Disney: On getting old…

Disney is not for the faint of heart.  There is a lot of walking, running, squatting, carrying, swinging around – especially with an energetic two-year old. My husband and I found ourselves tossing Sophie back and forth to give our backs, shoulders and hips a rest.  There seemed to be plenty of places to sit down at the parks – but not a lot of time for it once you are through standing in line for this ride or that one…or standing in line to meet this character or that one.

 I remember when Disney was no place for tired feet or legs or backs. I remember being the one leading my parents this way or that to do this ride or that one. Mom, Dad – have I thanked you guys lately?

How is it that after a few hours I could feel every bone in my ankles and feet? All of the joints in my hips? At the end of each day my husband and I would lay on each of the full size beds in our standard Disney hotel room and just sigh at how good it felt to not move a muscle. Then we would pass out.

Six hours later our little one would bounce up from her Disney Princess Air Mattress, flip on the light in our hotel room, and somehow (from somewhere) my husband and I would get the jolt of energy that had us all showered and dressed and heading for the bus to the park of the day within 45 minutes flat. Ready to do it all over again.

Because no matter how old you feel at the end of each day at Disney…the magic of Disney can instantly shave 20 years off of a person at the dawn of each new one.

My back still hurts, my ankles are still sore…and I cannot wait to go back.

Potty Training – PAUSED

So after a few good days, a morning dry diaper, poopy in the potty – I thought Sophie was ready to step it up a notch with the potty training. I put her in panties part of Saturday and Sunday and we had lots of accidents. I figured this was normal. Monday night, I also put her in panties. She stayed dry but fought me to even try to go on the potty (which was exactly what she did this weekend). She started getting very frustrated and angry with me if I insisted she try. Her respond, “I don’t have to potty!” I tried stickers for trying. I used her Dora pull-ups as an enticement. Those really only worked on a superficial level. I was not really getting through to her. Between Saturday and Sunday we also had a lot of acting out on her part which I can see now was a direct result of the stress the potty training was putting on her.

I started to suspect that maybe we should take a break but felt like that was “giving up” and thought that was the wrong thing to do. The doubt was there, though. It did not feel right to me – and I know my child, I know her reactions. What really got to me was when I spoke with her teacher and she relayed to me how well Sophie had been doing going to the potty in school but all of a sudden, since Monday morning, she was not going potty for them. She would sit on the toilet for a bit and then jump off and say, “I’m done!”

After that, I definitely felt like my instincts were dead on and we needed to take a break. No pull-ups. No potty. For a couple of weeks unless she showed interest sooner. I told Sophie this, too. I will probably tell her a few times so that she is aware. My kid may be showing physical signs that she is ready for the potty – but she is not showing that she is emotionally ready to keep it up. From what I hear and read, a lot of it is a control thing. Going potty is the one thing they can control. Also, stopping what they are doing to go potty is another control that Sophie is not ready to give up – at least not at home.

To be continued for now…

NO means NO…or YES!

“No” is Sophie’s favorite and most constant word besides, “Dora”. I am not kidding. With as many words and sentences coming out of my child’s mouth NO is the one I hear the most and intensely dislike. Is it so wrong for me to expect some immediate acquiescence to whatever it is I want her to do?

I thought it would be funny for me to note the many shades of “no” that Sophie has.

• There is the shouted and firm, “NO!” that I am pretty sure she has learned from me and her father. Its usually paired with her plopping her bottom on the ground as if she is digging herself in for the long haul and nothing you (or me, apparently) can make her move. Silly Sophie…you are only 26 lbs, my dear.
• Then there is the, “Nooo….” which is a little sing-songy and comes with a slow shake of her head.
• One of my favorites is the, “Umm…..? No,” that almost immediately turns into a, “yeah!” Its one of my favorites because she says it so fast that she is going against what she thinks are my wishes until she realizes that, “wait a minute – that is something I like to do!” At two, her immediate instinct is to go against the grain. Lord help me.
• As of Sunday our newest version of “no” is, “No thanks!” which sounds like, “No tanks!” This one is pretty funny. I have been trying to teach her, “No, thank you” just because its more polite than the no’s you read above. But no. She catches on to one of her father’s most favorite, sarcastic phrases, “No thanks.”

Part 2 of this blog is my reaction.

Obviously, I cannot let NO be the end of it. She responds with it when I ask her a question or when I tell her to do something. She does not seem to notice the difference. I am trying to give her choices between two items instead of asking her straight out but this is not possible with everything. 

