Not What It Seems...

I explained my thoughts about Halloween last year here. So the following is not my Halloween post.

Michaela has cousins on Michael's side of the family who have a birthday this week. Their mom and dad have thrown them an incredible birthday party for the last five years, and we have been included in the celebration each time. The first year, Michael and I attended together, the second year I was in my first trimester of pregnancy, and the last three years I've taken Michaela with me. We have really enjoyed each party as they include so many fun activities, delicious food, and time with family members we don't get to see often. The triplets' mother says this will be the last big bash. It's an incredible amount of work for her to put these parties together, so I don't blame her. But we will miss all the fun!

Michaela had a wonderful time this year! She was finally old enough to do a lot of the things available to the kids - bounce house, "hamster ball", magician, trampoline/bungee jumper, etc. Here are some of the highlights of the afternoon:

This digital slideshow created with Smilebox As for what we'll be doing tomorrow night, I think we will have a quiet night at home. We were going to go over to our church's Harvest Bash, but I figure it's going to have a lot of the same kinds of activities as the birthday party did (bounce houses, etc.), and that we have already had that kind of experience this week. Michaela won't know the difference this year, so she won't be disappointed.

Pumpkin Patch 2013

This slideshow design created with Smilebox

It's a running tradition three years in a row now that we head out to the pumpkin patch the Friday of Mommy's conference week. That's because Mommy only has to work a half-day then! Instead of returning to Tanaka Farms, which is also a fun place to go, we decided to go to Irvine Regional Park this time. It's a great location under the old oak trees, and we were there on a beautiful day. Enjoy!

Potty Training

Knowing that Michaela will be my only child, I have been reluctant for her to outgrow babyish things. As exciting as it has been to see her grow and change, there has been an undercurrent in my heart of sadness that babyhood goes by as quickly as it does. Nevertheless, she is now nearly two-and-a-half, and we are at the beginnings of POTTY TRAINING! Seems like such a huge milestone that I just had to capitalize it.

I have decided that when she's potty trained, we can remove the changing table from her bedroom. I'll probably also remove the crib at that point. We co-sleep and she'll probably transition from my bed to her own twin bed next summer - if she's ready to do so. The upside is that getting rid of the changing table and the crib will allow me to put all of her toys in her bedroom instead of having them in the living room. Mommy like!

I used to read each new month's chapter in What to Expect the Toddler Years, but it's been months since I've done so. I really have no idea what my go-to book says about potty training, but I have seen a few things on the Internet that made sense to me.

The first thing that makes sense to me is to hold off on potty training until the child is ready. It's about her, not me. And quite frankly, I do not mind changing diapers all that much. Seems like "accidents" due to premature potty training efforts would be more stressful for us both than continuing to have her wear diapers. So we started talking frequently about going potty in the toilet over the summer, and I let Michaela flush the toilet. She thinks that's lots of fun. About a month ago I purchased a training potty for her to have at Grammy and Papa's house, and we ordered pull-up diapers with Dora the Explorer on them. Most recently we acquired a seat for our toilet at home so that she feels more secure. I think my next move is to get some panties for her that she will be excited about wearing. Perhaps they'll have Dora on them...

Michaela knows that every time she goes on the potty instead of in her diapers that she will get a gummy bear. That has been very motivating to her, but she still only thinks about it when she thinks about it. Know what I mean?

I have heard that devoting several days to potty training by staying home and having the child go bare is a quick way to finish the job, but as a working mom that can't happen until I have some time off. I am hopeful that she will be potty trained by the end of the year - if she's ready, of course.