Jordan discovered her brother's digital camera (don't tell him) while she was in the newsroom yesterday. She ran all over the place taking pictures. It was SO classic. It took her about four or five pictures when she figured out the whole process. 
She actually took my picture while I took her picture.
Jordan got to celebrate her 31st month birthday by enjoying dinner at a station potluck. We had a TON of food and Jordan got to woo every single person there. She is not worried about being polite (although demanding) and adorable.
I'm so amazed to have this big girl in my house. In the last month, Jordan has taken her independence and shown me how easy it is to switch between big girl who can do everything on her own and one second later is desperately in need of me picking her up and giving her a cuddle. She still loves her lamby blanket even though I don't let her bring it everywhere like I used to.
We lost some potty skills during our vacation, but she's slowly getting back on track. I kind of forgot how I need to remind her on a regular basis about using the bathroom. I'm getting myself trained a little better, so she's staying pretty darn clean these days. (I love it!)
In the last month, Jordan has shown she can get really angry. She'll throw a huge fit, thrashing, punching, screaming... And I will try to help direct her into a calmer state of mind. The amazing thing is how she'll return to her calm demeanor eventually and apologize to me for the outburst. It's pretty awesome. She and her brother are still at each others throats -- Although they are getting to a point where they can play together a times. It's awesome to watch them pretend to cook at our play kitchen or run around outside being silly.
Speaking of sweetness, here are a few Jordanisms: Jordan can't just give you a kiss. A kiss ALWAYS comes with a hug. At night, she tells me "Good morning! Good night!" In the morning, she always tells me: "I wake up!" Recently she loves to walk up to me and let me know: "I happy Mommy! I really happy!" She's scared of bears due to my speech to the kids about how we don't put food in our tent while we were in New Hampshire. She still will tell me at a random moment: "Bears really scary. I not like bears."
Everyone at Jordan's school calls her Jordy and when Jordan talks about herself, she calls herself Jordy more often than Jordan. Oh - and when she says her name, it sounds like "Yordy."
She's growing up so stinking fast!! I'm absorbing myself into this phase. She's strong-willed, dynamic, sweet, loving and EXHAUSTING. I love it.
I had to work tonight, but I wanted to announce that Jordan's bedtime grace period has ended. On May 2nd, we moved turned our girl's crib into a daybed. I waited a week and expected her to start escaping from her room and avoiding bedtime.
Almost three months later, she finally did on the day before she turned 31 months old!
Randy found her at the top of the stairs grinning a silly grin and telling him she needed to go potty.
Our enjoyment of knowing our girl is safely in her bed is over.
Oy.
I'm playing with technology (as usual). Here's a piece of video I posted a while back (I think). There's a video hosting company called Motionbox I use that just started making it possible to embed HD quality video. Here you go:
Unfortunately the video isn't actually HD quality b/c I can't edit in HD at work yet. If I have time to learn Final Cut on my computer, I could start pumping out some really nice stuff. Darn life -- If only I had more time!!
We've been out to eat a little more than usual. With all of our traveling, Jordan has figured out the process it takes to eat food at a restaurant. Lately, she takes charge when the waitress asks us for an order.
My in-laws were in town to spend time with the girl and take the boy to their house for the week. So we got to go out to restaurants again. Last night, Jordan immediately asked for her drinks: "Water! Milk! Water and Milk!" I had to reminder her to say: PLEASE!! She didn't forget please after that. I tell you, the girl got her water and her milk. She also ordered her dinner. It was pretty impressive. She holds her own.
This morning, she ordered her milk and waffle at the Waffle House. She was polite and VERY excited about eating a waffle. She ate the whole thing. Seriously. All of it. She had to take some of it home, but she ate it all up. If Jordan can just improve her tone with the wait staff, she's going to get everything she ever asked. She's dominant, but learning to remember to say please (and a smile on the side). She just floors me.
Today I took her to my friend's apartment complex to swim in the pool. I was impressed with Jordan's attempts at kicking and moving her arms. She was a bit nervous at first, but warmed up and got brave in spurts. It was good. No crying. Impressive bravery for a two year old.
I'm planning to meet up with Jordan's occupational therapist this week. I'm questioning our prosthetic more and more these days. The hand's opening and closing mechanism hasn't been consistent since we got our second arm last October. I've been brainstorming with our OT on other options. I'm looking for a prosthetic company that is willing to be creative. I really think Jordan needs someone who wants to try something new. If not, it's time to start planning to work with my current company to schedule Jordan's next arm. Wish us luck!!
I stumbled upon this awesome idea from the blog 5 Minutes for Special Needs. It's a chance to show a cool moment of our kidlets through photos. Special needs is a tough word for me to swallow sometimes even though Jordan is two and a half and we've had a long time to digest what her differences mean in this world. She does need special things every once and a while. But thanks to her stubbornness, those special needs aren't as obvious as you would think.
