I'm a Big Girl Now!!!

I have been hesitant to write this post as I am afraid it will back-fire! However, in just over a month, Belle has only had 2 accidents, night or day! I believe she may finally be potty trained!!!

This has been a long process and I am eternally grateful for it to be nearing it's end. Last summer Ben and I decided we were ready to start the chore of potty training and we were quickly enthused as Belle took to the idea pretty well right away. Just as we thought we were making progress, she had a couple of kidney infections and doctors wanted more information so she had a renal scan done with a catheter, etc. Needless to say, this was a major set back and so after a few months, we were back at square one.

We tried everything that we were told by others was a sure success and we quickly learned that Belle is very rational and not easily bribed. Infact, we still haven't found her currency. I made her a chart for stickers and after about the first day she would say mom, can you just put a sticker on for me? So, into the trash went the chart. After promising her everything we could imagine she wanted, we decided we would "punish" her instead. She adores all of her furry friends, so we explained to her that each time she had an accident she would need to place one friend on our bed and he/she would be taken away by the Potty Fairy, only to return when she wore panties. I was shocked when after only one friend had sadly been given away, she came into my bedroom one morning and threw in her Brown Bear and said See you Brown Bear, I had an accident! Obviously, punishment wasn't going to work either. Before too long ALL of her friends were hidden in our closet where they remained for months. It was so frustrating because she could totally do it if she wanted to and she chose to do it about 75% of the time.

Finally, after telling her she CANNOT turn three years old and wear pull-ups, she DECIDED to use the potty by herself! I have to give much of the credit to her Aunt Alee and Grammie and Grandpa Elmo who took her endless times last month when we were visiting. For some reason, when they told her to use the potty it was greeted by less resistance than when Ben and I begged her several times a day. And since we left their house a month or more ago, she has been near perfection and is even sleeping in panties for naps and bedtime!

One of our (unsuccessful) potty training methods involved Build-A-Bear and money! As I said, Isabelle loves animals and has dreamed of going to Build-A-Bear and bringing home a friend for as long as she has been alive. We made her a potty-jar with stickers on it and each time she went potty, we gave her some coins to place in her jar. Many many people have contributed to this jar and after several months of it sitting on our bar stool, the day finally came to count out the money. Grandma gave her an extra $1.31 to make it an even $20 and off we went to bring home a friend.

Over the months, we had been in the store many times to try and motivate little Jelly, but again the rational side of her would kick in and after dreaming and picking out exactly what she was going to get, she would say goodbye to the animals and claim she would someday be back to get them...without a tear. She was so excited to actually shop in the store for real this time and she proudly exclaimed I am not her just to look mom! She immediately knew which friend would be joining our household after months of planning and Jack Russel quickly became her new best friend. Her experience was just what she hoped for and we had lots of family with us celebrating her birthday that got to share in the fun. She was proud to use her own money to buy Jack Whistle...his name is Russel but she must have heard whistle because that is what she calls him... and I guess all of the potty training effort wasn't totally lost.

You will be glad to know that most mornings as she wakes up dry and hops on the potty, she is greeted with one of her friends being returned from the Potty Fairy! Each milestone we have reached with Isabelle has come with work and sometimes tears but none have been as joyful as her wearing panties

When is my actual birthday?

We have been celebrating Isabelle's 3rd birthday for a week, so we thought it was pretty funny when Jelly asked us When is my actual birthday?

We started the celebration in Houston cheering for Grammie, Aunt Alee and Uncle Nick as they finished the Seabrook Lucky Trail Half Marathon. When Grammie was awarded her 3rd place plaque, Belle gladly accepted on her behalf and posed for many cameras. While the Christensen's went home to rest, we met some of the Cosby clan downtown for a little fun. Fortunately, it was Spring Break, so we were lucky enough to meet in Houston for a few days and Ben even shared in the fun for the first day before catching a quick flight to NYC for the rest of the week. We had fun eating yummy food, touring the Houston Aquarium and visiting. Jelly especially loved riding the carousel, in the rain, with Aunt Katie, and playing in the splash-pad in her clothes with Grandpa Van. On Tuesday night, we hosted a birthday party for any and all of our family who were in town at my parents home. Belle kept asking, When is the party going to start? Once I tied balloons outside and told her it was officially party time, she started singing Welcome to the Party and kept singing it for hours. We had a lot of fun eating our favorite sweet pork with tomatillo dressing, playing lasso golf and opening gifts. Belle loved each and every present that was picked out just for her and graciously hugged and thanked each guest! Unfortunately, just moments before the party began, Jelly was a bit too excited and fell on the cement and was scratched and bleeding on her knees, hand, forehead and nose. The scabs gave all of the photos an authentic 3-year old look!

After our fun in Houston, we kept the party going in San Antonio. Grammie and Grandpa Elmo, Nick and Alee and Aunt Tara all arranged to be in the Alamo City for the weekend and we ran from one thing to another from sun up to sun down. Saturday after a trip to the airport to grab our last guest, we ate lunch at Culvers and all enjoyed some custard afterwards. We then headed to La Cantera where Belle FINALLY went to Build-a-Bear and brought home Jack Russel, the newest member of our family. (More on that at a later time.) At home, Ben had a treasure hunt waiting and we all followed Jelly as she searched for her gifts. She was surprised with more wonderful gifts, including a pink electric JEEP. After eating her chocolate cake, Belle could not keep her eyes open and was asleep in bed dreaming of cupcakes and sprinkles.

