Adventures in Toddlerhood

A New Perspective

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:24:58 -0700

Seeing as how we started our family with twins, I have no idea what it is like to only have one child to care for...except for the occasional trip to the grocery store. Wow, what a different world! Today Emory and I had time to just hang out together; we ran a couple of errands, and then came home for lunch before picking up Aidan and Alanna. And boy can I accomplish so much more in a short period of time with just one child to get in and out of the car, and not have to wait on three kids who are meandering behind me at various paces around a store. Not to mention how strange it feels to be able to give all my attention to one child. I found I was able to "savor the moment" so much more easily (and frequently) because there weren't three kids running around. We even played Candyland, and it didn't feel like attempting to control chaos trying to get the three of them through the game. On the flip side, when we were home last week, she was a little more clingy since she didn't have Aidan and Alanna to engage her.

On a side note, today was Aidan's superstar day at school, so he got to bring a snack, a special item to show the class (he chose Buddy), be the line leader, dress the weather bug, and sit in a special superstar chair. (BTW, the kids' class is referred to as"The Shining Stars.") He was so pumped all weekend, anticipating his big day! We made mini cupcakes yesterday, and we sent in yogurt smoothies, too. Alanna's big day is on Wednesday, and the same plan is in place. now we have to figure out what special activity we will do tomorrow for their real birthday. I can't believe it's been 4 years!!!

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Three Little Gym Bugs

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:37:55 -0700

A week and a half ago, we had our first combination parent-tot/pregym class with the kids. So all four of us got to go in. Aidan was so excited for Emory to join us, and Alanna was at the ready to help her little sister! Emory was excited until reality set in. She screamed and insisted on going back to the top of the ramp to watch Aidan and Alanna through the window. I finally got her to stop crying when I got her to roll back and forth on her back during the warm-up. Then she was pretty much unstoppable from that point on. She loved every minute, and whenever there was a surface available for her to climb up on and jump off of, she was in heaven. She had a great time! The funniest part was when we walked over to the trampoline. Emory has never stepped foot onto or near any trampoline of any sort. She just ran ahead of me, jumped on the mat next to the tramp, ran right onto the trampoline and started bouncing. No adults anywhere within reach. Fearless... The coach got some good laughs seeing how different Emory is from Aidan and Alanna. She really did well though. She waited her turn pretty well with some prompting, despite her excitement to go through the obstacle course or swing on the bars. I told her she needed to wait for the coach to call her name, so then every minute or two as we waited, she's hold her arms out and expressively tell me "When Coach Carlos call my name, then I can have a turn!" She's a quick study, that Emory!

Can't wait to see how this week goes. I got a work out last time....

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What's Puffy, Pink and Gooey All Over?

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:33:15 -0700

That would be Emory's right eye...conjunctivitis...yuck! This is our first bout with good 'ol pink eye, but I remember getting it quite a bit when I was younger. She was not happy when she woke up from her nap and couldn't open her eye. Poor thing. :(

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She Did It!

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:17:48 -0700

Emory is Potty Trained!!! No more diapers! Yay! (Well---except when she sleeps...) It's official...there are no more babies in our house. All the cribs are gone. No more diapers. It's a good thing, but I'm not sure how I feel about all this growing up stuff ...sigh...

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My Spirited Child

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:41:30 -0700

Anyone who knows Emory knows we use many words to describe her zest for life...passionate, intense, energetic....she is a child of extremes, and we wouldn't have it any other way. This doesn't always make things run so smoothly when our personalities collide, but she can turn on a dime and make us laugh out loud, despite our frustration.

The other morning, we were getting ready for a bath, and she was sitting on the potty when I pulled her bandaid off her knee. This infuriates her as she is gets extremely upset whenever she can see a scrape on her body anywhere. i've been trying to convince her for days that it really wasn't necessary to wear a bandaid. So while she cried, I told her something like "Emory, your scrape looks so good....I think it's just a scar now. I think you don't really need a bandaid anymore." She looked me in the eye, turned beet red and screamed/wailed "Come on!!! Don't Frustrate (fuswate) Me!!!" I couldn't suppress my laughter, but I tried to stifle it quickly.

I wish I could always keep a sense of humor about her passions!

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Potty Progress

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:08:19 -0700

Picking up from yesterday afternoon: Emory woke up very grumpy from her "nap"...so I asked her if she wanted to put underwear back on, and she declined. I knew if I pushed it we would have an all out screaming fit, so I decided to end the potty training on a positive note for the day.

