My mom has been telling me that Ari is using the potty occasionally with her. Usually it is because she is in a bath and suddenly needs to pee and she has learned not to pee in the bath so it is easiest to put her on the potty and she will go real quick and back into the tub.
Well, today Ari was again hanging with Safta and my mom asked her, "Do you want to pee in the potty?" Ari yelled yes and ran up to her potty, apparently. She went potty, poured it in the toilet, and flushed just like a big girl. Of course, I just get to hear about it. *sigh*
So... tonight she had a bath, but when we first walked into the bathroom, she yelled out, "Need to potty before bath." So I pulled off her pants and diaper and she sat down and as mommy and daddy looked on, our little girl became a big girl. She peed in the potty. We were both there to witness it and it wasn't a fluke. Not only that, but she did it twice in one day.
I'm sure we have days/weeks until we are fully there for waking hours, but we are definitely on our potty way. :) I'm so proud!
What things have I done? Nothing really. We bought her potty a long time ago, maybe right around turning 1, and she used to like to sit on it like just a regular chair. Nothing more happened with it for a long time, though I often talked while changing her diaper about how if she didn't want to have her diaper changed anymore, she would need to learn to use the potty. A few months ago I bought her a DVD called Potty Power and she just loved it. She watched it multiple times at first, but still didn't really show interest. Lately she asked for it again and occasionally when I would ask if she wants to go potty, she would go sit down, but never pee. The rest of the story is above. Just kept asking, making it fun, and making it about her choosing to use the potty, and here we are on the way to potty trained. :)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dungeons & Dragons Meme
This is for all the geeky kids out there like me! :)
What kind of a Dungeons and Dragons Character are you?
You Are A:
Lawful Neutral Human Cleric (5th Level)
Ability Scores:Strength- 12
Dexterity- 13
Constitution- 11
Intelligence- 14
Wisdom- 17
Charisma- 15
Alignment:
Lawful Neutral- A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs him. Order and organization are paramount to him. He may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or he may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot. However, lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Clerics- Clerics act as intermediaries between the earthly and the divine (or infernal) worlds. A good cleric helps those in need, while an evil cleric seeks to spread his patron's vision of evil across the world. All clerics can heal wounds and bring people back from the brink of death, and powerful clerics can even raise the dead. Likewise, all clerics have authority over undead creatures, and they can turn away or even destroy these creatures. Clerics are trained in the use of simple weapons, and can use all forms of armor and shields without penalty, since armor does not interfere with the casting of divine spells. In addition to his normal complement of spells, every cleric chooses to focus on two of his deity's domains. These domains grants the cleric special powers, and give him access to spells that he might otherwise never learn. A cleric's Wisdom score should be high, since this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Father's Day Weekend
We started out on Friday night celebrating our father's day weekend with me going to a mom's book club meeting. John and our good friend Bruce (the guy who takes most of the pictures on this web site, Thank Bruce!) took Ari to a park we like a lot in La Jolla. From what I hear, fun was had by all. Unfortunately, dusk was playing tricks with our friends camera and most of the pictures were too dark to see much. Here is one that shows our pretty girl from that night out with the boys. :)
The next photo is from Saturday morning. We went to a kids indoor playground called Super Play. It was a lot of fun! Here Ari is showing off her inner domestic goddess...
and practicing her driving preparing to ask Daddy for the keys to the car already.
One of the favorite things there for our thrill seeker is a go cart ride. You can check out how tall they are here:
And how much she loves speed here:
Saturday afternoon we decided to check out the San Diego Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The first thing we ran into that Ari just HAD TO DO, was the pony ride. She was disappointed that she forgot her cowgirl hat in the car, but she was still adorable and super happy on her horse, Franky.
Then we found the Kiddieland area and boy was that a mistake, I mean fun. After riding a nice kiddie boat ride...
...Ari was back to needing SPEED! There was a children's roller coaster and she just had to go on it. Of course, she also decided to sit in back and as I was flinging about because it was meant for someone 37" tall, I'm thinking... I hope she isn't scared against roller coasters after this. So what did she say afterwards? MORE!
We decided that instead of more, we would go fishing which she would like as well. So here you see her and I maneuvering a fish rod as we caught a fish. We won a small prize which has become a HUGE hit! What could this prize be?
A pink hedgehog. LOL You can see it in her hands here as Daddy holds her after the victory.
If you thought we were finished with our thrill seeking... You were wrong. She saw a boat that went not only rocking back and forth, but also spun around as it rocked back and forth. I made sure that this time we at least sat in the middle! Oh.. and afterwards... We yelled, "MORE!", again.
