All Aboard

This past Sunday, Leah was treated to a choo-choo ride at the mall, celebrating five days in a row of using the potty!

After the initial potty success that I posted about, Leah seemed to backtrack a little and wanted nothing to do with the potty for the next week. Then, last Wednesday evening, we sat with her in her room for close to two hours, near the potty, playing, talking, tickling, running water, anything. We finally succeeded in making her laugh so hard (at a somewhat inappropriate word!) that she relaxed and peed on the potty again. That began our five-day stretch of using the potty at least once per day!

Monday was a no-go, but for the last two days, Leah has used the potty twice each day, which is an improvement! For now, the trick seems to be recognizing when she has to go and making it to the potty on time, which I know will get better with time. I am just SO thrilled she is using the potty at all. She wants to wear underwear all the time and only asks for a pullup when she has go #2. It is wonderful! I have been looking forward to this for months and I'm so glad we're finally at this point.

For the record, the Pez dispensers have all been cashed in and some have since been refilled. ;) Woo hoo!

Potty Success!!!

Last night was a BIG night in our house: Leah peed on the potty for the first time! WOO!!!!

If you've kept up with our blog, you know that this is a huge milestone after all of Leah's potty fear after her UTI. For months upon months, we have suggested and encouraged her to sit on the potty, though nothing would happen. We allowed her to follow us to the bathroom whenever she wanted, so she could see it wasn't scary. We bought a bunch of Pez dispensers as incentive, which have sat untouched on top of the bathroom shelf since winter. We promised her rides on the choo-choo train at the mail. I bought special Pixar character underwear. I've tried to bribe her with every sweet imaginable - cake, cookies, ice cream, lollipops. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Until last night. :D

Dan asked her if she wore any underwear yesterday, to which she replied no. I told him I suggested just sitting on the potty a couple times and she had refused. We both just sighed and shrugged. I decided to try again. I sat in the bathroom with Leah for a little bit, but again, nothing happened. However, she decided she didn't want to put her pullup back on, nor did she want underwear. Just her shorts. OK, whatever. We went outside to play and on a whim, I brought the potty out there with us.

After a short time, I asked if she could sit on the potty again for a few minutes before she chased a ball with Dan. While she sat there and Dan chatted with her, I walked over to her water table and began pouring water from one cup into another to make that trickling sound, trying to trigger something! Soon after she noticed this, she said she wanted me to pour some water on her. I poured it on her hands and feet. Then, she wanted the cup herself and began dumping it all over her body - all while sitting on the potty. It was hot, so Dan took the dogs inside during this. Soon, the water table was just about empty and Leah asked for more water.

I figured, Oooh, maybe the sound of the water filling the table will do it, so I went to grab the hose. It was kinked up and as I finally got it untangled, some warm water that had been sitting in the hose dribbled out, partly on Leah. Then, I hear, "Momma! Momma!" in the tone of voice that usually means she has to pee. I ran over to her and made sure she stayed seated on the potty and sure enough, SHE WAS PEEING IN IT!!!!

I exclaimed, "Leah! You're doing it! You're peeing in the potty!"

As soon as she was done, I went crazy cheering and clapping and giving her TONS of praise. She got a huge grin on her face, got up and looked in the potty, and told me she wanted to show Daddy. So, we ran in the house and got Dan and we had a mini cheering section going on! We immediately told her she could have some candy and remembering the Pez, she told us exactly which one she wanted. :)

I am so relieved. I know this is only the first step, but this is a HUGE one. She wanted to wear underwear to bed, which was fine with me because she wakes up dry nearly everyday. I was hoping to get her to pee on the potty first thing this morning, but unfortunately, we had a couple accidents. No big deal, though. I am going to spend the next few days encouraging her to sit on the potty every so often and hopefully, we can repeat this success and get her trained. I just feel ten times better knowing that the big hurdle of the first time is done! We will get there!

Letters Everywhere!

