Potty Training

Potty training log (no pun intended): Day 5

It's going better than I expected, but I wouldn't consider her potty trained yet.  Day 1 we went through 10 pairs of panties, what a mess.  By Day 2, it started to click and she hasn't had a pee pee accident since before noon on Day 2.  That's the great news!   Pooping is apparently going to be a whole other story for her.  She's having...issues.  It's scaring her to go on the potty for some reason, and we are trying to figure out if maybe she needs a bit more fiber in her diet.  Mommy did a terrible job of hiding her laughing yesterday...I was cleaning up dinner dishes and Mills ran off to potty on her own, then we hear her yelling for help.  JKK got there first, but apparently not fast enough.  There were some "logs" on the bathroom floor, and as I came around the corner with Syd, I busted out laughing.  I don't think that helped matters, but it was just so unexpected...like we have a puppy that isn't housebroken yet.  Anyhoo, the entire weekend was a tad tense, but I think overall Mills has handled the transition well.  She does keep asking to leave the house though.  I gave in yesterday afternoon and took her to chick-fil-a for an ice cream and some play time.  She was thrilled to be out and we didn't have any accidents while away from home!

She's enjoyed putting stickers on her new potty chart, and I can tell she's proud of herself...she keeps saying she's a big girl that goes on the potty. ;)  We are proud of her too!  Good job, Mills!  She also likes to pick out her panties.  I bought 30 pairs of panties to start this journey: tinkerbell and fairies, cinderella, cupcakes, polka dots, rainbows...but the very first pair she wanted to wear on Day 1 was a pair with whales on them.  I knew she'd love those. :)

Random funny video from this weekend that cracks me up...it has nothing to do with potty training: Proof that Syd will laugh at anything Millie does

First Trip to the Tulsa Zoo

Last Tuesday, we made our first journey to the Tulsa zoo.  JKK was in Tulsa for the three previous nights working on his dad's house with his siblings.  The weather was set to be absolutely gorgeous and since we all missed JKK a ton, it was meant to be...our first trip to one of my absolute favorite places in the world.  Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy had to leave that morning to drive back to Wisconsin, so Aunt Coco joined us on her own.  Millie kept calling her "my Coco". ;)

warthogs, aka Pumba!

hi Syd.

albino alligators (crocodiles?)

she loved all of the fish and birds

this new seahorse exhibit is pretty amazing

Millie found the holy grail: Nemo and Dory!!

can you see them?  one of her favorite things that day...

where'd my coco go??

Syd took a long nap in the carrier...so glad she'll still do that!

Millie brushed some goats!

baby kangaroos!

this peacock joined us for lunch - can you see him behind jkk??

She loved the playground...wish we lived closer and I'd have a season pass to the zoo.  It's the perfect place to spend the day!

we caught a bit of the sea lion show

blurry but still cute...so glad Coco could join us!

extra windy that day, but the sun (& just being outdoors) felt great

The lions were probably her very favorite thing to see and they wouldn't even get up for her.  She kept saying "Mufasa get up!".  I hope to take her to Turpentine Creek refuge soon to see some lions and tigers a little closer.

We missed quite a few animals (elephants, chimps, camels) and some were just impossible to see in their enclosures (zebras, tigers, polar bear, grizzly bear), which is sort of frustrating.  But I still love the Tulsa zoo and we'll definitely be making another trip this Spring before the weather gets too hot.  Mills wanted to ride the train and didn't get to do that either.  Can't wait to go back soon, it was a fun day!

Thank goodness for the iPad to keep Mills quiet while Syd slept in the car.  ;)

10 Months Old

Syd is in the double digits now...10 months old!

one week old:

one month old:

two months old:

three months old:

four months old:

five months old:

six months old:

seven months old:

eight months old:

nine months old:

ten months old:

when I try to make her laugh, I don't always pay attention to keeping the camera straight ;)

our pretty girl

wish this one wasn't blurry...gummy grin

EAT:

Still nursing approximately every 4 hours; usually 5 times a day.  That 5th time is anywhere between 2 and 5am, it never seems to be at the same time.  Then she goes back to sleep until around 7, or sometimes earlier when Millie wakes her up.  I know I should try to get rid of that 5th feeding in the middle of the night...she doesn't need it.  But goodness, she is the stubborn one....our little Taurus.  My goal is to have that 5th feeding gone by her 11 month post. ;)  I am so pleased that I've been able to nurse her this long.  I never had a specific length of time in mind because after my experience with Millie and her biting, I knew I would need to be flexible.  Since Syd has exactly zero teeth, it has been such an easy road....and I plan to do it as long as I need to.  Hopefully, we can transition her straight from breastfeeding to whole milk after her first birthday.  I really want to avoid the formula bottles with this one.

One of her bouts of stubbornness is showing with the sippy cup.  She took it great for a couple of weeks with her pear juice, then she decided she was done with it one day and hasn't taken a drink since.  I've tried changing up the sippy cups and still no luck, she pushes it away.  However, I still always put a sippy cup full of water at every meal, I can only assume that one day she'll be thirsty enough to take a drink.  I've moved her probiotics to her morning bowl of oatmeal and fruit puree, which has worked out well because she eats every last drop.

