Today didn’t turn out quite the way I anticipated. It all began as normal—breakfast, dressing, and a show, followed with our morning errand running. Our fridge was out of milk and a trip to the grocery store was mandatory. Amelia didn’t want anything to do with running errands, but poor girl, sometimes she doesn’t get a choice.

She managed to play her hand right, though, and brought our errand running to a screaming halt–literally. I turned away for a minute and, in a terrible Mom Moment, looked back just in time to see her fall out of the shopping cart, face down, splat onto the cement of Home Depot. After a quick gasp, I picked her up and cuddled her, attempting, in vain, to stop her flow of tears, as a ginormous goose egg developed on her upper left forehead.

Setting aside all thoughts of accomplishing any to-do’s (of which I had many and accomplished none), we left the store and headed for Grandma Honey’s (the only carrot to which Amelia seemed inclined to nibble). Hiccupping between sobs she fell asleep in her grandma’s arms—something she hasn’t done in years and certainly not hours before her nap time. She proceeded to take a rather disjointed nap on the couch only to awaken and promptly throw-up all of her remaining breakfast. A phone call to the pediatrician warned me that should she throw-up again a trip to ugent care was in order. Not fifteen minutes later, Amelia found it necessary to empty her tummy once more.

I packed her up and headed out the door for the urgent care. Dad, who had a super busy day and was planning to work late for a next-day trial, came to meet us at the clinic. We arrived, only to find out that she needed a CT scan of her brain, which was only available at the local children’s hospital. We headed to the ER next and, thankfully, two hours later, were told that she was just fine, without any complications.

We were worried about our little girl, she was acting out of sorts for the majority of the day (super lethargic and whining), but a nine o’clock dinner (they wouldn’t let us give her anything to eat before the scan and results) seemed to bring her back to life. She was good and brave and an accommodating patient. We’re just glad she only had to be a patient for one evening.

To Amelia’s way of thinking multiple stickers and a ‘licious (everything these days is ‘licious) popsicle made everything all better.

Amelia Marie | 2 Comments »

Last Tuesday was a big day in the life of our Miss Amelia. She didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the last day she was allowed to wear diapers. She woke Wednesday morning to Big Girl Panties and the demise of all diapering in our household—naps and bedtimes included. After hearing from a few respected sources about this 3-Day potty training method, I read the book and decided it was for us. No “letting her lead the way” over the course of long drown out months. We set aside our diapers and did nothing for three days but tackle potty training. Baby sister’s birth was a looming deadline and I wanted to tackle this before, as I’m not too keen on the idea of diaper two sets of bums.

I’ll admit, the beginning of training required a lot of mental energy on my part. Everything about Amelia and I’s daily routine is pretty easy. We had a good system going. Why mess it up? It took a lot of will power and stock piling of patience to contemplate tackling this project. Luckily, a week later, things seem to have quickly (much more quickly that I expected) returned to normal.

Here’s how it went down:

Day 1: We introduce panties, throw away the old diapers and commit to our new course of action. I keep a mop, bucket, Clorox wipes and an every-ready stash of new panties handy. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted (lifting Amelia on and off the potty was enough for my strained back), frustrated with cleaning up somewhere along the lines of eleven messes, and thoroughly worn out, wishing Scott could make it home from work earlier than eight o’clock that evening. Watching her cute, little bum wander around the house in panties all day kept me going. Amelia, on the other hand, has established that this potty business is awesome: she gets special treats for “making noises in the potty” and choosing which Disney Princess underwear to wear for the next hour or so is great fun.

Day 2: The appeal of yogurt covered raisins is still going strong. Amelia learns that going potty yields special treats and she’s willing to accommodate; I can always count on my good eater. For whatever reason only a two-year-old fully understands, peeing while her friendly Elf looks on seemed to be a good motivation as well. A few messes, but I manage to get away without needing the mop. Things are going well. I believe her bed needed a fresh set of sheets sometime during the night, but otherwise, nothing major.

Day 3: Similar to Day 2. Amelia seems to have mastered the concept of using the toilet, our issues arise with letting me know prior to the accident that she actually needs to go. She wakes from naptime and bedtime with clean panties and dry sheets. I’m impressed.

Day 4: Not much different from the two previous days. I was still hesitant to give Amelia much trust, but things seemed to be progressing. We kept at it.

Day 5: She woke with a major accident. Thirty minutes of cleaning later, we headed off late for church. With some trepidation, I dressed Amelia completely for the first time in four days. We made a trip to the toilet during Sacrament Meeting, only to return and be told nearly immediately that she had to use the bathroom once more. We headed out the isle, down the hall, and back to the bathroom. I suspect she only wanted her special treat, not the toilet. We introduced Amelia to her new nursery leaders and left them with the warning, “She’s in the early stages of potty training; not sure what to expect; good luck!” and made a quick, sheepish exit. I sat on the edge of my seat for the next hour, fearful of what might come. Amazingly, she told her leaders twice that she had to potty and actually followed through. We made it home clean and dry; I breathed a sigh of relief.

