Potty Training pt. 2

A few months ago, I began the potty training process with Kailynn. I wish I could ramble on about how easy it has been, but unfortunately, she is still in diapers when we are not home. I must say that when we are home she does a pretty good job using the potty, but only if I remind her to do so.

 

Kailynn's 1st training day was the toughest only because I had to ignore everything and everyone and have my attention 110% focused on her if I didn't want to clean up an accident. With that being said, I would recommend a day without distractions. That includes cell phones, laptops, tv, cleaning (which I did not mind at all), and cooking. We ordered pizza.

 

We began our day with the usual morning routine. After breakfast, I let Kailynn pick out which big girl panty she wanted to wear. The expression on her face was priceless when she put on her Minnie Mouse panties. I did not put pants on her just incase she did have an accident. It makes for a much easier clean up. Afterwards, I helped Kailynn put on the Potty Watch that grandma bought for her. The day before, I let her play with it and told her how it worked. I reminded her again that when the time ran out and she heard the potty song, it was time to use the potty. I set the timer on her watch for 30 minutes and we played with her toys while we waited for the timer to go off. With 15 minutes left on the timer, she had an accident. I reminded her that pee-pee belongs in the potty and not on her clothes. I cleaned up the mess, reset the timer and we tried again.

 

When the timer was up and she heard that potty tune, she rushed to me to help her get to the potty on time. She sat on her potty and we waited... and waited... and waited... but no pee-pee. She got up from the potty to see if there was anything in there but saw nothing. I did not get mad at her for not going pee-pee. Instead, I applauded her for trying. I was surprised when she reminded me that she needed to try to use the potty.

 

I offered Kailynn more water to drink to try to get her to use the potty but she would only take a few sips and walk away. That's when I did something I never do. I opened a bag of chips and let her snack away. The purpose of giving her this salty snack was make her thirsty. It worked! She gulped down a cup of water in the blink of an eye. Kailynn ran to the bathroom and sat on the potty when finally, she did it! She finally went "pee-pee" in the potty! We did a potty dance and put a sticker on her Sesame Street potty chart that I found in an activity book at Target.

 

For the rest of the day, I let Kailynn snack on salty and sweet snacks to make her thirsty which in turn made her drink more water and use the potty more often. There were minimal accidents for the remainder of the day. Day one of potty training was a success!

Letter D

This week, Kailynn and I focused on the letter D. It was obvious to me that our craft would have something to do with a dog since she loves animals. I searched my favorite site, pinterest, for ideas. I came across a few different animals in the form of the letter they each began with but I did not see a dog. Dragons and dinosaurs were a very popular pick for the letter D.

I figured it couldn't be that hard to make a dog in the shape of the letter D so I began cutting out the shapes I needed from construction paper. To make the dog, I simply placed the glue on the paper while Kailynn put the pieces together and formed a dog. She knew exactly what it was as soon as we were done and was so excited to see that she had created a dog from pieces of cut out paper.

Kailynn was not done with her letter D craft just yet. As soon as we finished our dog project, she asked for stickers. Instead of bringing out the usual sticker book, I printed out a letter D template from my laptop and gathered her dragonfly foam stickers. I instructed Kailynn to stay inside the lines to make the letter D. She did just that.

Mommy Day

Recently, I had my first official full "mommy day." Kailynn spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa while I had the day to myself. I could have caught up on some laundry, house cleaning, yard work, got my nails done, written a novel, anything, but I did absolutely nothing! I felt lost. I didn't know what to do since most of my days revolve around Kailynn. It felt amazing to lay in bed and not worry about anything all day.

I get so caught up in taking care of everything in the house that I sometimes forget that I need to take a break every once in a while. I felt much more energized and ready to take on the world after taking a break from my day-to-day tasks. It's as if I had a reset button.

I was greatful that my family gave me the time I so desperately needed for myself, but I was also glad to have Kailynn back home.

I need to make sure I have "mommy day" more often. I am certain the family won't mind having Kailynn over for another sleep over. Until then, we are back to learning our ABCs and 123s while making a mess of toys throughout the house.

Caterpillar

I will admit I have been slacking this week. I had family visiting and was so busy that I forgot about our letter C project. Originally I was hoping to make cars using house hold items, but it seems that I accidentally put the car parts into the recycle bin and they are probably being made into something else by now. After investigating our arts and crafts supplies, I constructed plan B, a caterpillar.

