Some Pictures

Last week we were so lucky to have some unbelievably nice weather here in Michigan. This March has been incredible! Normally during this time of year we're still trying to dig out from tons of snow but as you can see in the pictures there is no snow this year. Most of the days last week were in the 60's so we just had to go out and enjoy them while they lasted. Here are some pictures of us strolling around our apartment complex.

We've been searching for a chair for Y for a long time but the stores we looked at didn't have them in stock when we looked or (the really nice ones) cost a lot more than we wanna spend. I am totally amazed and the prices of some of the chairs out their for toddler aged kids. Granted some of them look a lot like real furniture for some one's house but still, I could never justify spending $75 bucks on a small chair which will likely only be used for a few years. The truly surprising thing was that many of the chairs out there can get close to $150-$200 and we don't exactly have that kinda money sitting around to throw in a chair. Our budget was more like $20 but there is almost nothing available for $20 so we settled for spending $25 (half of which Nana B agreed to subsidize as part of Y's Easter gift). Without further adieu...here's Y enjoying her new chair! Oh yeah, it was even hilarious, she picked up some reading material while sitting there and started perusing a magazine.

The Princess's Throne

At Y's 18 month well baby appointment I had planned to ask the pediatrician's opinion on potty training - when to start, methods he recommends, etc. Well I never got to ask the questions because before I even began asking any questions he started to talk about it himself. He said that we could start potty training at anytime we felt she was ready and he gave us a slew of signs to watch out for which signal she may be ready, such as: recognizing when she is wet or poopy, showing interest in using the potty, diapers not soaking wet and stuff like that. Well, she is beginning to recognize when she is wet or poopy and telling us when she needs a diaper change but not so many of the other things he mentioned. After the doctor's visit we decided that we would get Y her potty chair and as soon as it was delivered and we took it out of the box she walked right to it and sat down on her throne (with clothes on of course). She's not quite ready to start yet but when she is (even if it's several months from now)...we'll definitely be prepared.

18 Month Well Baby

On Monday, Y had her 18 month well baby appointment with her pediatrician. She is very healthy and doing extremely well. She is 33" tall and weighs 25½lbs. She is all down with her vaccinations until she is 4 years old, with the exception of the yearly flu shot.

Nursery Chronicles

Those of you who are LDS know that in our church children don't attend nursery until they turn 18 months old (those of you who aren't LDS you know it now). Needless to say I was more than ready for Y to turn 18 months so that I could turn her over to the Nursery Leaders. Y, on the other hand, was not that ready! We have taken her for the previous two Sundays and she really wants no part of it. I kind of feel as if it is our fault though, mostly because she was such a good, easy going, low maintenance baby that we literally took her everywhere with us. And in the event that we went some place where we couldn't take her (i.e. the temple or Piston's games or anniversary dinners) there was always a grandparent that was more than willing to come and watch her for us. So with the exception of once when she was 6 weeks old she has never been left with someone she isn't familiar with.

The first Sunday we took her in was March 7th, and I truly wanted to hold back for a little while simply because there were already 2 or 3 kids in there crying and I knew that would set her off for sure. Long story short, I took her in anyway and she started crying as well. Not only was she crying but she also had a firm grip on my hand making the quick getaway nearly impossible. After a few minutes of listening to her cry I pried my finger from her grasp and bolted for the door. I listened to her cry for several more minutes and then she stopped. I figured that she had just figured out that I wasn't coming back and found a toy she liked and started playing with it. It wasn't until I went back to pick her up at the end of church that I found out just how wrong I had been! Turns out she screamed unless there was someone holding her at all times and even then she would still cry. I walked in to see her with the puffiest, reddest eyes ever and when I took her from the Nursery Leader she clinched on tight to me and would not let go - she would not even let B touch her!