Day 6: We re-entered our real life. Full sets of clothing, grocery shopping and errands put her newly acquired skills to the test. Amelia passed with flying colors. Not a single accident—daytime or nighttime.

Day 7-9: This trend of events continued until two mornings ago when I failed to assist Amelia to the bathroom in time early in the morning. We had a yucky mess to clean up, but that’s been our only accident all week. Scott and I continue to argue over who gets to carry the super cuddly and oh! so cute! Amelia into the restroom for her late night “dream pee,” as we’ve dubbed it. I’m not naïve enough to think she will never have another accident (I’ve heard of children regressing after a recent sibling addition), but I would hesitantly say that we have overcome a huge hurdle in the life of every toddler. I still don’t trust her entirely—she’s not super dependable at letting me know when she needs to go—but if I remind her periodically (every couple of hours or so) she does great at peeing on command.

Congrats to Amelia! We sure are proud of our little girl who is growing big too fast, too soon!

Amelia Marie | 4 Comments »

Christmas came early for Scott in the form of a Craig’s-listed Santana 22 sailboat, which is in desperate need of some TLC—as if we don’t have enough improvement projects currently floating around our to-do lists. Despite its rough exterior, Scott has high hopes and aspirations for our little family and this little sailboat.

We continued checking items off of our advent calendar; making Christmas cookies with Alyson was a hit. In an attempt to conserve rapidly-dwindling energy reserves our cookies were made from a package mix and decorated with store-bought frosting—a real faux pas in the Drain household—but I don’t think Amelia held it against me. Other items on our agenda never really materialized. We woke Christmas morning to two unwrapped Christmas tales, when I know that I never wrapped enough to read one book per day. Amelia re-discovered the advent calendar today (obviously it was rather forgotten) and requested me to read each of the tags off to her. Many, I was pleased to see, we had accomplished without fan fare. Others, like “enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and candy cane,” were completely neglected and suddenly sounded good to Amelia on January 3rd at 8:30 am.

Scott took a couple of afternoons off from work. While I wrapped presents and crossed items off my never-ending to-do list and Amelia napped, he had fun with his family rappelling and shooting guns off in the desert. Peace on earth to all, for sure…

We enjoyed good food—in Amelia’s case, olives were the hit—and a night of early Christmas before the Rowleys headed off to Florida for the actual big day.

Amelia’s favorite, by far, was the monkey apron and tray of cookies Grandma Honey gave her. Adorned in her apron, she spent the next few days serving everyone in the vicinity frosted cookies. Nothing—not even breakfast—appealed to her more than playing with these cookies.

We managed (through rather nefarious means better left unmentioned in a public sphere) to visit Santa at Bass Pro. This time around, Amelia was more than thrilled to visit with Santa. She willing sat on his lap and greeted him with a jubilant two-year-old rendition of “Merry Christmas Santa!”

Aside from our traditional Christmas Eve activities, we were able to Skype with Preston in Australia. It was neat to hear his growing accent and catch up on his work Down Under.

There are a number of reasons why I love this family photo, only one of which is that Amelia successfully managed to hide my nearly eight month pregnant belly.

We woke up Christmas morning and headed off for church in our Christmas best. Amelia returned home to find that Santa had visited her and brought a much-anticipated gift.

Notice the apron? As soon as she saw Santa’s gift, Amelia requested the immediate wearing of her apron before cooking any pretend food. Apparently, her mother, who must wear an apron at all times or become completely covered in food preparations, has rubbed of on her just a bit.

We are lucky Santa managed to bring it at all, as his elves were working overtime late Christmas Eve to get the gift completed in time. Despite all the long hours and many excursions needed to complete this gift, the pay off has been worth it. Amelia loves her little play kitchen.

After warding off two threatening colds during our house remodeling, my body finally succumbed to a full-blown-makes-you-feel-like-crap cold the week before Christmas and persisted to stick around. A Peanut-free couple of days in Rocky Point doing nothing but taking excessive naps (three in just two days) and reading lots of books (two in just two days) was just what the doctor ordered. Scott and I, thanks to the help of willing grandparents, were able to escape for a couple of days. We thoroughly enjoyed our time lazy-ing around the house (I won’t even say beach, because I literally didn’t walk outside for an entire day) before the arrival of Amelia, Grandma Honey, Grandpa Pablo, Lisa, Sarah, and a couple of their friends.

Early in the morning, the day after everyone joined us on the beach, we spotted dolphins out the window. Hurrying down to the surf, headless of my pajamas, we launched the boat and set off with our camera to capture what always turns out to be a remarkable memory. This time certainly did not disappoint.

Aunt Lisa dazzled our toes and Amelia’s fingers. Amelia spent the next day walking around, holding her fingers up (with the paint facing her) and showing them off to anyone willing to pay attention.

Scott got some practice in on the sailboat and Amelia was his trusty skipper. They both had a grand time.

The new year came and went without too much fanfare on our parts. Regardless, we were grateful for the time we had to spend with family this holiday season.

