from the mouth of babes...

MS DELORES...

When I pick Lula up from school one of her teachers always tells her "I love you Lula" and gives her a hug and kiss. It is so sweet. So the other day I asked Lula out of the blue, "What does Ms. Delores say to you?" Thinking of course she will say that she loves her. Lula replies, "Go lay down on your cot Lula!" hahahaha

I told the story to Ms. Delores and she thought it was so funny (the whole staff did). Ms. Delores said, "yes I do tell her that" Apparently Lula likes to get up and wander around during nap time. Rules are rules Lula Mae. Now she tells me and Byron to "go lay down on our cots." Byron has turned it into a game, it's one of his favorites to play. Too funny.

Potty Training Diaries

It's been a while since I've updated our potty training saga but believe me it is a daily battle. We (byron and I) decided Lula wasn't really ready to go all underwear all the time, so we still use diapers almost exclusively. But I'm pretty sure Lula has decided she is over diapers. Here are the facts...

Almost every day last week I woke up to find Lula in her crib and her diaper, usually with a poo in it, on the floor. Sometimes she remained fully dressed, sometimes just a shirt, a couple of days ago... she was fully naked. This isn't limited to mornings. When we put a diaper on her she doesn't object, but as soon as she goes pee in it, she tells us and then takes it off. If we are home, I will usually just go without one. However, I have had to clean up a lot of pee and poo. Thankfully she usually tells me when she is going, but sometimes it's not until after the fact; like the other day she came into the room with me and said something about "poopy on the floor." Where? Where is this "poopy on the floor?" Oh it's in our closet. Cool.

On the positive side though, a week ago I took her out of the house without a diaper. We went to "the target store" AND the grocery store. She even let me take her into the potty and try to pee pee on the big potty seat, nothing came out, but she tried! And... No accidents!! It was a very exciting day to say the least. Followed by peeing on the floor later that day.

Despite the accidents and constant clean up, I think it's time to go all the way. It was confirmed today when I picked her up from school. Her teacher said, "Oh boy you won't believe what Lula did today." What!??? I mean that could be anything! Apparently she pulled her pants down in the middle of the classroom, took off her diaper and peed on the floor. And told the teacher, "I help you Ms. Jenny," and put her diaper in the trash.

So, the conclusion is... Lula is ready, Byron and I are NOT! But such is life. Let's do this Lula Mae!
(well, we are actually going to start on Friday, Lula and I are going to Disney by ourselves tomorrow, 4 hours total in the car and all day at the park, momma definitely isn't ready for that). So... Let's do this starting FRIDAY Lula Mae!

from the mouth of babes...

I'm so FUSTRATED!
Tonight after her bath I was trying to get her dressed but she just kept running around the house naked. I finally chased her back into her room and dove head first into her tunnel. I was over playing so I demanded she get out of the tunnel or else! I think she actually felt the seriousness of the situation and tried to get out of the tunnel and genuinely got stuck. Then she says... "I need help mom! I'm stuck. Help. I'm ... getting... fustrated!" hahaha, how can you be annoyed after that? Love that little thing.

DECAWATIONS!
This Christmas is going to be so much fun, and convincing Lula to get in her car seat may be a little easier for the next month. She LOVES christmas decorations, the lights are the best thing ever. Tonight as we were driving she was holding her Giraffe, Raffi, and she would say, "Decawations! Decawations! you see it Giraffy Raffy?"

I'm so ESSITED!!
It also cracks me up when she gets excited about something. She will either anxiously stamp her feet and say "I'm so essited! I'm so essited!" or say "hip hip hooway! hip hip hooway!"

Lula LOVES the MOON. 

She gets so excited and always asks, "the moon come with me?" I assure her he most likely would want to come with her wherever she goes, but I always ask, "Moon, you want to come with us to our house (or wherever)?" I look to Lula for the answer, "He said yes!" Then she says, "I'm so glad. Mom are you so glad?" Yes. Yes I am Lula Mae. 

Mimi comes to town!

Just before Thanksgiving, Mimi (Byron's mom) decided to fly down from Virginia for a visit. It was so great to see her. And like any grandma she came bearing gifts for Ms. Lula Mae; our favorite? Rita!! It's the cutest sock puppet I've ever seen. And she made her of course!

We had such a lovely visit, mostly spent the days playing at home (I was able to get some ironing and sewing done!), but we did manage to go down to St. Augustine for the annual lighting of the Nights of Lights. Turns out, Mimi had another first... her first ever Funnel Cake! How has she made it this long without that fried dough goodness? No idea, but I'm pretty sure the second will come quicker than the first. Thanks for a wonderful visit Mimi!!

from the mouth of babes...