Once again, we distracted her. I took her through a mirror maze and showed her how to feel our way through. I'm not sure if she totally got what it was all about, but we smiled at each other in the mirrors and I didn't have to get flung about. Hehe...
After this we saw a really cute train that we just had to ride on so here we are sitting in the caboose all buckled up. :)
The next three pictures are a combination. You may be wondering why I'm giving a sarcastic thumbs up in this first shot...
...while Ari is having such a good time (holding her hedgehog) in this shot.
Well... All these rides charged you 3 tickets for the child and 3 tickets for the adult as well even though I'm only there because she needed me to be there. In the picture below you will notice that Ari is driving a truck with me in the back. Not only in the back, but there isn't even a window behind her head so she can check that I'm there. In fact... I had no idea if she was doing okay or not. I couldn't see her AT ALL. John had a better idea of whether she was doing well. So... I was essentially there for my own happiness at riding the back of the truck. Hence... the need for sarcasm. Hehe...
This was a cool shot our friend Bruce took of John and Ari with the lights of the fair behind them. I think it turned out amazing.
Here is the evidence of what a bad mommy I am. Would you like some chocolate and ice cream before bed time? More? OKAY! It's a fair. You can't leave without having a treat!
So... we spent father's day weekend being a family for the most part. On father's day, John did get to choose where to eat breakfast, spend time in his garage doing woodworking, and eating a steak dinner. As far as his gift? Well... that happened weeks ago. Ari and I gave Daddy a hammock and stand. He loves it. :) I chose the best Daddy for Ari possible! We love you John!
The next photo is from Saturday morning. We went to a kids indoor playground called Super Play. It was a lot of fun! Here Ari is showing off her inner domestic goddess...
and practicing her driving preparing to ask Daddy for the keys to the car already.
One of the favorite things there for our thrill seeker is a go cart ride. You can check out how tall they are here:
And how much she loves speed here:
Saturday afternoon we decided to check out the San Diego Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The first thing we ran into that Ari just HAD TO DO, was the pony ride. She was disappointed that she forgot her cowgirl hat in the car, but she was still adorable and super happy on her horse, Franky.
Then we found the Kiddieland area and boy was that a mistake, I mean fun. After riding a nice kiddie boat ride...
...Ari was back to needing SPEED! There was a children's roller coaster and she just had to go on it. Of course, she also decided to sit in back and as I was flinging about because it was meant for someone 37" tall, I'm thinking... I hope she isn't scared against roller coasters after this. So what did she say afterwards? MORE!
We decided that instead of more, we would go fishing which she would like as well. So here you see her and I maneuvering a fish rod as we caught a fish. We won a small prize which has become a HUGE hit! What could this prize be?
A pink hedgehog. LOL You can see it in her hands here as Daddy holds her after the victory.
If you thought we were finished with our thrill seeking... You were wrong. She saw a boat that went not only rocking back and forth, but also spun around as it rocked back and forth. I made sure that this time we at least sat in the middle! Oh.. and afterwards... We yelled, "MORE!", again.
Once again, we distracted her. I took her through a mirror maze and showed her how to feel our way through. I'm not sure if she totally got what it was all about, but we smiled at each other in the mirrors and I didn't have to get flung about. Hehe...
After this we saw a really cute train that we just had to ride on so here we are sitting in the caboose all buckled up. :)
The next three pictures are a combination. You may be wondering why I'm giving a sarcastic thumbs up in this first shot...
...while Ari is having such a good time (holding her hedgehog) in this shot.
Well... All these rides charged you 3 tickets for the child and 3 tickets for the adult as well even though I'm only there because she needed me to be there. In the picture below you will notice that Ari is driving a truck with me in the back. Not only in the back, but there isn't even a window behind her head so she can check that I'm there. In fact... I had no idea if she was doing okay or not. I couldn't see her AT ALL. John had a better idea of whether she was doing well. So... I was essentially there for my own happiness at riding the back of the truck. Hence... the need for sarcasm. Hehe...
This was a cool shot our friend Bruce took of John and Ari with the lights of the fair behind them. I think it turned out amazing. 
Here is the evidence of what a bad mommy I am. Would you like some chocolate and ice cream before bed time? More? OKAY! It's a fair. You can't leave without having a treat!
