boot camp....

Y'all may remember that I posted a couple of weeks ago that Libbi and I were going to have "boot camp" where we got rid of the paci and started potty training all in the same week.  At the time, you may have been secretly laughing at me - and that's okay, because I probably deserved it - ha!  I've had some friends ask me and a few emails wondering how it's going, so I thought I would share.  In one word, our "boot camp" was a big, fat, epic.....

Let's start with the potty training.....

I had the "3-day-training" ebook, at least 20 pairs of Big Girl P*anties (BGP), lots of cleaning supplies, and a whole lotta prayers and patience stocked up.  It started out great! Libbi was all about her BGP and was just over the moon that she got to wear them with no diaper (since (at her insistence) she had previously been wearing them on top of her diaper).  She "went" in the potty right away and I had the naive (dumb?) thought that, "maybe this won't be as hard as I thought".....hahahaha

Obviously, my pride needed to be put in check.  Not long after, there was a puddle in our kitchen and Libbi was beside herself.  I cleaned it up, consoled her, reviewed our game plan, and we went on our way with a dry pair of BGP.  Three accidents (and only one hour) later, Libbi decided that she was utterly and completely freaked out by this liquid coming from her body and pooling around her.  She was hysterical.  She practically begged for a diaper.  I didn't want to traumatize her any further, so I gave in and that was that.  Until she decided she just wasn't going to go....at.all.  And as you may remember, we ended up at the doctor for what I *thought* was a UTI, but it turned out it was just Libbi showing off her "holding" skills.....

what can i say, this girl's got skillz!

Thankfully, that has passed, but she still is not keen on using the potty.  Although, she is obsessed with the Elmo potty training DVD.  (*side note - have any of y'all seen that?!  I'm sorry, but it is THE weirdest thing....ever!  The whole segment where they talk/sing about what they call "wee-wee" and "woo-woo" (as baby bear refers to it) is just bizarre.  I had no idea the DVD went through all of that until we put it on in the car. I'm driving along, not really paying attention and then I start hearing, "I call it...., I call it...., we call it...., I really have to ur*inate" WHAT?!?!?  Seriously.  Watch it.  It'll make you laugh.  Oh, and the episode is "brought to you by the letter "P" and the number 2" haha!) ;-)

at least our diapers have more than one use...

Anyway, onto the second part of bootcamp...the paci.  And again,

Libbi had not been sleeping or napping well, so I thought I might as well go ahead and get rid of the paci since it's not like it would interrupt our sleep - ha!  We were down to only one paci ("pap-pa" as libbi calls it) and I took a deep breath and cut off the top.  Libbi said it was broken and she needed to put it in the trash.  Again, I had the crazy thought that "maybe this isn't as hard as I thought." And again, I was definitely knocked down a peg or two not long after.  All morning long we talked about the "broke pap-pa" and how it was in the trash, she was a big girl, etc, etc, etc.  She seemed fine with it and was really okay.  When nap time rolled around, she asked for it, but I reminded her that she threw it in the trash and she went down without a fight.....or so I thought.

I could hear her over the baby monitor doing her usual one-woman-show.  She talks, sings, chants, jumps, etc.  She started out saying, "pap-pa broke. trash. yeah." Then it turned into "Da-da fix it." which brought on a few tears and a few "Momma fix it"'s followed by hysterical "Jesus fix it!" I felt bad for her, but I wasn't ready to give in.

She eventually quieted down and I began to think that she had gone to sleep.  Then I heard, "No poo-poo. Nooooo" followed by "MOMMA!!!! I NEED WIPE!!!!!" and lots of tears.  I jumped up and as soon as I rounded the corner to head upstairs, I got a whiff of what was more than likely happening in her room.....

Sure enough, she was covered.  It was all over her hands, her crib, her sheets, etc.  (mind you, her shorts and diaper were still on her body...) I was gagging, she was crying, and she kept telling me that she needed a wipe - ha!  Needless to say, nap time didn't happen, but bath time did!  Fortunately, I'm pretty sure it grossed her out just as much as it did me, so hopefully it won't happen again.  She kept repeating, "So sorry Momma. No poo-poo."

When she started crying for her pap-pa, I just couldn't handle anymore stress that day, so we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart.

The paci's that she used had been discontinued, so I had to get another kind.  It has a picture of a fairy on it, and Libbi calls it her "girl pap-pa."  She keeps tabs on that "girl pap-pa" like it's her job.  I think she may be afraid that it will mysteriously break or get thrown into the trash if she lets it out of her sight.  Ya think we're having paci relapse? :)

I wonder if there's a 12 step program for paci addictions??? ;-)

I guess these were just Libbi's (not so subtle) ways of telling me that she wasn't ready.  So what did we learn at "boot camp"????  We learned that perhaps when it comes to the paci and the potty, Libbi definitely knows how to work the system. ;-)

Oh well, we'll get there....I'm sure she won't be going to Kindergarten in diapers and with a paci....
at least I hope not!  ;-)

the swing...

I mentioned in Laney's one month post that she is not really a fan of the bouncy seat, but she (thankfully) LOVES the swing.  Ironically, when Libbi was a baby, she didn't really care for the swing, but now that she has outgrown it, she has decided that it is just the best thing since sliced bread.

Between keeping Laney in it and Libbi out of it, our swing is definitely not hurting for attention. Libbi desperately wants to swing, but she is waaaay past the weight limit.  And, I don't have the owners manual handy, but when your toddler can get in and out of the swing unassisted and when she's in the swing and grabs onto the sides to propel herself forward - that seems to me that it might fall under the "safety hazard" category (for Libbi and for anyone in her general vicinity).

