Peepee in the potty!!

Okay, this is probably only really exciting to those of you with kids, but I am still riding the peepee high (that didn't sound right, did it?).

Two nights ago was a bit of chaos. Mimi was in town, randomly, and came over with the Alphabet Gang for dinner and kid play. La Papa next door was celebrating his birthday with family and the neighbors - everyone was invited to their house for cookies and ice cream. So there were a ton of people outside between our two houses. Our family was in our backyard but then the mosquitos came out so we went inside for a bit. At one point I saw the Bean go into the bathroom so I followed her in there. She ran to her little potty saying "peepee! potty!" and my first thought was that she was just sort of showing it off to the other kids because shes been super possessive of her toys recently. But I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty and go peepee, because I've been trying more actively to get her to go for the past couple of weeks. Occasionally she will sit on it, but only for a few seconds and then off she goes to play. Usually when I ask if she wants to go she just says "no". She's also been fighting the diaper recently, so I've been telling her that if she doesn't want to wear a diaper she can start using the potty - her choice, no pressure.

So anyway, that night when I asked after she ran in there she said yes, so I unbuttoned her outfit (she already didn't have a diaper on, imagine that) and she sat down and almost IMMEDIATELY started to pee! She gave me this really startled look like "what the hell is that coming out of me?" and I must have had a very similar look on my face because we both just froze, looking at each other.

Of course I made a HUGE deal out of it (I was SOOOO proud!) and she was fascinated too. She had a lot of pee! We told the King, and all the family, and any neighbor that wandered over about her bladder accomplishment. Luckily, everyone was supportive.

About 45 min later it was time for bed and she wanted to pee again but nothing came out and I think she was a bit disappointed. I tried to tell her that her body sends her messages when she has to go but it was late and I'm sure that will take a while to sink it.

But its a start! And this time it wasn't a fluke - I think she really had to go and heard the message her bladder was sending her. As mentioned, I usually ask her a few times a day if she has to go but that time she ran in there by herself, talking about it.

And of course we've been talking about it and asking her every few hours since then but to date there hasn't been a repeat performance. I'm hoping that having me around for an extended period of time while we're on vacation, not to mention all the nakey time she'll get at her Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house will be a big step forward.

And if not? No biggie, we've still got Tidee Didee!

Cute things

- Noodles are "noonies" or sometimes "noodies". She likes most noonies, but Daddy's infamous stroganoff is the BEST (actually, we all agree on that) and the only time she'll eat (and even seek out) mushrooms. The other night it was being made and though I tried my best to keep her outside until dinner time she kept racing into the kitchen and trying to climb into her chair, lamentably crying "noonies! NOONIES! NOOOOOONIES!" until finally the King yelled "it's coming, woman!"

- The Bean now occasionally calls me "woman", as in "sit, woman!". Thanks Daddy.

- The Bean can sing the ABC's up to F, but she pronounces it "At", as in "A-B-C-D-E-At". And she's got the tune almost right, except when she comes to "At". Must remember to try and get video.

- We had take out with Mimi and the Alphabet Gang last night, and sat in the backyard because it was so nice out. The Bean found Mimi's empty container, picked it up, and made a beeline for the house, shouting "away!" because she wanted to throw it away (my good little helper! now PICK UP YOUR TOYS DAMMIT). I followed after her, telling her she could just leave it on the back porch because I wanted to recycle it. She ignored me (I thought) and entered the house, but stopped at the recycling bins and tossed it in! Yes! Its WORKING!

- She enjoys showers with me now, and likes to give the stream of water a hug, braving getting her head/face/ears wet. She also likes to turn around and stick her bottom in the stream, shaking and dancing about.

- She has deadly aim with a squirt bottle full of water. DEADLY.

- She gave the King his first "air kiss" the other morning.

- She can now say the names of all three of our pets and she very much enjoys helping to feed them.

Go by bike

A few weeks ago I bought a Bobike Mini bike seat for the Bean. I agonized for weeks over whether to get her a seat on my bike or a trailer.

