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Today Leilani got vaccinated – on the way to the clinic I explained to her she’d get an “Owie” or “Booboo” and she needed to be brave. It took almost all of the way there to answer all “Whys”

…”Poor Leilani, you’ll get a booboo” “No booboo” – “The uncle doctor needs to give you a booboo.” “Why?” “So you won’t get sick” “Jaya Booboo?” “Yes Jaya also got vaccinated and a booboo. She was very brave, did not cry at all” “Jaya. Booboo. Brave” (pointing to her leg) “Booboo? Why?””So you won’t get sick” “Why?” “Sick is a big ouwie. Uncle doctor poking you is just a little ouwie” and so on. After a while it got old and she requested “Sing Mommy.”

In the waiting room she was very good, but inside the treatment room, whatever the nurse wanted her to do made her afraid like stepping on the scale, or taking temperature, but I could really see how hard she was working on being brave. When the nurse finally came with the syringe I told her now it was going to hurt a little, and she needed to be brave like Jaya and herself the last time she was vaccinated – and she was. She was so relieved when it was over and she got a Bugs Bunny band aid which she treasured (even showed it to Andy when he got home).

I cheered her and told her how brave she was, the nurse then told her she could have a sticker and let her pick “Just one” from a big bucket. Of course Leilani picked two – both Bratz stickers of all things. “Just one Leilani” “Why?” “You can have just one” (checking out if the answer matters…) “Why?” “Because there is just one sticker for every child” “Why?” “So that everyone can have one. We need to share” (Keyword here :-) Leilani put the blue sticker back and kept the pink one, said “Tat Yu. Up. Home.” (Thank You. Pick me up and let’s go home) and off we went.

Andy adds: I took Leilani back to Lihue the following day for shopping, and when we got near in the car, she started saying something I could not figure out. When I turned around to look at her, she was pointing to her leg (where she was vaccinated) and I realized she was saying “Bugs Bunny.” Since she seemed to be saying it with a little anxiety, I reassured her that there would be no ouwie today, just shopping (but I didn’t confuse her by saying “Daddy Mastercard ouwie”). I did look for the Bugs Bunny band-aids, but ended up with Hello Kitty ones (kitten + pink). You would not believe how many kids’ band-aids they make, all with the latest animated movie characters, none of which looked cute or even remotely pretty.

This is probably the last post before our big trip, and I just wanted to give a few updates…

The potty request (see previous post) repeated the very next day, we got the diaper off just in time, and Leilani was very happy. I hope we are on the right track and the potty training is getting closer to being completed…

Yesterday we had Jaya here for their first slumber party, I didn’t get much sleep though. When Leilani woke up she was all excited and asked for her …Jaya, Jaya…, remembering that her friend was around last evening, hopeful that she was still here, and when Jaya (who is an early riser) came running in she was so happy. Both had to go potty the same time, every time, and Leilani requested Pull-Ups (potty training diapers which leak for her, because they are not small enough–Andy says “I told you so” and I’m allowed to say that because I had to change her shirt and put on a real diaper…). Leilani learned a lot of new words, like every time when she hangs out with her older friends, and a few new behaviors.

One of the new things is a premature “Why?”. It hit us by surprise. I mean, you expect it to slowly start at Jaya’s age, and then reach it’s prime at 3 or so, but I think today I answered about 10 or so and Andy probably the same number. It’s hard because she is still so little and the explainations need to be simplified a lot, and then sometimes she does not understand fully. Sometimes she does, especially with “rules” and then these are questioned too. I hope it’s a phase and she’ll forget about it for a while again, just like after her first week of “No” (using it excessively) she stopped again for almost a month, and then started graduatelly using it again, more appropriately.

Today in the morning we went to Aditi’s (Jaya’s Mom’s) surprise birthday party at the Mariott, it was a lot of fun, probably 10 or so babies and toddlers. I filmed but probably won’t get to the movie until we are back. As an aside, Leilani got to say her two longest and funniest phrases: “ati Diti” (aunty Aditi) and “Sadaburzi” (Geburtstag).

About our trip: Wednesday noon we start, flying to Honolulu in the early afternoon, then to Atlanta overnight, and to Canton, where we’ll stay a week with Leilani’s Great-Grandmother Sigler and Grandma Rosemary. Then we go on to Austria on Tuesday the 24th, arriving the 25th. Leilani and I will stay for 4 weeks and Andy has to return after 2 weeks. Our friend Dee will be our house and catsitter. Once we are in Austria I’l probably post again.

Leilani “riding” a camel at the Mariott

Just a short message of success… Leilani, in a diaper, in the middle of playing walked up to Andy and said “Pooo-pooo.” He asked “do you have to go potty?” She replied “Doo-doo.” He put her on the potty, and she went immediately!

That is a first for her, usually we have to notice her behavior and ask, or talk her into using the potty, which usually catches it but not always. Or she says “potty” when she should go to sleep (and then pees just a few drops).

… that’s what Leilani says for birthday (Geburtstag in German) and spagetthi – these are 2 fun sounding words that I just wanted to record before she learns the real word and they are forgotten. Otherwise she is doing great, lots of sentences and multisylables now, most of them in the right order :-)

2 Posts for one weekend! And 3 birthdays in 4 days… Chris celebrated on the 29th, I on the 30th and Joshua turned one on April 1st.

Joshua and his parents Ana and Ahmos

Leilani discovered this cool car and Mommy had to push her around the table (round’n’round’n’round in Leilani’s words) [Daddy did his share of motoring too].

Leilani is constantly working on her molars, and when she finds icecubes she chews them. Isabella in the background probably still remembers her own molars coming in..

The party hosts have kid of their own, a week-old baby goat.