Today, her "actual" birthday, we ate lunch at Chipotle, her request, and dropped Aunt Tara off at the airport just moments before Ben took off himself. We have had such a fun and busy week and little Jelly is simply exhausted. She was again in bed before 7:00pm and will need a few days to recover from all the excitement. She is such a sweet little girl and tries so hard to make good decisions. Sometimes after she has a "toddler moment" and yells NO, she quickly starts singing When my mother calls me, quickly I obey! She is such a joy to be around and continues to amaze Ben and I everyday with all that she learns and understands. I remember when I was expecting her I saw a picture of a little baby on a parenting magazine and I thought, "I hope Isabelle looks like that!" Of course, she has completely surpassed any expectations I ever had and I look forward to her future. Thank heavens, for little girls!

On a side note, Ben and I were fortunate enough to be granted 2 tickets to the Elton John vs. Billy Joel Face 2 Face Tour Saturday night. My family was kind enough to excuse us from the fun and we were blown away by 4 hours of non-stop singing and piano playing. It was absolutely one of the very best concerts we have ever been to and everyone in the box couldn't help to get up and dance a little. We got home at midnight, deaf from all the sound and grateful we had such wonderful babysitters!

Snip Snip!!

Today was a bittersweet day because Jelly had her first haircut. She is lucky to have nice pretty hair that has always grown fairly even and thick. We thought it was finally time to cut that baby hair off the bottom though so today was the big day!

Isabelle was very worried to get her hair cut so I took her to Sharkey's, which specializes in children's cuts, to hopefully make her first experience as pain-free as possible. Sad little Jelly literally cried up until she was sitting in the Barbi Jeep with her hair wet and scissors in the beauticians hands. Once the initial cut was made and she realized SHE was not going to get cut herself, she was fine and sat quietly watching the first episode of DORA in her life. I didn't want much taken off obviously, just a little trim to even all her hair out, so she was done in no time. She was very proud when she was finished and they even gave us a little bag with her baby locks tucked inside. She has always had a little natural curl at her ends which I call her "Cosby curl" as she certainly didn't get any from me and I was afraid that once they snipped it off, it would be gone. However, when we got home tonight and her hair had dried, there was a little wave in the bottom and she may be blessed with some body in her hair yet!
I know this is a first of many and although it was planned and easy, it still made me feel a little sad to think she is growing up and so quickly. When she saw her dad tonight she proudly claimed "I just got my hair cut all by myself and they cut it blonde!" Hooray she is still a little girl!

Bird Up!

Last week Ben went bird hunting with a group of guys from work at Joshua Creek Ranch. For a non-hunter, it was definitely the way to go. When he arrived at the ranch about an hour north of San Antonio, they had a hunting license, shot guns and ammunition waiting for him. They even supplied him with well trained hunting dogs. Although staying in a bunk house with your co-workers is always a bit strange, and his camos were from the GAP, he is fortunate to work with some real quality men and they all had a great time.

They spent the mornings hunting and mixed in some corporate strategy meetings in the afternoons and evenings. After the first day, Ben called and told me he definitely had one of the worst shots in the group, shooting only 10 birds. However, he has always been a quick learner and he came home with 45 quail, 2 chuckers, 2 huns and a couple of pheasants. Thank goodness, the ranch also cleans and flash-freezes the meat, yet my freezer is now stuffed with poor birds. On his way home he told Isabelle that he was bringing home lots of birds and when he arrived home and she saw what he had brought, she asked "where are the birds?" We aren't going to tell her!

Shadow

Isabelle has gone through many different stages of clingyness in her young life and I believe she has entered into another. She has recently become aware of the dark and constantly asks me about monsters: where they live, if there are any in our house, etc. Needless to say, she has kept pretty close to me lately.

Ben's travel schedule has been very busy for work since the holidays and I believe he has only spent two weeks in San Antonio so far this year. Although we joined him in NYC for one of his trips, the few days here and there have not been enough for Belle to venture too far from mom and I feel like I have a little shadow. Fortunately, unlike some of the phases when she was much younger, her new clingyness is filled with kind words and songs of love! She constantly sings me made-up songs about how sweet her mom is and tells me how much she adores me. This evening after we had finished her bath and she was ready for bed, I was hanging her towel up to dry in her bathroom and almost tripped over her again right at my feet. She smiled at me and said "Mom, I go every place you go because I love you so much!" She's a precious little shadow!

Here are a few pictures of some of our daily activities the past month. First, one of her many dress-up outfits. She loves to wear her "high heels" and tutu and teach me how to dance. She always ends with a curtsy. Also, Jelly has decided that she can dress herself now and has been successful at putting on her own pants, socks and shoes. Shirts have remained a bit too tricky but I am sure that is just around the corner. She likes to comb her own hair too which involves lots of water! Here is one of the days she picked her own outfit out, dressed herself and finished off with her squeaky shoes. Last, Isabelle is about 90% vegetarian by her own will. She refuses to eat anything that she realizes is meat and although we can get her to eat chicken nuggets and hot dogs, she spits out even the tiniest pieces of hamburger in her spaghetti sauce. You can imagine my surprise when one day she declared that she wanted a hamburger for lunch. We stopped by Wendy's on our way home and picked up a cheeseburger with ketchup only. Once we were home she happily sat in her highchair and ate about 2/3 of the burger when she finally screamed, Gross, this hamburger has meat in it! She hasn't touched any meat since.