Trailer advantages:
- low to the ground in case you should fall or have an accident
- attachment rotates, so you can put your bike down without disturbing the trailer (and hence the child in it)
- provides shade and/or protection from rain
- child can eat/read/sleep on longer rides
- can be used to haul other things along with your kid

Seat on a bike advantages:
- well, just one really, and that is that the child is experiencing the ride as you do. They see what you see, at the level you see it, and you can talk to them while you ride.

And that one advantage won me over. Its not like the bike has replaced our car. Really we would just use it for fun, for quick close errands, for a family outing. And I knew she would love it so much more if she could be up high with the wind in her face and able to talk to me and point out the things she could see.

But, once I had the thing on my bike I suffered from "what the hell have I done?" syndrome. There were days where she got very cold, just sitting there not working, and I felt terrible guilt. And the top of her helmet just about hits my chin, meaning our days are numbered if she continues to sprout inches skyward every month. Still, she loves it. LOVES IT. She practically explodes when she sees the bike, wanting to drop everything and get on it, often wailing "BIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" in lament that she is not already on it. And she will often just want to wear her bike helmet (and nothing else) around the house. One day when we biked to the playground she refused to take it off and I'm pretty sure the other parents thought I was some kind of over-protective freak and didn't trust my child's ability to use a slide correctly.

But my choice was not fully confirmed as a good one until this past weekend. The King had a gig as part of Bastille Day at a popular fountain downtown (all the fountains in our city are public and often occupied by kids in the summertime). Our neighbors were going with their two boys and invited us to bike with them. This was by far the longest bike ride I've been on with the Bean so far (6+ miles, one direction) though it is the route I take daily to and from work. It was about 92 degrees outside, and the route is 98% fabulous bike path along the river, but much of it is in the sun. Our neighbors had their two boys in a trailer and instantly I worried about the Bean frying like bacon, getting grumpy from the heat, from not having water, from not having a snack, from wanting to get off, etc.

Silly me. As you can tell from the post below this one she is a bit of a talker. And boy did she talk - she pointed out everything she saw that she recognized and when she ran out of things she pointed them out again. And again. And again. And then she wanted to sing songs. Do you know how difficult it is to pedal miles and miles in the melting heat carrying 20+ pounds (I had a backpack full of snacks, picnic blanket, water, etc) and singing "I-I-I-YO?" (that's her E-I-E-I-O). But I really didn't mind. What was important was that we were interacting during our experience together, which made it so much more enjoyable for both of us. My neighbor with the trailer actually had to stop a few times to see what her youngest was screeching about, to distribute snacks and water that she had mistakenly put in her backpack, and in general had a somewhat annoyed attitude of "let's just get there already". Her trailer was also pretty wide, as it was carrying two, and the few streets we did have to traverse with traffic we were all a little on edge.

But beyond even that were the smiles and nods I got when folks saw little Bean in her seat (and yeah, she's pretty cute tucked in there, especially with her little bug-eyed sunglasses). I overheard a number of people talking about it, that they've never seen a seat at the front of the bike (its pretty popular in Europe ya'll!), and one guy even approached me and asked about the brand and where to get it (hooray for my local bike shop for carrying it!).

So now the Bean isn't the only one happy to be in the bike seat. I swear my pride in my choice and in her love for it raised me up a few inches so it didn't feel like she was going to break my nose every 5 minutes. Now I want to go everywhere with her by bike and plan on doing more extended rides when we can.

As long as I can stand singing more "I-I-I-YO".

Great conversation

Sometimes when the Bean gets in front of the mirror she likes to talk to herself. Here is a classic conversation. Warning - random screeching ahead.

23 months old

My dear little Bean,

Yesterday you turned 23 months old! This month has been crazy full of activities, many of them new to you, and I swear all the excitement and sunshine has caused you to grow at least three inches.