So... we spent father's day weekend being a family for the most part. On father's day, John did get to choose where to eat breakfast, spend time in his garage doing woodworking, and eating a steak dinner. As far as his gift? Well... that happened weeks ago. Ari and I gave Daddy a hammock and stand. He loves it. :) I chose the best Daddy for Ari possible! We love you John!
Similac Organic.. Can I have Sugar with that?
So I recently posted this on my mother's playgroup message board and someone pointed out that the language is MAY and not DOES or MIGHT but not IS. Anyway... aspertame might have cancer causing side effects that might be worse in children, but I'm not giving that to my daughter either.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/19/9057/
Apparently, the organic version of similac baby formula has had a lot of sugar put into it to sweeten it up. Will it cause babies to potentially turn away from other foods because they have developed a sweet tooth? Will it cause them to become obese as babies? I don't fully know, but the bottom line, I think, is that there are plenty of Organic products out there that don't feel the need to sugar their formulas up like this and so it obviously doesn't add any nutritional value, just makes it sweeter and therefore more appealing. You know... like sugary cereals for children. If there weren't such sweet options, children wouldn't be tempted to eat them.
For me the disappointing thing and the thing I hope that articles like this (and hopefully the backlash from it) will alter, is that lately everyone is jumping on the organic bandwagon, but some of these big companies are doing their bare minimum that they have to do to get the organic label on their product instead of understand the consumer of organic foods and wanting to provide what they are looking for. Someone who is buying organic is generally someone who is concerned about their health and food intake. It is morally wrong of these companies, in my opinion, to not follow desire of the customer but instead deliver something that if they knew what was truly in it, they would cringe and then label it organic. It may be legal, but it isn't what the Organic movement is all about. We want healthy food for healthy living.
Thank god that this didn't exist when we first started Ari on formula. When it did come out, she was already used to hers and we didn't want to switch her, but I always looked at it thinking, if only it had come out sooner. Now... I am so happy it didn't.
You can still choose to use this formula, but better to be informed than to go in blind. :)
Happy Father's day to all the fathers out there and especially to Ari's amazing father, my amazing father, and my amazing father-in-law. We love you all very much!
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/19/9057/
Apparently, the organic version of similac baby formula has had a lot of sugar put into it to sweeten it up. Will it cause babies to potentially turn away from other foods because they have developed a sweet tooth? Will it cause them to become obese as babies? I don't fully know, but the bottom line, I think, is that there are plenty of Organic products out there that don't feel the need to sugar their formulas up like this and so it obviously doesn't add any nutritional value, just makes it sweeter and therefore more appealing. You know... like sugary cereals for children. If there weren't such sweet options, children wouldn't be tempted to eat them.
For me the disappointing thing and the thing I hope that articles like this (and hopefully the backlash from it) will alter, is that lately everyone is jumping on the organic bandwagon, but some of these big companies are doing their bare minimum that they have to do to get the organic label on their product instead of understand the consumer of organic foods and wanting to provide what they are looking for. Someone who is buying organic is generally someone who is concerned about their health and food intake. It is morally wrong of these companies, in my opinion, to not follow desire of the customer but instead deliver something that if they knew what was truly in it, they would cringe and then label it organic. It may be legal, but it isn't what the Organic movement is all about. We want healthy food for healthy living.
Thank god that this didn't exist when we first started Ari on formula. When it did come out, she was already used to hers and we didn't want to switch her, but I always looked at it thinking, if only it had come out sooner. Now... I am so happy it didn't.
You can still choose to use this formula, but better to be informed than to go in blind. :)
Happy Father's day to all the fathers out there and especially to Ari's amazing father, my amazing father, and my amazing father-in-law. We love you all very much!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Mommy Quiz
| So not the results I thought but really cool! The Mommy quiz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as a Zen momma | ||||||||||||||||||||
| You are a zen momma! You never get your knickers in a knot- because you can look objectively at the world. You don't allow stress to interfere in your judgment which makes you a great source of wisdom for your tater tots. | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Thursday, June 12, 2008
This was going to be profound!
So tonights post was going to potentially be post-partum take 2 or maybe the 6 word biography that I was tagged with and need to get to writing or maybe something else fun and interesting. Instead I am sitting here wondering how my whole day could be ruined by a little green frog.
Ok... Ruined may be a bit melodramatic, but I think you will understand. Ari has had this little green frog with a blanket attached since she was like 7 or 8 months. They bonded very quickly and mommy rushed out to the store to buy a few more knowing the day would come that something would happen to one of them or one of them would need to get cleaned and there would be the need for a back up. Well.. I had kept two here at the house and had given my parents the third so Ari could occasionally sleep at their house.
