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

August 12, 2002

We are (at this very moment!) playing host to 1 adult, a 14 year old boy, and two girls, aged 12 and 10. We just (on Saturday) brought Al’s sister Eleanor back to the airport, only to have Al drive to St. Louis (about 3 hours) the following day, to bring these guys here. The non-stop visitors are taking a toll on me. I need alone time! I will write more at length about this when they are gone, and I can fully get engrossed in it. That will be a doozy of an entry!


The biggest news, is that with the help of Fanny May Mint Meltaways, Alexandria is now potty trained entirely during the day. I guess we just needed to find the proper motivation. She has been trained now ever since the first of this month, when Al’s sister came. She does go out in public with Pull Ups, but always (if she’s awake, of course) lets me know if she needs to use the potty. Or “pot” as she calls it. Yesterday, she did her first poop on a public toilet. I wasn’t thrilled about the venue, but when you gotta go, you gotta go! She doesn’t care one way or the other about using her potty vs. the “big potty” and she doesn’t withhold bowel movements, so I really have nothing to complain about. I don’t need to remind her, but I do anyway. I think I need to stop bugging her. If the pants are coming off, then she’s getting ready to use the potty. She really trained herself. I worked with her a long time (roughly since she was one), and it was just up to her to be intrinsically motivated enough to carry it out. (That, and the candy, helped!) She had the idea quite a while ago, when she was potty trained for a week, but then gave up. Maybe it was too much work? And when I say I worked with her a long time, I set her on the potty, and encouraged her, and when she went, I rewarded her. But, it wasn’t every day, and I didn’t really obsess about it. Anyway, I am so, so proud of my big girl!


Didn’t I brag in my last entry about how she went to sleep by herself at night? Well, that ended, but we will get there eventually. Once I start going to classes again (in two weeks, yikes!), then I will work on getting her to bed at a decent hour, and up at 7:00. It’s just that there have been so many changes lately with all the guests and potty training, that I don’t want to rock the boat. I also am considering when I am sure she has day-training down pat, to start working with her and night training. I am not too concerned, though. I know it will come in time. I have no idea when I got so laid back about all this potty training crap (so to speak), but it’s a much better way to live. I am usually pretty laid back to begin with, but I was starting to envision Alexandria starting high school in Depends. LOL


I am also starting to think of putting Alexandria in some sort of preschool program. I need to do some major research, and look at the costs and all that, of placing her in a half-day program. I feel it would really be beneficial to her, to be around other children, and to have much more structure in her life. I would also like to see if I can find one where they will teach her a foreign language. I do speak German, but I learned it in school, so I am not a native speaker, nor am I that good. I also know a wee bit Spanish, but I want someone who knows how to do this to teach her. I want her, desperately, to know a foreign language, because it’s something I feel would greatly benefit her. So, I need to start researching preschools.


Alexandria started her kiddie class 2 weeks ago. She gets to make all sorts of art things there, which she really enjoys. And someone else cleans up the mess, which I really enjoy. I think she has three more classes left. I need to look into what else I can sign her up for. It gets us out of the house, and gives her something constructive to do. They also read a book to the kids, but that isn’t what excites her. LOL


Alexandria can blow up balloons really well (don’t worry, we watch her, and pick up the pieces so she won’t choke on them), and she loves to let them go, so they “Phhhffft” all around the house. She can talk, and the sentences she puts together can get long. Her favorite from the other day was, “Daddy opened the window. The fly flewed out, and he looked for some garbage to land on!” Not perfect, but pretty detailed for a little squirt! Flies are one of her interests, whenever she sees one, she will say, “Go away fly!” and then shoo it away with her hand. And she knows they’re icky, so she’s always trying to keep them away. It comes in handy when you need to get up from the restaurant (I use that word loosely) table to get more ketchup. She watches over the food to make sure nothing lands on the cuisine. Good kid! LOL


Well, I feel I have cut this off here. I put up a few more pictures on her Babiesonline website, one on the main page, and another new one on the photo page. Feel free to take a gander if you’d like!


http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/u/urchin/


Till next time!


Candace and family