Among the "firsts" this month:
- you were a flower girl in your first wedding
- you saw a horse up close (a Clydesdale no less! and so you made the sign for "elephant")
- you were left with family while your parents went out to dinner (we both survived)
- you participated in a surprise party for your daddy
- you went on a 3 day raft trip where you
- slept in a tent and sleeping bag for the first time and
- caught your first fish
- got your first skinned knee
- went berry picking
- learned to jump with both feet off the ground
- let us floss your teeth! How many almost-2 year olds do THAT?
- slept through the night on your own mattress

I'm pretty sure that last one was a fluke though, a result of exhaustion from the birthday weekend and berry picking in the sun. Your sleeping habits haven't really changed - you still wake up once or twice a night to nurse and snuggle. What has changed is that I've managed to tame the wild nursling in you a bit. When your hands get a little too wild and it seems to be keeping you from falling asleep I hand you your kitty cat, a delightful little soft stuffed animal your Mom Mom gave to you. You aren't really a stuffed animal kind of kid right now, but you do love that little kitty, and will wrap your arm around it when you fall asleep at night, saving me from getting whapped in the face by your roving hands.

You have been eating a lot this month too, trying to fuel your body's rapid growth. You try pretty much everything we put in front of you, loving the salmon off the grill, the bowl of peas (yay!), even the squash enchilada I shared with you at my new favorite healthy restaurant. I almost peed my pants when you reached for a second helping. You were eating vegetables! And liking it!



And your vocabulary? My gawd! Slow down child! You have moved beyond repeating words you hear me say. You are now hearing words, comprehending their meaning, storing them for later use, and then firing them back at me when I least expect it (see Eddie below). I think that reading books at night is tiring you out. When we read before bed you stare at each page with a slight frown and your amazing eyebrows drawn in. You concentrate so hard on the pictures you see and the words you hear that after two or three you shut the book, sometimes saying "away" and "bed", and fall back exhausted.

You are so confident on your feet now. You have always loved walking down the hill of our driveway, but now you run, circling back up the steps to the top of the hill and running down again. You've also become more confident on our neighbor's steps, climbing up and walking down the narrow wall that borders the railing. You hardly cry at all anymore when you fall, but rather pick yourself up and keep on moving to keep up with your friends or move on to the next adventure.



Sometimes when we eat dinner you rest your head in your hand while you chew, because you are so weary from all the learning and growing you did that day that you need to be propped up lest your heavy head rolls off. And this is such a good lesson for us. Maybe if we were all a little more open to growing and learning we'd eat and sleep better.

In a couple of weeks we are going on a REALLY big adventure to visit Mom Mom and Pop Pop, where you will visit the best beach in the entire world, and frolic in sugar white sand and a warm ocean. You will, hopefully, eat some of the best food on earth, tropical fruits you haven't had the opportunity to try before, and its okay if you don't like them because then there will be more for me. You will get to spend a lot of time naked, with toes in the water, and I expect you to have grown out of all your clothes by the time we get home.



Love,
Mama

Eddie

Scene: Backyard; the Bean is on the back deck playing with some 5 gallon containers we took on the river, now drying in the sun. I am watering the garden. She is happily engrossed in her activity, mostly concentrating silently on taking the caps on and off and twisting the spigots. Occasionally she will babble something to herself.

Bean: Mama! Eddie!
Me: Eddie? (wracking my brains - we don't know anyone named Eddie)
Bean: Eddie!
Me: Yeah, Eddie! (what the hell is Eddie?)
Bean, eyebrows knit, getting frustrated: Eddie! Eddie!
Me: Is that Eddie? Are you Eddie? Do you want to see Eddie? (clutching at straws)
Bean, stamping her feet because mama just doesn't get it: EDDIE! EDDIE!
Me, lightbulb moment: Empty? Are those containers empty?
Bean: Yes.

Back to playing.

Rafting!