Today started out almost like any other day except my 'rents have (skipped town to hang out with friends) taken a much needed vacation and also Ari hadn't gone to sleep the night before (because who needs sleep?) until 11:30 so she woke up at 8 when usually she is up between 7 and 7:30. The hubby played with her a little bit while I showered and got ready for the day. Ari and I went about our morning per usual. We went to soccer class where we got a medal (I'll post that picture tomorrow I hope) since it was the last day of the session. We then went to My Kids Clubhouse to play for a bit and then dragged ourselves out to go home and take a nap. Here is the place where it really went down hill. We get home and I have no clue what happened to Froggy (i.e. her little green friend). I put her in her room for fear that all the excitement of looking will entertain her enough to get her wired. I go looking around and around but no Froggy. I hear her start crying so I go up and she wants her pacifier. I give it to her and tell her I am still looking but I'll be back.
Luckily, she fell asleep as I ran up and down and all around looking for this little guy or even the back up guy will do. Not a green smiling face in the bunch. I looked in crayon boxes, legos boxes, in her playroom, in the bathrooms, in our bedroom, *pant* *pant* and I am sooo tired and hot I start getting really flustered until I realize that she indeed had fallen asleep. Whew! Now we just need to find one of two by tonight.
Well... Tonight came and tonight was no less frustrating. There are TWO of them. How can I not find at least ONE! I literally spent about an hour looking in every little container that she might have stuffed him into. I look in every cabinet in the kitchen. I run up and down and up and down the stairs like I'm training for a step-athalon. Where is FROGGY? I even ask my 2.5 yr old where she put him and she tries to show me where, but he isn't there. Guess she doesn't remember either.
Finally, I give up. I call my parents at 12:30 their time to find out where they have their Froggy. My mom gives me a description of where to find him and I send my adoring husband to find him. After searching where he was told, he calls and says there is no Froggy. I then call my mom back and now we are bordering 1AM. She doesn't pick up and between the time I hang up and she calls me back, Ari decides to try to take a flying leap off the couch head first. I narrowly grab her by her thighs as she is plummeting to certain pain when my mom calls back. Juggling a completely screaming, freaked out toddler, the phone, and the questions about what we need to do, I finally tell my mom to call her number and talk to John. Having calmed Ari down, my husband shows up and says, nope. He can't find THEIR Froggy either! *sigh* How can all three be missing? My husband thinks it is a sign from God that she is ready to give up her lovey. I think that is baloney, but hey... I don't see any problem with having a little friend.
When John arrived back I was already upstairs with her reading her books for bed and we switched. When it was time to lay down, she of course asked for Froggy. My husband told her that Froggy was doing okay, but for tonight could she please take care of Flamingo (because we all know pink flamingos and green frogs are really interchangeable.) LOL Anyway, she seemed to buy it and grabbed the flamingo. When he leaves her she starts yelling down that she wants a cup of milk so I bring it up to her. She drinks some and then again asks me for Froggy while trying to hand me the flamingo. I reiterate that Froggy is fine, but that Flamingo is lonely and could she please take care of him tonight. She seems hesitant at first, but then falls in with the plan. I also pointed out that she had a really big version of froggy on her bed too. (Which she does minus the blanket.)
To make this long story longer... She successfully has had a nap and is now sleeping without Froggy but I feel completely frustrated, tired, worn out, and perplexed as to where are the Froggies have gone! Have you seen our Froggies? Maybe I should post missing signs around our neighborhood. I can attach the picture from one of me earlier posts where she is sleeping with him.
Guess I have a quick trip to babies r us tomorrow to see if they still carry him. I honestly do not know what could have happened to him.
Weird and so lacking in anything profound or interesting!
Ok... Ruined may be a bit melodramatic, but I think you will understand. Ari has had this little green frog with a blanket attached since she was like 7 or 8 months. They bonded very quickly and mommy rushed out to the store to buy a few more knowing the day would come that something would happen to one of them or one of them would need to get cleaned and there would be the need for a back up. Well.. I had kept two here at the house and had given my parents the third so Ari could occasionally sleep at their house.
