Potty Time

Last night I stumbled upon Harper in the bathroom potty training her stuffed animals. You’ll be relieved to know that after finishing the task at hand Mr. Ribbit wiped, flushed and washed his hands (flippers?) thoroughly.  

So, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, we’re all potty training all-the-time around here lately. Harper’s not actually ready to fully commit yet; she’s just toying with the idea. But she is mighty interested in talking about all things potty related.

For example, when she greeted me this morning in her crib the first words out of her mouth were, “Poopy diaper is warm.” And it was, too. And when we were swimming at neighbor Karen’s pool yesterday she happily announced, “Mommy wear underwear!” while she repeated the sign for underwear over and over to an amused Karen. So, of course, I was forced to fawn all over her for recognizing a thing like that, despite my mild embarrassment.

Several times now she has decreed that she needs to use the potty only to prove her point as we are scrambling to get her diaper off. I’m convinced that her intentions are good. It’s just her timing that’s a little off.

In the meantime we have watched every potty video known to man. As a result I’ve had this album stuck in my head for a week:    

I’ve found myself humming the Potty Time theme song without realizing it while at the grocery store and again at the library. Thanks for the video suggestion, Scott (I may be saying this facetiously).  

Has anyone else seen this Sesame Street video? It's mind-numbingly awful. I can feel myself getting dumber everytime we watch it. Ah, the things you sacrifice for your kids. Things like intellectual stimulation, taste and standards.

So expect me to start making obnoxiously stereotypical parental-type posts regarding Harper’s new toilet behavior starting very soon (Or does this mean I’ve already started? Sorry. I can’t believe how much this is taking over our lives.).

In the meantime, Brad got some shots of our little paleontologist taking a nap the other day (please note the new plush triceratops aka "Toppy," dinosaur books and plastic dinosaur figurines scattered akimbo). Enjoy!   

Aquarium Visit

Last Saturday Harper and I visited the aquarium. Harper was thrilled when Brad was able to join us for about the last twenty minutes of our tour. I was not, however, able to get any photos of them together as we were in the Coral Reef area of the aquarium at that point and our old, sickly camera can't (or won't) take anything resembling quality photos with so little light. No matter, we had a wonderful time anyway.

Hello horseshoe crab!

Well, hello to you, too!

Attempting to climb into the mangrove exhibit (don't worry, I stopped her).

Fish et profile.

Harper stared at this tank for probably ten minutes. She can have such an impressive and unwavering concentration for a toddler when something interests her.

The Reef Tank is always a big hit, especially when there are divers in the tank (of which there were five on this particular day). Plus the lobsters were pretty cool, too.

Afterward we got burritos for lunch (per Harper's request) and the it was home for nap time. It was just a nice, relaxing family day.    

 

Ham

Harper has finally figured out the whole camera thing and was being quite animated for the camera during bath time tonight. I was lucky she was being so cooperative and got some great shots of that beautiful smile of hers. She just keeps getting cuter (if I do say so myself)! I mean, come on people. Back me up, here. Isn't she just about the sweetest little water bug you've ever seen?

And as you can see, she has all of her teeth.

Candid Camera

I just wanted to do a quick update because I've been so bad about posting as of late. That's what happens when you're managing two blogs (or not managing two blogs). 

First, Brad got some footage of Harper in her princess dress last night. She must have been twirling in circles for about fifteen minutes before she tired of it. Be forewarned: you may want to skip the clip if you are prone to motion sickness.

And Harper's friend, Ethan, came over for a playdate while his mommy was at a job interview (good luck, Anna!). Obviously, crayons and garbage trucks were are all the rage this morning.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Party Pooper

This morning Harper was having her breakfast in her highchair when she suddenly tried to stand up (luckily she was strapped in) all the while exclaiming, “Poops! Poops! New diaper! Yucky, stinky!”

Me (unconvinced as I had just changed a soiled diaper): “Do you have poops in your diaper?”

Harper: “Yes.”

Me: “OK.” (checking her diaper) “You don’t have poops in your diaper. Your diaper is clean. Do you want to sit on the potty?”

Harper: “Yes. Potty. OK.”

She runs to the bathroom and sits on her potty chair in her diaper for a mere microsecond and then stands up. “All done. All done. Blue diaper.”

Me: “You have a clean diaper. You don’t need a new diaper.”

Harper: “Blue diaper. OK. Great!”

Me: “Would you like to sit on your potty without your diaper and then we can put on your blue diaper?”

Harper: “Yes. OK. Blue diaper. Sticker.”

That's when it hit me: this kid is working me for a costume change and a sticker. She’s got it all figured out.

And speaking of costume changes…

Brad’s coworker returned from India yesterday with gifts for all of us, including a super-duper girly princess dress for Harper. Thank you Aglave family!

The dress was this big.

Harper’s “Blue Steele” (seriously, Brad and I were making the "Blue Steele" face
and she mirrored us).

What a face!

The New Attaboy Blog

I started a new attaboy blog. I thought it would be a good place to post discussions about common dog behavior issues and for clients to just keep in touch. It needs A LOT of work but at least it's up and running. Check it out if you get a chance!

http://attaboydogs.blogspot.com/

Fixation

What’s on Harper’s mind this week? I’ll give you a few hints:

What she’s watching:

What she’s wearing:

What she’s reading:

What she's listening to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B7zo2zY1Zqg

What she’s playing with / lining up on the windowsill / making kiss each other / dragging around the house / insisting on sleeping with:

And here’s the cutest little paleontologist the world has ever seen in action: