Definitely Some Giehls Traits, Agree?

Waiting for the game to start

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Autumn Miscellany

My thoughts on recent developments in the Ross house…

Potty training Edwin has been equal parts frustration and inspiration.

Frustrating because starting an hour after Edwin finishes a meal—when it’s obvious he needs to go—you can ask him every 2 minutes if he’s ready for the potty and get no response but “not yet” after “not yet”. Then of course as soon as you’re about 3 and a half into what will inevitably be a double-digit wipe-requiring diaper change for Lyla, he has his epiphany, then it’s a mad dash to the bathroom. Also, since he knows telling us he has to go potty guarantees we’ll drop whatever we’re currently trying to accomplish to trigger the emergency potty plan, asking to go on the potty has become his go-to stall tactic at nap and bed time.

But these things will pass (I assume).

Inspiring because I can see how hard Edwin is trying to master this new and interesting concept, plus you can tell he genuinely wants to make Mindy and me happy. I’m really amazed how quickly he’s figuring this out. I remember back in May when we transitioned him from a crib to his “big boy” bed, we had all these elaborate plans but worried it was not going to go smoothly at all. Well, that transition took him all of one night to figure out, then he was fine. Don’t want to jinx it, he’s had the expected accident or three, but at a week in, he’s pretty much got it down.

That said Mindy did an amazing job this week, patiently working with the little man. I wouldn’t have changed places with her this week for anything.

Surprisingly enough, disgusting is a word I thought I would have used to describe the process before we started, yet it’s been anything but. That’s probably mostly a factor of sitting in the bathroom while a 2.5-year-old does his business into a toilet is considerably more pleasant than laying said 2.5-year-old on the living room floor and getting all up in all that’s involved in a toddler’s diaper change.

Best part of the process is having Edwin wait for me outside the bathroom (when it’s my turn to do my business) to give me a high five and says “nice job, Daddy, you were a good boy”.

Edwin’s developed the habit of letting Mindy and me know when we’ve been a good girl or boy. Even preemptively instructing us to do so. Just yesterday when Mindy left for the grocery, Edwin’s goodbye consisted of “love you, Momma”, then while pointing his index finger in her direction added “make sure you’re a good girl out there”.

Meanwhile, Lyla’s growing like a weed something pleasant sounding that grows rapidly. When I’m home along with the kids, I have a hard enough time tracking down the proper location of the particular outfit to replace the one she rendered unwearable by crossing the Dad’s Baby-Clothes-Wearability-Threshold (when 50.1% of the outfit’s surface area has been spit-up upon). But nowadays, when I eventually do find some replacement clothes, they’re usually too small.

She had cereal for the first time yesterday (I’m sure Mindy will post pics), so it’ll be only a matter of time before she’s eating (read: begging to go play while blankly staring at) grown-up food just like her big brother. And, man, I cannot wait for bottles to be over. I already have plans for 7-months from now when I can replace the obligatory 15-20 minutes daily bottle washing. It involves sitting quietly, doing nothing.

And the most important development of all, Edwin and Lyla are becoming better and better friends everyday. Here’s one of the increasingly frequent moments when Edwin asks to hold his baby sister:

WEEK IN REVIEW

I am now wrapping up my week off. Sniff Sniff. Although it was busy with taking/pickup up girls from school, doctor's appointments, and dance lessons, I could definitely get used to the stay-at-home role :) In order to make this happen, I must hit the Mega Millions. Come on!

Luckily, I was off this week b/c Thursday was Picture Day for both of the girls. Can you imagine had Matt been the one to get them dressed and fixed their hair on the SAME day?!? Oh, man. I know he is happy ! Meredith even allowed me to use the curling iron on her. I had to threaten them with "don't even TOUCH this iron, it will burn your hand right off!!". I like to take extreme measures for safety.

On top of the picture day, it was also Meredith's "leader" day. She had to bring a snack, a book, and a toy to share. She was non-committal in the toy and book decision, so I did it for her. We had no time to spare!

I actually had a girls dinner out 2 nights in a row. I haven't had one all year I think. When it rains it pours, I guess.

Madeline is still upset that Halloween is over. She asked me how many holidays have to go by before it comes around again. This is going to be a looooonnnggg year if she doesn't drop this.

The highlight of my week was being home during the nap time. Not b/c I got a break from the girls fighting each other (well , maybe), but because I can hear Madeline playing in her room. She doesn't take much of a nap anymore, but we encourage her to have alone time to do what she wants. She has decided that her favorite thing is to play school. Teacher Madeline leads class every day during her nap. With a notebook and pencil, Madeline is set to create the perfect school environment. She actually carries out a lesson and grades each paper! She writes "love" on each sheet! She didn't know how to do 100% so she wrote 100 prset. " I didn't know how to spell it so I sounded it out. " She did the same technique with her classmate's names. Some are a bit challenging when you leave out all the vowels. HAHA.

Our art project for today... pipe cleaner animals with diorama included! Oh wow!

Don't forget to check out my recent addition of Madeline's Camera shots ( click here) . There are many, but some are good !

Lyla Milestone

A few days ago I had Lyla laying on her back on her blanket and I ran downstairs to switch the laundry...when i came back up, she was on her belly. And before you ask, Edwin was with me...so, I knew she could do it. Today I finally saw her in action. She rolled right over from her back to her belly! So, now she can go from belly to back and belly to back...as soon as she learns how easily she can do it, I'm sure she'll be unstoppable!

Edwin and I cleaned the Super Happy Fun Zone today and Lyla LOVES it!!! Just like Edwin did! I'm excited to have a new place for her to sit!