Week 155- December 31, 2018 – January 6, 2019

It’s a start of a new year and there are so many exciting things to look forward to in
2019!  It’s also your birthday month and you have already started your birthday list.

Your mom and I have been doing more reading at night before we go to bed. I have this Men’s Health Fitness book on the floor and you like to read it. You call it the recipe book 🙂 It also has a bookmark of Jesus and you say he has “naked boobs”

You did amazing at your first dentist appointment this week. Both your mom and I  were so proud of you! I think you actually did better than I usually do at the dentist. The place is super kid friendly and you loved it! I’ll never forget watching you in the chair and laughing as she cleaned your teeth.

Some things you are saying:

• “Actualllly…..”
• “Okaaaaay Daddy” – this is my favorite thing you say right now.
• “Get out of here!” – your mom always tells me this when i’m pestering her and you started saying it.
• “I’m coming, geez lueez” – you say this when you’re walking around the bed to give me a hug and kiss goodnight.

Week 156 – January 7  – January 13, 2019

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Darrell came to visit this week. This was Darrell’s first visit to Ohio – but he seemed to have a good time, even though he was warned that it was going to be a lot of time playing with you. One of the cool things he did for you was have a surprise ready for you every time you woke up from a nap (even that one time you didn’t nap!) You got a new Paw Patrol figurine each day and they even left you a Paw Patrol lunchbox on the bed the day they left. We had a great time with them and here are few highlights:

• Snow!! They arrived on Wednesday and it unexpectedly started snowing while we were out eating dinner. It wasn’t much, just enough to cover the ground. But the big snow came on Saturday morning – i think it ended up being around 5-6″ of snow, which was more than enough to make you and our Texas visitors very happy. We had to buy you some new snow boots and pants as you quickly outgrew your ones from last year. We built a snowman in the front yard, buried Rubble and his digger under the snow piles, and went sledding between the houses. You had sooooo much fun! You would have thought we were the meanest parents when we told you we had to go inside for the rest of the day.
• BBQ Galore! We picked out a few BBQ joints to try out. For some reason you were real talkative at these places and wanted to go up to the owners and tell them thank you and that we liked the food and tell them who we all were. It was the cutest thing ever! The food was great! Even Darrell and Grandma Carol were impressed, which is a good sign, because they are BBQ Experts from Austin, TX!
• You were able to spend alot of quality time with Grandma Carol. These moments are so special considering she only gets to see you twice a year. She brought you a new princess dress and shoes, which you love! We have to call you Princess Reese when you’re wearing the dress 🙂

Week 157 – January 14  – January 20, 2019

Mom created a fun matching game for you at the house. She used 26 post-it notes to write each letter of the alphabet and hid them around the living room. On construction paper, she wrote 6 letters on each page. Once you found the post-it note, you had to match it with the letter on the construction paper and stick it on top. Needless to say, you love this game! It takes the place of you wanting us to hide your friends all over the house and then you find them and put them in your bucket.

We got a big winter storm this weekend, so we didn’t do much. I took you to sled for a little while on Sunday, but it was just too cold!

Week 158 – January 21  – January 27, 2019

It was -3 degrees this morning on my morning drive….so this is fun! Your mom and I kid about moving back to AZ, but it’s sounding more and more like a better idea every day.

We drove Sandusky this weekend to celebrate your birthday with grandma and grandpa. Uncle Link, Heather, Aunt Beth, and Uncle Mike also came to celebrate. We picked up Pizza from Huron Pizza House (not my favorite!) and celebrated at the house. You got a set of Vampirina figurines, Paw Patrol toys, Mickey Mouse Lego set, and Kinetic Sand. Mom is very excited about the Kinetic Sand because she hates playing with Playdoh and hopes this will replace it.

Some things you’re saying:

• “His hair be orange”

Week 159 – January 28  – February 3, 2019

It’s your birthday and you’re 3 years old! Holy crap – where did the time go?? It’s tough to put into words the growth you have made in the last year. Your personality is shining through and you are becoming a sweet, beautiful, loving, caring, and curious little girl. You bring so much joy to our lives and we are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

I took today off so we could celebrate your birthday. I started the day by getting up a little early and going to Dunkin Donuts to get your favorite maple donut and coffees for me and mom. We then went to Build-a-Bear so you could build your very own bear. You picked out a pretty blue bear and unbeknownst to you it was the Frozen Bear named Elsa. Go figure! You also picked out an Elsa dress, wig, slippers to go with the bear. You had the best time stuffing the bear and giving him a heart while making a wish.  Next we went to Target to spend the $20 Grandma Carol gave you for your birthday. After carefully perusing each aisle, you ended up with the Peppa Pig family and a Mrs. Potato Head – Mr. was getting lonely at our house. It was lunchtime at that point, so we headed to Chick-fil-a so we could eat and watch you play on the playscape. You were ready to go home fairly soon after you were done eating because you knew more presents were waiting for you at home. When we got home, you opened: Melissa & Doug Pancake set, a few drawing sets, and your Vampirina Scare B&B house. You’re spoiled!!

