The Bribery is Working

She's doing it, folks. My amazingly smart daughter is finally coming to terms with her need (and my desire) for her to be potty trained.

She climbed on the potty herself last night, and then 2 more times on the potty chair. She's earning pretzels left and right. So fast that I've run out.

She did it again this morning and poor Daddy had no pretzels to give her. So a little cup of chocolate milk had to suffice.

Bribing your child

I am wholeheartedly for this...when it comes to potty training.

It has taken us, what, 6 months to find Lili's trigger on this potty training thing, but we did. CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS.

They are her 'surprise' when she goes like a big girl. She went 8 times in the span of an hour yesterday just to get them.

Hey, it worked. And I'll keep doing it until she is totally potty trained if that is what it takes.

To have the kiddo out of diapers is my ultimate goal (whether she likes it or not). We played the waiting game with her, we let her fight us, we made her sit there and cry, we've even let her run around naked (which she loves by the way and now has really good control of her bladder). Now it is time to do this.

Are there better methods? Probably. But the stubborness of this kid is unmatched. I think we had to work ourselves up to be in the mindset to get this accomplished. I hope we have done just that.

I'll let you know.

Lili and the Move

She is fantastic. She is really enjoying the new house (which she calls "New House", by the way). She loves to run down the hall and to play on her truck and ride it from one end of the house to the other.

She had a rough couple of nights in the new bed, but she loves it. She still sleeps with the pillow on top of her even though she has sheets and blankets. Her headboard is against the window and she has lined up all her stuffed animals on top of it. Kind of like her night time sentries to protect against bad dreams.

She has the rail to keep her from falling out of bed, which she sleeps almost up against. I bet it reminds her of the crib. But she is loving it.

She has a star and moon light we turn on at bedtime, and a sound machine she likes to fall asleep to.

We do have to keep her out of the kitchen. She came walking down the hall with two broken eggs in her hands last weekend that she had snagged from the fridge. We decided that was enough of that.

We are just getting going really well with the potty training. I hope she takes to it like she did her big girl bed. Positive reinforcement and encouragement. Plus she just might have to wet herself without a diaper a couple of times. We'll see how it goes.

She is amazing folks. I've said it before and I'll say it many, many, many more times. She is the best kid ever, and I'm so thankful she is my daughter.

New things

For the move we decided (and we are still second guessing ourselves, too) that it is time that Lili graduated from the crib to a big girl bed. It is a lot of change in a really short span of time. Wish us luck. She is getting just terribly long and if we don't do something soon she will be bonking everything as she sleeps. Ok, she does that anyway. But it is a comfort to her and we've not had sleep issues with her in the crib. I guess I am worried the new bed will pose a big problem with the routine.

Above is the picture of Lili, Matt and Punky with Lili's new bed set. She found it today at Nana's house. It had been washed and set aside for when the bed gets delivered to the new house tomorrow. I think she really likes it. She said "Ooh big stars" according to Nana. I'm hoping this will help with the transition from crib to bed.

Family time in pictures

My water baby
Liliana wants YOU to take her swimming
She is actually eating watermelon.
Uncle Blake, Lili and Foxy
Auntie Tasia is SO happy to see Lili

Breakfast with Lili

What a weird last couple of days. Last night while waving 'bye bye' to Daddy as he left for softball, I managed (and I still don't know how it happened), to pull the mini blinds right off the window. Quite a shock. Lili was on my hip and just kept repeating "uh oh" over and over and waving.

I think I rigged it back into place ok, but I forgot to replace the towel over the curtain rod that keeps the early morning sun out of the kiddos room. So she was up at 7am. Bad for Matt, good for me. I got my hugs and kisses. She and I even got to eat breakfast together (Eggys and Toes) at the table. She and I ate eggs off the same plate and talked. It was so cute. She's quite messy, I must say, but she is so cute.

I got kisses, I got hugs, I got told all about everything she had on her mind (whether I understood it or not), and we just got some good quality time.

I love my girl SO much!!!

Perfect girl

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, I AM the cutest girl of all (or so says my Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Pops, Grandma, Papa, Aunts and Uncles...and everyone else that meets me)
Matt is seriously out numbered and he loves it.

