Thursday, May 17, 2007

Ella's Update

Well, I figured it was high time I wrote a little bit. And I have a confession to make...I miss blogging! :-)
Ella is changing so much and so fast. Too fast. Is there any way to stop time? To let her remain 22 months old forever?
Yesterday, Will came home for a rare lunch break and got her up from her nap (she had already been sleeping for almost 2 hours) so she could eat with us. The first thing she did upon waking? Say "Choo Choo" and do the train motion w/her hand. There are train tracks near our house but there was no train coming then, so all we could figure was she had been woken up too soon from her delightful dream about trains. :-)

She's using the potty all the time now! I credit success to my reading of The Diaper-Free baby by Christine Gross-Loh. In actuality, you should start this w/younger babies, but I figured, "What the heck; let's try it now and see what happens." What happened was amazing. I first kept Ella's diaper-free times confined to the kitchen (the only room we don't have carpet in) and tried 30-45 min. increments. Her first time peeing on the floor enforced what the book said. Babies learn to forget their peeing sensation b/c our diapers today are so absorbent. She stood there looking at me like, "What is this coming out of me? What's going on?" The next time, she went straight to her potty (which I had moved to the kitchen) and as she was peeing I said, "Ella, you're peeing." That's when she got it. And from then on, it's been pretty smooth sailing. She even poops in the potty without any problems. We're still using diapers at night but usually in the morning she's dry. Tonight while we were walking around the block, she said, "Poo-Poo" which could mean she has to go pee or poop. So we said, "Don't go, Ella. Hold it in. We're going home." And she laughed as Will and I raced her home in the stroller. She went straight to the potty and boy did she really have to go. I don't know if that pull-up could have even held all that pee!
:-) (We use regular panties sometimes around the house and when we're playing right outside, but I'm still scared to try them when we go anywhere!)
I'm considering using the Elimination Communication method for our next little one (starting much younger naturally.) The point of this isn't a race to see how soon you can "potty-train" your child but rather communicating w/them (yes, even infants have "potty" signals) and never letting them get into the habit of soiling themselves.

Something else new since I last wrote? Ella's says the greatest Southern
"Hay-ey" you've ever heard. And she's becoming quite opinionated about what she wears every day, even bringing me different socks (yesterday it was purple) to wear hours after we've decided (or thought we did) that she was wearing pink socks.

Ella had two fun playdates recently. It was exciting to see her interacting more w/another toddler and doing a little less parallel play. One with John Michael who is 6 months younger and one with Kurtis who is about 3 months older. And Kurtis's younger brother Kamden (8 months) was there and Ella was so great w/him. She gently patted him on his head, tummy, etc. It gave me a glimpse of how she'll (hopefully) be as a big sister one day.

And I have to share our new favorite song, "Made to Love" by TobyMac. Whenever we hear it, we rush into the kitchen (where the radio is) and begin dancing. It's such a catchy, fun song with meaningful lyrics. I'm instantly refreshed when I hear it as I often need reminding of my purpose on this earth. Here's the chorus:

I was made to love you
I was made to find you
I was made just for you
Made to adore you
I was made to love
And be loved by you.
You were here before me
You were waiting on me
And you said you'd keep me
Never would you leave me
I was made to love
and be loved by you.

These days, whenever Ella wants to do anything, she'll point to that thing, and say, "Uh-huh." So, we're outside today, and she runs over to her toddler swing, points, and says, "uh-huh." I put her in and then the "conversation" goes something like this.

Me: Ready?
Ella: Uh-huh.
Me: Okay, here we go, One...
Ella: "Twoooooo".
Me: Three!
Ella and Mommy: "Whee!"

Oh, such fun! Yes, she has her temper tantrums, but this is such a delightful age.

10 comments:

Amy B. in Charleston said...

Good to see an update from you, Laura. I don't even know if you knew that I'd been following your blog since I hadn't commented much. But I have....hee, hee, hee. :)

Cil gave me a little update on your move plans. Maybe we can get together next time we are up that way before y'all move away.

Love, Amy B.

Elise @A Path Made Straight said...

The "kiss from Kurtis" is so cute - I love her happy face peeking over his shoulder! :)

So good to catch up with you! Ella is just changing and growing - and I'm so proud of you - and her - with the potty training! I think I should look into that book...

Still praying for you and your future and decisions and happiness and faithfulness... Much to be thankful for, yes?

Laura said...

Amy-no, didn't know you'd been keeping up w/my blog but glad you have. Thanks! And yes, we'll have to get together before the move. Miss you!

Elise-yes, like she was saying, "Look at me, Mom, I'm getting a kiss!" I highly recommend the book-it's not at all pushy and just makes sense. And thank you!!! for your prayers. I'll update on the moving status later. But yes, you're right, we do have much to be thankful for.

Anonymous said...

Love the kiss gallery. Sweet.


Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/

Emily said...

I loved seeing the updated pictures! So proud of Ella (and you!) with the potty training. Ella gets prettier every day!

rcsnickers said...

Wow, excellent on the potty stage! I need to really read that book and skim through it! Highly impressed!

So glad you gave us an update. Hope everything is going well for your move soon!

Ella is growing fast and beautiful as ever. What a sweetie!

Letisha

Anonymous said...

What a heart warming post - I loved being over at your blog.

Elizabeth said...

Oh, how I've missed my Laura fix!!! I'm so glad you've posted again. I hope you keep it up. It should be a good outlet for stress relief, reflection and reprioritization throughout your move. Plus, I selfishly want to be kept in the loop.
I love our new town, can't wait to have you here!
Elizabeth

Nene said...

I love all the adorable pictures of Ella! She's growing so fast and is just beautiful!

Congratulations on the potty training...I'm so impressed! No more diapers! :)

Emily said...

Congrats on the potty training! Mom said Ella was a big hit with everyone this past weekend...she's so smart and cute. So much has been going on lately. I know you'll be glad when you're settled!