It was nice spending the day with just the three of us – we won’t have too many more of these with Spitty on the way.

We took you to open gym at Gym Skills on Friday. I have been wanting to take you for a while because you love running and jumping. Selfishly, I wanted to go and jump on the trampolines and into the foam pit as well! We both loved it and had a great time. Hopefully we go back soon and maybe we can get you signed up for weekly classes. I think this is something you will really enjoy, unlike dance class.

We also went to the Buckeye basketball game on Saturday. Busy week!

A few things about you on your 3rd birthday:

• TV shows you love: Paw Patrol, Abby Hatcher, Butterbean’s Cafe, Bubble Guppies, Vampirina, Peppa Pig, America’s Funniest home videos, and Ridiculousness (not quite age-appropriate, but you love it. When it goes to commercials, you always ask “Are there going to be more funny things?)
• You are obsessed with all things Elsa and Frozen.
• You love to run back and forth from the front door to the garage door.
• You love having 2-way conversations with your figurine friends. You even change your voice to a higher pitch for these conversations.
• Foods you love: french fries, bundt cakes, kale, miso soup (from Bibibop), maple donuts from Dunkin, peanut butter crackers, Shopkins fruit snacks, healthy apples, bagels with cream cheese
• You are asking tons of questions about everything – What do the clouds look like? What do the trees look like? What does this look like? What does that look like? It’s cute and I hope you never stop being curious!

Week 160 – February 4  – February 10, 2019

Grandma Patti came to visit this week. Some cool things we did:

• Went to the Buckeyes basketball game on Thursday night and sat in the Big Lots suite. They honored the football team during the game and then we just happen to see Urban Meyer walking down the suite hallway. AND YOU GOT A PICTURE WITH HIM! One day you will appreciate this picture!
• Friday night we went to the Ohio State (#2) vs. PennState (#1) wrestling match at St. John’s arena. I was excited because this was my first time to attend a wrestling match. Other than walking from the parking lot in the freezing weather and that we got our butts kicked, it was a fun evening!

Week 161 – February 11  – February 17, 2019

You continue to be Queen Staller at bedtime. You’re using me for my stories 🙂 You say that you want to sleep in our bed or you want me to sleep with you and then you want me to tell you stories. Once i’m done telling stories, you say you want to go to the other room and sleep with mom!

You started enjoying place a dice game. As mom would say, you get your love of games from me! We have 3 dice and about 15 chips. You get to pick the number you want to try and roll (for example, the “2”). Each time one of us rolls a “2”, we get a chip. It’s a pretty simple game, but you absolutely love it! And I love playing with you!

We went out to Longhorn Steakhouse for a nice Valentine’s Day dinner. This is the last one with just the three of us.

Week 162 – February 18  – February 24, 2019

Nothing too exciting happened this week. You did show interest in a potty we saw at Meijer, so we are going to order you one. We’ll see if you actually try to use it once it arrives. We keep trying to entice you with gumballs; maybe it will work one day!

One of the funniest things you are doing right now is making up things we say. For instance we went to dinner on Friday night dressed as Vampirina and I told you that you needed to take a bath. Then you said, “Why did you say that I need to take a bath because I stink like Vampirina??” You are so funny and put words in our mouths all the time!

You wanted to do Frozen Yoga on Sunday. You’re so cute! You also made mom so happy Friday night by finally wanting to eat pizza!

Week 163 – February 25  – March 3, 2019

It’s my birthday week! Grandma Pattis is coming down and we are going to a Blue Jackets game on Thursday.

My birthday was great! My friends at work thought it would be funny to pretend I was turning 40 so they got balloons and signs saying “Happy 40th”. So funny! You and mom met me and my work friends at Bibibop for lunch where you used chopsticks for the first time!

We went to Chick-fil-a for dinner, then the Blue Jackets game where they won in overtime. Every time that Grandma Patti comes to a game, it’s a good one. The only bad thing was that it snowed the whole time we were in the arena which made for a fun surprise walking back to the parking garage.  Although it was freezing cold, you sure did have fun walking in the snow fall.

I took the day off Friday to hang out with the family. We spent most our day at the campus bookstore because your mom and grandma wanted to look at and buy everything! You found a nice dog bed to lay on under the table 🙂 We also bought a real bird feeder from Big Lots and you get so excited when the birds land to eat.