Jordan had a very busy weekend. It started with a Friday night trip to the Cardinals. She had an amazing time especially when you consider the fact that she should have been in bed at the time the game started! She loved the hot dog, she loved seeing Fred Bird (she even had his picture on her t-shirt and that apparently was AWESOME), she loved being silly in our seats. It was great.
What wasn't great was the whole going home part -- we live about two hours away from Busch Stadium. The kids needed to sleep. Randy was exhausted and wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep, but I drove instead. But the funniest part was how Jordan was so overtired that she couldn't fall asleep. Instead, she couldn't stop singing. She sang nonstop in audible and inaudible tunes. She sang about mom and dad and the cars and baseball (she calls it base-eh-ball). Jordan sang for 45 minutes nonstop. Randy was aggravated. Cameron slept through it. I just laughed quietly and tried not to interact with her so she'd wind down eventually. She did. Even better. Both kids slept until 9 in the morning! That was cool.
Today we took the family to WALL-E. The first 30 minutes or so has very limited dialogue. Jordan enjoyed it. She was dying through all of the previews... That was the best part. She kept asking "Where's WALL-E?" After the Pixar short she announced: "It's all done. WALL-E's coming!" Once the movie started, it held her attention pretty well. The popcorn helped. I swear, she would eat that food and nothing else if she could.
On the whole, a good weekend as we try to get back into the swing of things. On deck: Jordan has three occupational therapy meetings this week. She hasn't had her prosthetic on much lately, so the battle to wear it has gotten pretty rough. Right before our vacation, she had picked up a really nasty blister on the tip of her little arm. I'm hoping that was a fluke. I plan to really keep a close eye on her arm just in case.
Another cute thing, there's a picture on our refrigerator Randy took the day Jordan was born. It's been there since I printed it out when she was a week old. We put it up there so Cameron could notice Jordan's little arm. Well, now I just keep it there because it is a really sweet photo. But what's really interesting is how Jordan's looks at it. She takes it off the refrigerator, sits down and compares her arms to her baby version. She points to her little arm in the picture and then shows me her little arm. Then she points out her baby hand and shows me her hand. I just think it's interesting to see how she sees herself. It's important to me that she sees her difference and loves it, accepts it and is open about it.
So there's this big event underway that only Mom Bloggers really know about. It's called BlogHer. It's a really cool way women bloggers connect each and every year. It happens in the summer, which makes sense. But it also happens close to my family vacation time and I haven't been able to attend... Let along AFFORD to attend!
So I've started talking to a number of mom bloggers on Twitter and they've started a BlogHer Pity Party. I'm planning to chat with some of the other moms and whine (if you see the little link to the right of this post, you'll see there's also and excuse to WINE). If you want to attend, register on mommytalk.com and join in on the fun. It will be nice to have an excuse to meet more moms out there!
We finally made it home. I'm so happy and sad at the same time. Every year, our time in Maine has become a natural constant in our lives. It's a great chance for my little family connect with my side of my family. The kids get to play with my parents and my brother. It's such a constant that my Mom reminded me that I didn't mention them in any of my vacation posts.
Jordan proved our family time was meaningful in a sweet little way when she went to bed. She was reunited with her stuffed animals who live on the top shelf of her bookshelf. She showed me a couple and I asked if she was going to sleep with them and she said yes. I walked away to unpack. I didn't notice she had put all of her animals and dolls into her bed. When we finally walked to her bed I told her there was no way she could sleep with that crowd. And she started crying: "It's my fah-mah-lee! I sleep wit them!" She wanted to sleep with her family. She had spent so much intense family time, she wasn't ready to let go.
She had some very sweet moments with all of our family members over this trip. It's so wonderful to watch her hugging and squeezing and squealing and giggling with my parents and my brother. She was super cute with my dad. She would walk up to him sometimes and say "I a princess." Then my dad would correct her. He considers his daughter (me) his princess. So he'd tell Jordan that she can be the little princess. Jordan was totally cool with that. She was full of snuggles and cuddles for him.
Jordan had all kinds of special time with her Uncle Jon as well. She covered him in sand and he got to show her the joys of burying your feet into the sand. It was cool to watch my brother smile that goofy uncle kind of smile that you don't get to see on his face on a regular basis - Since he doesn't live nearby.
And that's exactly why we all hang out each year. So the kids can play and experience and have a time where it's just natural to hang out with family that isn't normally so close at hand.
We had such a great time. It's going to be hard to get back into the regular swing of things.
We're wrapping up our first day of driving home from a great vacation. The kids have been pretty tolerant although I think they've just about had enough driving for today. I have to say, the more often we visit Maine, the more thankful I am to have such a beautiful place to visit with my kids. Both Jordan and Cameron seem to have a true enjoyment of the outdoors and beautiful things like the ocean, boats, mountains and the moon. Jordan and I were hunting for the moon last night before it got too dark.
I tried to snag a chance at a family picture yesterday after attempts the day before didn't work because the kids were too tired. I think this one is pretty cool even if the wind was blowing Jordan and my hair.