For the last couple months, we've been working on letters with Leah. We write them with chalk, we play with the magnetic letters on her easel, we play with an electronic Sesame Street letter game, or we sometimes watch Leapfrog's Letter Factory. She is doing so well! Lately, she loves when I write a letter and ask her what it is, or similarly, ask her to point to a particular letter on the Sesame Street toy. She clearly loves the praise when she's correct and is proud of her accomplishments.

There are only a few letters (N, V, Z) that stump her. I found that one of the best ways for her to remember her letters is to give her a familiar word or person/dog she knows that she can associate with it, such as C is for Cookie or H is for Hud. So, if anyone has any fun suggestions for N or V, let me know! I'm trying zoo/zebra for Z.

The other thing I really love about her interest in letters is that she notices them everywhere now. On storefronts, on posters at the library, on someone's shirt, etc. Last summer, she did the same with her colors. She pointed out various ones she saw, which gave her a lot of practice and helped her master them. It's really awesome to see her doing the same with the alphabet.

Wiggly Party & Winnie the Pooh

Last Tuesday, we took Leah to see The Wiggles perform in Atlanta! We all had so much fun. Dan took the day off of work and we went to their 2:30 show. From watching The Wiggles' live concert DVD, along with info from friends, we learned that many kids bring roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur (Dorothy's favorite thing in the world) and bones for Wags the Dog. Naturally, we decided we must do the same. ;)

When we arrived at the theater, Leah was a bit apprehensive. For the couple days before the show, I believe she thought she was going to meet The Wiggles; she told us who she wanted to hug when we saw them. So, I think as we walked inside, she expected them to be right there waiting. We checked out the merchandise table, where Leah decided on a plush red guitar with the line, "Play your guitar with Murray" embroidered on the strap.

Our seats for the show were amazing - 5th row! Again, Leah got a bit nervous as each Wiggle came out onstage. I pulled her onto my lap, started singing along with the songs, and pointed various things out to her and within no time, she relaxed. She did a few dance moves to various songs and overall really enjoyed the show. I was so glad!

Truth be told, I had an excellent time as well. I've enjoyed watching The Wiggles on DVD or YouTube with Leah and was really looking forward to the show myself. They are so talented and put on such a fun show for kids and parents alike. I think I snapped a gazillion pictures!

This past week held another new experience: Leah's first movie in a theater. We took her to see Winnie the Pooh! She really did great. When the previews began, and a few were super loud and intense, I noticed that she grabbed Dan's arm and was a little freaked out. Then, when the lights dimmed way down for the start of the movie, she came and sat in my lap again and remained there for the duration of the movie. About halfway through, she asked me if we could turn on the lights. ;) Other than that, she seemed to enjoy the movie and was so excited as each character appeared onscreen. Once we got home, she immediately gathered up all her Pooh stuffed animals to play!

Bethany Beach Trip

Leah is a beach girl!  She & I spent nearly a week at the Delaware shore with Grammy, Grandpa, Laurie, & Ryan. :)  First, we traveled to PA on the 9th of June. We mimicked our road trip from last August and left early in the morning (before dawn) so we could be at Grammy's by dinnertime. The trip took just over 12 hours, which is pretty excellent for traveling with a toddler. Leah is an awesome road tripper. She naps, chats, hums & sings, and plays with toys. We didn't use the portable DVD player once!

We stayed in PA for just under two days. We swam in Grammy's pool, visited with extended family on my side, visited with Popel & Grandma for an evening, and went through a bunch of old toys at Grammy's house. Leah now has a bunch of Ryan's old Toy Story toys, my favorite Barbie & Ken dolls, a bunch of Barbie furniture, Annie dolls, some odds & ends, and her favorite: Ryan's rubbery figures of Shadow, Chance, & Sassy from the movie "Homeward Bound". Leah plays with them every single day and clearly adores them. :)

On Saturday, the 11th, we packed ourselves back in the car and drove to Bethany Beach, Delaware. Ah, it was wonderful! Leah LOVED the ocean this year. Once she got her feet wet a couple times, she could not get enough. She giggled, squealed, splashed, and jumped around in the waves. It was a blast. I am so grateful she enjoys the beach and can play out there for hours, because it is truly my favorite place to be.

