices. We actually went there twice.

Today, we went to Ellie's 15 month appointment. She is still shy of 20 pounds. But, almost there :) Officially, her height hasn't increased all that much, but judging how she has to wear 18 mo. pants with adjustable waists cinched in to the smallest setting, I think she's a little taller than 30". Still, she's kind of holding down the bottom of the growth curve on most counts.