Moments to Cherish

My sweet girl was just the cutest last night. We put her to bed. Stupidly, we thought she was asleep (dumb parents).

I went to check on her around 9:30 and she was sitting up in her crib with a smile plastered from ear to ear. I changed her and you could just tell she wasn't going to go to sleep. So I took her into our bedroom and cuddled with her on the bed. She was talking and singing and just being SO CUTE!!!

She jumped on the beds, cuddled with both of us, stole my pillow, laughed, and the best part is she laid on the pillow next to me and looked me in the eye and rubbed my cheek. It was the best moment. Matt came and laid down on the other side and she patted him on the back with her free hand.

The bad part of the evening was when the Tickle Monster came after Lili and she threw herself backwards to escape. When she did that, she cracked the back of her head into my forehead. She's fine. Totally unfazed. I, on the other hand, have a goose egg and a giant headache. But I digress.

She was very concerned for me when that happened. She has this soft side in her that is so wonderful to see and be around. She is kind and loving and trusting and generous of spirit. She is learning to share. She has imagination already. She will play in her kitchen for a long time pretending to make smoothies (like Grandma makes for her) and drink them. She even does the "ahhh" after a pretend sip. It makes me giggle and beam with pride.

She tries to sing along to Caillou and Shaun the Sheep theme songs, and usually gets about one word per line of the song. And she shouts that one word for emphasis. She dances like a maniac. Oh and her new thing is to stand on the bed or the couch, flip her legs out in front of her so she lands on her butt, bouncing off the furniture, and she comes to a standing position without missing a beat. My heart is still stuck in my throat after seeing that last night.

She's the reason I have grey hair. I will worry about her for the rest of my life. But that is my job as Mommy. And for her, I'll happily worry. She is perfect.

Spakle, baby, Yeah!

This is Lili showing us how to spakle. I guess we were doing it wrong :-)
You have to love a happy kid

Look, mama, like this.

Updated pictures.

Lili rolling out her own little pizza. It never got baked because she ate the dough. Bleck. Raw dough.
Helping make pizza for Papa's birthday dinner. She is such a good girl.
All smiles after the Diamondbacks beat the Pirates. Plus she is loaded full of junk food and had no nap.
Funny Face
Daddy and Lili right before she and Papa ran the bases at Chase Field.

A Moment In Pictures

The hazards of unloading groceries around a 2 year old is she sees the occasional goodies that are bought and stored out of her sight. In this case, Drumsticks. Or "eyes ceem" as Lili calls it.

It was too funny not to take pictures of.

Eggys and Toes

Lili came downstairs this morning and asked Daddy for "eggys and toes". Eggs and Toast for those of you that don't speak Lili.

She is the cutest thing ever.

Last week she had her first 5 word sentance, "hey Mom, I have juice". And she did have juice in her little cup. It was pretty neat.

She makes more sense everyday. She's using words correctly to describe things. She still has trouble and gets frustrated and throws things, but she is only 2. We tell her to calm down and use her words. It makes her stop and try to think things through. And usually with a little work we can figure out what she is talking about.

I still can't get her to say truck without it sounding like the dirty F word. Everyone laughs when she says it so she thinks it is right and will get a laugh. And clock just doesn't have an L in it when she says it. Again, everyone laughs. As funny as it is when little ones say naughty things, but it is hard to correct, too.

Mommy is a Mush and Lili KNOWS It

There are some days with Lili that I get aggravated with her. Then I smack myself and say "what is wrong with you, this is the coolest kid on the planet!"

This Mom thing has me spun. But admittedly I love it despite the occasional frustration and tension. "Am I a good Mom?", "Is she well-adjusted, and if not, I'm sure it is my fault?". But one look in that smiling face and I melt.

The other day she was tired on a long trip back from Peoria, or the other side of the world to those of us in the East Valley. We stopped at our favorite bagel shop, Bagel Nosh. The owner is a good friend of Matt's. Well, they closed early for Father's Day weekend. We have been telling Lili for 5 minutes or so she was going to see Danny. When we pulled away without seeing him, she sobbed. I mean crocodile tears, snot, the whole nine yards. She was crying "Uncle Danny, Uncle Danny" and was a general wreck.