I will be honest and say that NO drives me crazy.

Initially I was reacting with a firmness or whatever attitude kind of like, “There is no saying no, honey, its time to [change your diaper or take a bath]” whatever it is that she was saying no to. Sometimes that worked and other times it didn’t. Making it a game took too long – especially in the mornings which never seem to run on time.

Lately, I have been taking a page from my mom’s book. I tell Sophie in my sad little voice, “Oooh, Sophie. The word no makes mommy so sad when Sophie says it.” Sometimes I bow my head and cover my eyes for effect. Sophie is not the only drama queen in our house (I am talking about her father, obviously). This has been working like a charm! She comes over and pats me and says, “I sorry, mommy. It’s okay.” I secretly adore that little soothing pat on my head or shoulder. And then we go do what needed to get done. Since I started this I am getting NO from her less and less. This morning all I had to do was say it from her room into the hallway (she could only hear me, not see me) for her to run in all ready to get dressed with an, “okay, mommy!”

I am not above admitting that, “okay, mommy!” is one of my favorite phrases – if one of the most less often heard in my house.

Halloween Rewind

As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago…we had a great Halloween. Here are a few pictures to show you a little more than I was able to tell you.

We started the weekend building our first Jack. Is he handsome or what?

Halloween morning started with some finger painting. Sophie did a series of paintings that were supposed to be for her grandparents….but she was so proud of them that she wanted to keep them! We had to do a lot of coaxing to convince her to give them away. 

Then there was a hibachi lunch with her cousins who were already beautifully dressed up. This is, without a doubt, one of my most favorite pictures of them.

Nex stop: Trick or treating at the local mall. We forgot her pumpkin but she seemed to think that trick or treating with a cup was just as amazing.

My parents, Nana and Abuela, drove down in their costumes to trick or treat with Sophia.

Last year we took a picture similar to this one…we were only to trick or treat to a few houses because we did not want to overdue it since Sophie had just had her tubes inserted that day. This year, this photo was the beginning of hours of fun. Mommy dressed as a semi-pirate and Daddy dressed as….well…himself.

…and last but not least: THE LOOT!!!!!

A perfect end to an amazing day!

Heart Melting Moments

We had a very stressful Saturday morning. My little Sophie is a very stubborn child who is prone to do what she wants, when she wants, and not a moment sooner. Since she gets this from mommy – we tend to bang heads a little bit quite often. Saturday morning and three pairs of wet panties within an hour time span (after a great poop success first thing in the morning) put a strain on how we felt about each other. She was frustrated with me for continuing to ask her if she had to go pee-pee to the point that she started answering me with, “No-no-no, Mommy!” I, of course, was frustrated by this but trying my best to paste a patient smile to my face – which I did not think was fooling my smart little miss.

When my hubby suggested a trip to BJ’s to get us all out of the house I grabbed it like a lifeline, got us all dressed, and zoomed us out the door. Halfway through the store my husband and I separate and I am pushing Sophie in the cart when suddenly she looks up and says to me, “Mommy, hug me so much!” which just about melted me on the spot – we hugged tightly and while hugging me she says, “Mommy, I love you so much”. To which I could do nothing more than hug my little two-year old even tighter, respond in kind, and try to stop myself from melting into a puddle on the spot because (hello!) someone needed to push the cart.

I remember when she was an infant wondering how it would feel when she could respond to my “I love you” with an “I love you” of her own back at me. I can sit here know and say that being the recipient of the first I love you, without any coaxing, is breathtakingly magical. It’s these moments, these heart melting moments, that make you forget the pull-your-hair-out-by-the-roots moments and make everything worth it.

Adventures in potty training…

[not for the squeamish - don't say I didn't warn you]

It really is amazing what makes a mommy happy.

Lately, it seems the one place Sophie actually wants to sit on a toilet is in public. The first time she did this was about a week ago and it completely took me off guard but since I don’t want to deny her and have her avoid telling me she has to go, I go with it and just hope she really does have to go and is not just bored wherever she is. So far, its been about 50/50 that she either really goes or just sits there. And when she does go, its NEVER poop. She seems to prefer pooping in her diaper (I will never understand that).

Then last night, we decided to eat dinner out. After dinner my husband gets up to use the restroom and I am boxing up the left overs. At that moment, Sophie decides, “I need to go potty” which was really bad timing because then we would be leaving the table alone. I don’t want to try and wait until my husband gets back so instead I track down our waitress and explain that my husband is in the restroom and I need to take my daughter but we will be right back. In other words, we are not skipping out on the bill – and please don’t throw way the leftovers.

