...speaking of. She's officially been "big girl bed" kind of girl for over a month now! SO so proud of her for giving up her crib to "La-La" (Her name for Clara) She feels all special that Cheyanne gave her "her" bed. IDOLIZES her big sister!
2. Clara on the other hand has turned 5months and has gotten way too big for the bassinet and is a "big baby crib" kind of girl now.
We wanted Ava to feel "promoted" to her new bed/room not "evicted" from her crib (which she LOVED), so we didn't move Clara in right away, so she wouldn't feel like she'd been forced out. She's accepted it really well, now and though sometimes she still longs wistfully for her crib and even hangs out in there with Clara at times, she's moving on up.
Ava was the perfect sleeper, so I knew we couldn't be that lucky twice, and Clara takes after her Mom who can fight sleep like nobody's business. Still no real complaints because she's SOoooo much better than she was a couple of months ago. All I have to think back on is going to sleep at 4:30 every morning for "The night" and I'm so grateful for anything. She's typically in no later than 10:30, but as early as 8:30pm and sometimes she's up a couple times, but the air conditioner in Ava's room helped cool off the temp in Clara's room (which is across the way and if I leave the doors open it helps a little), so she slept like... a baby ...last night and woke all smiles this morning.
3. Speaking of smiles. "La-La" is the smiliest baby! Ava was totally right when she dubbed her "happy baby" and she's a Sanguine child if ever I saw one. Wish you could meet her and pinch her little legs... Ok, I'll do it for you.
4. Clara's crawling officially! She JUST turned 5 months on the 11th and has been working on it all of her 4th month getting ready. I was talking to Colleen recently and said she'd be doing it by 5mo. Who does she chase after? Ava of course!
She tried to stand up the other day and face planted on the wood floor (poor thing) and all I could think is "WHOA girl! SLOooow it down!"
5. Ava may or may not be "Potty training". She's not quite 22 months yet (on the 22nd) but is definitely showing interest and has gone pee-pee on the potty already (to the excitement of ALL family members).
I wasn't totally ready to potty train right now, but if she's ready... I'm going with it.
6. This may be due to the fact that about a month and a half ago we started Cloth diapering. I was shopping for diapers and saw some "one size" ones on Clearance (don't you just love that word?) at Target for about $7 a piece. I knew this was wicked cheap as far as cloth diapers go (these ones were originally between $14 & $18 a piece) and picked up a few to try on Ava. She's a big drinker, so I figured if they didn't leak, that'd be amazing.
They didn't leak.
It was amazing.
I did a little math and figured out that we would save about $2000 if they potty trained at 2yrs old and figured even if it was more work (which it is) it was worth the savings.
I bit the bullet and went back to pick up enough diapers while they were on clearance to be able to cover both girls. I started with just Ava because I had some disposables to use up for Clara and then just switched over to Clara when we had finished em' up. I like that they both wear the same size. They've been working out great and in about one more month I'll have evened out what I normally would've spent on diapers at that point anyway.
SO... here we are! I take all the diapers from the day and toss them in a stainless steel bin throughout the day (helps with odors). At the end of the day when everyone's in bed I throw a load in the wash of all the diapers from the day (and in case you're wondering, it's not as gross as I had expected) and if I'm up doing stuff when it's time to throw them in the dryer, great, if not I toss them in the dryer in the morning and fold them when I'm sitting on the couch throughout the day. I keep them upstairs and down and haven't run short at all.
I heard that Cloth diapering sometimes leads to earlier potty training because they can "feel" it more. I definitely notice that Ava's more "aware" and lately she's been saying "diaper off" to sit on her potty chair. She went pee pee a couple of days ago and we all did a little dance, gave her some chocolate chips and praised her up the wazoo.
Now she asks a bunch of times a day to sit on the potty, but it seems that it's right AFTER she's pee'd, so she hasn't quite realized to ask before hand. We're not pushing her, just encouraging and trying to give her lots of opportunities. She's still really young.
7. I must really love my kids.
Today Shaun called and asked if I wanted to go with him to see a Bon Jovi concert tomorrow night. Someone he knew couldn't use their tickets and offered them to him. We talked about it and looked at the time of the concert and realized that it was way before the girls bedtime and neither of them have been going to bed "easily" in this heat wave. Clara also doesn't drink milk from a bottle except every once and a while, so I couldn't chance a "nightmarish" night at home for my Mom, so that we could go to a concert.
We found out later they were premium box seats with all you can eat drinks and food, free parking, etc...