So we jumped back in this morning, and she told me every time she needed to go without any accidents, except for once when I made her mad, and while she was crying she had a little leak. And still, she held the rest and made it to the potty. She stayed dry all day and.... ****STOP READING HERE IF YOU AREN'T USED TO/INTERESTED IN DETAILS**** .....even asked to poop on the potty three times. Not only that, but when we went to Maggie Moo's for a treat to celebrate vacation time with Daddy, she interrupted the festivities to let us know she needed to go. THEN, on the way home she said she needed to go, and she held it 3 minutes until we got home!!!

Yay for Emory!!!

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Off to a good start!

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:59:46 -0700

Emory practiced wearing underwear for a little while the last couple of days, and today we decided to jump in with both feet. She has done fabulous so far, staying dry from 7:30 to 1:00. She asked to go potty a couple of times, once she caught herself just in time to make it to the bathroom without having a major accident, and I only prompted her to go before I got in the shower and before lunch. We'll see what the rest of the afternoon brings and how things progress over the next few days. We may be a diaper-free family in a few days (with the exception of sleep times when we use pull-ups.) Now that is excitement!

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Miss Emory's Antics

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:59:47 -0700

Anyone who knows Emory knows how expressive she is, and how passionate. I have never caught this on video, but it always makes me laugh. Some people talk with their hands...Emory talks with her arms. I tell ya, whatever she does, she does enthusiastically...taking it to the next level. So as she tells us something, no matter how mundane, she might wave her arm out to the side in a very Vanna White-esque manner, with her hand positioned as if she is presenting something. She reminds me of the cantors at church, when they spread their arms to signal the congregation to sing. Her voice is so expressive too, with so many pitch contours. She could probably tell me the most boring story in the world and make it seem fascinating, or at least hilarious because she gets so excited. Plus, she has facial expressions to match. Drama Girl.

On a side note, Jason returned tonight before taking off for Rome tomorrow. He had been in Dallas attending a conference with a rodeo theme. Apparently, they gave pretty nice cowboy hats to everyone and even had someone on-site to steam them into just the right shape. So Jason popped into our bedroom as I was getting the kids ready for bed, with a silly grin and a black cowboy hat. The kids loved taking turns trying it on! Jason even tried his hand at a mechanical bull. Never would've guessed that. :)

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Big Bed News

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:58:25 -0700

So Emory totally surprised us with moving to the big bed. It has been a seamless transition, and she was not at all the jack-in-the-box I was expecting. I underestimated her again! She loves it and hasn't seemed to have an ounce of difficulty with the change. Yay!

On a side note...I got to go to a Duran Duran concert! It was SO MUCH FUN! I was a huge fan for many years, though I haven't had any idea what they've been up to since the mid-1990's. I had low expectations, especially after some friends told us they saw a horrible show a few years back. I have to say, if Simon Le Bon hadn't had a few pitch breaks here and there, I would've thought it was all pre-recorded. It was actually a great show, and they did a lot more old songs than I expected. (Hungry Like the Wolf, Save a Prayer, A View to a Kill, The Reflex, Planet Earth, Girls on Film, Rio, Ordinary World, Come Undone, Notorious....but not New Moon on Monday, my first D2 song!) I liked some of the new songs, some not so much. I'm so glad I went...plus I got to dance, dance, dance....which I have barely done at all since our wedding reception 6.5 years ago!

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Big Girl Bed

nobody@vox.com(mmk) — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:00:16 -0700

Tonight is Emory's first night in the big girl bed. We talked it up today, and I think Aidan was more excited about Emory sleeping in a big bed than Emory. She seemed pretty psyched though. After the bed was delivered, I made it up, and she climbed up and laid down, rolled around; she looked pretty pleased with her new bed.

I anticipated that when bedtime rolled around, she'd put up a fuss. Jason took her to bed, and he said she looked pretty excited. We didn't hear a peep from her, and I wondered if she might be quietly entertaining herself with her new found freedom....maybe trying to look at books on the floor or something. I peeked in about 20 minutes after he put her down, and she was sound asleep. She didn't look like she had moved a muscle from when he had walked out. I know she was exhausted from missing her naps yesterday and today, so maybe that helped.

We'll see how the night goes!

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