Kate's First Hair Cut

We talked about for weeks. I promised Kate a trip to the Magic Kingdom barber shop, a lollipop while getting her hair cut and a Mickey ice cream afterwards. Considering I don't give Kate juice or any other treats very often (except for M&Ms which she still insists on getting for using the potty), this was enormous. And she knew it.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just before 10:00 a.m. and headed over to the Mad Tea Party for a ride on the teacups. Kate met the White Rabbit and then had a blast spinning around on the cups. She was so cute, right toward the end she said, "I'm a little dizzy!" and the ride stopped. Next up was a 40 minute wait to ride Dumbo for less than 2 minutes. Kate was thrilled, mommy really missed daddy at that point. My arms felt like rubber by the end from holding her the majority of the time. A quick ride on the Carousel and then Winnie the Pooh's Blustery day. Kate insisted on going to Minnie's House, but the line was ridiculous so my ever reasonable and sweet Kate agreed to visit Mickey's house where there was no line.

Finally, after lunch, we headed over to the main event. Kate was in good spirits and excited about her Pooh lollipop and haircut. Being this was our first trip to Disney in big girl panties, we stopped off to use the potty. After much coaxing, and Kate kicking me out of the stall for "privacy" (and threatening to lock me out), she finally went pee-pee. Off to the barber. Just before it's our turn, Kate informs me that she has to go poo-poo. *Sigh* 15 minutes later and one bowel movement, we finally were back in the barber shop and ready for a haircut.

As soon as the lady called us over, Kate freaked out. She was crying and clutching me and refused to sit in the barber chair (why in the world doesn't Disney World have Plutos, Mickeys, Minnies or horses to sit on? And, they have TVs everywhere else, but not the barber shop? I know they are going for old school shop here, but seriously!). The very patient and experienced Diane was unflappable and finally got me in the chair with Kate on my lap (thank goodness for unending rolls of Mickey stickers) and began cutting and Kate calmed down. The lollipop kept her busy, but it was such a pain because hair kept getting all over it and it kept getting stuck in my hair because Kate was moving around a bit. In the end, the hair is cut, Kate realizes it doesn't hurt and all will be well in the world tomorrow.

After the haircut, we watched the parade from start to finish for the first time (we typically catch it on our way out of the park) and spent about a half hour shopping in the ever amazing Emporium. We did not get our Mickey ice cream, but our next trip is less than 2 weeks away and I'm certain she'll remind me that I've promised it to her then. Kate fell asleep for the car ride home and, of course, it took her more than an hour to settle down tonight. She had a lot to process from all the excitement.

Potty Training Adventures

First of all, you need to know that above all other things I have endured with Kate, it is potty training that I have most feared. Almost every parent has a story to share that quite frankly just never made the prospect of training a child to use the toilet any better. Those stories, along with the potential for some serious messes (which I of course abhor), would be enough to intimidate any mother, but add to it the stress that I could do something wrong or that if she had an accident then she would be mortified and just forget potty training at all until she was 4 or 5. So, I took baby steps and worked with much caution as I approached the subject of using the potty.

It’s been a long road, indeed. In January of this year, I bought Kate’s potty. I can’t remember when she first used it. Hopefully that made it into a blog post or my trusty calendar. We started by having Kate sit on the potty before bath and after bath. At some point after her birthday, Kate began going at that time of day fairly regularly. I began sticker charts to encourage her in May. During the summer, several of Kate’s friends learned to use the potty in what seemed to me record time…less than a week it seemed for most. I stayed the course and tried to encourage more use with some resistance, but also some success. Sometimes Kate would outright refuse to try to go potty, and would say things like, “I go in my diaper and you change it.” Yes, I’d say, but I would so much prefer it if you’d use the potty…

This October, as I hung the 4th sticker chart for “pee pee” success next to the poopy chart that had never once received a single sticker, I wondered if she’d ever come around. Like anything, it was darkest before dawn for sure. Kate was staying dry during the day for long stretches, even though she was always wet in the a.m. and after nap. I started encouraging use after morning outings when her diaper would still be dry. Unfortunately, Kate began refusing to go on the potty so much that I actually put the potty away one night resolved not to bring it out until she asked for it. The next morning, she inquired about the potty, but really didn’t seem to care that I had put it away. I resolved to bring it back out and try again. Amazingly, as she was sitting on the potty after lunch one day, she had a bowel movement. We were both thrilled.

I began reading up on potty training in my trusty reference book and online and resolved to attempt the naked potty training method. Kate liked running around naked and better still, she was very good at running to the potty and didn’t have any accidents. She even managed to go poopy without any assistance this way.