We figured ok, she's tired. We get about 5 minutes away and she says "Lili Sad" and starts sobbing again.

BROKE MY HEART. Matt's too.

Instead of going home we went to Toys R Us. Admittedly, we are weak when it comes to her, and I sure as heck wasn't going to have a sad Lili.

Yes the trip helped. She did stop crying and she decided she wanted a pink plastic princess outdoor chair and to ride the Dino ride by the exit.

We got home a few minutes later and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

I'm a complete and total sucker. I know. But when your little girl says "Lili sad", you want anything in that moment to make sure she doesn't stay that way long.

She owns me.

Lili

My baby really is turning into a little girl. Her features are going from slightly rounded cheeks and arms and legs, to lean and muscular.

I swear her smile gets bigger every day. She's trying a few 3 word sentances like "what is that?" & "where'd it go?". Mostly it is 2 words questions "what sound?", "what happened?", etc. She loves it when you get what she is saying and she feels like she is really communicating.

She seems to be grasping and understanding a new word a day. I love it when she tries to pronounce a new word. She sometimes mixes syllables or creates her own version of the word. Tickle is ticky, and wiggle is wiggy, things like that. She can say noise perfectly, which to me seems odd since she can't say truck (it sounds like a naughty word when she tries). And clock is missing the 'L'. Super hard not to laugh, by the way.

She is loving her pool and goes in it about twice a day. She mostly puts her feet in and plays with toys (the water has been a bit chilly). But she is out for about 45 minutes at a time either before the sun is in the patio or after. She kind of knows the schedule already.

Her laugh fills the room. And she knows to say "Bless you" when someone sneezes (though it sounds like Bessy). She also knows a fake sneeze from a real one. And the fake ones she mimicks which is seriously adorable.

I just love this kid.

New Pool & A Great Weekend

Lili got a pool for the patio. I must admit I am a tad jealous. It is one of those hard plastic ones with a slide. The kind I always wanted when I was a kid, but I always got the plain ones, sans the slide. I know, I was deprived :-)

All weekend all I heard was "poo" (Lili for pool) and her pointing to the patio. Yesterday we filled it, got her in her bikini, and she had a blast. For about 20 minutes before she pooped. That quickly ended the pool session. But it didn't stop her from wanting to go back all day.

She has a cleaner more organized room today. We hung my shadow box that my Grandfather made (he made one for each of us girls, and they are really cool). Now she has a place (hung high and out of the way) for all her nicknacks.

We moved the crib and it seemed to help her sleep better. The A/C isn't hitting her directly and she didn't wake up choking and crying, thank goodness.

There are just a few boxes left to go through and we need to fix up her closet. I'd love to paint, but unless we get new carpet, it is kind of a pointless pursuit. I vacuumed what was left of the life right out of it. If I knew then what I know now I would have insisted the previous owners recarpet before I purchased the house.

All in all, though, it was a great weekend. The kind of crappy ender to the weekend was when Lili woke up an hour before my alarm went off this morning. Matt and I are walking around in a sleep deprived fog (that's what I get for letting him teach me Chess at 11pm). He's home dealing with the grump, and getting ready to go see STAR TREK with his brother this morning. This will be his 3rd time going, so I'm a bit jealous. But he's so tired I don't know if he'll enjoy it.

I'm at work. The boss is getting ready to go to Disneyland, so it is a quiet week.

Lili & Sofie

She only likes those with four legs, a wet nose, and a tendancy towards nipping her when they are excited.

Lili and Punky

Adventures in E. Coli

Ok, so this whole infection thing was caused by E. Coli (harkening back to the whole bathtub incident on Easter).

The Dr. at the urgent care did not test the samples as he said he was going to or we would have known that it was E. Coli causing the problem 2 weeks ago. Our Dr. caught it on a retest. The Bladder Infection was from E. Coli, from the tub. The antibiotic they gave us did nothing but constipate the poor kid.

Now they have to retest her again to see if it is gone, then they will determine if she needs more antibiotics.

