Bye Bye Diaper Party

Yesterday, we started the morning off with a bouquet of balloons, a special pancake breakfast complete with a bye-bye-diaper song (and there would have been candles if Mommy had remembered to buy them at the store). Kate has been waiting for Friday all week long. On Wednesday she and I went to the grocery store and bought all her favorite drinks: lemonade, chocolate milk, grape juice and hot chocolate. Mommy had already stocked up on lots of juice boxes, fun straws, exciting new toys and crafts, baking supplies, and some special treats for just the right celebratory moment!

Why all this fuss for potty training? Well we tried potty training back in November. After 4 hours and 7 accidents - one success - I gave up. Kate wasn't ready. She didn't even notice when the pee gushed down her leg onto my carpet. So I put it on hold until after the holidays and until she had a little more time to mature. What a difference 8 weeks made!

I must admit I was a bit discouraged back in November. My sister-in-law had been facing the battle at home with Brenden. So the two us signed up for a potty-training seminar: Potty Training Made Easy in One Weekend! I liked the sound of that! The theory at the seminar was once a child is physically ready it will be easy. And boy was she right!

This weekend has been fantastic. Kate only had one accident yesterday - and she stopped herself mid-way and finished it up in the bathroom. We've had two successful poops yesterday and one today. And the best part, is that Kate is initiating all her trips to the bathroom now. She doesn't even need a timer! Tomorrow we bring out the big-girl underwear. I am so grateful that the second time around has been this easy.

I do think that we all should take a moment and genuinely thank our moms for the potty training they imparted to us. It's no easy task. Thank you, Mom! And for those of you considering having kids in the near future...just remember that potty training is eventually a part of the deal. :) Okay...I've heard it described in pretty explicit terms...but I'm grateful Kate made it pretty easy on me!

Kate's 1st Trip to the Library

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. A housebound mom and a cranky toddler set out to go somewhere - anywhere-- to change the scenery. After a brief trip to the grocery store, a moment of inspiration fell. We'll go to the library!

Kate LOVES books. She wants to read them all the time. Of course in order to hold her attention for more than one minute, they have to be books with only a few words and really bright big pictures. So our options are sometimes limited. Kate has her favorites in our home collection. And frankly, I do get tired of reading Panda Bear, Panda Bear over and over. I thought Kate would love the library and the kids' room filled with books. And she did love the library but just for different reasons. I don't think she stopped long enough to look at a single book. All she wanted to do was walk along the book shelves and the bins of books on the floor and the little kids couches. She had ample places to grab hold of to support her walking efforts. She did pause for a brief moment to play with a puzzle, but it was a short break before she was off running again.

We did check out a few books, which made me happy. Now we're just reading Row Row Row Your Boat and Fly Little Bird over and over again! I'm glad my little girl loves books so much.

Miss Independent

Well, we all know Kate has a mind of her own - with specific preferences and tastes. She makes it really clear when she's not happy. But now independence is happening in new ways.

We've been watching and watching - just waiting for Kate to meet some new milestones...and the day has arrived. Kate has been taking her sweet little time getting up and moving around. Her (much) younger friends are already passing her. But in the last few days, Kate has figured out how to sit up all by herself, pull herself up to a standing position, and get on all fours with tummy off the ground. She still refuses to crawl, taking the much preferred route of rolling around-- but she's at least getting her body in the right position now. She's been taking a few small steps holding on to our hands. So the crawling and walking should be coming really soon.

This morning, she went down for a nap. About 15 minutes later she started crying really hard. I went in to check on her and she was standing up and holding onto the crib rail with white knuckles. She was all sweaty and frustrated. She managed to stand up but I don't think she knew what to do after that!

This video shows Kate's frustration of being stuck in the crib, and her process of standing up.
(3:15 long)

Today she figured out how to open and close the entertainment center cabinets. I guess my job tonight will be to empty them out!

Hard to believe our little one will be a year old this Saturday! How do you keep them tiny forever?