Fast forward a week and I was really dreading having to take her into nursery. As you know this week marked the start of Daylight Savings Time and so we "sprung forward" moving time ahead one full hour. We put Y to bed at her usual time (9pm) on Saturday night and because of the time change she slept until almost 10am Sunday morning. This year at church we are on the 1pm time schedule (which I really HATE) so typically I put her down for a nap around 11am to allow for a 1½ hour nap before leaving for church. However, since it was 10am before she woke up there was no way she was going down for a nap an hour later. So she had no nap before church and as hard as I tried she would not go to church during the Sacrament portion of church either. When Sacrament was over we walked out of the chapel and as soon as she saw the hallway which takes you to the nursery, she started crying (I assure you that is no exaggeration). I picked her up, walked her in and she cried harder. I put her down on the floor and she cried even harder. I eventually rushed out the door and as I shut it behind her I heard her screaming "mommy" while still crying. I think this went on for maybe 10 minutes before she stopped and I began to relax. About 30 minutes later I went to check on her through the peephole and see that she is laying in one of the nursery leader's arms asleep. I hated the idea of him having to sit there and hold her because it really limited his ability to interact with the other kids. So I went in to get her and as soon as I picked her up she started screaming. I was eventually able to calm her down and we went into the foyer and snuggled for a bit. About 20 minutes before church was to end I decided that we would go back in but this time rather than leave her, I would stay with her hoping that she would grow comfortable enough to maybe find a toy and play with it or interact with some of the other children. When we arrived in front of the nursery door she immediately held me tighter and in a soft, sad whimper she said, "no mommy, no mommy, no!" I could have cried, my heart broke, I have never seen her so scared and sad as she was at that moment. I went in and sat on the floor with her and she would not budge from my lap, she would not play with any toy, and she wouldn't even think of playing with the other kids.

I know that every parent deals with this struggle on some level but I am really torn between leaving her and just letting her get used to the idea or staying with her until she grows more comfortable with it. Both ideas cause me stress when I think about it because I don't want to give her a complex that we'll abandon her but at the same time if I continually stay with her I wonder if she will ever truly grow accustomed to the idea or will she always expect me to stay with her.

I have noticed in the past few months that she has grown much more attached to me than ever before so this week I'm going to try sending B in with her. That might not be the best idea either but I gotta try all my options.

Did you ever have a kid like this and if so, what did you do to help them?

18 Wonderful Months!

On March 4th our precious daughter turned 18 months!!! I think the most exciting part for me is that she can now go into nursery at church and I don't have to chase her around anymore, but more on that later. It was my intention to type up this post days ago but I really never got around to it, but better late than never is my motto!

So here goes...at 18 months our little monkey has turned into a parrot, literally! She will repeat EVERYTHING that comes out of our mouths and I have already found myself having to watch what I say. Now I never say anything really vulgar but there are somethings I say that I really don't want my 18 month old saying. Mostly just words like "shoot" and "crap" and "dang it." You know, all those words that we Mormons use instead of saying the "real" words. Anyway, back to the story. Whenever I pick her up to lay her on the changing table to dress her or change her diaper I always say, "up, up and away" and no quicker than I get it out she is giving her little rendition of what I just said. She repeats "wash hands" and just about every other word we say. She's getting really good with naming her body parts and I even got her to say "mouth" and "boca" (which is espanol for mouth). She turns absolutely anything into a telephone. Sometimes I will see her walking around the living room with a piece of paper held up to her ear while she's talking. I honestly have no idea where she got that from because I pretty much always use speakerphone...it's just easier. She loves to play with my iPod Touch and her favorite app is this stupid and simple app called the Wooo! Button. All it is, is a button on the screen that has "Wooo!!" on it and every time you press it you hear the scream WOOOO!! She absolutely LOVES it and laughs hysterically every time she presses the button...it is really entertaining. She also likes the Itsy Bitsy Spider app which sings the song and allows her to press the different characters and they move, etc.