Today started out almost like any other day except my 'rents have (skipped town to hang out with friends) taken a much needed vacation and also Ari hadn't gone to sleep the night before (because who needs sleep?) until 11:30 so she woke up at 8 when usually she is up between 7 and 7:30. The hubby played with her a little bit while I showered and got ready for the day. Ari and I went about our morning per usual. We went to soccer class where we got a medal (I'll post that picture tomorrow I hope) since it was the last day of the session. We then went to My Kids Clubhouse to play for a bit and then dragged ourselves out to go home and take a nap. Here is the place where it really went down hill. We get home and I have no clue what happened to Froggy (i.e. her little green friend). I put her in her room for fear that all the excitement of looking will entertain her enough to get her wired. I go looking around and around but no Froggy. I hear her start crying so I go up and she wants her pacifier. I give it to her and tell her I am still looking but I'll be back.
Luckily, she fell asleep as I ran up and down and all around looking for this little guy or even the back up guy will do. Not a green smiling face in the bunch. I looked in crayon boxes, legos boxes, in her playroom, in the bathrooms, in our bedroom, *pant* *pant* and I am sooo tired and hot I start getting really flustered until I realize that she indeed had fallen asleep. Whew! Now we just need to find one of two by tonight.
Well... Tonight came and tonight was no less frustrating. There are TWO of them. How can I not find at least ONE! I literally spent about an hour looking in every little container that she might have stuffed him into. I look in every cabinet in the kitchen. I run up and down and up and down the stairs like I'm training for a step-athalon. Where is FROGGY? I even ask my 2.5 yr old where she put him and she tries to show me where, but he isn't there. Guess she doesn't remember either.
Finally, I give up. I call my parents at 12:30 their time to find out where they have their Froggy. My mom gives me a description of where to find him and I send my adoring husband to find him. After searching where he was told, he calls and says there is no Froggy. I then call my mom back and now we are bordering 1AM. She doesn't pick up and between the time I hang up and she calls me back, Ari decides to try to take a flying leap off the couch head first. I narrowly grab her by her thighs as she is plummeting to certain pain when my mom calls back. Juggling a completely screaming, freaked out toddler, the phone, and the questions about what we need to do, I finally tell my mom to call her number and talk to John. Having calmed Ari down, my husband shows up and says, nope. He can't find THEIR Froggy either! *sigh* How can all three be missing? My husband thinks it is a sign from God that she is ready to give up her lovey. I think that is baloney, but hey... I don't see any problem with having a little friend.
When John arrived back I was already upstairs with her reading her books for bed and we switched. When it was time to lay down, she of course asked for Froggy. My husband told her that Froggy was doing okay, but for tonight could she please take care of Flamingo (because we all know pink flamingos and green frogs are really interchangeable.) LOL Anyway, she seemed to buy it and grabbed the flamingo. When he leaves her she starts yelling down that she wants a cup of milk so I bring it up to her. She drinks some and then again asks me for Froggy while trying to hand me the flamingo. I reiterate that Froggy is fine, but that Flamingo is lonely and could she please take care of him tonight. She seems hesitant at first, but then falls in with the plan. I also pointed out that she had a really big version of froggy on her bed too. (Which she does minus the blanket.)
To make this long story longer... She successfully has had a nap and is now sleeping without Froggy but I feel completely frustrated, tired, worn out, and perplexed as to where are the Froggies have gone! Have you seen our Froggies? Maybe I should post missing signs around our neighborhood. I can attach the picture from one of me earlier posts where she is sleeping with him.
Guess I have a quick trip to babies r us tomorrow to see if they still carry him. I honestly do not know what could have happened to him.
Weird and so lacking in anything profound or interesting!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Day with Safta
Why is it that Grandparents are so much more fun? :)
While John and I were in Vegas we went to Excaliber and bought Ari a pink dragon (not shown), a princess crown, and a princess scepter or wand. We just couldn't come back empty handed... (Can anyone say parental guilt?) LOL Anyway, she is adorable in them. The first day she got them she got the scepter first and right away said, "need a crown!" LOL Luckily, we were prepared.
My mom set up a blow up pool in her back yard that Ari was having a blast playing in. Apparently she was dancing in and out of it, splashing around like a mermaid, and having all sorts of tomfoolery. :)
Thanks Safta for making your time together really memorable for you both!
While John and I were in Vegas we went to Excaliber and bought Ari a pink dragon (not shown), a princess crown, and a princess scepter or wand. We just couldn't come back empty handed... (Can anyone say parental guilt?) LOL Anyway, she is adorable in them. The first day she got them she got the scepter first and right away said, "need a crown!" LOL Luckily, we were prepared.
My mom set up a blow up pool in her back yard that Ari was having a blast playing in. Apparently she was dancing in and out of it, splashing around like a mermaid, and having all sorts of tomfoolery. :)Thanks Safta for making your time together really memorable for you both!
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