Shout from the Rooftops!

I know this might be Too Much Information, but I think Samantha might be totally and completely finished with diapers/Pull-Ups!! We are so proud of her! For my own recollection sake, we started potty training just over a year ago!

She is such a big girl with her comprehension and expressions! Lately, she is big into pretend play and using her wild imagination. A big excuse for anything is “But Mommy, I’m pa-tendin!”

There is a full length mirror in Ellie’s room, which, if you push the mirror back, a spot opens up like a concession stand window. I’m not sure that she knows what a concession stand is, but she’ll sit behind it and take orders. When I feed Ellie, I get my breakfast or afternoon snack made for me there. It’s always delicious!

Oh What a Night

After a rough day at the babysitter’s house, she told me that Samantha was exhausted and surely she’d take a good nap. Sam certainly looked it, so I hoped for the best. One thing after another, she didn’t go to sleep until 4PM. Normally, I don’t keep her in the bed that long, but each time I checked on her, she seemed SO close to falling asleep. Needless to say, she didn’t go to bed until about 8:15PM. Here begins my night.

8:52PM – I just checked on Samantha and that little turkey is still awake. I go back to our bedroom where Brian and I are talking about how to handle Ellie during the night. She’s still not sleeping great. We have been taking turns at each outburst, but after 3 or 4 of those during the night, it’s hard to remember whose turn it is. I was proposing for each of us to take a night. For example, one night, I am responsible for all outbursts so Brian can sleep. The next night, it’s his turn so I can sleep. We didn’t really come to a resolution. I lay down on the bed, which means: game over, I fall asleep.

11:01PM – Brian wakes me up to feed Ellie.

11:38PM – Go back to bed.

1:15AM – I hear Samantha crying. She woke up crying last night too. That never happens. Last night, she must have had a bad dream about a boat. Random. I get up and walk into her room. She tells me, amid the crying, that she needs a napkin to wipe her ear. Um. What? I get a Kleenex and ask her which ear. Sure enough, there’s a nasty goop all over her left ear, face, hair and pillow. Great. An ear infection. (Here’s the original discovery that goop could come out of her ear. Beware, it’s gross.) She had a cold a few weeks ago. She got over it in about a week, so I thought we were in the clear. Oh well. I make a note to call the doctor. I ask her if her ear hurts and she says yes. I ask her if she wants some medicine and she says yes. I give her some Motrin. I tell her we’ll call the doctor in the morning.

1:30AM – Go back to bed.

3:30AM – There’s a raucous on my nightstand. What is it? Is Samantha standing by my bed messing with my nightstand? I’m confused. Molly. Molly is trying to eat my lavender lotion. “Stop. Molly. Stop.” I say as I’m hitting her rear end. She stops only momentarily. I grab her by the collar and pull her off my nightstand. Fall back to sleep.

4:08AM – What. In. The. Name. Of all that is holy. “Molly. Stop.” She’s trying to eat my bottle of lotion again. I grab her and throw her out of the room and close the door. Go back to bed.

4:33AM – “Mreow.” Oh for crying out loud. “Mreow.” Maddie. “Mreow.” She’s standing on the floor just beneath my nightstand. “Mreow.” She is staring up at me. “Mreow.” She wants to be near her beloved Molly. “Mreow.” She is persistent. “Mreow.” I get up, open the bedroom door and wait for her to bolt out. Mostly close the door. Go back to bed.

4:35AM – The air conditioner kicks on. The bedroom door slams closed.

5:13AM – Ellie wakes up. Normally, I would be happy if she slept till after 5. Brian gets up. I don’t hear her in the monitor any more.

5:15AM – Brian yells at me from the front of the house. “Jane! I need some help!” Doesn’t he know that he’s going to wake up Samantha if he yells like that? I get out of bed. I nearly walk into Sam in the hallway. She is standing with nothing on but a shirt. Ellie starts to cry. Brian is stripping Samantha’s bed. He says “Pick one.” I go into Ellie’s room and give her a paci. She falls right back to sleep. On a normal night, that never happens. I come back out and help Sam get to the potty. We sit for a while in the bathroom. She says she needs to go, but nothing happens. After Brian finishes with her bed, I put another diaper and new PJs on her. I get her back in bed and tell her to go back to sleep.

5:30AM – Go back to my bedroom. I ask Brian what happened. Apparently, after quieting Ellie, he heard some strange noises in Sam’s room. He went in and she was sitting up in bed. He told her to lay down. She said she couldn’t because her popsicles were wet (her PJs have popsicles on them). Sure enough, she and all her bedding were wet.

6AM – Ellie wakes up. Brian gives her a paci and comes back to bed. She continues to squawk. It’s not really a cry, but it usually means she’s tired or cold.

6:30AM – Alarm goes off. Like I need it. I’ve been awake since 3:30.

The end.

Sunday

On Sunday, someone wanted to come by and look at our house first thing in the morning.  I wasn’t planning on leaving the house since we were on Day 5 of the potty training.  But, here goes.  We went to early mass, and Samantha did great!  We made one unnecessary trip out to the Yukon, but the other trip was successful!  I was so proud of her!  We went to Krispy Kreme afterwards for a treat.

Later, when we got home, (she’s still in the exact same clothes, by the way – hooray!), she wanted to sit with Brian in the recliner.  Which, for those of you who know Sam, that is something special.  She’s not the cuddly sort.  She was saying “we’re together” over and over.  She even had to go get some covers from her room so that she and Daddy could cuddle.  (And by the way, this handmade pink crocheted blanket – made by Carol, and the white one underneath – crocheted by our friend Kris, are her favorite blankets.  I love that she likes the handmade ones the best!)  I think she had a great weekend hanging out at the house.

(And sorry for the yucky photos – they were shot with my phone!)