We just got back from three glorious days on a river a few hours from our city. This is a river we've been on with my old boss a few times, though not on this particular stretch, and last year I sent the Tween and King but stayed home with the Bean. This portion of the river however is very mild, with only Class 1 riffles and a single Class 2 rapid (classed for the technical aspect vs. the size) so it was toddler safe. The best part was that due to overbooking, we were given a 14' raft instead of the 16' one we were expecting, so the rental company threw in an inflatable kayak for free. The Tween spent most of the time in it, learning river hydrology, the best way to handle small rapids, fishing in the slow spots, and working his upper body. It was a huge self confidence boost for him, and he wasn't stuck cramped in the boat with the rest of us. This made the time he did spend with the Bean much happier for both of them, and he was more likely to look after her in camp when I needed him too.

I had two major concerns and two minor concerns with taking the Bean on this trip, and all proved easy to deal with. The two things I worried about most were shade and where she would nap if we were on the boat 6-8 hours a day. For shade we brought along an assortment of tarps and poles to experiment with, including the pole structure of her little play tent that we thought we could erect in the well at the front of the boat and drape a tarp or towel over. Thank goodness we were able to leave it all in the car though, as one of the other long-time rafters that was on the trip with us had several beach umbrellas that he distributed among the boats. This simple item saved us, though the King had quite a bit of a challenge keeping us in the shade and keeping up with the rest of the crew. The few times it got very windy we had to pull it down to keep us from sailing back upriver, but most of the time we were able to keep it up and the Bean in the shade. Very useful considering she'd often pull her hat off and refuse to wear it, nor did she like long sleeves or pants. Or shoes for that matter. Or her diaper.



The nap concern also turned into a non-issue. She simply fell asleep sitting in my lap. On the third day I finally got tired of holding her and laid her out on a bench in the boat on top of two life jackets, and covered her up with a white towel. She easily slept at least 45 minutes, possibly more than an hour each day, and awoke refreshed and ready to play.



The two minor concerns I had involved whether or not she would eat enough since our options were limited to what we packed, and how she would do sleeping on a sleeping bag on a Thermarest in a tent. And again I needn't have worried. She stuffed her face with snacks throughout the day (dried fruit, nuts, avocado, smoked turkey and ham) plus lots of water and some Pedialyte to keep hydrated, and ate light dinners. She got sleepy when it started to get dark, just like at home, and easily fell asleep. And she loved the tent. LOVED IT. Every afternoon when we found a spot for the night and put up our tent we'd unpack the Thermarest pads and sleeping bags to air them out. The Bean would dive upon them, giggling and rolling around, and order you to "fall" on them too. Then throughout the evening she'd want to go play in the "house". We have a four person REI Hobitat and it must have seemed HUGE to her.



The very first night, when we had driven to the put in but were camping at a State Park, I had spread her open sleeping bag on top of our two pads and put my open sleeping bag on top of us. However, while her bag was a square bottom that opened all the way, mine was a mummy bag that opened only to a foot above the tapered bottom. So all night long I worried about rolling over and exposing her, about whether she would kick off the covers, about whether she was comfortable. And so I got no sleep. The rest of the trip she was in her own sleeping bag, and it was much warmer on the river so I never stressed about temperature. Even the night we slept on a rocky island in the middle of the river we were comfortable. Just like home she would wake just once to nurse and quickly fell back asleep. I think the combination of sun, the rocking motion of the boat, and the sound of the river at night helped all of us to sleep extremely well. Not to mention being "out there", away from all the lights, sounds of industry, and electricity in general. I love camping.



Gotta share this cool rock formation we saw from our rocky island camp spot. The rock is on the right hand side of the photo on the horizon:





Whites called it "Coffin Rock", and you can sort of see that it looks a bit like a sarcophagus. The Native Americans called it "Star Gazer" and you can very much see why. From right to left you can see a forehead, a nose, and a prominent chin. Then it continues to the low hills where you can see a neck, a breastbone with pectoral muscles, a shoulder and arm, a stomach line. It looks exactly like a person laying on their back looking up at the sky. The effect is a amazing and we had a fantastic view on our last night on the river. A fitting end to a trip that was too short.