First Day of Kindergarten

Lexi's first day of kindergarten was yesterday. She was quite excited about it and had a great day. I had no doubts that it would be good. Both she and I were more than ready for this day. Parents are only allowed to walk their kids to class this first week. Jordan and I walked her to the door, but her teacher put her right to work. I ended up waving and blowing her a kiss. She smiled and away we went. That evening, she told me all about her day, new friends, class rules, lunch time, etc.

Party at Grandma's Work

Yesterday, we went to Grandma's work for a party. She works at a huge retirement home. We made cupcakes and got dressed up. As part of the party, we joined a big parade that went through all of the dining rooms so the residents could see our costumes. Lexi loves being there because she gets so much attention. She has gone to work with Grandma a few times and the staff and residents just love it. She feels so mature there. Grandma asked if I wanted her to stay for the rest of the day, so she did.

Pictures at Grandma's Work

With Grandma

Parade for Residents

Writing her Name on the Valentines

Yesterday, when I went to pick Lexi up from school, her teachers were very excited to tell me that she wrote her name and it was actually recognizable. She has been doing that at home for about 2 months, so I wasn't surprised. They were amazed and mentioned that some of the kids in the class still don't know their colors, which I found strange.

Basically, she is doing VERY well. The teachers just adore her. The only "issues" they have with her is that she wants to answer all the questions and she thinks she is a teacher too. She likes to remind everyone else of the rules. Obviously, I am not worried.

Here is the paper that the teachers saved to show me:

Forward Rolls

Yesterday, Lexi worked on her forward rolls.

Potty Time

Sunday night when I felt the stars lining up, I decided to start officially potty training Lexi. Ok, so I really just realized that she had been making a lot of progress on her own and it was time for me to catch up and bump it up a notch. Monday morning, we put on the big girl panties and haven't looked back even when going out in public for a couple of hours. She had a few accidents the first day, but none since except for one that was entirely my fault. I just couldn't act fast enough with Jordan and everything else going on at the time.

As impressed as I have been with her progress, I was more surprised about her willingness to go #2. She actually is even better about warning me that she must go caca (a little Spanish left in her). The idea of doing that in her panties just disturbs her more. Several moms I know have mentioned that potty training for BMs took longer.

She still has a few more hurtles like going in a toilet that isn't ours. She prefers to hold it, which I can't blame her. I am not fond of using other restrooms either. I have taken her many times this week, but she will not let loose. Other than that, I still put a pull-up on for nap time and a diaper for bedtime. Half the time it is just a safety procaution, because she doesn't use it.

As you can guess, I am thrilled with how well it has gone. I think procrastination worked on my side this time. Hopefully, we will continue to advance in this matter.

Transition to Big Girl Bed

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a plan to attack the house. We are planning a big birthday party for Lexi this Saturday and cleaning is on top of the To Do List. I had no intention of transitioning Lexi into her new room and toddler bed. I wanted to do that right after her party. In fact, I planned on calling Steve’s cousin, Emily, for ideas of what worked with Camille. However, once I started organizing, I realized that I was tired of thinking about doing it. I moved the rocking chair, her dresses, and her beloved piggy bank (another post about that). The most important thing I did was to build up her excitement about the transition.

Yesterday afternoon, we had our first test. I took her in for her nap. As usual, I rocked and sang a few songs to her. Then, I helped her say a prayer. I put her in bed with hugs and kisses, told her I loved her, and left. She was happy. I went into our room to play on the computer and wait for her to come running out. It did not take long. I took her back into her room and explained that she needed to stay in there until nap time was over. I also handed her a few books. To my amazement, she quietly played for an hour and a half before running out.

Since I knew we would not be so lucky again, I called Steve and asked him to pick up a door knob blocker on his way home. When he got home, he decided that he would set up the tent she got for Christmas in case she was going to play herself to sleep. She was very excited and helped him with it. I must say that it was funny watching a big guy play with a little girl in her tent. They both loved every minute of it.

Later, Lexi and I did the regular bed time ritual. I left with her feeling just fine. About 5 minutes later, we heard her try to open the door and then she started crying. I decided to give her 10 minutes and I would go in to rock her & sing another little song before sticking her back in bed, but she quieted down within 5 minutes. When I woke up at 1am to feed Jordan, I decided to sneak in to check on her. She was on the floor next to her bed snuggling with her favorite purple blankey. At 4am, she started crying. I went in and explained to her that it wasn’t time yet. I did the regular bed time ritual and left her without a peep.

This morning, I brought the camera in with me and took a few photos to commemorate this achievement. Now, we will work on potty training. Actually, it is going very well, but she still does not want to wear big girl panties. I decided not to mention it for a week or two. Then, I will probably have to force her to wear them once or twice before she is fine with it.

Just Because

I hate to admit this, but I haven't posted any videos lately because I lost/misplaced the memory card for my camera. I have been stuck using the little 16 mb one that came with the camera. Videos fill it up too quickly, so I didn't take any. Since Lexi's birthday is coming up, I realized that I could no longer just wait until it shows up. I had to buy a new one. Fortunately, I discovered that the prices have really come down and I got a 1 GB for about $20. There will be lots of videos now.

I am posting some of the photos & a video from this afternoon. We had fun messing around with the camera. I took lots of video clips of her singing. Here is Ring Around the Rosies & the ABCs:


Ring Around the Rosies


ABCs

*If you have problems with the videos, just double click on them & it will take you to YouTube to watch them there.

Potty Training Herself?