Lula is such a funny little girl; for some unknown reason she has started calling me "Becky." She still calls me mom but is increasingly opting for the first name basis. She says things like... "here you go Becky, here's your cupcake (usually a wooden block)," or "come with me to my room Becky," "thank you Becky."  I say, "who am I Lula?" She will usually reply "momma," but then goes right back to referring to me as "Becky." I try to encourage her to call me mom, but it doesn't really bother me; honestly I think it's kind of funny.

meow

This morning I woke up to find an episode of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", except it wasn't aliens, it was a kitty that took over Lula. She kept crawling around the house saying, "meow." Then before and after everything she said she would add a "meow," after her milk, "meow, here you go mom I'm done, meow." "Meow, I'm a kitty, meow." Meow, I'm going to my room, meow."
She is a funny one.

pizza pizza

Welcome to Lula's Pizzeria! We love to make pizza at home and recently I decided to let Lula in on the action. She mostly wants to steal pieces of the dough and eat it, but she also really likes rolling it out! It is an extremely messy process and would be a lot easier if I did it myself, but where's the fun in that?

We even had Auntney over to help us out one time! 

Lula is VERY proud of her pizza skills! 

pink animal

For Lula, all things are pink. She is devastated when her pink shirt is dirty and she can't wear it; she is elated when it's back from the ol' laundry pile. Lately even her imagination is pink. She has this new thing where she runs into the room and says, "It scared me mom!" And when I ask, "what scared you Lula?" She always replies very seriously, "pink animal scare me."
One day I asked, "where is this pink animal?" I had had enough of it scaring her, so I wanted to confront it. At that particular moment we were in her bedroom and the pink animal was apparently hiding out near the ceiling. Lula pointed to him and I did what any mother would surely do, I confronted the pink animal, "Hey you! Pink Animal! Listen up! No more scaring Lula Mae you hear me? This is momma talking and I'm telling you better not scare her anymore you pink animal!"
And now? Sometimes the pink animal scares her, sometimes it just wants to play. Tonight was one of those special nights when her pink shirt was clean and the pink animal surfaced, but this time there wasn't any scaring; this time... they actually hugged.

O-L-I-V-I-A!!

Lula still loves Olivia the pig, she watches it almost everyday while I make dinner.  I suggested she be Olivia for Halloween; luckily Lula actually agreed! Look at that pig face!

I got a "costume" as well and dressed up as Olivia's mom when we headed to the PV Library Halloween party!

scarecrow lula

Lula and Baby Tommy!

Olivia the pig & Olivia's mom with a couple of mermaid princesses (Catherine & Connie), a gladiator (Carter), a golfer and his caddy (Alison & Collin) and a monkey and his grandma (Mrs. Morrissey and baby tommy)! 

It was a a bit crazy. Toddlers and kids running amuck, but I think Lula had fun and she kept her ears on for most of the time!

from the mouth of babes...

The other night Lula got to hang out at Granny's house while I went out to dinner (Byron had to work late). When it was time to go to bed Granny followed the normal routine, which includes getting a bottle of milk and then a binky. But when it came time for the binky Lula was not happy with the one she was given. "I want my pink binky Granny." Granny says this other binky (which happens to be dark pink and purple) is all we have. Lula protests telling Granny that it is red and then says, "text my mom granny." What!?? Basically, this is ridiculous, text my mom and ask her where my pink binky is!
Kids and technology, it's amazing how quickly they learn. And for the record, Granny told Lula the "red" one is all she had so she could use that one or nothing. She chose the "red" one.

Potty Training Diaries

So this morning may have been a fluke. Lula went poopy two more times today... both in her diaper; without saying a word! Oh well, this morning was still really exciting... one positive step at a time!

pine island fall birthday bash...

After our boat ride we headed down to mammy and pappy's house. There are a lot of birthdays this time of year so we decided to have one big get together and celebrate. Lula had a lot of fun running around with the other kids and chasing fiddler crabs. She even held one this time!

Happy Birthday Courtney, Luke, Jack, Mom (Lorraine), Deanna and Ashley!!

crabbing buddies...

Last Sunday we drove out to Pine Island to hang out with everyone for the Fall Birthday Bash! But before the festivities we went to Uncle Luke's house  ("unka Yuke" as Lula calls him) and went out for a boat ride. It was a gorgeous day, I hadn't been out in the creek in a long time and it was Lula's first boat ride ever! I think she liked it too... 

  

 But it wasn't just a joy ride, we also went out to check Uncle Luke's crab traps. Lula loved finding the balls in the water and saying, "go get it unka yuke!" And she even got to help drive the boat (with a little help from a crab crate)! 

Potty Training Diaries

A Huge moment for us this morning! I don't know if it will last but all I'm going to say is... maybe my wish is coming true?

Just a few minutes ago Lula said, "mom I need to pull my pants down." "Why do you need to pull them down Lula?" "I need to go poopy." Usually this means that she just went in her diaper, but this time she hadn't yet! So I pulled them down and put her on her little potty seat and.... presto!!! Poopy in the potty! This was a big break through. I was so excited. We'll see where we go from here...