But in the mean time she is on Miralax at bedtime for a month (and an adult dose, no less). She gets very limited amounts of dairy to make sure she isn't having a lactose problem. Plus, she has a contact irritation on her thumb (i.e. her saliva has given her thumb sucking thumb a rash), so we have to treat that, too.

The poor kid can't win. She is actually feeling better, so there is no real rush on a retest, so we didn't have to catheter her at the Dr. We can get the sample at home, thank heavens. She's had enough trauma for awhile.

I still can't get her to take a bath without screaming, so it is sponge baths and quicky showers with Mommy holding her. This too, shall pass...at least the Dr. thinks so.

I hope this is the end of all this. 3 weeks of a sick kid is too long. I don't know how parents who have kids with chronic or life threatening illness handle it. They are far stronger than I am. This infection was horrible on all of us, but really very minor in the grand scheme of things. Matt took it the worst (emotionally) and is second guessing every decision he makes.

We will get through it. We are very lucky to have a kid who is usually very healthy, and I have to remember that when I want to complain about things. She is healthy, happy and wonderful. And I am so blessed she is my daughter.

No More Ammoxicillian for Lili

Every time I think Lili is better we have another issue to deal with. This poor kid has been miserable for a week. The antibiotics almost did more harm than good. She's been off them for 3 days now and the effects are still apparent.

It is very frustrating to see a kid go from happy to completley miserable and inconsolable. I've talked to the Dr., and I'm doing as directed, but it still sucks.

I don't want her in pain or upset or fearful, and that is what she is right now. In pain, upset and fearful.

Urgent Care and Other Medical Tales

Well, as most of you know I had to leave Uncle Blake's wedding reception to take Lili to Urgent Care. My Dad went with us since I'd had a Cosmo AND was an emotional wreck. We were there well past 10pm, but were still home before the party broke up.

She has a Bladder Infection, possibly from soap in the bath water. There was a whole bath time incident that happened several days before that leads me to believe that was the cause.

I think she is permanantly traumatized for bath time. Ever since when I go to give her a bath it is tears, screaming, running from the bathroom. I broke down yesterday and got in the shower with her, instead of forcing her to sit in the bathtub, and she clung to me screaming while Matt washed her. Not fun, not fun at all. She used to love bath time.

Anyway, she is on 7 days of antibiotics and it has wreaked serious havoc on her digestive system. We've got her eating yogurt, drinking as much water as possible, watered down juice (including prune juice), and now I'm contemplating OTC digestive aids. I've got a call into her Dr. to see if they concur, but I'm pretty sure they will.

My Mom suggested that we go this route and she hasn't steered me wrong yet. Heck, it was her and Dad that figured out that she had the infection in the first place. I thought for 2 days she was just being 2 and grumpy (oh, and yes I feel like the world's worst Mother for not figuring it out).

Anyway, while she might be on the mend from the infection, she's now got another problem from the treatment. Side effects suck enough when you are an adult. My poor little girl is suffering now and it hurts my heart to know she is not happy.

Some pics

I was hoping to post the Easter Egg Dyeing episode, but those are on Mom's camera. Lili liked drinking the red dye. Thank goodness for Food Grade Non-Toxic dye.

Enjoy the pool pics.

Lili's 2-year Check-up Update

The Doctor says that she is lean and long and perfect (her words). She estimates Lili will be about 5'-10" when all is said and done. Right now she is 37 1/4" tall, which is the 100th percentile. She is 29.6 pounds, which is the 90th percentile. But the Doctor says that it is fine she is in the 90th percentile.

She says her speach is right on track and Lili even gave her a big kiss, which was really cute. We just need to continue with reading to her and encouraging her. She is learning new words everyday, it really is amazing.

She gave us some tips on potty training and how to make it easy on her, not force her, and to have it be a positive experience. That is our goal right now, to get her potty trained. Since Matt is home and she's not in daycare, we can take our time with it and not rush her. If we make it fun, it will happen faster.