New this month is finger foods!  She very daintily picks up a piece of food with thumb and forefinger...and then shoves her entire hand in her mouth.  Such a lady.  She loves puffs and cooked pieces of carrots and peas.  She's also had some mushy pear and apple bits, and (surprise!) some avocado.  She still makes a strange face with the avocado, but at least it's not coming back out.  

SLEEP:
Nighttime sleep still the same as last month...still getting up once a night for a quick bite.  She's definitely down to only 2 naps a day now: morning nap around 9am and afternoon nap around 1pm.  This usually works out okay as long as she takes at least a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  If she wakes up earlier than 3pm, then getting her to wait until 7pm bedtime is tricky.  I've had to curtail some of Millie's morning activities though because Syd won't always nap in the Ergo carrier anymore.  And if she does, it isn't a good nap for her...so I've tried making sure I'm home for morning nap time the majority of the week.  This has really put a wrench in my plans for those precious MDO days. :)  She's great at being flexible though and isn't really the meltdown type of baby at all, so it doesn't give me anxiety to take her some place during nap time like it used to (still does) with Mills.

PLAY:

The biggest milestone this month was Syd becoming a walker, but I guess she's decided to hold off on that for awhile.  She walked quite a bit for about 3 days, then I think she got tired of the falls because she doesn't walk much anymore...certainly not unless we stand her up and have her walk to either of us.  She prefers to cruise around and crawl, and she's so fast at both!  There is no limit to her cruising around, she goes from fireplace to door to wall to activity table to couch and all back again.  But even if it would only take her a couple of steps without holding on to something to get to her destination, she's now choosing to get down and crawl.  She really is laid back about the whole thing.  Funny to remember when Millie took her first steps and how she never looked back...she was a walker from that point on.  At least Syd can say that she walked at the same exact point as Mills: 9 3/4 mos old..neither one gets the bragging rights ;)

Syd has also started dancing this month, which is crazy adorable.  She won't do it on command, she just does it on her own when there is a song with a good beat playing.  I've noticed that she seems to do it the most to Pharrell's Happy song, so that has been on quite a bit at our house lately.  She has a jerky head bob thing going on.  I hope to get some video of it soon.

Other things she enjoys: 

She gets the biggest smile on her face when I sit down to read to her.  We've had a slow start with reading because for the longest time, she wouldn't quit trying to eat the books.  She also loves to swing at the park.  She loves anything to do with Millie, and she'll happily play alongside Millie almost anywhere in the house.  She really loves bath time with Millie and playing in the big tub.  She's discovered that the play tunnel can be fun, and she really enjoys clearing all of the play food off the shelves of Millie's little fridge.  We are always amazed at how long she can entertain herself.  She does the funniest thing that my explanation won't do justice to its cuteness: whenever she's standing at something (fireplace, bench, etc.) and someone comes towards her while talking to her, she starts stamping her feet and doing a little jig while squealing...she's sooo excited that someone is coming to play with her.

Things she does NOT enjoy:

getting lotion-ed and dressed after bath time, having her face wiped after meals, diaper changes, not being allowed to eat if others are eating

She weighs around 19 lbs, wears size 9-12 mos clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 3 diapers.  Her small patches of eczema have cleared up since the cold weather has gone away.  This month there has been a ton of spit up, which is confusing.  She's never been a big spitter-upper, and I thought I had it pegged to occurring only if I had cheese or too much dairy.  This month though, I'm not sure what is going on, but nothing I do seems to make it better or worse.  It's just become a part of life now...so weird since we've never had to deal with it much before.

tiny strawberry birthmark on her left side of abdomen

Dear Syd Pid,
This month you've really found your voice and are constantly babbling, screeching, talking, laughing, and making all sorts of sounds.  And all of those sounds are so LOUD!  You love to jabber away to me when you've finished nursing...something I want to remember forever, such special moments between you and me.  I treasure the small amount of time you let me hold and snuggle you these days, you'd much rather be down and getting into something.  However, it's different if daddy picks you up; you actually let him hold you and walk you around.  You've learned to speak up and let it be known when you don't like something or need a change of scenery; you're especially quick to pitch little fits in the car seat by letting out some ear piercing shrieks.  They don't last long, and it makes us laugh most of the time because it's obvious you are just testing out those lungs to see what they can get you.  I have a feeling you're going to get what you want a lot in the upcoming years...you're smart about being an angel most of the time until you really want something.  It shocks us so much, we're quick to give in.  We love you little miss smartypants...sweet, beautiful baby of mine, you are loved way more than you'll ever know.

A Quick Visit from The Girls

Saturday morning, Tricia brought her four girls out to visit us!  It was so sweet of her to drive all this way, and Millie had a blast hanging out with the big girls.

Jocelynn, Millie, Maya, Hillery, Sydney, Sheridan 

Hope you're comfy, Mills?

We made Grandma Tricia an early birthday cake, and Millie added a "few" extra sprinkles ;)

Hillery was on Syd duty, which means keeping her from eating leaves and grass...harder than it sounds

Mills had fun doing chalk body outlines

Hugs before nap time...Thanks for coming to see us!