Supplies:

Pom-poms
Googly eyes
Glue
Letter C template
Marker or pen

(All found at the dollar store)




Instructions:

1. Glue pom-poms in the form of the letter C
2. Glue googly eyes onto the head of the caterpillar
3. Draw the caterpillar legs with black marker or pen






This was a simple and fun project. Kailynn identified the colors of the pom-poms as she glued them onto the paper. She practiced her colors and letter tracing skills simultaneously. Kailynn also played with her cars and colored with crayons on "C" day.

*As soon as I have the supplies, I promise to share with you how to make the cars I originally had in mind for this project. 

Rocket Launch

On Wednesday evening, Kailynn and I went to Kennedy Space Center to watch the rocket launch. Not only was this Kailynn's first time going to see a live rocket launch, but it was also my first time. Kailynn had no clue what was going on at first but I was full of excitement.

When we arrived at the park, the first thing we did was find a spot on the grass and park the stroller. We arrived early to ensure we had a spot to sit back and watch this historic event. To pass time we had a picnic on the grass with Kailynn's favorite snacks: pomegranate craisins, caramel rice cakes, and mickey mouse shaped cheese. By the time we finished our little picnic, the launch viewing area was packed! There was a live broadcast over the speakers around the park. As soon as the count down began, the croud stood up in unison and prepared their cell phones and cameras to capture what was about to unfold. I sat Kailynn up on my shoulders and told her what we were here to see. She was excited to find out what we were really doing at the park. She called out for "rocket" while looking around for it. The final count down began and when they finally reached 1 Kailynn shouted, "blast off!" The glowing light from the flames brightened the night sky as it lifted from the horizon and the crowd cheered with excitement. The rocket left a ribbon of smoke trailing behind as it made its way into space. In the blink of an eye, the rocket was out of sight and Kailynn waved good-bye to the rocket.

It was over as soon as it began but it was worth the wait. I have never seen anything quite like it. Although Kailynn thought the rocket was Rocket from The Little Einsteins, she was in awe when she saw the glowing lights in the sky. We both enjoyed sharing this moment together and can't wait to do it again. 

B Book

What better way to focus on the letter "B" than by making your own Book? Book starts with B so why not start with that? This "B Book" I speak of is filled with things that start with the letter...? You guessed it, B. Its easy to make and you can buy everything you need at my favorite place for toddler crafts, the dollar store. Here is what you will need:

(I forgot to put a glue stick and a stapler in the

picture so be sure to have those on your list as well.)

The prep work was done while princess Kailynn took a nap. I found pictures of things that start with the letter B on the web then printed and cut them out. I also attached the letters to the foam cover of our book and wrote the words of each picture onto the the pages made by cut out pieces of construction paper.

Since my one and a half year old doesn't know how to read, (if yours does please share your wisdom with me) I read to her each word on the page and she picked the picture that matched what I said. She then glued the picture to the matching word page. After all of the pictures were matched up with the correct words, we stacked the pages between the foam covers and stapled the book together along one side. Ta-da! Your very own "B Book." Now that our book is complete, all that's left to do is read it.

The Letter "B"

And so we continue with our ABC challenge! This week we will focus on the letter "B."

I have an alphabet app on my phone that Kailynn loves to play with. In the app, you "build" the letters. I thought why not turn this app into the real deal?

Since I already had the files on my laptop for each letter, it saved me preparation time on this week's alphabet activity. Be sure to have these tools handy before you start: scissor, glue stick, colored construction paper. (Feel free to use bottled glue if that's what you prefer. I used a glue stick because it makes for less clean up when it's in a toddler's hand.)


Step 1:  Print out letter "B"

Step 2:  Cut pieces of construction to fit into the shape of the letter

Step 3:  Glue construction paper pieces onto the letter

It's a simple activity that any toddler will enjoy. Kailynn loved this activity and has started pointing out the letter "B" in some of her books. I will admit that when I first started the alphabet challenge, I wasn't sure if she was going to understand much of it. To my surprise, she is able to identify these letters on her own. It seems to be working! Stay tuned for our next alphabet activity. I have a few creative ideas in mind that I'm sure you and your little one will love!