We do need to back off on the amount of milk she's having everyday (I think my Mom is right and she should just have it with meals). And it is ok that she is eating mostly carb rich foods (mostly because she's not eating a lot of processed food or junk food in general) and fruits and veggies. We will re-evaluate in a year and see if major changes are needed, but she still wants us to try to get her to eat some more protein and to keep introducing new foods the way we have.

And at 2, nothing is off limits, healthy food wise. She can have peanuts (which she's had for awhile), nuts, all fruits, honey, etc. It is also time to start her on a multi-vitamin.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Liliana!!!

Waiting for pictures today at JC Penny's with Nana & Daddy.

My baby is 2 years old today. My baby is a toddler; learning, growing, adapting and constantly fascinated by the world around her. She is learning to put words together to create sentences. Her thoughts are getting easier to verbalize.

She is as tall as the kitchen counter, as strong as any child I've ever seen, and so HAPPY. She is either smiling, or chatting away.

I am more madly in love with this little girl today than I ever thought possible. My heart walks around outside my body disguised as a 2 year old little girl.

Her personality is wonderful. She is loving, and kind, and really is beginning to understand how to treat people and animals in a respectful and gentle way. Sure she's a little rough, she's 2.

She gets frustrated when things don't happen right away or she's not able to do something she thinks she should. We'll work on that, though. Her quick temper will be fixed with time, patience and positive reinforcement from her family.

I've learned more patience just because of her being in my life. I've learned about real flexibility. I'm still learning to pick my battles with her and about her. I guess that means I'm not done learning and growing as a person, either.

She's a wonder, an angel, and rotten little turkey...all at the same time. And I couldn't be prouder or more excited to be her Mom.

Thank you, my sweet Lili, for being my daughter!!! I love you always and forever.

Mommy & Lili Bonding Afternoon

While Daddy & Pops got their measurements taken for their tuxes, Lili and I went to the mall to play. We walked the whole mall. We saw everything at a 2-year old pace (which is a lot of fun when you aren't in a hurry and have no place to be, which we didn't). We took our time.

She and I went on the carousel, which isn't her favorite thing to do but she did indulge me. She did, however, want to watch the carousel. She and I sat on the bench nearby and watched it do its thing and she would dance to the music. She is adorable.

There is this great kids play area at the mall. The only problem is you need 2 people per kid. 1 to sit with the stuff and the other to be baby wrangler. It was darn near impossible for me to run after Lili carrying a diaper bag and trying to help her get on these slick plastic covered play pieces. I had to leave after about 15 minutes (anxiety) because I couldn't handle her and all the kids knocking into her and their oblivious (and seriously stupid) parents. Then I got to drag a screaming and crying and very unhappy Lili away from all the pretty toys.

I made it up to her by taking her over to a quieter spot in the mall to play on the motorized toys. She loved the Ice Cream truck and would play on it without it moving.

This is her trying to flee from the off road vehicle ride. NOT her favorite. She immediatly went back to the Ice Cream Truck.

Then we went to look at the puppies. She was in there ooo'ing and aaah'ing over the doggies for about 15 minutes. We finally had to go and I had to carry a crying baby out of the pet store (if this kid ever thinks she is getting a dog from a pet store she has another thing coming).

I was getting looks from people like I had beat her. She is quite dramatic when she doesn't want to do something.

But all and all we had a great time. I'm still paying for this morning, though. My back and knees are a wreck.

Cute

She is so happy. I love that smile!
Posing for pictures on her slide in her new outfit.
I saw this outfit at Toys R Us yesterday and HAD to buy it. This will be her birthday outfit. She could wear a grocery bag, though, and still be so darn cute.

Potty Training "Water" Slide

On a nice, warm February evening this week, we took Lili to the park. This park has a water play feature and she loved playing and getting wet.

When we got home, she was still quite damp so we took her wet clothes off. Well before I could get a change of clothes, Lili thought this was the perfect opportunity for naked time. There she is running around with just her socks on and huge smile on her face. It was pretty cute.

We are still having a time with the potty training, but she signaled she needed to us the potty. I took her in and we sat, she read, we sat some more, she played and sat, but nothing happened. I figured I would give her a few minutes and try again.

I didn't get that chance.