For Jordan, the highlight of this trip was probably so much Mommy time. She really likes me. She really really likes me. We spent a lot of time cuddling, singing and dancing together. There's a rock near the Maine house that turned into her dance rock. Everything we did ended up becoming a song. There was just a lot of entertainment during this trip. But for her, the best part was probably her constant access to my cuddles and ability to answer to her every beck and call. The down side to it: She wouldn't let anyone else do much. She had a bit of a stranglehold on my attention - screaming anytime she didn't get my attention. If she needed help, she's wait until I did it for her. Or she'd just scream. Not a pleasant habit for me or anyone else who wanted to spend time with her. It certainly a phase I hope ends soon.
Our trip was fun. It was beautiful out the entire time we were in New Hampshire and Maine. We were so lucky. It was so fun to watch my little girl turn more and more into a big girl each and every day. She is turning into a witty and very able little person. She knows what she wants and most of the time, she figures out how to get it. It makes me proud. It makes me tired. It makes me excited to see how she continues to grow!
Speaking of food. During thus trip, Jordan ate wayyyyy too many fries
and Cam ate wayyyyy to many grilled cheeses. I tried to not let that
bother me while I gobbled down lobster and scallops and yummy stuff
like that.
We're all winding down our big mega-vacation. Tomorrow is our final day in Maine before we drive home. It's a long 24-hour trip in the car -- which could be even longer with Jordan's constant need to use the bathroom. I'm hoping we can get her toilet training back on track - she's had a few more accidents than before the trip. The good news: She hasn't completely lost her skills. I'm certain that she'll have all of this figured out really soon. There's a little boy next door who is two months older than Jordan and still uses diapers. Randy and I both just look at each other and feel relieved that we're this far through this journey.
Speaking of journeys, Jordan has gone on a few little journeys around the island and around to other nearby spots here in Maine. She's really excited about planes, boats and her iPod. It's terrible, but I've found life on long car drives are just a bit easier with the help of technology. Her audio wrap from ifrogz.com is awesome since she can watch and listen to her podcasts without needing earphones.
Jordan got to hang out with a former student of ours and her boyfriend. They were awesome and put up with all of us. Jordan had fun and gave everyone SO many hugs. It's so funny to watch her moods with these kinds of public displays of affection. One second she's giving away dozens of hugs and kisses, the next second she doesn't want anyone near her. There are so many stories and pictures to post, but I'm exhausted! Maybe I'll try more tomorrow.
We've been in Maine for four days. I guess the ocean air has kept me unmotivated and unable to hop onto my computer or cellphone to send pictures or stories. Sorry about that. I've been trying to sift through the hundreds of pictures I took of our camping trip while compiling new ones here in Maine. I actually took the majority of yesterday off from the camera. I needed a break from documenting... even though the kids are so stinking cute in between harassing each other.
While we were camping, I tried to send a few pictures just so family members would know that we're alive. I have a ton of stories to write. Top of it all, she's INCREDIBLY clingy. In between the ultra-independent attitude, she's needed a lot of Mommy. She won't even let her dad let her out of the car. She often runs around the house (or campground or hiking trail or store or where ever) whining: Pick-ah up me! Yeah, she wants me to hold her. And for some reason, instead of saying "Pick up me" she says "Pick-ah up me!" I love spending time with her, but this is a bit much. She wouldn't even let her Uncle Barry carry her in the hiking backpack as we hiked 1.4 miles up a mountain to see the tallest waterfall in New Hampshire (the hard work was TOTALLY worth it). To add to the clingy, we're still potty training. While we were camping, this intense scrutiny was enhanced in two ways: Jordan would cry ever time I made her sit on any type of toilet and most toilets were chemical toilets that smelled bad. It was very challenging to maintain my sanity at times.
In between the challenging stuff, we had amazing times. Jordan has seen and explored so many amazing things. But she's also used me as her base. No matter what, she wants me to protect her, carry her or help her do something. I will do my very best not to complain because very soon she will not want me near her. The funniest thing is sometimes when I ask her if I can help, she'll yell "MY DO IT!" And I can't come near her, but the next second she wants to cuddle on me.
Since we got to Maine, her potty training needs have improved again and we're back on track. On the whole, there are SO many moments where I watch my girl talking, singing, dancing and just being who she is and I just have to stop and watch in wonder. She's SOOO stinking sweet. Even more fun, I just watch the two kids. In between their little squabbles, they are starting to get along. They actually played outside together this morning. The two of them are so alike and SO different at the same time. We've been outside so much - it's everything you want in a vacation. Outside time, lazy time, kid time, playing with pictures online time. This has been very nice.
(by the way, that picture is the official rock picture of the year)
We made it to our final hotel before we start our camping trip for five days. We snagged a nice room in northern Vermont before we cross the border over to New Hampshire. It's very exciting.
