Labor Day weekend

What a fun weekend we had! My inlaws were able to come down for a few days. I'm so glad that they got to see in person how well Lexie is doing with her potty training skills. The weather wasn't the greatest but we had a nice, relaxing time watching football and eating way too much.

My pledge sister, hubby & kids came over to help celebrate AU's victory.
Lexie loves to fly like Tinkerbell (Lexie runs into Dave's arms and he throws her in the air).

Thanks so much for playing with me G'pops & G'ma! I had so much fun - especially our fun tea parties! I love yall!

Potty Training Boot Camp

As of last week Lexie had no desire to use the potty. If I was smart, I should have began the potty training process back in January when she was very interested. She would go every night before bath time and even pooped in the potty then. She was only 21 months. I guess I didn't want to push her.
On Monday (August 29) I put Lexie into potty training boot camp as myself being the drill sergeant. Since she is about to start preschool on Wednesday (sept 7), I just thought it might be a good time to do this. Plus, I always heard that once kids are 2 1/2 and older, it's harder to train them since they are stuck in their ways. Lexie isn't quite 2 1/2, so we went ahead and jumped on the potty training wagon. I covered all the furniture with towels. I had the potty seats & stools ready to go in two bathrooms along with a jar of "teeing on the pott" treats. Not to mention, I was mentally prepared for a long week of training. And thanks to my dear sweet friend, Scarlotte for her awesome suggestions! I truly appreciate it!
DAY ONE: When I went in Lexie's room to get her, I told her that I had a surprise for her. I made a HUGE deal about big girl panties that had princesses on them. I even put them in a princess bag that she could carry around. I told her that only babies wear diapers and big girls wear panties. Lexie was thrilled to pick out her choice of panties (I had bought nearly 30 pair just to be prepared). We have Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Minnie & Daisy panties. Lexie started off the morning in heaven as well as cold turkey with no diapers.
Once we put on her big girl panties, we went downstairs to throw away all the "baby" diapers (my friends had told me to have her throw away the diapers to make sure she understood what was going on. And I also didn't actually throw away the diapers, I plan to donate them).
I let her down as much box drinks as she wanted (this was recommended in order for constant urination). Once she had an accident, I would pick her up and run her to the potty. After A LOT of accidents within a short amount of time I was getting extremely frustrated but never let Lexie see that. But at 12:25 PM, she peed on the potty! I felt very encouraged. I kept praising her and telling how proud of her I was. She got to pick out her choice of a treat. After a while she started to grasp the concept.
When it came around to bedtime, I refused to put a pull up on just because I thought that that would be two steps back. She went to sleep with big girl panties on.
DAY 2 (Tuesday):
Lexie woke up dry! That is huge! I was so impressed!! She told me she had to go potty when she got out of bed. We only had two accidents that day. One at 9:24 AM and one at 5:29 PM. She went to bed with big girl panties on again.
DAY 3 (Wednesday):
Again, Lexie woke up dry for the second time. I was so so proud of my sweet pea. She didn't have a single accident the entire day. To make things even better, she pooped on the potty! So many of my friends have said that getting kids to poop on the potty is quite difficult. Since Lexie did that, I gave her a double dose of skittles. . . . :)
DAY 4 (Thursday):
I sent Lexie to MMO with only big girl panties on. No diapers nor pull ups were packed in her bag (just a few extra pair of panties). The teachers were so pleased. She didn't have an accident. We then went to Meet & Greet (same church) to meet Lexie's preschool teachers. She did great! She loved her classroom, teachers, and friends. And still no accidents!
DAY 5 (Friday):
Still no accidents! We ran errands all morning long and came home to pee on the potty.
DAY 6 (Saturday):
Dave's parents came into town to spend Labor Day with us. I think there was so much distraction with Lexie running around and playing with her G'Pops & G'ma that she wet herself twice. Though I thought she was still doing great and even pooped on the potty! However I broke the cardinal rule and put a pull up on Lexie for bedtime due to all the excitement of the grandparents being in town.
DAY 7 (Sunday):
Again, only two accidents but pooped on the potty!

We are on the road of being nearly potty trained. The hardest part is over. I couldn't be more proud of Lexie. The first 3 days of boot camp were tiring but so well worth it. Who knew that it would be so exhausting for me.
My biggest advice is positive reinforcement. Yes, there will be a lot of accidents which is to be expected. Don't reprimand, scold, or say "no, bad." Believe me, it was so hard especially when Lexie was peeing all over the place on Monday. I still encouraged her and told her to please let Mommy know when she needed to go to the potty. I was constantly saying that since her attention span is so short. But we are getting it!!!

Lexie's bag of big girl panties

The throne. . . .
If Lexie pees or poops on the potty, these are her choice of treats.

Day 1: These new panties are fun!

Day 2: Enjoying "craft time" with big girl panties on.

Day 3: Look at that cute diaper-less tush!

Day 3 - dancing with SuSu, Mickey, and Minnie

Going night night with no diapers on!!

Big Girl Room

****This is a very late post.
Back in February Lexie decided she no longer wanted to sleep in a crib. Yes, she was climbing out of it. So we bit the bullet and said good bye to the baby room and hello to a big girl room. I was hoping she'd stay in the crib a bit longer because I knew that it might be a little challenge to keep her in her bed for nap time or bed time. We had a few battles but Lexie did well with the transition. She LOVES her big girl room!