The only thing Libbi loves more than swinging, is pushing Laney in the swing.  Anytime she sees Laney in it, she runs over and says, "I PUSH!" and gives poor Laney whiplash.  We are partly to blame for this, because we push the swing all the time.  It's actually broken (I wonder how that happened?!) so it won't swing on it's own.  Laney doesn't seem to mind too much.  Every time we walk by her, we just give her a little push and go about our business.  Unless your name is Libbi.  In that case, you give her a whopping push that could rattle her brain.

And unlike Libbi, we don't tend to leave small sacrifices in the crevices of the swing or in the lap of "the chosen one" while she slumbers. ;-)

Or push her while in our "birthday suit"

I never would have imagined that I would have to police a baby swing (one that doesn't even work for that matter) but it's become quite a common practice during my day.  I have such a love/hate relationship with that swing.  I love it, because it keeps Laney happy and she enjoys napping in it.  I hate it, because it is the bane of my existence where Libbi is concerned.  There are times that I think, "if I look over there and see her belly up in that swing one more time, I am going to lose it!" Lord knows, there aren't enough time-outs, spankings, and warnings that can separate that girl and (her) swing.  One of these days, I'll move it out of the living room, but until then, I'm working on a new invention.  Who knows, it could be my "big break". ;-)

lullaby...

Mother's Song

(A Traditional Lullaby)

My heart is like a fountain true

That flows and flows with love to you.

As chirps the lark unto the tree

...So chirps my pretty babe to me.

There's not a rose where'er I seek,

As comely as my baby's cheek.

There's not a comb of honey-bee,

So full of sweets as babe to me.

There's not a star that shines on high,

Is brighter than my baby's eye.

There's not a boat upon the sea,

Can dance as baby does to me.

No silk was ever spun so fine

As is the hair of baby mine.

My baby smells more sweet to me

Than smells in spring the elder tree.

A little fish swims in the well,

So in my heart does baby dwell.

A little flower blows on the tree,

My baby is the flower to me.

The Queen has sceptre, crown and ball,

You are my sceptre, crown and all.

For all her robes of royal silk,

More fair your skin, as white as milk.

Ten thousand parks where deer do run,

Ten thousand roses in the sun,

Ten thousand pearls beneath the sea,

My babe more precious is to me.

carseat...

wanna know why our carseat looks like this???

somebody decided to up-chuck all over it this morning.  That's right.  all. over. it....

probably the worst possible place it could have happened (and i'm talking about in her carseat, not the chick-fil-a drive thru that we were in, by the way).

Needless to say, chick-fil-a lost it's appeal VERY quickly.

Believe me, that sound is one you never want to hear.  

I rolled the windows down (gagging the entire way) and prayed I wouldn't get sick.

Luckily, we live about just a few minutes from the chick-fil-a, so were able to make it home in record time.

I called Jeffrey on our way (thank GOD he had taken the day off today....) and if I recall correctly, the first words out of my mouth were, "EMERGENCY! We have an emergency!!"

I explained (through tears and gags) that Libbi had barfed everywhere and that we were going to need some assistance once we got home.  Poor Jeffrey.  Poor, poor Jeffrey.  Unfortunately, he knows me just a little too well and knows that there are times that I might exaggerate *just a tad* so I think he was expecting a little bit of "spit-up" and a lot of my dramatics.  

SURPRISE!

Our neighbors probably thought we were crazy, because we literally stripped Libbi down in the drive-way and completely took apart her carseat there, too.  I was trying to read the owner's manual (which was attached to the "tarnished" seat - gag!) because I couldn't figure out how to get the dumb cover off, all the while trying not to get sick myself.

They fail to mention what a bear these carseats are to clean.  We had to handwash the cover, all the foam pieces, each strap, the entire base, etc, etc, etc.  I seriously considered just throwing it in the trashcan and buying a new seat.  It was that bad.

Luckily, it didn't seem to phase Libbi one little bit.  She never even shed a tear.  After a bath and a change of clothes, she was as good as new.  I'm guessing it might have just been something she ate that didn't "sit well" with her, because she has been completely fine the rest of today.  She has eaten every meal and had no more "episodes"

(Can't you tell that she is just all tore up about the whole situation?!?) ;0)

Now we have the daunting task of putting her seat back together....luckily, I have my trusty assistant to help!

and, she's got an assistant of her own.... ;0)

monkey joes....

Jeffrey took the day off on Friday.  He thought about golfing, but decided he would rather go to "Monkey Joe's" with his two favorite girls. ;0)

Libbi was in heaven.  It took her about .02 seconds to start running around and trying to get into everything in sight.  

We hadn't even officially signed in (or paid!) before she was off and running.  Thankfully, I had my "assistant" there to chase her down.  

She loved every minute of it.  I swear this child has NO fear.  She just jumped right in and started climbing and bouncing off the walls.  She started out with her pigtails, but they didn't last long.  



She was playing much too hard to care about her appearance - ha!

There were three big inflatables set up for the little ones (4 and under) and the rest were for the big kids.  Of course our little daredevil didn't care about the "4 and under" requirement. And, since no one else was on the equipment, we let her play on everything.  

Jeffrey carried her up the steps to the big slide.  She flew down it and laughed the whole time!  When she got to the bottom, she just about wore herself out trying to climb back up the slide.  She was not happy when we took her off of it.  

This is what I saw for the majority of the day:

Libbi was either running (from us, of course!) or climbing.

After one more trip down the big slide (this time WITH Daddy) it was time to call it a day.  Libbi was not too thrilled about leaving, but we promised her a snack once we got in the car so she gave in. :)

It's safe to say she forgot all about that snack, because she was O-U-T before we made it out of the parking lot.  I think Jeffrey and I were equally as exhausted....Monkey Joe's is one tiring place! ;0)