I will probably be completely offline until after we arrive in Maine. I promised Cam that I would not turn on the computer at all while we camp. That means five days off the grid. It's longer than I've gone in a while and I'm sure it will feel great.
So for family checking the blog, we're doing fine. We survived a 1300+ mile, two-day drive across the country and we're ready to have fun outside! For anyone else, we have a full agenda: Camping, swimming, hiking, biking and exploring! Very exciting.
Jordan's had her hair cut one time... Until today. I wanted to help her hair take shape before we head out for a big mega-vacation. So I looked into places I could take her and the price wasn't any different between a nice grown-up hair place or the new local girly-girl salon.
I went with the girly-girl salon. She loved it. (Cameron was not that interested in being there... When we got to the door, he stopped and pronounced: "I am NOT going in there.") Jordan got her hair washed with chocolate shampoo and raspberry conditioner and seemed to enjoy the experience. She listened really well while her stylist did her hair (the barber chair was a pink Barbie Corvette). She even had her hair blow dried. SO funny.
I have to say, I kind of miss the little ragamuffin girl I had. She looks so clean cut and pretty with the new hair. I'm hoping her bangs will continue to grow and catch up with the rest of her hair. She's never had them trimmed and yet they're SO short!
Tomorrow is Jordan's last dance class of the summer. I talked to her dance teacher who says she can tell our girl loves to dance and encouraged us to keep it up in the fall. She also did a really wonderful thing: she asked how to help deal with the kids who stare at Jordan. She thought it might be too personal to ask, but I really appreciate it. I gave her tips on using Nemo's little fin as a guide to kids to help explain that Jordan can do anything! I'm so happy ABC ran Finding Nemo recently so more kids had a chance to watch it. I love that movie and of course I love it even more since Jordan arrived. I offered to talk to the kids in the class, but my feeling is I don't want to call it out. I'd rather kids learn about Jordan more organically, but if there's enough of a disruption already, I'd be happy to chat with them all. I also encouraged the teacher to see if Jordan would like to talk about her arm. I'm not sure if she's ready... Since I realized I haven't given her a chance yet. It's time to start letting go. I want to protect her and it's scary to know that she had to be able to hold her own. I realize she's only close to two and a half, but the sooner she learned, the stronger she'll be!
I just love spending time with my Aunt and it was so great to take Jordan back to Dallas to see her last weekend. I happen to be out of town AGAIN - this time I'm on my own to attend a journalism forum. But I just wanted to tell everyone a little more about Jordan's great trip with Aunt Jan.
First, Jordan and I were totally off schedule. I had to wake her at 3am to get us to the airport. The first thing she said as I lifted her off her bed: "I go back in the bed." I don't know why I find that so funny. Anyway -- She LOVED being on a plane. We had a window seat so she could enjoy the view and look at the clouds. "I fly in the sky!!" She pointed out everything she could see. It was just so cool to see her register the idea that she was flying and on her way to see Aunt Jan and Uncle Chuck.
Even though we were a little off on sleep the entire time, Jordan was SO dang funny. She was goofy, she was giggly. She was so great. She made all of us laugh and smile. In between a little tired issues here and there, it was just fun to watch her hang out with family and have fun.
We actually ended up sharing a bed - and the first morning she woke up and was SO excited to find me in bed with her. Her tone was utter disbelief that I would be in bed with her.
Strangest moment: Jordan decided she hated the two pairs of shoes I brought to Texas. Not only did she hate them, she was throwing a fit with them. So I did something I don't normally do: I relented. We went shopping and got the girl a new pair of shoes. It's silly I know. But I had her SO out of her element and she was SO tolerant that if shoes were what she wanted to freak out about, I was going to help her deal with it. We went to the Disney Store and picked out a plaid pair of Minnie Mouse shoes (you don't actually SEE Minnie, she's in the insole if you're curious). Either way, the girl LOVED those shoes.
Life got back to normal pretty quickly when we got back home. Jordan has been pretty good at school (until she bit a girl at school today). She also had her third dance class. Today she had to go to time out because she decided not to participate during a part of the class. The teacher said if Jordan is happy, keep taking the class... But we can wait until she officially turns three if we'd like. The teacher and I schemed to decide if this was the right time for dance class... it may or it may not. Who knows. Her last class is next week, so this was just a little peek into the dance world. Maybe we'll wait until next winter. Either way, Jordan LOVES it... At least talking about it.
I knew it would happen someday... But it's happening now. Jordan is telling me "I can't do it." She often says it with a task she can do but takes extra effort. Most of the time it is putting on underwear or shorts.
"I can't do it."
But you can. I've seen you do it. I know it takes extra effort but I KNOW you can do it.
So now I have to be stubborn. I'll let her yell or scream "I CAN'T DO IT!" But I require that she at least tries. Often when I get her to finally try, she CAN do it. Other times she's frustrated and I help. But at least she tried.
