Teachers and Bedtimes

We finally have a teacher's name.  We have meet the teacher on Tuesday.  I can't believe she goes back to school -- 1st grade -- on Thursday!  Avery is ready to go back, but she isn't ready to have an earlier bed time.  I've started her waking to her alarm every day and pulled it back by an hour for tomorrow; I think we'll back it up by another half an hour for the next three days.

Wish us luck!  The backpack is ready to go.

Easter Preparations

We love our neighborhood - and our neighborhood friends!  Yesterday Avery got to participate in a 4 house Easter egg hunt with our neighbors.  Each house had a ton of eggs out and we had a blast.  We also survived the long mass for palm Sunday this weekend.  I think this is the first year where Avery is really understanding what we're celebrating.

Last night she had a rare bad dream that had her up and quite distraught shortly after going to bed.  How do parents of kids with frequent nightmares or night terrors do it?  It breaks my heart to see her so upset.

Also, the teeth are still hanging tight.

Slowed... but still

There was more vomiting, but the events are definitely further between. She had asked for food but by the time I readied it she was feeling off and tired again and instead went to lay down on the couch where she zonked out.

One thing I never mastered when she was little was sleeping when she sleeps - obviously.  I'm so tired since I didn't get much sleep last night and today I didn't want to sleep knowing that she was still having periodic issues.

Again?!

Once again Avery went down quick for the count.  Before 1am last night she called for me from her room - which is very abnormal for her.  I went over and she was complaining about her belly.  I cuddled with her for a while after asking about the pain and was startled out of half-sleep by puke.  Mind you this is only the third puke episode she's ever had and it has been years.

Got her cleaned up and changed, pulled the sheets and blankets into the wash and moved us to my room after she seemed to be settled back down.  My efforts to cover things didn't go well so the next puke episode caused me to strip that bed as well.  Fortunately I have other sheets and we made due with blankets and towels.  At this point she knew what it felt like and was able to help out and subsequent waves were into a garbage can.  She finally fell asleep around 4 for an hour, waking again after 5 to puke again, then back out for a couple of hours.  When she got up to potty around 7 she threw up again, in the toilet.

I got her settled in and she slept for several hours without incident.  I stayed close and managed to go through my drawers to pull clothes for donation or to make space from those that don't fit right now.

At noonish she woke and claimed she felt really good.  A small sip of water stayed until 12:30 so I gave her another sip.  That stayed until 1pm so we came down and went outside to get a bit of sun since the weather is so nice today.  She isn't loving the pedialyte, so I gave her a freeze pop in an effort to get a little more fluid in.  So far so good.  She's now downstairs watching TV with a garbage can at her side.  I am hoping this one is over.

Year of the Spider

2020 was the year of the dinosaur - as in Avery's birthday cake theme and Halloween costume.  This year is  the year of the Spider(man).  I kept joking that since the cat is kind of an early birthday present we should go with that theme and have a litter box cake and cat poop cookies for her friends at school.  I mostly kept saying it because of her exuberant reaction against it with "noooo, that's gross!"

We went yesterday to order the themed cake for at home and cupcakes for school.  Now to find the right costume.

I also need to order her bedding.  Her Nonna and Nonno are moving and gifted her the bed from their spare room - her first big girl bed!  They delivered it to us yesterday, so I spent some time taking apart her crib, removing it from her room, and vacuuming up in there.  We also snagged pool noodles as runners down the sides in the morning before swimming lessons.  Also on our procurement list was goggles and a swim cap, which helped her tremendously putting her face in.

Zzzz...

Last night Avery was wiped out after playing outside.  So much so she wiped out leaning against me on the couch before her bedtime!  I had her out there running around again tonight and she's tired, but still going at this point.

It was bound to happen

This morning I found Avery and her bed wet.  We haven't had an accident like this before, but it was bound to happen eventually.  Of course I just assured school on Friday that she doesn't need a pull up for nap time, go figure.  It didn't even wake her up, which shouldn't be surprising as she is a good sleeper, but it does surprise me.

Not your average Christmas

We have been rocking undies overnight since the change a week or so ago!  As another update we heard of a third teacher and a classmate that tested positive.  It's been over a week and no signs or symptoms here -- from anyone -- so I think we're okay.

Christmas wasn't what it normally is, of course.  It was good though.  Avery had plenty of time to open and enjoy her gifts.  She's also had lots of practice picking them back up.  She has plenty of things to keep her busy so I can get some work time in at least; I will deploy the Shrek blu-rays to assist this week.  Avery also helped Saffy open her gifts and distributed them to us.