She started to play on her little slide. Next thing I hear is her slapping the platform and there is a wet sploosh sound. She had peed on the slide!

She thought it was hilarious. I was just ever so thrilled with having to clean up the slide and the floor. Matt got to clean her up.

I keep hearing about the potty training technique where you let them run around naked for 3 days and they will finally get it that they need to use the potty instead of a diaper, but damn what a mess.

Gravity...Lili's Kryptonite

Let me start by saying Lili is fine.

My little climber is bruised today. Quite visibly so, and I'm afraid to take her in public for fear of CPS being called about an abused child. I can assure you, she is anything BUT an abused child.

Miss Liliana decided to climb into an old style folding lawn chair yesterday. It seemed harmless enough at the time, but Lili had all her weight on one side and it flipped. She banged up the side of her face a bit. She has a nasty bruise and a little scratch. She was upset for about 2 minutes and needed a few hugs and some ice, but was right back to playing.

Matt has a sense of the panic/anxiety she puts me through on a daily basis. Now he understands why I freak out when she wants to climb on the big kids playground equipment. And why I get scared when she tries to balance on the thin edge of her slides' landing. And why, well, why I freak out at everything she does that is any way, shape or form off the ground.

He is afraid of becoming a Helicopter Dad, but at the same time feels like it is his fault. She is a fearless creature. She is going to fall. She's a kid and kids fall. She is only 22 months old, after all. Her balance isn't as good as she thinks it is.

She unfortunately has inherited my balance. I can fall on a flat surface when I'm not even moving. High heels are an instant broken foot (I'm very serious about that). And every time I have tried to be cute or funny and balance on something, it has resulted in damage. There was the time I fell off a low wall made of those old, cut telephone pole pieces of wood. I was pulling chunks of wood out of my inner thigh for days. I still have a nasty scar.

Just last week I thought I would be cute at the park and try to walk on the metal balance beam that was curvy. I jumped off and landed poorly on my previously fractured foot, re injuring it. It still hurts.

I hope she grows out of this and doesn't end up a full time klutz like her mom.

The 2nd Masterpiece

This lovely piece was completed this afternoon at the workroom table in my office. Lili and Matt came to have lunch with me, so to keep her busy I broke out the crayons and paper and she created this lovely piece, which now hangs proudly next to my desk.

She made our day, considering it was a difficult morning for us in the office. A well-timed Lili hug cures all, or at least makes things more bearable.

Lili's First Masterpiece

I handed her a blank piece of paper before I left today and she went to town. This is now hanging on the fridge. The first of many Masterpieces from my little artist. She is just so talented.

Lili at the Park

Crayola Baby

She loves to color now.

Lili had her buddy Madison over today for awhile. They are becoming such great friends. Lili even sobbed when she and Matt dropped her off at home.

How sweet is that?

My Angels

The 2 Loves of my Life

Admiring herself in the mirror

What do you mean she is a size 8?

My kid now has size 8 feet. She is only 21 months old!!!

Her feet have grown 2.5 sizes since the beginning of November, or the end of October. I can't remember.

My mother thinks my feet were a size 8 when I was 4 or 5. She's not even 2, people! They really don't make cute shoes if you are larger than a woman's size 10, and at the rate she's going, she will be.


We got her these same shoes 2 months ago. I should get a picture of the old and new side by side. What ticks me off is that all the ones for little girls are pink. I HATE PINK!! Why not purple, sparkly white, yellow, light green, sparkly red, girly blue. Anything but pink. They had nothing in her size that wasn't pink. And I've only ever seen one other shoe at Stride Rite that doesn't have pink in it (and wasn't all white), and of course they didn't have it in her size.

Time for mama to go cry.

Lili & Madi

Matt was Super Dad today and got to watch 2 wild and crazy little girls. He had a blast, and so did they. Oh, they are so cute together!!!

Here are some of the great pictures he was able to get. He has kind of collapsed on to the couch and isn't ready to move any time soon (plus Ghost Hunters is on, so he's zoned out). Those two wore him out worse than playing softball does, but he loved it.

The Holidays...a Photo Review

My Little Angel
Lili's gift from Santa

Playing with one of Daddy's gifts.