This morning I had to leave her on the floor crying for 15 minutes until I got her into the "try" mode. The "can't" mode is very hard to move away from. But I can't allow "can't" to take over her life. If there's anything I'm committed to, it's making sure my girl can do ANYTHING.
"Can't" doesn't belong in her world.
I'm so behind on pictures and life stories about Jordan. We got back into town yesterday morning at 3am after spending a long weekend with my Aunt. She's been battling cancer and we were able to get into town in between chemo treatments. My Aunt is amazing and it was SO great to be with her while she felt pretty good. Miss Jordan was awesome. She dealt with the horrible travel schedule, danced around and sang. She fell in love with my Aunt and Uncle's dog and their friend's dog who was visiting for the weekend.
I'm exhausted and I haven't gotten to updating all of the pictures and stories about Jordan.
Let's say this: She LOVES planes. She's so excited about "flying in the sky." She had to brag about it to everyone at school yesterday. She also had to show off a new pair of shoes we bought at the Disney Store. I have allowed my daughter to totally buy into the Disney mystique. I'm totally okay with it. My husband wants to shoot me. I've never been a princess type, but if my daughter likes it, I'll play. (I can't believe I just wrote that since I swore my daughter would never wear pink and we'd avoid all gender-assigning games and toys)
Oh! And Jordan was dry the entire trip. She even went potty on the plane! Incredible!
I promise to write more, but I'm working late tonight and I want to enjoy a nice day outside and read a book for a little while. It's one of the first times I've been alone in a long time. It's also really nice out and I don't want to miss sitting under a tree for a little while!
Jordan had her first dance class yesterday. It was kinda cool. Not because she really participated in the class (I'd say she half participated). What was cool was how she was excited about getting dressed up. She talked about being a princess and wearing princess shoes (her ballet shoes). She was very proud to be a part of that experience.
It was actually very cool to see her in the class. She was so tiny dancing and walking around with the other kids. It's a class for kids between 3 and 5. Miss Jordan isn't quite 2 and a half, so this was just special. I work with the dance teacher at the university and she invited Jordan to participate this summer after her awesome performance in the Nutcracker last year.
To cap off the sweet part of the day, Jordan slept in her ballet shoes all night. She actually danced to the bathroom when she woke up in the morning.
Jordan had her feet casted once again to get her new shoe inserts. It has been SO long since her ankles have had extra support. I look forward to being able to help her feel a lot more comfortable while we hike all over the place this summer.
When we got to the orthotic company, I was worried she would be really cranky and uncooperative. But she changed moods really rapidly and was really very sweet during the casting process. She played with the foot molds (that the blue thing on her left foot in the picture). She was happy to hold onto the molds and admire them (she was calling them her foot by saying: "I got my foot Mommy!"). She was sweet even after she got a little boo boo on one foot.
After her appointment, we walked to Cam's school and picked him up to celebrate the end of the school year. Jordan is on a three year countdown until her Kindergarten experience. That's a strange thought. On our walk home, we noticed a neighbor who has a four (almost 5) year old son and twin girls who are four months younger than Jordan. We spent time over there. It was so fun to see Jordan starting to build a friendship with girls who live so darn close to our house. Play friends so nearby. It's very exciting. The girls played in their backyard pool - Jordan didn't have her swimsuit but I just let her go crazy in her underwear. Jordan also decided it was cool to use their bathroom - she made four pit stops. (Only one was productive) She didn't want to go home and cried all the way. I didn't mind, Cam was pretty upset about going home as well.
Jordan is starting to talk and talk and talk. So I have to write down a couple of funny things she's saying.
When turning on a light she says: "I open the light."
When turning off a light she says: "I close the light."
When Randy was leaving for work yesterday she asked: "You got your bye-bye bag? You go to your car and go bye bye?"
Bye bye bag. I like that. I isn't a computer bag anymore. It's a bye bye bag.
While going upstairs with Cameron yesterday, Jordan started yelling: "Wait up you guys!"
This weekend, we went on a bike trip down the Katy Trail... It's a pretty nice and easy trek even though it was hot outside. We were all biking while Jordan road around in the bike trailer. She did NOT like riding in trailer. She was feeling trapped and uninvolved. Her best tactic: Scream that she needed to go potty. We'd stop and offer her a chance to use the grass as a bathroom, but she was not interested. We finally had to turn around and find a bathroom. She actually used a public bathroom for the first time. But since that's been a challenge and we're planning a big road trip, I just bought a travel potty. I think it will make like a little easier. Anyway, after we turned around, she got to run around on the trail and she was just so dang happy (see picture).
We're finally getting Jordan's feet casted today for her shoe inserts. The previous fitting wasn't done properly so we have to go through it again. This has been a really crazy delayed process and Jordan's really enjoying life in shoes that don't require socks. I'm expecting a pretty unhappy process when we bring the inserts back into her life. (There I go again - always so negative. Sorry about that.) The upside of taking her to the appointment, I get to leave work a little early and spend some time working out. I work an odd shift on Mondays and I did some Wii Fit yesterday afternoon while Jordan snacked and watched. As I tried a number of yoga poses, Jordan kept asking: "Whatchya doin' Mom?" It's very hard to hold a balancing pose when you're getting the third degree!