Potty Training Diaries

This entry really feels like one from an old school diary of my teenage years; only this time I am confiding in my electronic pages about how I am basically failing at potty training. Oh and publishing it for whoever to read it! Evolution I suppose. Either way it still feels good to let it out...

It seems like I have basically given up on potty training. It is really hard! The hardest part is following the number one rule... "be consistent!" Diapers are extremely convenient and it is hard for me to let them go. It already takes me too long to get anywhere and I don't want to add the extra layer of peeing in the potty before we go, and then having to pull over on JTB when she has to pee pee again! There I said it... "I don't want to."

I think Lula is ready; she is great if we are home and she isn't wearing anything, no accidents. But if she has underwear or just pants on, forget it. Which is where I need to come in... to TEACH her.  I need to get myself together and make this happen, but I need some motivation. I keep hearing anecdotes  from other parents, "little so and so just decided to use the potty one day and that was that." If I'm truly confessing, I think that's what I'm waiting for. For Lula to look at me one day and say, "okay mom, no more diapers for me I'm going to use the potty all the time." Except even deeper down... I know that's not going to happen.

from the mouth of babes...

recent sayings from Lula:

Walked up to a big belly man and asked, "is there a baby in there? a baby in there momma?" um, nope.

One morning as we are lying in the bed she says, "I want more milk." After agreeing to get her more, even though we usually only have one bottle (yes bottle) in the morning she said, "it's in the frigerator." hahahaha what!? thanks Lula. And by the way, if you can tell me where to get it from, you probably shouldn't be getting it in a bottle. Oh well, another battle for another day.

When she used the bathroom outside... "I pooped like an an-i-maal"

My favorite word right now:
PERSON = a purse.
As in, "I got my person, let's go shopping" (which she said the other day!)

psychological warfare... at bathtime

Usually when Lula's bath is over she doesn't make a huge fuss. We put away our toys, rinse off and get out; tonight it went a little differently. There wasn't a tantrum or anything, it was more of a flat out refusal that turned into a psychological battle...

Mom: Okay Lula put your toys away.
Lula: No.
Mom: Come on Lula, it's time to get out of the bath, let's put the toys away please. (and before I could even make a threat she says...)
Lula: No, I'll go in timeout.  (What???)
Mom: (clearly that threat isn't going to work, now what?) No Lula you can't go into timeout, you have to put your toys away. 
Lula: I go in time out!!
Mom: No timeout. Put your toys away. (is she trying to use reverse psychology on me???)
Lula: No. 
Mom: (trying to find some leverage) Do you want to play in the running water? 
Lula: yes. 
Mom: Then put your toys away and we can play in the water. 
Lula: okay. 

I won this round, but she is only two and this was a challenge. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to stay one step ahead as she gets older. I think I'm in trouble...

new friends and animals

When we first moved back to our house in Jax Beach Lula and I needed a reprieve from all the craziness of the previous weeks, so we took a break from unpacking and headed to the beach. As luck would have it we ended up near a little boy and his mom. We started chatting. As it turned out we had a lot in common! His mom, named Bekki, graduated from St. Joe in St. Augustine. I went to CPS, so we knew some of the same people. Obviously she had a little boy... his name? Luke! (my brother's name). Luke is a couple of months younger than Lula (actually only one day younger than one of her besties, Olive). Besides the name coincidences, our kids, and the fact that we just hit it off we decided we needed to hang out again!

We finally did so this past week when we met up to go to the zoo. It was so much fun. The Jacksonville Zoo really does have a lot to offer and Lula and Luke explored almost all of it!

My favorite thing by far is to feed the Giraffes! Lula gets a bit nervous, she will hold the lettuce, but wants me to actually give it to the giraffe. I guess their tongue weirds her out. I think it's awesome. This one's name is Luna. We fed her last time and we know it's her because of the two upside down heart shapes on her chest. She is so sweet. "Come on Lula, feeeeed me. Here, I'll make it easy, I'll just reach my tongue allll the way over to you... it's cool I swear."  

The zoo even has a splash park and Luke and Lula had it mostly to themselves!

My second favorite spot at the zoo is butterfly hollow... it is almost like a fairy tale, actually if you look closely into the bushes you can see little fairy houses!

 

These two are so cute together. They got along great and were pretty much on the same page all day... even at the end when they made it clear they were done...

It was a great day... i'm so glad Lula and I decided to go to the beach that day!

Uncle Scott's birthday Extravaganza!

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be invited to Uncle Scott's birthday weekend at a beachside resort near Palm Coast. It was a gorgeous weekend! The place had three pools and a lazy river AND was right on the ocean. Lula had so much fun!

 

The McKinney's know how to party and this was no exception... they went all out! In addition to an awesome weekend surrounded by cool people and filled with the pool, beach and golf; they also threw a dinner party with the most amazing food and entertainment by none other than Tuffy.

Two Beauties... Sadie and Catie

dolls. Tegan & her pretty momma Kerii

adorable

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE SCOTT!! thanks for a great weekend.

                             

end of the night. byron is d-u-n.