The Things She Says...

As a parent, there are probably a million things we find funny when raising a child. And usually, those are the very things that no one else gets...let alone finds funny. I get that - and am fully aware. However, for my own record, I just have to write some of these things down. My memory is not my strongest quality (by far) and I know that before I know it, these memories with fade with the new things I'm sure she'll come up with. So...bear with me. But take it from me, these stories in person are really great.
So, my last post was about potty training, and I said I wouldn't talk much more about it, but this is hilarious. When Siena has to go #2, we go into the bathroom and I sit her down. She looks at me and says, "Momma, I need my 'privacies!'" I answer with a dumbfounded, "You need your privacy?" "Yes, get out of the bathroom, please!". What else is a mother to do in that situation...get out of the bathroom! Not two seconds later, when I think she is going to want me back in there, she says, "Momma, I need a book!". Yes, this situation really happened. And it happens every time she has to go. Go with it, right? Take this to the next level now. We are at a football game and in a public bathroom. She says the same thing to me, which I have to inform her that I am not going to leave her in the stall by herself. So, she tells me to turn around!! Whose kid is this?! There I sit, in the corner of the stall, turned around so that I can't watch my two-year-old go to the bathroom. And then she tells me that she's trying not to fall into the big potty. Seriously. To be a stranger in the stall next to us. I can't make stuff up this good. That's a classic.
Another fun thing these days is our Thursday nights. Thursday night the "boys come over". Matt's position players come over for spaghetti and meatballs every Thursday. Siena has come to look forward to these dinners. She loves those boys! The boys are really good with her and give her the attention she so needs from these really cool boys. So, as the season has gone along, she now knows their names, asks about them all week, and cheers for them at the games. In fact, one particular game, she looked at me and said, "Momma, I love Dante.". This was a huge surprise to me as I didn't know she knew to love anyone else other than her Momma and Daddy! I told her that she better not tell her Daddy that after the game (knowing full well that she would...or I would for her). So, when she told Matt after the game, he cleverly said, "You can only love Daddy and Grandpa. Not Donte.". So, from the on, she said, "I like Donte, I no love Donte." Out of the mouth of babes. Yes, it's cute now. When we're reading these posts 10 years from now, and she's saying the same thing, maybe not so funny. :)
Love that girl...and her antics!

PT!!!

I don't want to be one of those moms that talks about her kid's bodily functions all the time...who really wants to hear that anyway? I don't even want to hear about my own kid's nastiness, so I will spare most of the details...
However, there is one exception. And if you have ever gone through this experience, and succeeded, you know...it's worth the conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, Siena may officially be potty trained. There, I said it. I'm almost scared to post this due to the fact that last winter I also thought we were there. But this time, I think it's the real deal. Can you even believe it?!
Every once in a while, I would get brave and tale Siena to the store in panties or other places in public...to test her out. Most of the time, she did great. No major embarrassing moments. Or, unknown to me, Matt would stick her into the children's nursery at church with panties on and just hope for the best. That's riskier than I would have been, but that's why I love our partnership...and Siena rose to the challenge. But we wanted more than just "crossing our fingers and praying we wouldn't get mortified in public". :)
I guess it's true when they say it's really about when the KID is ready...not the parents. She really just decided one day that it was her time. She gets a "giddle" (skittle) for going "peeps" on the potty and a "sucka" for goings poops. I am sorry to share all that. And judge me if you like, but I was just about ready to do anything to get her trained. We'll work on getting off the "giddles" and suckers soon.
Oh, and one other thing about the training...I have always been told that you have to find something the child totally wants and is motivated by. The candy wasn't cutting it for a while, so I tried something else. At a consignment sale the other week I found a super cheap Leap Pad with a bunch of books. I thought she would totally love it. And I was right, especially the Dora and the Princess stories. So I went with it. If she had a dry day at Grandma and Grandpa's house all day, she got to play with Leap at night when we got home. She was super pumped to play with Leap, Lily, and Tad. So for a week, out of nowhere, she was dry! Mission accomplished!! That worked and now she just goes when she needs to and plays with Leap when she wants. It is lovely.
I am sure there are other horror stories that totally overshadow this one (and this one isn't even that bad), but to each his own. I think we got it. We'll disregard the little sickness she got right after getting trained and we had to put her back in a diaper for a week because, well, she just couldn't hold what was coming out. Oh, gross...I have crossed the line. I am done and that's over.
Congratulations, Siena!! Momma and Daddy are so very proud of you!! Way to go, girl! As you can tell, Siena is quite proud of herself too! As you should be, sweetheart...

Getting Outside!

Now that school has started and we don't get to spend every day together, we all try really hard to make the best of our time together. I don't mean to say that we didn't before or that we do all these crazy things now, but we just try to be intensional with our time and do things together instead of wasting days and time together. The end of the summer ended on a HOT note, so outside stuff has been hard to do. But a few rare occasions as of late have allowed us to get outside and really enjoy it!

Last weekend, Siena and I went down to City Market. We just needed to get out of the house. So, while Matt was at football meetings, Siena and I took a drive downtown. We really had a lot of fun! We bought some basil (for pesto - yum!!), peaches, and a few veggies. We walked around and looked at all the stuff...and sat down to enjoy the weather. It was pretty warm, so we needed to stop for a drink and a little snack. While doing that, I had a impromptu photo shoot. Caught some really cute photos of Siena...and a few of her many faces.

On our way out, we walked by a little train that pulled kids around the market. Had to stop. Too cute not too. And now that Siena is getting to the age where SHE wants to do these things, it was a well-spent $2.00. Oh, she loved it! She was the caboose and she had a smile on her face the entire time. It was precious. I was a proud Momma, watching from afar. It's funny how quickly that happens - 5 minutes ago it seemed I had to be by her all the time, helping her with everything. Now, off she goes on a train ride, waving to me as she passes by, all the while saying, "...see you in a little bit, Momma..." Sheesh.

Then, this weekend was quite a treat weather-wise! Today was like 7o and sunny! I think everyone was out of their houses, enjoying the ability to be out of the house and not sweat to death! Just a couple days ago it was over 100! But hey, it's not worth trying to figure out. We just enjoyed it. After dinner, Siena wanted to go to the park, so off we went! Again, the last time we went to this park, we were helping her onto everything, showing her how to do things...and now, I mostly sat by and watched her climb and slide! Again, she loved being outside and loved her independence. She is a very "...I do it like a big girl..." kind of girl. You know what, I'll take it. She's doing great. And I love to be along on her adventure!