Probably the area she's been working on the most is her speech. I use the phrase "working on" loosely, because she is still difficult to understand these days. Sometimes it perplexes me how she pronounces certain words and phrases. For example...
* Chicken = "kitchen"
* Over = "oboard"
* Hungry = "honey"
* The end = "Ah bee"
* Movie = "Uh uh"
* Connor = "Non Noo" (rhymes with Boo)
* Mama = "Mom Mom"
She has been stringing more phrases and sentences together lately, but they always sound kind of funny. One of our friends says she speaks in Pirate. For example...
* "No touchie me blankie!" (Don't touch my blankie.)
* "Mom Mom, wrappa me." (Mom, wrap me up.)
* "Non noo hurtie me body!" (Connor hurt my body.)
* "Mom Mom, you cutta me toast?" (Mama, did you cut my toast?)
(Add an "Argh!" to the end of those statements for the full Pirate effect, haha!)
I've been saying for months that I was going to start potty training Kaitlynn when she turned 2 1/2. I set a date after the holidays and tried to get myself ready. When the date came, Kaitlynn sat on the potty every 10 minutes for over 2 hours. Not a drop landed in the toilet but she soaked about 8-9 pairs of Dora and Minnie Mouse panties. I texted every Mom of stubborn-willed kids I know and asked for advice. Most said she didn't sound ready so I went with that. I told Kaitlynn I was sorry she wasn't ready to be a big girl yet, and she could let me know when she was ready and we would try again. I'm sure it was dumb on my part to give up so easily, but Jeff and I both felt that she just did NOT seem to get it. Potty training is a process I dread more than I can say.
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| Yes, it's true. She's inherited her mother's thighs. |
Some other random updates at 2 1/2:
* She still refuses to say "Kevin" and instead calls him "Buddy", but she now calls Collin "CoCo".
* Her favorite phrase these days: "Lookie me eyes! Timeout! 2 minutes!" She can often be found putting her babies in timeout for 2 minutes, and then giving them a kiss and saying "Sorry baby" afterwards.
* Kaitlynn knows most of her letters and numbers, probably from watching eductional cartoons and of course, using apps on her "yo" (her iPod Touch). It's amazing how good she is on that thing.
* Her new favorite breakfast is wheat toast with peanut butter on it. Makes a HUGE mess but she loves it.
* I know I posted this picture earlier, but Kaitlynn's front teeth are so messed up. Poor thing, both the front teeth are cracked and jagged and the surrounding teeth are crooked with gaps in between. The newly broken tooth is so sharp that it has ripped holes in her beloved pacis. Only a parent could appreciate that sad set of teeth. Good thing she's too young to worry about this stuff!
* Speaking of pacis, Kaitlynn still LOVES her paci at bedtime. And she is still sleeping in a crib for now. I know for a fact she can climb out of it (she's demonstrated this on numerous occasions when she's having a timeout in there) but she still seems quite content sleeping there. I'm sure a big girl bed is in our near future.
* She's been noticing my jewelry more often and wants to play with it. I take that opportunity to ask her if she wants to get her ears pierced (I'm dying to get them pierced!) and she always responds with a defiant "No!" Somehow she's figured out that it's a painful process.
* She is quite the independent little girl these days. She has already been on 2 sleepovers (story to come) and never once misses us. She also LOVES going next door to visit our neighbors frequently and stays over there for hours at a time. When dropping her off anywhere, she will turn to me, wave, and loudly call out, "Bye Mom Mom!" as if proclaiming her freedom and independence from clingy old Mom.
I took those last 2 pictures a week ago and when I was looking through them on the computer, I had to stop for a second. I almost didn't recognize the big girl my baby has grown into. Then later that week, I got a notification from Kaitlynn's school about fall registration and her teachers reminded me that she'll be enrolled for preschool in August. PRESCHOOL! How can this be? I've been feeling quite sentimental lately about my BABY getting so big and growing up too fast. So if you happen to see or talk to me anytime soon, go easy on me. I'm feeling fragile. ;-)
