Candace W.'s Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 12/26/02 -------------------- 10/27/02 9/29/02 9/10/02 9/1/02 8/18/02 8/12/02 6/29/02 4/14/02 3/18/02 3/3/02 1/11/02 12/21/01 12/4/01 11/20/01 11/13/01 10/21/01 9/12/01 9/5/01 8/29/01 8/22/01 8/6/01 7/24/01 7/16/01 7/3/01 6/26/01 6/11/01 6/3/01 5/1/01 4/22/01 4/9/01 3/6/01 3/1/01 2/19/01 2/15/01 2/6/01 2/4/01 1/24/01 1/15/01 1/9/01 1/1/01 12/26/00 -------------------- Candace W.'s Introduction

March 18, 2002

I have a confession to make. (Oh, no not another one!) I am a yeller. I don’t exactly like to yell, but sometimes I feel it gets the point across. I yell at Alexandria a lot, and I have been trying to stop. I know sooner or later it will catch up with me, and she won’t be able to *hear* me yell anymore, or she won’t care enough to listen, and neither of those is a good thing. I have been doing better with not yelling, but sometimes I just feel like I am going to explode, and out comes my voice, about 100 decibels louder than it should be. At least I don’t use a stream of obscenities! I have pretty much (around Alexandria, at least!) stopped cursing altogether. I hardly ever use even “crap” or “hell” around her. Now, when I am around just Al, or people at school, that’s a different story. As long as she doesn’t hear it, I am okay with it!


I also am a recovering spanker. When yelling didn’t work, then I’d smack her bottom. Alexandria is quite trying sometimes, and for a while that was the only thing that worked. Note how I said “for a while”. It got to the point where spanking wasn’t working either. Then I found “The Bad Chair”. The “Bad Chair” is just a little chair that came from a kiddie table and chairs set (Little Tykes, I believe), that faces a corner. She gets to visit it when she’s being not-so-angelic. The first time I calmly stuck her in it, and set my watch for 1 minute, she screamed her head off. I felt a sense of triumph. Here was something great. She didn’t like the “Bad Chair” and now I had an effective discipline tool in my belt, so to speak. Of course, that didn’t last long, either. The first few times produced the desired effect (stopping the bad behavior, and starting more acceptable behavior), but now she may do something bad, then run into the Bad Chair and sit down in it. And say, “Get up! Get up!” Oh, well. I need to do some more research, and see if I can find something else, now. Maybe the “Bad Couch”?


Alexandria is talking more and more. She can “read” (more like recite, I guess), “Sara’s Potty”, as well as a few other books she has. She also is speaking in actual strings of words, but not true sentences, yet. Sometimes a verb or two is missing. I remember worrying that she would never get to this point, especially when I heard of all those 1 year olds reciting the Gettysburg Address. I think she is now fully caught up to her peers, and I couldn’t be happier. Though there are times I wish she’d be quiet! Us moms are never happy, either way!


She can repeat virtually anything we say, and usually does. She likes to watch her Barney or Kipper videos, and would probably sit there and watch them one after another, if she were allowed. We (excuse me, *I*) only let her watch one video a day, while Al, (depending on his mood) lets her see two or more. When he had the flu, he popped in video after video. Actually, he just set a stack of them in front of her, and she put them in. I wish I’d had that luxury when I had the flu when she was around 5 months old. Ha!


And what would a toddler entry be if there weren’t a mention of the potty, and/or potty training? I am not pushing it with her, I let her do what she wants. Lately, she’s been pulling off all her clothes, and using the potty. If she’s naked, she’ll use the potty...for peeing or pooping. I’ve been trying to get her to understand that we need to wipe when we’re done, but that lesson hasn’t stuck yet. I just wish she didn’t need to be naked to use the potty. One step at a time, I suppose. She can be rather spirited, so I don’t want to push her too hard, and then have her regress.


Also, it’s time to look at getting her into a “big girl” bed. We looked at beds this weekend for her. We found one we sort of liked, which with the frame, mattress, box spring (which wasn’t really a box spring), and a headboard that had a little bookcase built in it. This cost about $700. Which I think is obscene. However, this was only the beginning. We went to another furniture store, and saw something we both really liked, with a trundle bed. For just the headboard, footboard, and two shelves to go alongside the headboard (no mattresses!) it was over $2000! No wonder Al kept saying we needed to save up for this! I thought the whole thing wouldn’t be much more than $300. And this doesn’t even count the sheets and pillows. We’re planning on getting her something fun so she will be more likely to want to sleep in her big girl bed. I don’t know if she’d rather have some Barney bedding set, Pooh, or something else. I’d rather have Pooh, but that’s just me. Alexandria loves her Baby Bop toy that she got for Valentine’s Day. She’s usually carting it around to the store with her, and she has to have it in bed with her.


I’ve never seen her so attached to any toy before, so I think it’s pretty cute. Of course, I think she’s pretty cute too! And, I’m not the only one. People in stores, or in her kiddie class that she goes to, often tell us what pretty, big blue eyes she has. Al said someone was going on and on about her eyes in the kiddie class. He said he was worried about them. Ha!


Well, I’ve talked about everything for this week. I am on my Spring Break now, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family, and not even thinking about school. I will have to post some pictures that people can actually see some time. Maybe I’ll try one BabiesOnline, or something. I need to get more pictures developed, too. I like to take in two rolls at once.


Well, have a good week everyone! Till next time...


Candace and Alexandria