Actually, this is the online description:
- Exceptional sightlines and clear view of performance
- VIP parking and private access*
- Plush, padded and wide seats
- Flat screen HD TVs, video walls
- Upscale food and beverage options
We laughed about our "loss" later and said, "Well, I guess we're no worse off than we were in the morning." Bummer, though.
Instead he took me on a nice date night tonight and the girls did us the favor of being on their most PERFECT behavior for Nana while we were out.
What brand of diapers are those? It's hard to see from the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of early potty training. My oldest didn't potty train until she was almost 3, but my 2nd and 3rd were totally out of diapers (except at night) by age 2. I like to potty train early, so they get used to going into the potty before they become really "willful" at age 2 and it can turn into a power struggle. It is more work then, because you ahve to take them OFTEN and I do think you might deal with more accidents, but I just prefer to deal with that and have them learn early then do it later. Heck...I even sit my 10-month old on the potty sometimes (started once she was big enough to feel comfortable sitting there). We have a little baby bjorn potty which is perfect for baby girls (because of its shape, it doesn't work so well for baby boys) and if I can tell she's pooping, I'll quickly take her diaper off and hold her over the toilet or sit her on the potty.
-Amelia
They're "Charlie Banana". I have a couple of "Flip" diapers (also got on clearance) and liked that I could just put the liners in and reuse the covers on those, but overall like the CB ones better. They're bulkier than disposables for sure, but we've gotten used to them and their cute lil (big) butts.
DeleteWe'll see how it goes. I DO see Ava definitely becoming more willful ...ugh... it's ALL the me in her.
That is a steal on cloth diapers! I have let my now 17 month old sit on the potty after breakfast and before bath since she was about a year. It is definitely hit or miss but gets her in the habit of sitting on the potty and do something that big sister is doing too!
ReplyDeleteThough I used one of the potty chairs that you have with my first one - I got tired of always having to rinse it out so I got one of the seats that sits on top of the 'big potty' - seriously she had an epic meltdown over that. One day during her rest "Tinkerbell" took the potty chair away and I have not had to rinse out the potty chair since!
I know right??? I couldn't pass it up. Even if we epically fail on the cloth diaper front, I'm determined to hold out till I make my $$$ back!
DeleteGood idea with Potty times. I think I'll be tired of rinsing it too, but it's downstairs (and the bathroom's upstairs), so she watches a video and sits on the potty, reads a book and sits on the potty, sings a song... you get the picture. Upstairs, Mommy holds her on the toilet. Except tonight. Tonight she was NOT going on the toilet.
Love that you traded out a super deluxe night out for a cozy, sweet date night with your hubby! : ) I'd say you made a great deal, friend...
ReplyDeleteAnd your babies are precious! : )
I agree :) (With both comments!)
DeleteOh, the things we give up for our kiddos...Love your attitudes though, and that you chose your kids!!
ReplyDeleteCloth diapers? You are Superwoman. That's all I have to say about that one. (OK, I'll say a little more) Girls are easy to train, much easier than boys, my girls trained at 2-2/12...boys (I used to do daycare) always 3 years, 3 mos. (magic number for boys)
Ahhh... but the things we GET in return, right?
DeleteNot Superwoman... though when I was in High School I had a HUGE crush on Dean Cain when he played Superman. My highschool yearbook ambition was "To save the world and marry Superman" (high ambitions)
She's a funny kid that Ava. She'll either train early or DRAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag it out just to give me a run for my money.
Gettin' my Ava and Clara dose on...keep me smilin' girls :)
ReplyDeleteTell Clara she's got no reason to rush things, even if Ava is super fun to crawl after. Slow down, girl, you're growing up too fast!
Ah, yes, the cushy life/fun we give up for the kids. Really though, mine usually comes down to 'that would be fun, BUT....' and usually is that it's just going to be too much work to coordinate. Instead, we find those few hours here and there when something down happen to work out just right with the kids and go with that. It's really better for all of us any way.
Keep lovin' on those girls. How often I think of you and I and how very similar our girls are. :)
They definitely keep ME smiling!
DeleteI'm telling her, Sarah. She just smiles big at me, kiss kisses and crawls after Ava. Oh well. TO-DAY... she pulled herself up in her crib and was standing and bouncing, just to get a better view of me. Busted out with this huge grin and I said, (all serious) "Clara. What the heck are you doing? You aren't supposed to be standing yet. C'mon now." and thought "GREAT! I JUST fixed the crib and now I have to lower it again. Darn overachieving children!"
I know right? If you come visit, Colleen, I BETTEER get in on that action (I'm 10min down the road)