You know you're a mom when...

you cut your toe, and the only band-aids you have in the house have Nick Jr. characters on them.

The end of an era

Today is a very sad day in our little world.

It was Mini Me's last day of Gymboree. Mini Me has been going to gymbo's every week for the past 2 years. But, we have decided that it was time for a break. I would like to take the baby to classes when she is ready because I really have loved the experience and our teacher Nancy is the BEST. But, I think Mini Me's time there is over.

We are looking into some other options for her such as gymnastics, music, and of course...preschool. So, with that, we move on to the next stage.

Goodbye, Gymbo!

The far reaches of 'mine'

If there was any doubt that we have officially reached the 'mine' stage of toddler-hood, let's just put that to rest now.

We have grown accustomed to, but not thrilled with, Mini Me's constant assertions that every item that she can lay her eyes on is hers- regardless of actual ownership, possession, or mere thought of possession.

Mini Me often yells at the wind (aka fan) for blowing the pages of her coloring book. Or, the sun for shining on her toys. Yes, Mini Me thinks she alone can control and discipline Mother Nature.

But, today, as I was busy puttering and doing 60 billion things that haven't managed to make it to my 'to do' list, yet still need to be done, I was also listening to her play. She had her toys out and was so involved in pretend play that she didn't notice that I had stopped what I was doing and was watching her. As she alternated between characters (Gordon the train and Abby Caddabby-a somewhat unlikely pairing, unless its a PBS Kids family reunion), I figured out that Gordon wanted to play with Abby's magic wand. And, Abby (aka Mini Me) was having no part of it.

She would put the wand near Gordon, then yell at him, "No! It's my wand! No touching it!" To which Gordon would apologize. Rinse and repeat for 5 minutes.

Yes, we are clearly in the world of 'Mine!' That doesn't bode well for the next 16 years of her life...

What do you get when you mix...

18 parents, 1 teacher, and 10 kids between the ages of 2-4 years old in a small room on a Saturday morning?

Chaos.

Yup, Mini Me had her Sibling Class yesterday morning at the hospital. Billed as a class to introduce young children to the idea of becoming a brother/sister and make them feel at ease in the hospital setting.

Riiiiight.

The hour long class was spent listening to one kid or another having a clingy meltdown about something or another. For Mini Me, it was when one boy tried to take away her prized possession: a train. And, when the slideshow of babies was done. ("more big tv!")

For other kids, it was simply being in a group, and dealing with the fact that something was changing in their lives, and they wanted to cling desperately to mommy with every fiber of their being. Which, really, I can tell you from personal experience, is physically and emotionally draining when you are 8 months pregnant. I feel for those women, and am thankful that Mini me has only had a few of "those" moments.

So, the kids learned that babies cry, sleep and drink milk. They were shown how to change a diaper (yeah, I don't even let Mini Me wipe herself when she poops-like I'm really going to let her change the baby's diaper....) and how to swaddle/hold the baby. Mini Me wanted NO part of holding the baby.

Although, she was very interested in the diaper change part. The baby doll she had was a boy doll....an anatomically correct boy doll. She was fascinated...much to the horror of daddy. Me? I just laughed.

After the classroom portion, we went up to the maternity ward unit so that the kids could see the rooms that Mommy would be staying in, and got to look through the window of the nursery at the (very) new babies. The kids were interested, but really, this was for the moms.

All of us kind of took a deep breath and realized that in a matter of a couple of weeks, we would all be here holding our little ones. Just looking at the rooms, looking at how tiny the newborn babies were was amazing.

All in all, I don't know how much Mini Me learned from the experience. But, at least now, when I say that mommy is going to the hospital, she has a mental picture of where I am. And, when she comes to visit, she will recognize the place. That was my goal, after all.

U is for Undies!!!!

U is for Undies!!!

You may have noticed the absence of potty training related discussions here lately.

That's because there was very little to report. Mini Me was absolutely consistent with using the potty as long as she didn't have underwear (or any bottoms) on. No pee accidents at all.

However, it's not really socially acceptable to have a 2.5 year old child running around town naked. So, that posed a bit of a problem.

She had a difficult time understanding that underwear were not diapers. And, really, at home, I don't care if she wears clothes or not. It's summer, it's hot, I'm tired. End of story.

Well, today I decided to bite the bullet and start over with potty training. I was feeling motivated and rested due to my newly unemployed/on maternity leave status. So, undies it was.

This morning was a complete disaster, complete with poop and all. Great. But, by this afternoon, I guess she was tired of cleaning up the mess, because she has now managed to pull her underwear down and pee on the potty...not once, but twice!

So, I am cautiously optimistic that we may be turning the corner, and this child may be on her way to being fully potty trained and completely out of diapers (well, maybe except for nighttime) before her baby sister is born.

Yay Mini Me! I am so proud of you!!!

B is for Baseball...again.

B is for Baseball...again.

When given the choice between going to the beach and going to a baseball game...she picked baseball.

Mini Me has inherited her daddy's love of baseball. Here are some pics from Mini Me's second baseball game of the season. Complete with playing ball on the field with daddy, a balloon Elmo, and dancing with the mascot.