In my constant documentation of Jordan, we've reached my girl's 29th month. Every month is another amazing jump in independence and personality. I'm not sure how I can properly document this little one's growth as she becomes more like a a little person every day. I obviously post a lot. This happens to be my 600th post about a 29 month old. That seems a bit extreme. I guess this mom blog thing has become quite the hobby.
Along with her growing potty skills (for those of you who know more than what I've been posting about that process, she finally let loose today), she's working on ways to get her clothes off. She's not an expert on putting clothes on, but off is turning into an impressive skill. I came up with a way to help her take shirts off: little arm out first, pull the shirt over her head and then shake her big arm out. It's going very well. These are the little things that used to worry me. But she finds solutions each and every day. I'm proud to be a part of it.
If I'm lucky, I'll find a way to stay patient as her powerfully stubborn tests try me. She will fight just about anything I ask her to do. But she and I are learning. I'm training her and she thinks she's training me.
Either way, in the last month, Jordan has picked up more words and abilities to really talk about what she wants, needs and is curious about. She's always asking things like: "What's that?" "What's that sound?" "I want that!" "I do it!" Classic stuff. It's just so fun to watch her grow.
Jordan and Cam got to go to the local Memorial Day parade in town... And I had not realized, but this was her first chance to watch a parade from the side. She's been in two homecoming parades, but never sat through one. Funny.
She was really interested in all of the cars and waving to as many members of the military as possible. We walked around town after that and enjoyed a tasty treat for lunch. In all... She continued a staunch denial of all public toilets. Luckily, this girl has control and waited until we got home. She's been dry for all her naps and dry for the last two nights as well. We're getting there. In a week we've made HUGE strides. Then I won't have to blog about this process anymore. And I'll be very, very happy about that.
The morning was rainy, really rainy. So rainy that when it finally stopped, the water was running through our driveway as if it was still raining. Jordan was thrilled to enjoy the puddles and blooming flowers outside. We had spent most of the morning playing Wii Fit. It's a lot of fun and I broke a sweat a little here and there.
The highlight of the day: Taking Jordan to a local dance company's recital to watch dancers from the age of three to who knows how old (probably mostly high school). I wanted to see what she thought about the performances. I'm considering a chance to put her in a short summer dance class. It's for three year olds, but I know the teacher and she thinks Jordan would love it. Jordan and I in the front row of the balcony... It gave her room to fidget and a chance for us to escape for a possible potty break. It also gave her room to dance. Oh my did she boogie. It was great. She was so excited every time another group came on stage. I never took to the dancing thing as a kid. It's not my kind of thing, and it might not be interesting to Jordan. But for now, it appears that this is the kind of stuff she likes.
Oh! On items that have nothing to do with Jordan and everything to do with me. I bought a new bike!! With the help of birthday money and saved up funds, I was able to get a new Trek bike. It isn't just a Trek bike, it's a girl Trek bike. I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy a girl version or not, but in the end, I just like this design and its features. I've never had a bike with suspension! I can't wait to enjoy my first really long trip down our local bike trails on this puppy! I'm ready to find more excuses to get outside and get healthy. I totally fell off my The Daily Plate diet (although not really a diet, just a mindful lifestyle). So I'm back on TDP and trying to exercise more... even if it's a little exercise like the Wii Fit (which has options to make things sweaty). I'm looking forward to feel a little healthier... As I did a couple of months ago before I started gaining weight back!
Remember how I was all concerned about this potty thing when we went cold turkey on Sunday? Today Jordan was dry from when we put on the cotton this morning until I put on her bedtime diaper. I'm thinking I might need to give up diapers all together and see what the overnight experience is like. (Messy I'm sure... but today she surprised the heck out of me, it could continue)
The potty party day started a little unusual. Jordan woke up ten minutes before we had to run off to school and take part in a Kindergarten walking trip to the nearby gardens (where there is no bathroom). Cameron asked if Jordan could come along so she could hang out with his classmates. I was a little nervous since she'd be in cotton the whole time. I brought extra clothes and was prepared for a mess and a bunch of kindergarteners yelling: "YUCK!"
Three and a half hours later, I rushed home as quick as possible to give Jordan a chance to go to the bathroom. And she was mad at me. I am not allowed to force her to go to the bathroom. She held it through our trip to school and even a quick lunch while the rest of her class went down to nap (we were a little behind schedule because of the field trip). As she ate, I kept asking if she needed to go... And she kept saying no. I had to ask one of the teachers at school to ask her to use the bathroom, and it worked. The girl made it through nap and didn't make a mistake. She made it through the entire day. I was so freaking proud.