I was not sure last night if she really had to go or if she wanted to follow daddy to the bathroom but I went along with it and I am so glad I did because my little girl actually went poopy in the potty. In PUBLIC! She was so funny. I lined the seat with toilet paper and sat her down. She hates going poopy in the potty. She started getting nervous and telling me that she did not like this toilet and that she wanted to get down. I told her to wait one second with me and then she will be able to wipe her bottom and flush. I did not let her get off. And all of a sudden IT HAPPENED. I started clapping and saying WOOHOO! I was so happy that I did not even feel the slightest bit wierd about what I was cheering on. The things you do for your kids…

 She then got really proud and when she finished, I wiped her and then she wiped herself. We put on a new diaper and she says, “I want to see the caca”. Then looks in the toilet, jumps, and said, “Ewww! Mommy, I don’t like caca. I need to flush it! I need to flush it!” It grossed her out – which was pretty funny considering its been going in her diaper for 2 years and the idea never bothered her before. We then washed our hands and left.

I was so proud!!!!! I still am.

Be aware of little ears…

They are everywhere…and they listen. I am learning this the hard way.

Exhibit A:

On Halloween day we were on our way to the local mall. Sophie was in the back seat in her carseat, my husband was driving, and I was the passenger. My husband had to come to a sudden stop due to a car that cut him off and also came to a sudden stop. It is times like this that its easy to forget that we have a two year old with a growing vocabulary, within hearing distance. My husband had a few choice words to say about the driver of the sudden stopping car when from the backseat we hear giggles and more giggles and finally Sophie says, “Ooooh, Dada [as in, you silly silly man], that is not an idiot! That is a CAR!”

 

 

Halloween

I have gotten really bad about putting pictures on the same computer that I use for blogging and if I continue to wait for that then I will get even more behind on my blogging than I already am so…forget the pictures for now! I have a few of Sophie in her Halloween costume that I can share from her daycare parade and party but none from Halloween day and night which were soooo much better.

Having said all that, Halloween weekend started on Friday. Sophie’s daycare holds an annual Harvest Festival which includes a parade of all the kiddos in their costumes and a little carnival. I don’t have too many pictures of Sophie marching in the parade because even though I tried to hide…she saw me and screamed bloody murder until I went to stand with her. I walked a few feet in the parade with the other two year olds before I felt silly and just went to stand around with her until the parade was over.

So instead of having this great photo of Sophie in full bumblebee cuteness, I have this photo of her complaining about the noise the other kids and parents were making. See? This explains why I waited so long to blog.

Here is the stinger and wing view of my little bee:

Overall, it was a great Halloween. The night before my husband and I took on the task of carving our very own pumpkin. It was no easy task. I figured we were better than the usual first timers and went with a semi-difficult face – lots of angles and curves – instead of the traditional triangles. Two hours later we had a fabulous Jack-o-Lantern lit on our kitchen table. I promise to share a picture. Sophie did not pay too much attention to it and absolutely would not help me clean the insides out. Then again, neither would my squeamish husband. So it was all up to me to wipe the inside clean of guts and get it ready for a face.

Halloween itself was filled with fun and family. We did arts and crafts with my nieces. I brought them over so the kids could paint Halloween pictures and then we all went to lunch and to a local mall for some daytime Halloween festivities. That night my parents came down and went trick or treating with us. My parents are ever festive and actually dressed up! My mom was the Cat in the Hat and my dad wore a huge body suit of a very politically incorrect redneck. I was kind of a pirate – and my husband dressed as himself.

Sophie was really the highlight of the evening and had a ball. She loved giving out candy to the trick or treaters. One of my favorite parts is seeing all of the kids in their costumes. This year was huge with Princesses (as usual) and Transformers. I loved the little boys dressed up as Transformers.

The funniest part of the evening came when it became apparent that Sophia had not quite figured out the difference between giving out candy and receiving it. She started stopping other kids on the sidewalk and trying to give away her candy! But then when we tried to help her with the pumpkin holding her loot she told us, “no” and held it possessively close to her. Such a funny kid.

There is something about seeing Halloween through Sophia’s eyes that made it so much better. I could not ask for a better one and it was, without a doubt, my favorite Halloween to date.

California Dreaming

In an effort to catch up an a few weeks of no blogs I need to rewind us all back to mid-October.

