Monumental Moments

Never, not in a million billion years, did I expect to celebrate waste, but here I am writing about how proud I am of Waverly for doing her biz in the big girl potty. It is definitely a cause for celebration when I hear that tinkle and plop. Waverly, on the other hand, simply acts like she's done it since her first breath twenty months ago. She just wants that toilet paper. Yes, you read correctly; her motivator is toilet paper. And she doesn't get that toilet paper anywhere near where she needs to, but by golly, she is a big girl. She doesn't even get hyped about flushing the toilet, just the toilet paper. I rewarded her with 3 M&Ms the first time she pooped in the potty, but when she pooped just a few minutes ago, she didn't even ask for candy. She wanted that darn toilet paper.

I feel like I should get candy for getting through this new stage in her life. Ask me on any day and I will tell you my three greatest child-rearing fears: discipline, potty training, and raising my children in the way of the Lord.

This is Waverly praying before breakfast one morning, practically prostrate. So I think we're headed in the right direction spiritually. :) Chandler and I have discussed in length how we want to approach discipline and have adopted a method that we believe works best for our family. That does not mean in any way that I am not still terrified of discipline. No mom wants to screw up their kids. That brings us to potty training in which I take comfort in the fact that at some point she will be out of diapers. If you know Waverly, she's a go-getter. Tons of energy and spunk. Oh, and stubborn potential to beat the band. I think this has played to our advantage with this new endeavor. When she gets her mind set to sit on the potty, she will sit there until everyone else is beyond disinterested, but she will sit and make it happen. For that, I am grateful. 

At home it is easy to let her run around pantless with her potty in plain view (well, she wants it behind her house for a little privacy, you know), but I am not entirely sure how all of this will work when she goes to MDO during the week and church on Sunday mornings. She's not quite to the point where she can consistently tell you when she has to use the potty, but if you ask her, she's generally pretty honest about it. Guess I'll be having conversations with her teachers this week. I hate to make their lives any more complicated with six other 2-year-olds to wrangle, but we have to take advantage of her willingness to potty train. Argh. Surely they've had this situation before, right? 

Anyway, I guess this a new phase in my life too and I will celebrate waste until my last child is successfully potty trained. Such is the life of a mom. And I love it.

Something Interesting.

I wish I had something interesting going on. Don't get me wrong, we've been super busy, but nothing particularly exciting. We're still doing the work/school/MDO thing. And speaking of MDO, I haven't received anymore reports of Waverly pushing, thank goodness.

OH! This is kind of exciting. How could I forgot our Halloween festivities? Right, because I haven't had time to remember! Photo overload below.

Minnie and Mickey!

So proud of herself for riding the horse

Her face is priceless.

 

Loved it. Of course.

Jude- Take picture uh me.

Emersen the puppy dog!

Learning Curve.

Week 2 of being a part-time working girl and I'm exhausted. Waverly's exhausted. I think Chandler probably is too. And we're busier than before; something-every-night kind of busy. But it's good because 1. Work schedules allow us to do stuff in the evenings and 2. We're doing it as a family (most of the time). It's definitely a change for all of us though.

Waverly goes to Mom's Day Out two days a week from 9-2. Her teacher told me today that she was pushing other kids. Pushing??? MY precious, sweet, docile angel was pushing?!? She must've been talking about someone else's kid because my princess hits when she doesn't get her way. For the most part, Chandler and I have stopped her from hitting people, but she still continues to hit things or herself. So, anyway, my child was pushing. I don't make excuses for her; however, I know she doesn't know how to say, "May I please have that toy now?", so pushing is her way of.. well, getting her way, I guess. I just have to trust that her teachers are showing her, in the moment, how to respectfully "get her way". We'll work on it here too.

It's a lot of pressure putting your kid in daycare of any kind. Or maybe it's just me. I don't want my child to be the bad kid or the kid whose Mom never packs her a healthy snack and lunch or the kid whose socks don't match or the kid who doesn't have a bow in her hair (even if the bow only lasts half the day). The teacher has already commented that Waverly is intelligent and somehow, she totally is, and she's generally well-behaved and listens...most of the time, but this is the first time in 19 months that she has been in a daycare/school-type setting with other kids and without Momma around, not including Sunday morning nursery. I know she will learn things from the other kids in her class and let me tell you, I am not looking forward to the day she comes home having learned a negative behavior. I also don't want her to be the kid TEACHING the negative behavior. But I know Waverly is a sponge. She mimics everything, even when you don't think she is listening. Out of the blue, one morning she got in my bathroom drawer, took out my contact case and used her first finger to "put her contacts in". I didn't know she had ever seen me do that before, but she did at some point. She's an observer, that one. So I guarantee she is observing the other kids. I just hope she picks up on good things too.

I have to keep telling myself that there will be a learning curve. This is a big change for all of us and we're all having to adjust to our new schedules and lifestyle, not to mention less Momma-Waverly time. We've definitely experienced some separation anxiety. No, not me, necessarily. Ha ha. She cries when I drop her off at school and she cries when I drop her off for Sunday morning worship and Sunday evening worship. She's always been pretty good about just walking into class, but just recently she's been away from me more than ever. The good news is once I'm out of sight, she is fine and when I pick her up she's super pumped to see me. That part is good.

I hope things start to get easier in the next week or so. This is a good season of life for all three of us. It just takes some adjusting.