My little monkey

See the red box in the picture below? Yep, that's where I found Lexie the other day (keep in mind she was on the outside of the steps). Lexie's been going up and down the stairs by herself since about Christmastime of last year. Her playroom is upstairs and she is constantly going up and down the steps. However there is one rule - she's not to play on the steps. Either she needs to go straight upstairs or come straight down.
As I was unloading the dishwasher, I heard her flipping her hands through the spindles. I called her name and told her not to play on the steps. She said, "Mommy look at me." I walk over to the steps to scold her but I didn't see her. I walked around to the foyer and found her halfway up the steps. . . . on the outside!!! Needless to say seeing the horrified/terrified look on my face, that was punishment enough for Lexie. She was upset after I "rescued" her to the ground.
I kept thinking what if she fell? She would have fallen directly on top of the foyer glass table. Ugh! I was so rattled for the rest of the day. The child keeps me on my toes and my blood pressure at an all time high!

For the Love of Shoes. . . .

To say I love shoes is quite an understatement. Obsession might be a better adjective. I've always had a love for shoes. My parents will even vouch to say that my obsession for shoes started about the time I could talk/walk (12 mo). When I have play money, rather than going to the spa, getting mani/pedi's, shopping for clothes, or buying things for the house, I usually splurge on a pair of new shoes even if I don't plan to wear them on a daily basis. Crazy, I know. I'm the person who buys shoes and then tries to find outfits to match the shoes. Yes, it's backwards. In some ways, shoes are like little pieces of art. I don't wear heels as much as I used to or would like to (heels+chasing a 2 year old = disaster) but I still drool when I see a gorgeous pair of "clackers."

As I was getting ready the other day, Lexie made herself at home in my closet as she usually does. But most of the time she goes straight for the jewelry. This time she found a new love. . . .shoes! I became nearly giddy at the thought of her loving shoes just as much as I do. And boy does she have good taste. She bypassed all of my "summer casual" shoes (flip flops/sandals) and ballet flats and onto the higher end shoes that I have displayed on lower shelves.

Lexie had so much fun presenting me with a fashion show. I loved watching how excited she got while trying on the different pairs. I know this sounds silly probably to a non shoe fanatic but it was truly a special mommy/daughter moment! :) So fun!

***Sorry the pics aren't great. They are from my phone. I was afraid if I ran and got my camera, I would have ruined the moment.

***In the pictures below, the reason that she isn't looking at me is because she is too busy looking at herself in our giant bathroom mirror. She kept saying "so pit-ee." I'm not sure if she is talking about the shoes or herself. . .

Nine West
BCBG
Via Spiga

Michael Kors

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Stuart Weitzman

Valentino

And the grand finale and my FAVORITE shoe designer, Jimmy Choo.
***Though I L-O-V-E Jimmy Choo, these shoes are especially special. I said my vows to Dave while wearing these shoes.

She knows how fabulous Jimmy Choo is. . . . .

Off to conquer the world one pair of Jimmy Choo's at a time!

Mother of the Year Award. . . . .

Oh my sweet, devilish, knew what she was doing daughter locked me out of the house last week. I had run to the mail box to drop a letter in the mail. Literally 30 seconds later, I came back to the same door I left to find it locked. . . .Lexie had locked the deadbolt - I knew she could reach it but she has never toyed with it before until the day I leave the house for 30 seconds with no keys nor cell phone.
Thank the Lord that. . . . .

• I was decently dressed and even had flip flops on. I have been known to run to the mail box in my pj's (not anymore).


• I ran next door to my neighbor, Michael's house. I was thrilled that he was home and that I could use his phone to call Dave.


• Dave was in fact in town!!! He is on the road so much that it was a Godsend that this happened while Dave was here even though he had to cancel of ton of meetings. . . .


• Lexie was completely fine. I was way more traumatized than her. I was running around the yard like a crazy person trying to see her and get her attention. I saw that she was in her chair casually enjoying watching Cinderella. I rang the front door bell and she actually came and unlocked that door (but we have a latch on the top that she couldn't reach). I tried to tell her to go to the other door and unlock it. Her response, "yeah, sure, ok." Then she met me at the other door but just stood there. . . .


• So happy that I had nothing in the oven or on the stove!! Even though Dave was in town, it still took him about 30 minutes to come home.


• When Dave got home and unlocked the door, it was like nothing ever happened. Lexie runs up to me and says, "hi mommy." Of course I was hysterical at that point at the thought of what could have happened. Lesson learned. We now have another form of getting into the house in case this happens again and Dave is out of town.

So I think I should get an award of the Mother of the Year (*sarcastic tone*) due to the fact of underestimating my two year old! She won that day!!

The Princess Stage. . . .

My child has officially entered the girly princess stage to the fullest. Lexie is obsessed with dresses, shoes, bows, jewelry (earrings especially), tiaras, wands, and make-up (her princess lip gloss).

Lexie demands to get dressed once she wakes up and only will let me put a dress on her unless we are going to play (which is MMO). She will shower herself with all the bead necklaces that can possibly go around her neck (almost looking like a girly Mr. T) along with bracelets around her wrists. I got her some costume/dress up earrings and she constantly wants to wear them with everything at anytime of day even before she goes to bed. My friend Steph gave the girls dress up high heels at the beach which Lexie still loves to "click clack" around the house in.

At least once a day, we have to watch a "princess" movie. Her favorite is Cinderella (which is my favorite Disney "princess" movie too).

Lexie's friend Zarin gave her plastic Disney princess figurines (not pictured) that Lexie loves to sit next to her while she watches her movie of choice.

This is such a cute stage. The princess also enjoys watching me put make up on in the mornings. Besides pucking her lips up for some lip gloss, wanting hot rollers in her hair like mommy, she also holds out her wrists for a squirt of perfume. I guess it's never too early to learn how to be a lady. . . .

Lexie's FAVORITE movies. Mainly Cinderella - which she L-O-V-E-S!

One of Lexie's favorite things to watch. A sing-a-long Princess tea party. There are songs from all the different Disney movies.

The "must read" books before bedtime every night.

The Belle of the Ball. . . . .