She has graduated at the top of her baby boot camp class!!! She sleeps throughout the night, takes 2-2.5 hour naps, plays in her crib after she wakes up and sometimes she will even let us know when she is ready for bed. One night last week we were sitting and watching American Idol and she grabbed my hand and B's hand and led us to her bedroom to let us know she was ready for bed. I will admit that I sneak into her room every night before I go to bed myself and just watch her and tell her how much mommy loves her. I can still picture her as a tiny baby (actually, she was never a tiny baby but you get my point) sleeping peacefully in her crib and I honestly miss those middle of the night feedings sometimes, when I got to hold her and snuggle her close to me. I used to wonder how I would know when it was time for us to have another baby and people would tell me, "you'll just know." Well I completely understand that now. Even 3 months ago there is no way I would have said that I wanted to deal with the midnight feedings and the sleepless nights and everything else that goes with being the mother of a newborn but I'm at a totally different place right now. The ideas that I dreaded a few months ago, don't seem so horrible anymore and in fact I find myself excited for the day I get to experience them again. So ladies (and any gentlemen who read) I think we're approaching that time when we board the roller coaster of pregnancy again. We're not there yet but we are definitely approaching that gate and I can't wait to throw my hands in the air and scream at the top of my lungs!

On that note, here are a few pictures:

She insisted on picking each sprinkle off the cupcake and eating it individually before she would even think of eating any other part of the cupcake.

She is still not a fan of getting her hands dirty while she eats, but as you can tell she made a slight exception on this day. Although you can also tell that she is working diligently to get it all off her hands.

Some pictures that I snapped after church today.

If nothing else proves it, this look solidifies the fact that she is definitely MY child. This is one of my looks if I've ever seen it. Only 18 months old and she already knows her mother so well! I LOVE IT!!! haha

This stage is proving to be my favorite stage of all, thus far. She's our little clown and she gets more hilarious by the day. I can't wait until she starts making those hilarious statements that little kids always make! Motherhood is AWESOME and these have truly been the best 18 months of my life thus far because I've shared them with my wonderful husband and the perfect blend of our DNA...we got some good genes!

Part 1 of 4...

I mentioned previously that my next knitting project would be a set of matching mittens and scarves for Y and myself. Well I have finished the mittens that are for me. Since these aren't going to be used until next winter anyway, I have decided that it is okay if I take a little break and come back to finish the other parts later. The reason I'm taking an intermission? Well because a really good friend of mine is having his first baby which is due in May and I really needed to get started on the baby blanket that I'm knitting for the little munchkin. I'm really excited about this blanket and how well it is turning out thus far. I'll post pictures when it's done but for now I'll leave you with a picture of the mittens I knitted. And yes, I did the opposite colors intentionally!

Questions For Some Experienced Mommies...

Next week, on Thursday, our precious little girl will be turning 18 months old!!! I've been thinking that 18 months is a good time to introduce her to her very own potty chair. Now don't think I'm disillusioned or expecting any miracles, I realize that just because I introduce her to the potty doesn't mean she is going to immediately take to it and know what it is for and when to use it. I know that she knows where a "potty" is because when I say, "Mommy's gotta go potty" she will take my hand and lead me to the bathroom. I do not think she makes the connection to what exactly Mommy is doing in the potty, hahaha.

So, here are my questions:

1. At what age did you introduce your kid(s) to the potty? I know that boys and girls may be different but I'm still curious.
2. I know that all potty chairs are not created equal, do you have a particular potty that you used and loved or have your friends raved about a certain pot?
3. How did you introduce your child(ren) to the pot?
4. Did you read any books/videos that you would recommend? I know that the methods used in books/videos don't work for everyone and I've learned that some books and their recommendations should be thrown out the window but at the same time I've also gotten some really good advice from other books. I guess I'm just looking to read something and then decide for myself if it's a method that I want to try, so your recommendations (if any) would be appreciated.

Updates

Just taking a moment to give you guys an update on our daily life. I think that the most exciting thing is that Y is walking full time now. She rarely ever crawls anymore and it really just happened one day, it's literally like she just up and decided she wanted to walk instead of crawl and that's what she did. I think it's so cute that even though she can do it on her own, she still likes to hold our hand when we are walking with her. A few days ago I was sitting on the couch and she was sitting on the floor playing not too far from me and I said to her, "Mommy has to go potty." She promptly got up from her spot took my hand and walked me to the bathroom. I thought it was the most adorable and funny thing and probably ironic that in 50 years or so she may have to do that all over again, hahaha. She will also walk us to her bedroom when we tell her it's time for a diaper change. She loves to climb on things and under things. It's not her favorite show but she walks around the apartment quite often saying, "Barney!" and she also sings "EIEIO" quite a bit, especially when she here's her Nana's (B's mom) voice on the phone. She is really turning into quite the little tape recorder because she tries to say pretty much everything that she hears someone else saying...even on TV. There's this one pizza commercial that comes on which walks about a tutu and after the commercial goes off you can just hear her saying "tutu, tutu." She is soooo much fun to be around, I enjoy every minute with her and I sometimes find myself sad because I don't want my little girl to grow up. She's walking now, and I'm content with her staying at this point forever. Although I also find that I am getting that itch and I found myself saying to B a few nights ago, half jokingly, "let's have another baby" but I think we're still planning on sticking to our time line.

