Precious Little Ballerina

 
 
 
 


Layla dresses up like this about once a day (= It is too cute. Tom's camera takes great photos!

Nana's Visit!

Tom's mom, Tina, came out for about 5 days. Unfortunately Layla was battling a really bad cold or a case of RSV so she was a little more subdued than normal...she was still pretty sweet during the day even though the night times were a different story! Tom and I were a little sleep deprived so one dad Dad took her shopping at the mall where there is a great pettites store that my mom loves. Tina found some really fun things there so it was a pretty good trade-off!

By the way, if you click on the photos, it will go to a larger slideshow view....

Potty Training Part 2

Some of you may remember that when Tom was on his last trip to the UAE in July of last year, I attempted the "Kamikaze" method of potty training. It was exhausting and Lj was only about 20 months old. She took to it fairly well, but not enough to continue. (I discovered later that for that method to work the child has to drink about a cup of liquid and hour and there was NO WAY Layla was or would consume that much!)

We decided to try again since our return date is totally up in the air and I'd rather not have two kids in diapers.

So this time around we just went cold turkey (except for her long sleeping nap in the afternoon and nighttimes) and put Tom in charge and it has gone like a charm. Several people have told us she is ready and it was just a matter of finding a time between guests and illness to pull the trigger.

Today was a big day because she actually POOPED in the potty! Twice! She sobbed and sobbed both times and kept standing up and trying to walk away and then turned around again to try again and it was the most pathetic, sad thing you've ever witnessed in a bathroom. I can't BELIEVE she was making herself do it! I kept saying that she could try again later, it was okay, blah blah blah, but she kept going back She was shuffling around with her panties around her ankels the whole time which made it even more funny/pathetic. Tom was gone or he would have been there like he had been for the first successful attempt. She was just sobbing for daddy and wanted me to hold her has she sat on the potty and so on. My goodness.

We are TOTALLY bribing her and it works wonders. She had M+Ms at the superbowl party and loved them (first time) so we decided to use that and for poops she gets a lollipop! That is about as high on the food chain as you can get in her mind. Oh yea, I forgot to say that half the time she was sobbing on the toilet she was holding a little lollipop in her hand (=

She was so constipated that I am sure it hurt. She hadn't gone for two days because she didn't want to go in the potty and after pooping once her her panties she didn't want to do that again. (thank you very much for that!)

So anyway. We actually think she is consistant enough to be called 'potty trained' at this point. This is day 3. We can take her out and she'll go in the mall or restaurant toilets. I HIGHLY reccomend having a portable toilet seat to take with you. We have a padded one that we use at home sometimes (she played with it for a good 3 months) and I lug that around, but I know there are foldable ones as well for $9 from target on-line. Some folks say to just start with that and not bother with the little potty. I've got a foldable one coming so I'll let you folks overseas know what I think. A friend of mine swears by it - it folds into a gallon-sized zip lock bag.

Anyway, we are very happy parents at this point!! Oh, and Jill, thanks for all those panties.....we'd have been racing to the store in desperation because we weren't quite prepared for her to do this!

...and more Valentines fun

Tom had a great afternoon planned for us - he took Layla on a "daddy date" and dropped me off at Barnes and Nobles for some time to read by myself (= Lovely!

We went out to a restaurant after that but it was fairly crowded....our food was slightly delayed so we got not only ONE free dessert, but coupons for TWO more! All Right! That is a successful time out as far as I am concerned (=

Tom went out for a movie and came home with a dozen roses and a lovely card. Whohoo!

Valentines.....

8 adults
14 kids
Four pots of cheese fondue
One enormous pot of chocolate fondue
One basement given entirely over to the kids

One really good time for all three of us (=

Visit to the Hospital

Everything is just fine, but yes, I was in the hospital yesterday.

About mid-morning I was sitting on the couch watching Layla dance around in her tutu and then suddenly felt my heart pounding in my chest. After I got over the initial disorientation I took my pulse and it was over 100.
I kept taking it for about 30min and it went down to about 90 beats/min. I called my midwife and she said to go to the ER since it was a heart issue.

The hospital was great - very efficient and we hardly waited for anything except test results and I was home by 430pm. They were checking for some kind of underlying infection or for blood clots to see if those things could be causing the spike in my Heart Rate. Baby boy has been fine throughout.

We were REALLY hoping to sneak in an ultrasound to check out the placenta, but no such luck. No gratuitous testing at this hospital! Our appointment is Tuesday so it isn't like we have long to wait. We're trying to just play it cool, but we're rather anxious to get back.....sigh.

Mom and Dad left today and won't be back until the first of March. It will be quiet without them but a nice change of rhythm at the same time.

Pregnant Photo at 26 weeks

 

I figured it was time to take a photo of pregnancy #2 (= I meant to have Layla in the photo - it was a suggestion from a friend to help remember which pregnancy it is (=

We're doing fine pregnancy-wise. Everything is going fine other than the silly placenta thing. The little one is kicking lots and lots these days which is fun.

My main craving thing has been fizzy drinks - mostly orange juice and soda water but I've just found some sodas that are just fruit juice and fizziness without sugar.

Hmmm.... This is a really boring post, but I just wanted to include the photo (=

Familiar waiting...

So I realized today that this process of waiting to hear if we are going back is VERY similar to waiting to see if we are pregnant. Thankfully, THIS process has a definate end (=

I just remember the attempts to not be consumed with the topic, finding a balance for a few weeks, being wrapped in the 'what-ifs' as the date nears and then dealing with the fall-out after that date passes with no change. it's not quite as emotional which is helpful.

Layla's Nana comes in tomorrow for about 5 days. That will be a good distraction. Mom and Dad leave for Asia from February 12 -28 so that will be a big change of pace. Layla will certainly miss them, as will I!

Layla has gotten very kissy and huggy lately which is fun. If she realizes she's headed to bed without a kiss, she says "I forgot a big kiss!"
She has also taken to reading books while in the car - that is a big help! During her reading naps in the morning she reads outloud with great enthusiasm. It is great fun to listen to her and I'm very grateful for her willingness to do the reading nap everyday.

In the last two weeks Tom and I have been able to join up with a few small groups etc at church and that makes things feel more normal (=

Contemplating Potty Training

Well, we're going to take a stab at it again. She seems so ready in some ways - she'll wear panties very so often, can definately do her business in the potty (when she wants, mind you!) but doesn't seem overly motivated at the moment. She's even used the toilet at the church nursery. We just figured that we're pretty stable for the next month, at least at we might as well see if we could nudge her in the right direction (=

Sooooo....feel free to give some input or advice!

Trying something new......

You can double click on this link and it will expand and be a normal size.