The hubby and I had our first trip away from Sophie and what better way to spend it than with wonderful friends. The main event that made us book our flight to San Francisco was the marriage of our friends Alison and Alan in Napa Valley. We booked this flight months in advance knowing that we would be away from Sophie (who would be 2 years old when we left) for almost a week. She, on the other hand, would get to spend a week vacationing at Nana and Abueno’s Resort and Spa.

The trip was wonderful. After that initial belly ache at the thought of leaving our baby – the anticipation proved to be harder than reality. Everyone said it would be but until you experience it for yourself you just don’t know. I will admit that while my husband and I usually both love the whole part about flying in an airplane, the worry was greater this time because of the precious cargo we would leave behind if something happened to us. Yeah, sure, a little morbid, but those thoughts do go through your head so why not mention them?

A short summary of the trip itself is going to be hard but I have to try. We spent only a brief time in San Francisco itself and only got a “taste” of Napa Valley because the focus on the trip was all about friends. Friends we get to see on an annual basis, if that much. You know who you are! The last time I was with most of them in one room was at our wedding almost 4 years ago. That was way too long. Getting to hang out together as couples was amazing. The best way to share this will be through photos which I promise to post soon but suffice it to say without giving too much up – I have a spectacular group of friends. I know, I know – a lot of people say that – but I really do. *wink* It was a fun, beautiful trip – a sensational wedding – and worth all the fuss.

No, we did not forget about Sophia while we were there. In between the wine tasting and wedding festivities, I was regularly checking Facebook for updates on our kid. I think Facebook is one of the best inventions of this decade (or whenever it was invented) because all I had to do was snag my husband’s I-Phone and see that my daughter was on her way to the beach with her aunt or get an update on how the potty training was going (or not going). It was FABULOUS! There as actually a whole day that I did not call at all. We knew she was going to have a great time at Nana’s house but little did we know how much we would not be missed. I got worried for a day that she would not want to come home with us at all! I think my mom actually had to bribe her about the cats to get her excited about returning to her own house, her bed, her PARENTS! But really – what more can you ask for than for your child to have a great time, not cry, and be thoroughly comfortable with the people you leave her/him with?

Final Verdict - We missed our kid but thoroughly enjoyed our time with our friends. I really think each couple needs time to themselves to enjoy and remember what its like when it’s just the two of you. It took us 2 years to do it and a) I don’t regret waiting that long and b) I am so happy we went.

Two Weekends of Birthdays, One Child

The last two weekends have been those where you run around like a crazy person and then when Monday comes you are trying to figure out how it got here so quickly. Hence, the lack of blogging. I am a busy mom of a toddler who also works outside the home so I am going to stop apologizing for the lack of blogs one of these days. I promise you!

Sophie turned 2 on September 26th. We spent a glorious but miserably hot day at the Miami Metro Zoo. We were joined by my parents and my best friend and her kiddos. We rented a four person bicycle cart thing that should also fit two kids in the front. Somehow, we fit 5 adults and 4 kids on that thing. I still don’t know how we did it but I do know that we scared the other patrons of the zoo that day by travelling at break neck speed and frantically ringing the bike’s bell lest we run over some unsuspecting zoo patron. Oops. We obviously like to live dangerously. By the end of the day the bell was replaced by the three kids sitting in the front yelling, “move it, people!” Luckily for us the other people visiting the zoo (who were surprisingly quick to get out of the way) seemed more amused at our clown car impersonation than annoyed at almost being run over. Fun times!

The real celebration came this past weekend at the previously blogged about Dora the Explorer themed birthday party. We enjoyed a beautiful day, gorgeous weather, and many children of all shapes, sizes, and ages. From my vantage point, everyone had a great time. We kept it simple – there was pizza and other easy to pick foods. Soda, juice, water. Our guests were able to enjoy any of the three swimming pools at the clubhouse. There was also a playground for swinging and sliding, should one decide against donning a bathing suit. Good times! There is something so awesome about putting on a party and seeing not only the birthday girl enjoying herself but hearing laughs and good natured shouts from everyone else. It was a perfect day.

I will blog with many pictures soon but wanted to share just one today. My birthday girl.

After two birthday cakes, two weekends in a row I fear that my little cutie will think that birthdays are an every day, every weekend thing. There seemed to be nothing she loved more than singing happy birthday, blowing out her candles, and running around with her friends. No amount of exhaustion that her father and I felt the next day could possibly erase the pleasure at seeing our little girl really enjoy her dream, Dora the Explorer themed birthday party.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sophie!!!!!!