So when I had both kids, we (Cameron and I) bought Jordan a balloon and some pizza. Then we had a potty pizza party that also included watching the Little Einsteins. It's like she's growing up right in front of me. Amazing. This sink or swim experience apparently is what motivates Jordan better than anything else.
Miss Jordan is all about outside time... So during Cameron's t-ball game last Friday, we picked flowers. I couldn't help shooting her in and out of the frame (my nerdy video friends know what I'm talking about)
I promise not to blog much more about the potty training experience. Here's the deal - Jordan will do it when she wants to do it. Yesterday at school, she told her teachers that she needed to pee, but then they got into a spat over who would take off her pants. Jordan wanted to do it!!! So since that took too long, she ended up peeing in her pants. She had a couple of situations through the day when she just forgot to go to the bathroom. All in all and five pairs of underwear later, I think she made progress.
I have no idea how she's doing at school today - I'm a little stressed just thinking about it though. I really really look forward to this stage ending as soon as possible (you know, like in a year).
Update: Today was a much better day for this experience. Only one accident, but barely an accident at school. She used the bathroom a number of times at home too. I'm feeling a little better about going cold turkey on diapers! I'm really proud of how she's able to pull her clothes up and down on her own when we're not in a rush to go potty. Go team!
I bought the cotton underwear - She's wearing them and I've already had to do two extra loads of laundry. That's cool, we're learning. She's already used the potty more than ever before.
And she doesn't really like it. When she uses the potty, it's exciting and she's proud. But she doesn't like that I've pushed this situation on her. Pull ups and diapers are awesome.
So... I set her off to school with three extra outfits and an extra pair of shoes. We're in deep now.
I've suddenly started feeling crummy. My goal was to leave the house this evening to shop for cotton underwear for the girl... But I've suddenly picked up a sore throat and I'm wondering if my body is saying I should put this potty training on hold. I'll give it a couple of days.
Here's the problem: She's finally consistent with the potty thing without pants. So I should just go for it. I know I should. I guess I'm trying to hold on to one tiny little piece of sanity that I'd lose the moment we go into hard core potty training mode.
By the way, I stumbled onto an article that talked about how the mom blog Dooce pulls in $40,000 in advertising revenue a month. A month! I am in the wrong business. Wow.
So... Remember how I thought we were in a grace period when we took the crib rail down? A grace period between when Jordan was contained to her crib and the time when she realizes that she can get out of her bed whenever she wants to?
Ummm. We're still in that grace period.
Can I still call it a grace period when we're reaching close to two weeks of sleeping in a "big girl" bed? It's stunning. She stays in bed when I put her down and when she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't get out on her own without me in the room. It's great. It's also kind of strange. Randy has decided that this is going to be a great item to harass Jordan about when she's older. It took her brother about a week to figure out he could escape his room whenever he wanted. That didn't last long. IT was a bit of a battle of the wits. We're headed in that direction with Jordan soon enough. I shouldn't complain.
Speaking of not complaining... Jordan is starting to really give the potty thing a run for its money. Here's the tricky part: Taking off a diaper or pull ups are really hard. The one handed removal with tightly fitting "underwear" is really hard. Tonight she was working with just her elastic shorts and she was doing a great job - pulling up and down and up and down. In all of this effort, she was pretty productive. And it made me wonder if there is practice underwear that would make it easier for her than the disposable stuff. I'm willing to bring four outfits a day to school for Jordan if it helps her learn the potty thing faster. She wants to do everything on her own -- I just need to figure out something that will help her to just that!
We were able to get approved and fitted for another UCBL shoe insert for Jordan today. Hopefully that can help her get those ankles working better. The poor kid was exhausted from the combination of a late night dinner celebration for Mother's Day, an early morning First Steps meeting and a 10:30 shoe insert fitting. She was exhausted... So exhausted that she fell asleep on our way to school. That ten minute drive was too much for her. But the good news: I got extra cuddles as I took her out of the car. I swear, Jordan cuddles are some of the best you can find.
Check this out. It may be one of the sweetest things I've gotten from a school project at Jordan's school. I may have to explain what's going on here. This is a piece of fabric to celebrate Mother's Day... On the right side you can see her hand print. On the left side you can see her little arm print! This is super special because none of her other teachers has ever taken part in a class project where they got Jordan's little arm involved. They usually just repeat the right hand... But her new teachers just painted up that little arm and let her go with it.
I love this gift. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it... But I'm certainly never going to get rid of it.
I'm lucky to be a part of the state's 0-3 program that helps me afford Jordan's many therapies and care. (It took many month fighting to get her into the program) It has been a way to help me fund the little things that insurance will fight - like shoe inserts that have helped Jordan's strange leg structure. I finally got my pediatrician to fill out a prescription for new UCBLs (a technical term for the shoe inserts). But then I had to try to track down my First Steps coordinator, find a meeting time and then schedule an appointment for a fitting. It takes a week or more to get the inserts built.
