Monday, June 27, 2011

Part 1 -Family Vacation 2011

Family Vacation 2011- California

Claire was packing and making sure she had all the essentials!
Waiting to get on our plane!
Watching the fish at the San Diego Zoo

Baby Hippo! SO cute!
Amazingly creepy but yet beautiful!

Daddy and C.C. checking out the view from high above!
Our little family!

The famous San Diego Zoo sign!
Lunch at Burger Lounge on Coronado Island - Amazing all-natural food!

Miss Stinker!

Daddy, C.C.and the Pacific Ocean!

Mommy's turn to feel the ocean water! (COLD!)

La Jolla Cove! C.C. and I checking out all the seals!

She loved looking at the waves!

La Jolla Shores California!
Daddy and Claire show all smelly the seals really are!
Sun bathing seals!



These pictures are from the first 4 days! We had an amazing fun filled, action packed vacation. I so enjoyed taking Claire out to all the new places from Old Town San Diego, to the famous San Diego Zoo, Coronado Island and La Jolla. I absolutely love seeing her face as she experiences something new! This whole vacation was so different from last year. She's talking and communicating like an older toddler, she knows what she wants, when she wants it. This vacation is one to remember! Part 2 coming up next!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Start of Potty Training

So we're doing it, we are full force in to potty training. It was my goal all along to start trying to potty train her once we got back from vacation. We've been potty training now for over 3 weeks and she's doing wonderful. ::knock on wood:: The 1st day was a little rocky but during the next couple of days the pee-pee's in the potty slowly started to increase. She got the connection within a couple days that when she has to go, she must go on the potty. Still to this day her, "I have to pee" and actually peeing is very short. She can not hold her pee or poop very long at all. That's okay to me, right now we are just trying to get her connect the filling of using the bathroom with actually finding the potty and going. She's still in diapers at night/nap and when we go anywhere. If she can get that sooner rather then later, great if not, that's okay too. She's only 23 months. I never expected her to do this well at all, we are now up to 1-2 poops a day and anywhere from 2-15 pee's (depending how much we are home that day).

I know everyone will read a ton of books or Google the crap out of how to potty train their little one but here are some tips that have helped us out over the last couple of weeks.

1. We let her pick out cute new panties.
   - We do find it easier at this point to keep her naked for most of the day. She can wear the panties but you have to be right there when she has to go to help her get them down. She can't get them down fast enough at this point.
2. Take the potty with you.
   - We take the potty to ever room we go to. I announce where the potty is and make sure she actually looks at it.
3. Positive reinforcement.
   -At first we rewarded her with an m&m after ever time she went on the potty.
   - We also made a potty chart. Every time she went potty we put a star and wrote what she did and the date. Once she got to the end of the chart, she got a small prize.
   - We always cheer and make her give us a high-five
4. Mommy's helper.
   - She loves to help open up the toilet, dump her pee or poop down the toilet, and then flush.
5. Everyone's involved.
   - Get everyone involved. Whenever we go to our close friends or parents houses, we make sure it's okay if we continue potty training there.
6. Watch the cues.
   - Once Claire was naked, I noticed that she actually at a pee-pee dance. When we see her doing it, we run her to the potty!

You will know when your little one is ready. I've learned that no one toddler is ready to potty train at the same time. If you try and they hate it, scream and refuse then stop and try again in a week. It's scary, it's a big change and sometimes big changes take a while. Who cares if your little one is trained at 2 years or 4 years. It will happen and I think it has to happen on your toddlers time. Good luck (and don't forget to get extra paper towels, you'll need them)!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

A ponytail on a hot summer day. My baby looks so grown up!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Hello Terrible 2's, Here SO Soon

Holy Cow. Claire's not even 2 yet and the terrible 2's have entered into our daily routine. Oh, let me tell you how exciting it truly is not! Ha. It's stressful, annoying and tiring all at the same time. Truthfully it's not all day but at least once or twice a day it will show it's ugly face. From just saying "no" to something or if she drops something or can't do something herself she will literally exploded! What I mean by "exploded" is red faced, screaming, floor dropping tantrum. Don't get me wrong, she's a awesome little girl, very independent and super smart (all most too smart for her own good) but man those tantrums are something else. I know this is a stage we must get through so we can find a happier 3 or 4 year old but I hope he doesn't get much worse. I am getting somewhat use to it and learning the tricks of how to deal with each type of tantrum. Through all the tantrums, I'm loving this stage that Claire is in right now. The "hi mommy's" melt my heart every time I hear them, plus the huge hugs and wet kisses are unbelievable and something I've looked forward to since I knew she was growing inside of me. Life is hectic but we are following the stage of childhood and trying to love each of them, no matter how hard!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Back and Ready To Go Back

Vacation in California was absolutely positively fantastic! We had SO much fun from: going to the San Diego zoo, to Disneyland and LA to visiting all sorts of cool and interesting locations. Oh and I can not forget the amazing food! It was so relaxing, fun and memorable, everything a family vacation should be! My dream as ALWAYS been to move to California. I would move in a heart beat. Eric's cousins are out there, they are wonderful people, so much fun. The whole trip they were trying to get us to move out there - I told them, I was sold. I just have to work on Eric, find him a nice paying job and wham. Ha, if it was only that easy! Of course it would be super hard to leave my family and friends but that is the only places I've ever traveled and felt "this is where I want to be". It's weird but true, I love me some California!

I promise SOON, I will get pictures up of Claire, vacation and everything else I am slacking on. It's hard when you are leaving with your in-laws and can't really use your own computer! Don't fear we are trying to figure it out!



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