Day: July 21, 2007

Today – 7/21 – was Rowen’s first birthday party. Our cameras seem to have problems on most birthday parties… this time I depleted the batteries beforehand, but at least we managed 2 photos.

We still have nice sunrises here, and Andy still has to get up early.

Kiko bigfoot

Last week at Lydgate park…

I need to watch what I say in front of Leilani… when looking at a few similar photos of Leilani walking with me (from the back, with half the upper body cut off) I remarked, to Andy or myself “Who’s that fat lady walking with Leilani?” Leilani cheerfully replied “Mommy!”

We are making the first attempt to really potty train Leilani. We want to try for at least 14 days and then re-evaluate. Since last Friday – 8 days ago – we don’t use daytime diapers anymore. The only exceptions were today at the birthday party, and yesterday for a short time as punishment for refusing to sit on the toilet (lose underpants privilege!) – both stayed dry though.

Most of the night time diaper stayed dry too, but she does have (peeing) accidents – the first day twice on the carpet, once at Walmart, once in front of Papayas (took me 5 minutes to get the restroom key), every time Aunty Maureen took care of her (we sent Maureen on a vacation now).

She thinks as soon as she is naked she can pee everywhere outside, and I have not really discouraged this. Depending on whom she watched recently she squats, stands against a tree or lifts her leg :-)

Most of her recent accidents are not full pees, she stops herself and runs for the bathroom or asks to be taken there where she then finishes.

We has a severe Mommy malfunction too, I had some cleaning to do and parked Leilani in front of the computer. After a few minutes I saw her walk out the room, usually she stays glued to the screen when Pippi is on, but I couldn’t let go that very moment. A couple minutes later I heard a pretty distressed call for help from the bathroom – I ran in, and Leilani had managed to take the panties off (but only after they were wet), put the kiddie seat on top off the toilet (wrong direction though), but couldn’t get up. At least now I know the most compelling argument for waiting with the potty training… it’s easier when they can do these things by themselves already…

Wham! A rock thrown up by a lawnmower slammed into our windshield. A little crack formed, right at eye-level on the driverside, and Andy and I started to lament and complain unhappily. My thoughts about stopping, confronting the guy and trying to make his insurance pay got interrupted…

“A star! A star!” Leilani called out from the backseat. I looked again. The crack looked indeed like a star. When Leilani started singing “Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are…” the rest of my anger melted away.

Every time now when we get into the car Leilani notes happily that the pretty star is still there…

Leilani recently started to be really afraid at certain scenes while watching Nemo – especially when the fish are depicted fearful. The scene that Andy said almost made her cry from fear is when Nemo swims inside the filter unit to jam the pump.

The first scene, where Coral gets eaten she watches very sadly, and sometimes comments on ‘poor Marlin’, ‘crying a lot’, but I assume because Coral is just in the beginning and no attachment is formed to the character, no real fear is shown (Marlin first bosses her in and then gets out to defend her). I told her that poor Coral gets eaten, but she does not seem to empathise with her at all – or at least less than with the average fish on her plate… but then gets really sad in the next scene with Marlin.

Nemo’s initiation scene to the tank gang she likes so much that she re-enacts it – ah-oh-oh-oh a-oh-oh ring of fire ah-oh-oh-oh sharkbait oh-ah-ah. I’ll try to record it so you know what I’m talking about….

We ordered her more Nemo sippy-cups, and – in an attempt to keep her from wearing her Nemo boardshorts all the time – nice Nemo T-shirts and a dress, but so far she just wants to wear the dress or T-Shirt with the shorts….