She seems to be quite pleased with the big T-Rex that Santa brought her.  Her favorite seems to be her Spiderman shoes from Mommy and Daddy though.  She is wearing them all day in the house.  They're a size too big, so I hope she doesn't wear them out before she can wear them out of the house.  The pair of big trucks are also winners this year as is the "hungry little potomases" game (since she knew what it was when she opened it I suspect they've played it at school) from Aunt Jackie.

At our holiday meals she has demonstrated that she likes cranberry sauce as much as Mommy does.

Truly Diaper Free

 Avery has resisted the diaper at night for a while.  I've joked that she liked how it felt to breathe free.  Well lately it has become a thing.  It culminated in a melt down last night.  When I got her to use her words she told me she didn't like diapers, so I asked if she wanted to try wearing undies overnight.  She's been dry overnight for a while -- heck she doesn't even want to pee when she gets up in the morning.

She isn't up just yet, but I do have high hopes.  Admittedly I am a bit nervous because she strolled into my room at 4am and she's asleep in my bed at the moment.  She does come over periodically, but not every night.  It is usually after she wakes from a dream, or so it seems based on what she says when she arrives at my bedside.

I didn't think this part through

Avery has woken several days with a dry diaper and made it to the potty.  Don't get me wrong, it is great that she is mastering the whole potty situation.. but I didn't think about some of the implications.

Last night she strolled into my bedroom somewhere after 3am and woke me.  She needed to potty.

I guess it's time to really start letting her wipe herself and taking steps to get confident that she won't unfurl the whole roll of paper.

Pop goes the weasel

Sunday morning Avery was up at 6:20am.  Normally I wouldn't be aware of this.  But on this particular Sunday she was able to stroll right into my bedroom.  I felt a bump on the side of the bed and in my sleepy stupor I assumed it was Saffy, whom I told to "go lay back down".  Then Saffy started to climb up on the bed, but not in a leap.  When I opened my eyes - there she was.

Last night she was back up twice after being put down for the night, tonight just once. It's hard to be consistent when I want to hold her hand as much as she wants me to.

Big Girl Bed

Last night Avery got to sleep in her very own big girl bed!  Well, kind of.  We put the toddler rail on the one side of her crib.  She was pretty excited.  This morning I heard her say "Mommy", I immediately got up to use the bathroom and she was walking in my door before I got the whole way to the toilet.

Won't you be my neighbor

Avery has officially made friends with the neighbor girls. It started through the fence on Saturday morning.  There is nothing cuter than this kid standing there calling for them by name.  Her sweet little voice!  The neighbor girls are sweet and seem to have a bit more structure from their parents than some of the other kids in the neighborhood, so I am hoping they can be buds for years go to come, despite the age difference (they are 6 and 9).

We had a couple of poops on the potty today and a few pees.  I know I need to get crazy about the frequency to bring things home.  If we could keep some warm temps for more than a day at a time maybe we could go outside in big girl panties and see how she reacts when things happen.

Both days this weekend we skipped naptime.  I didn't even try to put her down, and she made it through with minimal hissy-fit.  I am so not ready for her to give up naps, especially right now as I need nap time to get work hours in, but she is also getting better about entertaining herself and playing solo for little spurts of time.

Two full time jobs and potty training

So far we're ok.  Things will get harder as the hours I am with her solo get amplified.  I am grateful her Dad had some vacation days that were use or lose.  Sure he'll have more and I have time too, but I don't want to burn through any of it too quickly, because I think things are going to go on like this for an extended period of time.

We've decided to work harder on potty training and today Avery told me she had to go before it happened twice - once for each 'activity'!  I'm quite proud and she enjoyed her M&Ms.

Nap time however is not going as well.  She's been wailing since 1 and it's almost 3.  I've been trying to wear her out by running around and going outside when the weather has been allowing, but this is hard.

Getting through the night

If I get into her room before she's awake Avery typically needs a few minutes to fully rouse.  I have noticed however that if I scoop her up more often than not the diaper doesn't have much in it.  That's great progress to know she's not peeing too much overnight.  It also means she will need to go soon.  Yesterday and today I took her in all of her groggy glory to the potty and was rewarded with quick success.  While she isn't happy being moved before she's awake the fog fades quickly and she seems very pleased when we get to celebrate using the potty successfully so quickly.

I poop, therefore I am.

We remain binky free.  That was way too easy.  I feel like I say this often with Avery.

