The Lanksters: October 2009

It has been a while since I posted, so I thought I would do a quick update. Olivia is growing (and talking) and growing (and talking) more and more every day. We are amazed at how different she is month to month. After we returned from Florida, we thought the timing right to move her to her new bedroom. We moved her into our old guest bedroom and were lucky enough to find some cute bedding from Pottery Barn that matched the current color of the room (green - luckily that is her favorite color right now) so it didn't take much to transform the room. Once again, she surprised us - she took to it right away. I moved her straight into a queen bed since we already had the furniture and thought she may be overwhelmed but she loves it! We finally have enough room for the "Punkin Posse" or her collection of stuffed animals that must sleep with her every night. Since she moved into her new room, she has become pretty adept at getting in and out of the bed (we still need to use a stool because of the height of the bed) and even opening and closing the door by herself...which translates into early morning visits into Mommy and Daddy's bedroom (an unfortunate side effect). She is so proud that she can "do it myself." But for the most part, she is really good - when we turn out the lights in her bedroom she goes to sleep on her own and if she does happen to get up in the middle of the night, I can usually steer her back to bed and she goes without much protest. I couldn't have asked for a smoother transition.

After we moved her to her new room and were comfortable that she acclimated well, we began the transformation of her old room into a nursery for the baby. Again, we were very lucky to find a bumper pad and curtain that matched the colors of the nursery so we have had to do very little to prepare it. I unpacked all Olivia's old baby clothes and stocked the drawers (I cannot believe she was ever so small!) and this past weekend we unpacked all the baby gear from storage to clean it and wash it in preparation. I thought Olivia might show some jealousy but she is very excited about "Baby Sissy's" room and "Baby Sissy's toys." I am not sure she even remembers that she ever used any of that stuff. Aunt Holly, Uncle Matthew, Cooper, Grammie, Grandpa, and Memaw stopped by for a short visit this weekend and she proudly showed off her new room and "Baby Sissy's" bed.

I still don't think she understands what it means that "Baby Sissy" is coming in a few months. We took her to see her friend Lola, just a few weeks after Lola was born, and she spent the entire visit crying everytime that Lola cried. So we have a lot to learn and I expect those first few weeks that the baby is home will be quite an ordeal for all of us.

After managing the transition to her "Big Girl" room I thought I should just nosedive into potty training. I realized it was never going to be as easy as I wanted it to be and that there really wasn't going to be a perfect time to do it, so I might as well tackle it while Olivia still had my undivided attention. I must say, potty training is my least favorite job as a mother. I would rather pick up dog poop all day. I let Olivia pick out her big girl panties and we washed them together and then we picked a Sunday afternoon to start the process. She was a little bewildered the first couple of times she peed in her pants and got quite upset. I know that is not surprising if you know my finicky child who hates to be dirty. She calmed down a bit, but I about lost it when she was walking around in my tennis shoes and peed her pants (and my shoes) full - I cussed my aunt, who warned me she would pee in her shoes, but failed to warn me that she would pee in mine! But we forged ahead. After several days of stumbling blocks at daycare (where I fought with them about her wearing pull-ups v. panties - I don't care what you say, until they get the hang of it, pull-ups are worthless - just diapers shaped like panties), something clicked. Starting on Friday, she went an entire day without a wet accident! We were so excited that we took her to dinner (where she peed in the potty seat we keep in the back of the car - umm, that is interesting when you are sitting in the parking lot of Culvers letting your two year old pee in a potty that sings to her) and let her pick out a new coloring book and a toy! She picks out an Orca and names it "Shampoo" (after I called it Shamu). So now Shampoo has joined the Punkin Posse. We are starting week 3 of potty training and she hasn't had a wet accident since that first week - we are amazed. We still give her stickers for going in the potty, but for the most part, we just let her tell us and she is pretty good about giving us a heads up. That said...

Potty training is not over. While we have figured out #1, but #2 is another story. It is a nightmare because she is TERRIFIED. So terrified that she has made herself constipated, which has compounded the problem. We have had several accidents and just aren't getting very far with this aspect of potty training. She knows she needs to go to the potty, asks to go to the potty, and then freaks out. I have tried everything - reading to her, letting her have a sucker, promising candy, toys, etc. - and nothing works. She is just too scared. Today we went to the potty to try no less than 6 times over the course of an hour before she had a very nasty accident in her panties, at which point she bawled because "I pooped in my panties Mommy and not in the potty!" I know she gets what she is supposed to do, but she cannot get over the performance anxiety. My heart goes out to her, and I am trying to back off a little because I don't want her ending up sitting on a couch telling a shrink about her potty training nightmares, but I can't give up because I know all she has to do it is ONCE and then it will click. But if anyone has any ideas or thoughts on how to deal with this, I would appreciate it because it is wearing me out!

Beyond the new "Big Girl" room and potty training, we are trying to make it day to day as we wait out the last 2 months of my pregnancy. I am about 32 weeks and praying that I can make it. I keep hoping that this baby will come early like Olivia, which means I have about 5 more weeks left, but I have a feeling in my gut that I won't be that lucky. It is probably just as well - I have a ton of Christmas shopping left to do. But I am so exhausted I can barely think. I thought I was tired as I neared the end of my pregnancy with Olivia, but I HAD NO IDEA. Trying to work full time and care for a 2 year old, especially now that Jeremy is traveling again, is taking me to the limit. This is further compounded by a 2 year old that is getting up in the middle of the night or at 5 in the morning because she has to go potty (you can't say no to the that) and then not being able to go to sleep because of a baby beating on your stomach. I know that I won't be getting any more sleep when the baby gets here, but at least I will have one less thing to worry about - work. So at least it is a tradeoff. Regardless, I have decided I will deal with the pacifier when she turns 3 - at least then I hope to have potty training behind me (maybe)...

This orangutan looked so sad - he was so expressive, but I felt sorry for him...

One of the most beautiful animals - a jaguar. Just gorgeous!

The giraffes wanted very little to do with us - feeding time I guess.

Olivia with the toy she picked out at the gift shop - of all the exotic animals, she wants a daschund, which she promptly named "Hot Dog." I made her buy the elephant to remember the trip - we were not leaving with just another dog!

Riding the Merry Go Round, which was a big hit!

Uncle Matthew, Aunt Holly, and Cooper.

A family pic by the huge pumpkin!

Olivia, Cooper, and Grammie riding a Komodo dragon!

Cooper is always surrounded by beautiful women!

Who could resist that smile?

Olivia thought this was really funny!

This is Olivia and I pretending to be elephants...

In case you were wondering, the elephant was her favorite animal and the one she wanted to see the most!

Olivia and Cooper riding in the little red wagon (this was short lived - both wanted to walk most of the day, which left one of us pulling an empty wagon).