Wednesday, May 30, 2012

18 Months and Counting

We've completed our 5th diaper free day (excluding sleep). Day 4 and 5 were accident free, so I'm hoping we don't backslide too much or at all. The keys appear to be recognizing her cues and poop schedule (after breakfast and dinner), carrying a potty in the car, and checking in often. Also, she forgets herself when she becomes absorbed in the iPad, so that is potentially dangerous in the pre-dinner mix.

In other news, Ellie is becoming quite the shoe maven. I think we finally have sufficient sandals to accommodate her through the summer. Yesterday, she spent 20 minutes just changing shoes. She really needs to learn to do that herself.

She had her second mini-trauma two weeks ago Saturday. In her hurry to look into the microwave at her leftover dinner, Ellie tripped over her own feet and narrowly missed hitting her left eye on the short ledge. She has a jaunty black scab marking where her eyebrows are starting to show (finally). So far, we've had a few people ask what happened. I need a better story. The truth is, I freaked a little even though in hindsight, she didn't bleed that much for a head wound. I called my MiL over for a second opinion of whether I should take her to the ER. One night with a band-aid sufficiently closed it up. Her scab fell off Monday. She appears to have a little scar, but it's shallow, so that may go away.

School starts next week. Since she's got tender new potty skills, the timing could make it harder for things to stick. But, the way this week is going, I think she will probably be okay.

We've been taking some marathon walks in the dreamy McMansion neighborhood across the road. I have our next address all picked out. Now, we just have to wait for the dogs to live their little lives. We're giving them 10 years (I think we've been saying that for at least 2 already). That means Isis will live another 16. Although, she's been acting older lately. She is 11. Despite what the vet says, her vision seems to be failing somewhat. She's more reactionary to sudden moves and Ellie. And, the barking has not gotten any better. She periodically "fasts". And, a few days ago, she kept standing funny and staring at me. P was traveling at the time, so she may have been confused.

Today was our 18 month appointment. Ellie weighed a whopping 20 pounds, 2 ounces. She has "shot" up to 31 inches. So, she's at the 3rd & 30th percentiles, respectively. I need to go down to the basement for some of her 6-9 month leggings because she's a little plumber in her 12-18 month pants.
Little Monkey ready to hit the road on one of our last chilly days

Conducting trains at Bellaboo's

One of her latest tricks – looking under furniture for lost toys

All patched up after "the incident"

The day after "the incident"

With Cousin Sophie (looking tough)

Cousin Sophie

The only smile we could get from "Poker Face" Ellie was when we told her to clap

Monday, May 7, 2012

Spring: The Busy Season

Apologies for the late update. As happens every year, things go into hyper-drive in April and May as everyone realizes summer is just around the corner and "we" have to get things done before kids are out of school and people start going on vacation. For myself, I'm not entirely sure what I've been doing. The days just fly by. I have been working on a new logo for the local Master Gardeners Association Garden Walk (June 30). I am co-chairing the Bar Committee for our local Taste, but that really has been a minimal time investment in comparison. Someone approached me about a new logo for a new non-profit, but I've told her I need to get through May first. And, I still need to find a day sitter or two for all these random meetings that crop up. 

The latest news, Ellie is coming right along. She's still a bit of a shrimp. We went to buy sandals today and there was a 15 month old that dwarfed her. She's not short exactly, but she has a 12 mo. waist and an 18 mo. inseam. She has a cute little shape. Very french curve with her Buddha belly and diaper bulge in back. Her hair is slowly coming in. We still wear a hat as much as I can manage when outdoors since she still has pretty thin locks. But, we've worn a bow once or twice. I think she liked it because when she saw herself in the mirror, she kind of obsessed about it and the next time she saw the mirror without the bow, she still reached for where the bow was. Despite my best efforts, she may yet turn out to be a girly girl. She also has been known to favor purses when she visits the dress up room at Bellaboo's.

We just started week two of a clear runny nose. If anything, I think it's getting worse. She's pretty good at blowing her nose into a tissue. But, she's also getting good at licking her upper lip and wiping her nose on furniture, Mommy's shirt, etc. And, she's turned into an overnight champ at using a spoon. She eats a small bowl of oatmeal/yogurt for breakfast, followed by more yogurt. Since she still doesn't drink milk, this is a major chunk of her calcium and protein for the day. I've already caved on my no-sugar yogurt stance. We buy the flavored greek yogurt since you can buy a two week supply at Sam's for half of what it costs at the grocery store. I am still sporadically making plain yogurt, but it's a lot easier to buy it, although I just ran across a how-to a couple weeks ago that uses ultra-pasteurized milk and thus cuts out the longest supervised step (heating and cooling). I think I'll try that one this week.

Potty training has stalled out. She is "kind of potty-trained" in that she can go on the potty and does sometimes. Which is to say, she isn't potty-trained at all. She doesn't know when she needs to go except for the rare occasions when she is on the potty and insists on staying longer because she knows something is coming. So, I've found a new potty guru at ohcrappottytraining.com that recommends a more committed initiation that I think we'll try over Memorial Day Weekend. Hopefully P didn't have anything too big planned because the plan involves 3 intense days at home spent watching the kid and rushing her to the potty as needed. I am oversimplifying a bit, but that is essentially the strategy. Then, E starts Montessori the first week in June, so I'm not sure how that'll work with her fragile new potty skills. Jamie (the guru) recommends kids going commando for a month after training so they don't have to deal with the added layer of underpants until they have things down better. We will see, I suppose.

We started a new swim class, too. It's the same parent/child class we did a year ago. We even have the same teacher. However, last week, we were running late and although Ellie gave a happy squeal when she saw the pool, the rest of the time, she fussed, clung to me like a little barnacle baby and wanted to get out of the water. So, this week, we're going to try going earlier and hopefully we'll have a less stressful experience.

Currently, Ellie's favorite game involves opening Easter eggs. She is also liking her water marker board (drawing with water on a special cardboard surface). And, she loves to go outside ALL the time. Her favorite books lately have been Curious George, The Goodnight Whoozit Book, and her Elmo Lift the Flap Book.