October 25 will go down as a great, groundbreaking day, and yet perhaps the worst day of potty training (one can hope). We started the morning off in undies. Kate went 4 hours without using bathroom, despite several attempts from me to get her to sit. Then, as she is crouching to pick up her box of trains, she flips out over pee-pee running down her leg and runs to the bathroom. “Mommy, it just all came out!” She manages to get most of the pee-pee in the toilet. We change into clean undies and eat lunch. After lunch and nap (nap in a diaper), she runs to the bathroom to go, but has trouble getting off the undies and leaks a little, but goes poopy in the potty all by herself. I leave off the undies to make it easier for her until we head to the store (and really, how much laundry do I want to do…). Next thing I know, she poops in the potty again. I think she’s just excited about eating M&Ms and pushed out a teeny poop just to get another. I tell Kate that we’re going to eat a snack and then go to the store. I was on the phone preparing her snack and she was in her room reading (still naked). I was talking about how well things were going with the naked potty training and how Kate had really made progress over the last week or so. She comes out of her room and I say, “here’s your snack.” She goes and sits down at the table in my chair and eats her peanut butter crackers & banana. I walk over and begin to wash her hands and face (yes I’m still on the phone) and I notice she has peanut butter in her hair and really everywhere. I say, let’s go wash in the bathroom. As walk in the bathroom, I am met with quite a surprise. Poop on the tile at the door and some poop in the big potty (that Kate does not use).

I am stunned and very confused at the sight. Eventually, I learned that Kate actually went on the floor in front of her couch in her bedroom and took it upon herself to “clean up the big mess” herself. She did such a great job; I could barely find the spot of the accident. I guess she was coming to tell me when I handed her the snack plate. YUCK!! I asked her if she washed her hands and she said she did. She didn’t get sick or anything, so perhaps she did. Since this occurrence, we have had no major accidents. Our biggest problem was that Kate wanted to try and take off her clothes herself at first, but after a couple of accidents, she realizes it’s easier to just kick me out after I help her get her pants down.

We’ve had several successful outings and Keith and I have changed only two poopy diapers since the 25th (both were from first thing in the a.m. before she got out of the crib). I know the time will come when we have to either use a public restroom or we’ll have an accident. I’m trying to be prepared and hoping that the worst has already occurred.

October Came and October Went...

It happens like this every year. It’s a perfectly peaceful September where we slowly change pace from the end of summer and look forward to the eventual cool breeze of fall (which technically will not arrive in Florida until about the 3rd week in November). Then, October hits and everything goes crazy for the next three months until the year is over.

October overflows with fun activities so it’s rare to find a weekend that isn’t jam-packed. And, with the “relief” from the oppressive heat of summer, most Floridians take the opportunity to enjoy the theme parks that surround us (unfortunately this year, as was the case last year, our “relief” comes as upper 80 degree weather and a “cool” breeze. I heard today there was a blizzard up north and we’re breaking record highs at 91 degrees today). In any case, it’s not unbearable anymore, so we are taking advantage before the weather turns too cold for our thin blood.

In the stretch of 10 days, Kate visited Busch Gardens, Green Meadows Farm (a huge farm where she saw every animal imaginable enjoyed a hayride, pony ride and train ride and chose a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch), Sea World’s Spooktacular & Magic Kingdom where she had lunch with Pooh & Tigger. As if that weren’t enough, we spent the weekend following that excitement with most of her friends at a church fall festival and a local pumpkin “patch” (our pumpkin patches here are often in church parking lots with hay covering up the cement…very different from what Keith and I know from our childhood). As Halloween approached, Kate grew more and more excited to have her party, wear her poodle skirt and trick or treat.

Choosing a costume this year was an adventure. We began receiving catalogs for costumes in August and Kate immediately gravitated toward Jessie from Toy Story. Knowing this costume is not great for Florida Halloweens, I immediately started steering her toward other options. For weeks she was stuck on Jessie, but then suddenly my mild suggestions took root and she decided to be “a princess.” I was thrilled that she didn’t seem to want to be one of Disney’s princesses, so perhaps we could have Grandma Sandy whip up something non commercial, homemade and cheap. Kate’s excitement for the princess costume was low, though, so we decided to take her shopping. At Gymboree, I showed her the cowgirl costumes that would allow her to be “like Jessie”, but she had already picked out the “50’s girl” costume because of the poodle on the skirt. For the next 3 weeks, whenever anyone asked her what she was going to be for Halloween, she’d say, “poodle.” Finally, the week of Halloween she added “poodle skirt.”

While she loves the decorations hanging around our house (friendly ghosts and such), she did not like visiting Party City this season, or any other Halloween aisle that had big spiders, rubber snakes or anything else remotely spooky, slimy or ghoulish. She’d start whimpering like a dog as soon as she saw anything scary and continued until I finally removed her from the scary stimulus. She managed to put her brave on for the big day. It helped to have some friends with her. On Monday after Halloween, she kept saying, “I was so brave!” And she was. What a trooper, also. She actually made it through a pretty big loop in our neighborhood. On the morning of Halloween, Kate awoke to additional party decorations throughout the kitchen and family room for the party we were throwing that afternoon with all her friends. Her face beamed and glowed all day and she kept saying how much she liked the decorations for the party. She had a terrific time greeting her guests and playing with everyone right up until trick or treat time.