While I was changing Lexi's diaper first thing yesterday morning, I noticed that it was dry. I asked her if she wanted to use the potty & she said yes. She trotted it there & did her business right away. That was nice, but it has happened before so I didn't think much of it. That was until it happened 3 more times. She didn't wet her diaper at all yesterday. Each time, I asked her if she wanted to wear her "big girl panties" and she absolutely declared that she DID NOT! Not the panties or the pull-ups (both have princesses on them so you would think she would want to). She wanted her diapers. We haven't had the same success today, but then again I took her to the library and out for lunch.

We have several things we are going to work on in the next few months and potty training is one of them. It isn't high on the priority list for me, because she has regressed a little with a few things in the last month (like her desire for her pacifier during the day, her attachment to "purple blankey," and her drama queen attempts at getting attention). I am not sure that the regression is directly related to Jordan. Actually, I think it has more to do with changes in routine.

It started when I was in the hospital and suddenly her Dadda was doing everything for her. She certainly didn't mind that, but it wasn't normal. Next, Grandma Margie took over for a week while I was recovering. I had Lexi the next week and then Aunt Paige came. Routines were out the window for the most part and of course everyone else is prone to spoiling Lexi more than I do. I decided to be patient and let her twist them around her finger a little, but they are all gone and we are back to routines & no nonsense.

You can bet that she is improving. Right off, she stopped trying to get others to rescue her from timeout even though that never worked. To be honest, she has no choice, but to get back on track.

The New Years Resolutions Include:

1. Getting rid of the pacifier. We'll limit it back to nights for a few weeks. Then **puff**, it will magically disappear.
2. Being attached to the purple blankey only for nap & night time (back to how it was before Jordan).
3. Moving into the big girl bed, which she has NO interest in so far. She seems to LOVE her crib. I can't really figure out why because her toys are in the room with the big girl bed.
4. Potty Training - I actually have this priority lower than the big girl bed, but she seems more ready for this step, so we'll see if I can figure out the deal with the sudden dislike for big girl panties.

There are probably others, but these are the ones that come to mind. Wish me luck or give me ideas...

Hanging Out with Dad

One of the best things in life is having a child that loves to spend time with their dad, especially when you are pregnant and need a break. Lexi is all over her dad whenever he is here. She loves to help him clean out his truck, work in the garage, water the lawn, and cheer/yell while watching football. One of her favorite lines is, "I copy dadda." She certainly does.

Reading in Bed

Toddler Bed is Really a Slide

Lately, I have been feeling really lazy about blogging. I have realized though that Lexi's blog doesn't need a lot of mumbo jumbo when pictures and videos will do. In this first video, I think she is trying to tell me that she wants to go to the park. When we bought her bed, we had no idea the fun she would have on it. I also think she is going to be sad when we actually put it together.



In this video, she actually opens up a little and talks on camera.

Special Moment on a Special Day

Today, Aunt Paige (aka Nanny McPaige) turns the BIG 20! Talk about ancient... Since she is far far away and we don't get to celebrate with her in style, we decided a nice tribute would have to do.

It started off innocent enough. I went to get Lexi out of her bed this morning. As usual, she had to point at EVERYTHING several times while I told her the words for them even though she knows them. Finally, I was able to scoop her out of her crib. When I changed her diaper, I noticed that it was fairly dry. I knew she would be going soon, so we headed over to the bathroom to sit on the potty. She sat on it and said "pod-tee" over and over again. Then, she stood up to point at it. She started tinkling on the floor. I quickly sat her down again and most of it ended up in the potty. Of course, there was LOTS of praising on my part. I am just hoping that she finally caught of glimmer of what the pod-tee is for.

There you have it. A momentous moment in the life of Lexi and she saved it for her favorite aunt/nanny's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT PAIGE! We hope you pod-tee (oops...Party) it up!

Transitions

This morning, Lexi insisted on sitting on the potty. Being one that certainly does not want to discourage that, I let her and then we rushed off to Toys R Us to buy a kiddie one. I've heard that the worst times to potty train are around a move or when you are expecting a new baby, so I had decided to hold off and go slow. I am sure that her interest has to do with her new little 4 year old friend. There is nothing like a positive influence. Although, I will still be thrilled if she has been potty trained by her second birthday.

Another First

Wednesday night, Lexi and Steve were in the family room and I was back in my bathroom getting ready for bed. Suddenly, I heard a thud. I could tell that Lexi fell down. This is a normal occurrence around bedtime. When she is tired, she stumbles more. I didn’t think much about it that first second and then the blood curdling screams started.

I started heading towards them. I saw Steve coming my way holding Lexi. He was visibly upset when he proclaimed, “she broke her nose!” Of course, that made my heart jump, but Steve always assumes the worst. I got a frozen teething ring and an ice pack from the fridge. I handed the teething ring to her before I took her from Steve. She was still crying, but not quite as bad because she was trying to focus on the new chew toy. Her nose was bleeding, so I put the ice pack on it. The nightmarish wailing (that Steve can not handle) began again. He told me to stop torturing her. I told him that I didn’t want it to swell or get black and blue. He decided it was a good time to take the trash out, but he only got a few feet down the hall and turned around to tell me to stop. He did that several times. (Yes, we drive each other crazy with our parenting styles.)

Lexi’s nose wasn’t bleeding that much and she was tired, so I decided to put her to bed. There ended up being a few drops of blood on her and a few on me. The next morning, she looked like her normal self. I guess she officially had her first bloody nose (not broken).