Your mom made my favorite cookies pizza for my birthday! Well, it was kind of a debacle, but we did get to enjoy a little of it. She made the cookie dough on Thursday night, but then she didn’t have time to finish the rest of it.  By the time we were going to finish it on Friday, the cookies was hard so she needed to buy more cookie dough and start over. Finally on Saturday she made the delicious cookie with icing and all the toppings! But we forgot to refrigerate it and it sat out overnight, so we had to throw the entire thing away the next morning. But at least we had a few pieces…..

Week 164 – March 4 – March 10, 2019

Your mom and I went to the big ultrasound for baby Spitty (you stayed home with Grandma Patti because this visit takes a while.) You did ask mom if the baby was coming home with her when she comes back 🙂 This was the first time we got to see the arms, legs, and other organs. We are happy to say that Spitty is looking healthy and all the necessary parts are functioning properly. After seeing this ultrasound I’m leaning towards it being a boy.

Things you’re saying/doing:

• “Sooooo” this is how you start you’re sentences when you’re explaining a game or what you want us to do.
• You love playing Candy Land. Except you hate when anyone besides you gets the candy cards. You get really sad and make us put it back in the card pile.
• Your love for running back and forth through the living room and kitchen hasn’t slowed down. I’ve lost track of how many times we have made that run playing the “get you game”. Now you like to add a little donkey kick in the middle of your run!
• One of the funniest you do is say “Oh yeah, Oh yeah, Oh yeah” when mom takes off her bra. We are a little concerned for some of the things you might say when you go to school…..
• When we change your diaper, you like to say “Where you especting tinks?” or we have to tell you what we’re expecting.
• You give us two options of things to do and if we say the wrong thing you will “Or we can do xxx”

Week 165 – March 11 – March 17, 2019

Your love for the birds that come visit our bird feeder grows exponentially everyday! As you like to say: “It’s Bird Central outside!” You go absolutely nuts and get so excited when the birds land on the feeder. Mom says you point out every single bird when it lands. I had no idea how much you would love the bird feeder and also how quickly these birds eat the bird seed! I guess it’s just one of those things we’ll have to keep in-stock at the house. I’m checking-out a bird book from the library in hopes that we can identify some of the birds.

I couldn’t make it to mom’s doctor’s appointment this week, so it was just the two of you. But mom said you held her hand the entire time. You’re so sweet!

Week 166 – March 18 – March 24, 2019

You rode your tricycle on your own for the first time! You weren’t moving quickly by any means, but you did it on your own! I will never forget the look of pure joy and accomplishment on your face when you pedaled on your own. You can tell that your mind was working trying to figure out exactly what your legs were supposed to do. It was something small, but a really special moment!

We went to the zoo this weekend.

Week 167 – March 25 – March 31, 2019

You continue to use me for my stories when it’s time for you to go bed. You will say that you want me to sleep with you, but as soon as I’m done telling stories, you ask for mom to come lay with you. One time you told me that my nails weren’t scratchy enough for you back and you wanted mom! It’s ok, i love telling you stories regardless. Right now you like stories that involve the Zootopia characters or all of Elsa’s friends going to the zoo.

We are starting to potty train this weekend. Mom did a great job making a chart for you and the Tinkle Fairy came, took away all of your diapers and left you a note. You get a gum ball and sticker for the chart every time you go on the potty. Every fifth time, you get to pick a prize for the prize bucket. Prizes include: PawPatrol surprise packs, Peppa Pig surprise house, coloring books, a big Paw Patrol egg with candy, stickers, bubble, and a few other things.   Stay tuned….

Well, potty training is not easy! It’s such an interesting psychological mind game that you’re going through. In one hand, I think it should be easy for you to transition, but on the other hand, it’s such a foreign concept for you to think about sitting on a toilet and peeing. You’re just so used to going in your diapers and not thinking about it. You had a few accidents on Saturday, but ended up going a few times in the potty. Sunday was a little better as you went a couple times in the potty, but you are not liking wearing underwear. You keep asking for a pull-up or diaper. We think you know when you have to go, but you don’t quite understand the process of sitting on the toilet and letting it go. We know you know when you need to go, because you say you want to nap or go to bed so you can put a nighttime diaper on. You never ask to nap or go to bed! But as soon as you put it on, you feel comfortable to pee.

We’re going to take a break for a little while and let you tell us when it’s time to try big girl underwear again. You’re not going back to diapers, but you will wear pull-ups. I want you to succeed so bad, so I try not to get frustrated. I know it’s just a phase you go through and you will let us know when you’re ready.