I've been a mom blogger since 2004 (I started with Mom Thoughts). It isn't as long as many people out there. I have this small little following and I love everyone who visits here. I've always wondered if there were ways to make sure I reach as many moms out there who have kids with differences. I work full-time and I don't have a ton of time to "pimp my blog." But a friend of mine pitched my two mom blogs to Alltop Moms - it's considered the ultimate aggregator of blogs. I'm really honored to be groups with a great bunch of mom bloggers.
I've been pondering some issues as a parent of a limb different kid lately as I watch Jordan move into a bigger girl stage - I've been wondering if I should post it but I figured this is probably the right moment. I have a couple of hours off from work. A half hour before I need to grab the kids. So I have quiet thinking time (which is rare around here).
I've moved into another fearful stage - I realize that every time I see a huge mountain that Jordan has to climb, the girl flies over it after a few false attempts to get up the rock face. But because I live in a two handed world, I can't fathom how she's going to do all of the simplest things that I do every day. I was opening a container of yogurt, and used both hands even though I tried it with one. I started buying glass milk containers and I have a hard time opening it with two hands. This potty process... Jordan has a really hard time getting her pants up and down on her own.
I realize she's going to figure all of these things out because she doesn't even know what the world is like with two hands. But I'm intimidated. I see these thousands of menial tasks as a huge challenge. And it exhausts me. Jordan's stubborn drive to learn everything on her own will get to her accomplish everything. But to get my brain to wrap around how she'll catch a ball with her new baseball glove AND throw the ball back to me is hard. I know she'll find a way. That little arm can do a lot of work. I just get into these little ruts from time to time when Jordan starts moving into a new phase of development. It's my problem and I know she'll overcome it all. Not once will I ever tell her that she can't do a thing. I just get scared when a simple challenge like getting dressed seems so difficult.
Jordan and her brother had a busy day as usual. We made a trip to church where the kids got to go to their choir practice. The choir leader says Jordan was really into it. She listened and even tried to sing along. I love that.
The day started out cool, but it was perfect for playing outside. The kids had a great tacklefest with their Dad. And they both took an increased liking to hanging out in Dudley's dog house.
Jordan also got a couple of cool new things at the toy store: a baseball glove and roller skates. I know. I know. They're both things that are a little too old for her. But I thought the roller skates would be a really cool experience and maybe help build a little less fear about rolling things. The baseball glove is from her recent interest in the game since her brother is playing a ton of t-ball games. She even tried to hit the ball off the tee tonight. It was super cute. Every time she got the ball off the tee, we cheered and she would run and run.
Yeah... Jordan is a wigglier sleeper then her brother. Before I went to bed last night, I found her sleeping on the floor of her room - on top of a book. Early this morning I heard her calling my name. I went into her room to find her on the floor again: "Mommy, I fall down the bed."
I picked her up and helped her back into bed.
I'm going to investigate possible bed rails. I'm not sure. Cam never fell out of the bed. Of course I have pillows on the floor of her room... So I'm not sure what route I should go: Pillow falls or bed rails.
Either way, she had a blast at Cameron's t-ball game tonight and enjoyed the little league bar-b-que afterwards. She napped HARD this afternoon and did not fall out of bed!
This morning I found Jordan hanging on for dear life on the top of her crib railing. I realized I can't let her do that again. I can't imagine the chance of her taking a big fall and breaking something.
So... Here we are. I have a little girl sleeping in her crib that was converted into a daybed. This will be a short run - I'll move her to the big girl bed soon enough. But OH MY was she excited to see her "new bed." The whole family went upstairs to admire her bed. She climbed in and just kept falling into her pillow. "My bed! My bed!" We did our regular book, prayer, lullaby sequence and she stayed in bed.
This is what we call our grace period. Jordan hasn't figured out that she can get out of bed by herself yet.
It took her brother (who was 3 months older than Jordan is now when we moved him out of the crib) about five days to figure out he could roam freely. Wish us luck.
Jordan got to go to her brother's first t-ball game last night. She was a little put off by the heavy winds ("There wind in my hair Momma."). But after a while she was playing with the other younger siblings and chasing after me while I took lots and lots of pictures. The season is usually a bit long by the end, but we were all having fun last night.
I've even taken to introducing all of the team parents to Flickr. I created a private photo group so we can all share our pictures online there. So far I already have two new members to the group and I sent out the email two hours ago. That's pretty cool.
I'm merging my nerdy world in so many ways. I've been on BabyCenter's new community for a month or two and recently "bumped" into a new mom from my area who has a little girl born with a limb difference. The funny thing is we talked a few months ago, but we hadn't spoken online again until she found me on BabyCenter. It's a small world!
Yup. The girl had to drop her lamby cold turkey today. It's been one of many reasons for her to be stubborn at school, so obviously we had to stop bringing it to school. But I'm still a little sad. I can handle her crying about it on her way to school. I'm more sad about how this is just another little sign about how my little girl is growing up. She isn't a baby anymore. Just as Jordan says: "I a big girl."