She is also telling us "I poo".  Usually it is announced after she's gone, but she even told me in advance one day.  This is definitely the first step towards potty training.  So I went ahead and bought the potty I was planning to get for her.  We won't be trying to train any time soon, but I want her to get okay with it being around and even sitting on it fully clothed for the time being.

I've been hearing the above phrase a lot the last few days.  She's been a bit loose and diaper rashed.  Is it from incisors starting to push down?  I can't tell.  But I know her rear has been quite sore.

She had a few rough night's of sleep in a row too.  The first night she woke with a squealing cry, the one that tells me to get up directly, not to wait it out.  I found her feet through the slats fairly far.  I was able to get her back down within a reasonably short amount of time, prolonged only by my attempts to get a blanket on her after I put her down (if she starts to cry and stands it comes back off, obviously).  The next night we were in the midst of the loose stool.  She woke crying and I decided to go in to check to see if she went, rather than leaving her to fall back asleep with a poopy diaper.  Sure enough she needed changed.  From there she didn't want to go back down as easily.... at least not until she pooed again less than an hour later.  Then the third night, shortly before bedtime the power kicked out.  Her room is shockingly dark without her clock or sleep machine glowing, so it wasn't the easiest put down.

Tonight we head to the doctor for her 18 month appointment!

Daycare is going well at drop off now, but she continues to come home with report cards that say she's not eating much there other than bread and fruits.

Tomorrow is off to college

We had a great weekend.  Avery continued wanting to sleep in, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow morning, since we need to get up and get moving a bit earlier than we did for our previous care plans.  I did get her down for bed a bit early tonight, so that should help some.  I feel like I am taking her for her first day of school tomorrow.  I know I'll survive the change, but I need to get through the first day or two to settle myself.

She also enjoyed her bath again tonight! Lately baths = tears.  I'm glad she was laughing and splashing again with only a few tears when her hair was getting rinsed.

We're also starting to fight a little bit of diaper rash again.  She's had her finger in her mouth a good bit so maybe a tooth is pushing upward, but I cannot see anything just yet.

I decided the other day I needed to start an inventory of Avery's words, signs, and the things she clearly understands.  I was trying to get a real grasp of where she was.  Here's where we are, I have to say, I am quite impressed with her - once again.

Words:
Mama
Daddy
Baby
Gigi - dog?
Saffy
Neen
Elmo
Eat
Up
Please
Thank you
Huh-uh - no
Apple
I love you
Moo (for cow)
Oops
Uh-oh
All done
Sock
Help
Shoe
Bubble

Signs:
Eat
Drink
Water
Milk
Please
Thank you
Cookie
I love you
Finished
More

Other things she understands:
Shapes in the shape sorter - if she gets the wrong one she shakes her head no
Sheepie
Book
Waves hi/bye
Holds phone to ear

When I enjoy being told no.

When I take Avery to bed we go through our routine.  At the end, after our prayers, with the lights out I cuddle her for a minute or two.  She puts her head down on my shoulder and I rub her back.  It doesn't take long.  Usually I can say "are you ready to lay down with Sheepie" and she looks towards her bed and points - she's ready.

Tonight my inquiry was repeatedly met with "huh-uh" and she'd shift around and re-cuddle in.  This went on for a good 15 minutes before I decided I really needed to go ahead and put her in her crib and get downstairs to look at the work computer and do some dishes (whee).

I pray on one hand that I never spoil her or create a monster that requires being held to go to sleep, etc.  On the other hand, I pray that I never miss an opportunity to have a sweet moment with my sweet little girl.

Jaws

Tooth #11 was confirmed tonight.  Her top right lateral incisor.  I got a good look when she was throwing herself backwards and laughing while I brushed her teeth.  I'm not surprised as she hasn't wanted me brushing her top front teeth for the past week.

Today she took a mega nap - 3 hours.  On one hand this is good as I want her rested up for the holidays and her vaccine on Monday.  On the other hand it meant she was awake for an extra half hour this evening.

To report back on the food saga, I stuck to my guns for most of today.  She didn't scream, only glared at me when I presented her carrots first thing this morning.  By evening (after the mega nap) she resisted the carrots more stringently.  I caved and made her some oatmeal mixed with fruit and snuck a few bites of carrots in with that.

I am obsolete.

Just out of curiosity, tonight I put Avery straight into her crib after getting her ready for bed, no cuddling in the rocking chair.  She didn't care - not a peep.  I think her sheepie has made me obsolete.