As for an update on the condo...we ran into a small setback. We were looking to get an FHA loan which would allow us to put less than 20% down, an FHA loan requires only 3.5%. The problem that we have run into is that in order to get an FHA loan the property has to be FHA approved, the condo is not. Prior to February 1, 2010 this would have been slightly easier to work around. Prior to Feb. 1 they allowed spot approvals which basically meant that you could get a single condo approved. However, since they no longer do those it means we have to get the entire complex FHA approved. We've recently found out that this isn't an impossible task and we're slightly more encouraged than we were when we first found out. We've had our agent and mortgage broker working on it and they've given us some fairly positive news on the issue. At first they were estimating that it could potentially cost us $1500 which is really a price we're not willing to pay considering: 1)FHA approval could be denied 2) the short sale could be denied. So for those 2 reasons we were not willing to throw $1500 out the window. Fortunately we have found out now that it won't cost nearly that much and we'll likely only end up paying the fee for any documents that the home owner's association my charge for - potentially $150. Now in the instance that none of this FHA approval stuff works...we'll likely be taking the conventional loan route. So for now, this is only a small setback!

Some Pictures

Anytime B or myself happen to use the computer, Y insists that she be at the computer too. She starts by wanting to sit on out laps but that is truly just her stepping stone to get to where she loves to be...on top of the desk, right in front of the keyboard. So Saturday she climbed on the desk and I thought she looked especially cute so I took out the digital camera and snapped some shots.

On Sunday, while walking around the living room she either lost her balance or she stepped on one of her toys and it caused her to slip, but in any case she fell and unfortunately the coffee table is what happened to be there to catch her fall. She hit the edge of the table just below and to the right of her right eye. Panic ensued from all of us, I think that was the longest I had every heard her cry while being in pain. It broke my heart. Fortunately she is okay but she did develop a bruise which is starting to look like a black eye. I'm glad people can't see her back (where her Mongolian Spots) are and her eye or they would think for sure that we abuse the poor child. She is a trooper though and after snuggles from mommy and daddy she got down off my lap and went back to what she had been doing. I took some pictures yesterday, but it does look quite different today. Much less red and swollen but more of a bluish purple like a bruise. I think she handled the whole ordeal really well considering she is pretty sick on top of everything else.

This final picture doesn't so much show you the bruise as it does her Kramer-like hair. For those of you who have ever watched an episode of Seinfeld, you'll know exactly what I mean! We will have to excuse the hair though, she was sick! I'm sure when she's a teenager she will want to kill me for posting a picture like this one on the internet, but for now...she doesn't know any difference!

Diaper Keeper

When I posted about my last knitting project I mentioned that I would be making a diaper keeper as my next project. Well I finished that 3 weeks ago and have since started working on my next project which is kind of a 2-in-1 project - I'm making Y and myself a matching set of mittens and scarves (for next winter). Well I'm finally posting a picture of my completed diaper keeper, which I really enjoy! It keeps my purse uncluttered with diapers and wipes, not to mention I just really am pleased with how it turned out. So here goes...

No, this one isn't the one I made, it is instead the one that gave me the idea to make one of my own - only knitted! The main difference (aside from the obvious knit vs. fabric) is that I closed my version with a zipper because as most people know, yarn and Velcro do NOT go well together!

Here comes my creation...

...this is the fabric I used to line the inside of the diaper keeper, it's bright, vivid and I really just liked it in general...

...and this it a picture of it and everything that it holds.

It is great for those quick trips out when I don't need to carry an entire diaper bag worth of supplies.