One day during the week, our friends Rachel & Ethan came to play with us! Rachel & I belong to the same mommy board, and Ethan & Leah were born just two days apart. We met up at their home in Delaware last summer, so this year, they joined us for a beach day. The kids played SO well together and they both love the water. A few times, Leah ran away as Ethan chased her, and she even tried to boss him around a bit. Silly girl. It was really such a fun day and Leah totally conked out for a late nap after they left for home.

We spent one evening in Rehoboth, where we took Leah to Funland to play some boardwalk games (and where Ryan was determined to win Leah a prize). We left with an armful of stuffed animals, thanks to prizes won by everybody, even Leah herself!

It was a big week, with lots of excitement, lots of play, lots of sunshine, and lots of new experiences. Leah had her moody moments, where the stress of being out of her routine got to her and all she wanted was Momma. But all in all, she handled herself pretty well for such a fun-filled week. Leah & I returned home on Friday the 17th, where we were greeted by two very excited dogs and a very happy Daddy. She spent most of Friday's road trip and the remaining weekend catching up on sleep! :)

EVER!

"Don't touch my toys. EVER!"

"Don't look at me. EVER!"

"You don't do that. EVER!"

Ah, yes. This is the latest thing out of Leah's mouth lately. Leah knows what she wants and now, she can (try to) demand it. The way she yells it is kind of amusing and I seem to giggle every time she says it, which is probably why she continues to do it. (Yes, negative attention. I know. Ooops. It just comes out like "EVAH!" and I can't help myself. She's like a teeny little dictator.) I've been trying to piece together how she picked this up. Last summer, she was very much into the movie, "Lilo & Stitch". In one scene, Lilo tells Stitch, in reference to a precious item, "Don't you touch that. Don't EVER touch it!" That was my first thought, but up until recently, Leah hadn't watched that movie in months. Did that really stick out in her mind?

Then, I realized I sometimes say it when disciplining her. "Don't ever throw things at the dogs!" "We never, EVER hit anyone!" Etc, etc. And of course, she imitates nearly every phrase I use on a consistent basis, so that sort of made sense.

And then, we have "Tangled". Leah has been in love with this movie lately and while paying attention to it one day last week, I noticed that Mother Gothel scolds Rapunzel for wanting to leave her tower. "You're not leaving this tower! EVER!" Ah-ha! Ding, ding, ding!

Truthfully, it's probably a combination of all three of these influences. I, like any mother, simply choose to believe it was from a nasty character in a movie and not me, of course. ;)

Summer Classes & Things

Dance class began again today! There are only five little girls in this summer session, and Leah is the only "veteran". She was SO excited when we walked into the lobby area and we were greeted by our instructor - it was that sense of familiarity and Leah began dancing around and chatting up a storm. All the other girls are adorable and I think it's going to be such a sweet group for the next six weeks.

Last week, Leah had her first gymnastics class and it was a BLAST! She jumped on trampolines, did somersaults, walked on balance beams, and generally ran around and had a great time. She's been talking about it ever since and cannot wait to go back. I am thrilled it's a success!

Leah also has a brand new bedding set and pillow for her room. For months - maybe even a year now - I've been asking Leah if she wants a pillow for her bed and she's always refused. Recently, Dan was asking her again and she seemed interested this time. So we decided that if we were going to buy a pillow & pillowcase, we may as well pick out a whole new "big girl" set. She had been simply going to bed with the big Pooh crib blanket and her special blankie. Now, she's got a pretty floral set that still matches her yellow & green room, but definitely tells everyone she's a big girl and not a baby. :)