Lonica Stuff | 2 Comments »

Since (somewhat) settling into our house we’ve been attempting to get into the Christmas spirit. Everything is so much more enchanting and exciting when viewed from a toddler’s perspective. Here’s what we’ve managed so far:

We sent Amelia off to Raquel’s ward Christmas party, while we unloaded our U-Haul trailers and moved in. The party was a breakfast with Santa. Amelia thought it was grand to wear her Christmas jammies. She thought it was even better that Santa was there. Until, apparently, it came time to actually sit on his lap.

My mom and sister joined me for Christmas tree decorating. It looks pretty festive in our front room, if I do say so myself.

I wrapped a number of Christmas books and placed them under the tree. Each night, Amelia selects one and snuggles on Scott’s lap for a good story.

I attended an all-you-can-eat Christmas candy buffet party at Raquel’s house. While the food was great and the company lively, I’m sure the calories set me back a few weeks.

I did a double take on Sunday during church when I realized that Christmas was exactly two weeks away. Not a present has been bought and Christmas cards have yet to be mailed. Since then, I have purchased a number of gifts, but yet to do much else on this front.

I (mostly) filled out our little 12 days of Christmas advent calendar. So far, we are two for two, when it comes to following through. We’ll see what this afternoon brings (seeing as there really isn’t anything in today’s slot yet).

We made a failed attempt to visit Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Apparently, Santa has to return to the North Pole at exactly eight pm each night, whether or not you’ve been telling your very excited two-year-old that she will get to visit Santa after dad gets home from work all day long. Showing up at seven pm doesn’t do you any good, because the line is already too long and Santa’s elves are no longer accepting visitors. Instead, we waved to Santa from afar, promised a return visit, and snagged a ride on the Christmas carousel before it shut down for the evening. Maybe this doesn’t really count as completing our advent activity for the day?

We jam out to “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” and “Frosty the Snowman” any time it happens to be on the radio. Amelia is infatuated with these songs. I’ve realized once more how much I dislike any version of “Santa Baby.” Shudder.

I can’t wait to see what the upcoming weeks bring. I think it will be good…

Amelia Marie, Lonica Stuff | No Comments »

Someone thinks she’s big. In fact, she is getting rather big.

Since moving into our new house she’s started sleeping in a big girl bed—no more too-small-to-stretch-out-in pack-n-play for this little girl. So far, she’s done great at going to sleep; she’s just needed a few reminders to settle down and close her eyes for sleep. We haven’t had many issues with leaving her bed early, as she’s starting to figure out that she has to stay on the bed until her light goes off.

I woke this morning to loud music playing. After some deductive reasoning I realized the sound was coming from her room. Apparently she knocked her little radio (which usually plays white noise static) off the night stand sometime during the night and it switched to real music. I went to turn it down and she stirred. I told her to go back to sleep and amazingly, she did. Only, she did so on the very tippy, tip edge of her bed. I sat on pins and needles until morning time just waiting for her to roll and crash onto the ground. It never happened. Thank heavens, but I’m sure it will some day.

After arriving in our house, we bought a little stool for Amelia to climb up on. She loves this little stool and faithfully hauls it around the entire house. She’ll join me for smoothie making in the kitchen; make-up application in the master bath; and tooth-brushing in her bathroom. She uses it to turn on lights and reach books from shelves too high to reach otherwise. Evidently, she thinks she has lots of new freedoms.

Apparently, with these new freedoms comes the ability color on walls. Never before in her life has Amelia colored on a wall. Now, after two weeks of living in a freshly scrubbed, primed, and painted home, she’s done it not once, but twice. Twice. Twice has she taken marker to the paint I’ve thoughtfully selected and diligently applied. We’ll see if a stern reprimands, the removal of markers, a forced scrubbing, and a “sorry mommy” will curb this behavior. Somehow I bet it will crop up again.

As I was scrubbing the paint, I actually thought to take a picture. Unfortunately, I was too frustrated to document the event for posterity. Sorry to all those readers who feel jipped as a result. At least the paint cleans as easily as the Sherwin Williams people promised it would. There is that small justice in the world.

Amelia now talks in full sentences, nearly non-stop. We have all sorts of conversations throughout the day, many of which happen in the car. One sample:

Amelia: Hungry.
Mom: You want to eat?
Amelia: Yes.
Mom: What would you like to eat?
Amelia: Some animals.
Mom: You want to eat animals?
Amelia: Yes, big ones.
Mom: You want to eat big animals?
Amelia: Yes, like Daddy animals.
Mom: You want to eat Daddy?
Amelia: No, Daddy cats.

Not entirely sure where eating large, daddy cats fits into our weekly diet, but apparently Amelia thinks it would be a good option.

She is getting to be so smart. She spies things in stores and makes connections I’m not even sure she knew about. She comments on things that appear out of the blue, but make perfect sense from a two-year-old perspective. I constantly have people stop me in public and comment on what an eloquent little speaker she is. While I really enjoy being able to communicate and get a glimpse into her little mind, there are times when I must admit, in all honesty, that I wouldn’t mind a little mute button.

Amelia Marie | No Comments »