1st Day of Pre-K

All ready for school!

Being silly....

Another silly pose!

With her backpack on!

Can you believe it? Millie started Pre-K today at Rock Springs Christian Academy. She, of course, didn't want to get out of bed this morning but by the time she got dressed, she was fussing that we needed to leave because we were going to be late if we didn't go right then.

She will be going 5 days a week this year, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. She is currently in tumbling once a week in Griffin and will start a soccer clinic in September at school on Thursdays for an hour. The school is trying to offer a lot of activities after-school so your child can be in one place and participate. And the parents are not running themselves ragged going from this activity to the next.

I am really looking forward to getting back into a routine and being more organized. I have it set up to where she will wear uniforms every day. It's not required except for on Wednesdays, but I think it will make both our lives easier if we did.

Please join me in praying for the new school year!

You can imagine anything!!!

I took Millie with some of her classmates to Imagine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta on January 6, 2011. This was her second time visiting the museum and she had just as much fun. She played in the farm area, went grocery shopping, cooked in the kitchen, tried on clothes, played instruments, went fishing, played in the sand, painted on the wall (definitely not allowed at home!!) and had lunch with her school. There was a lot of activity and lots of kids there! But it was fun, nonetheless.

Millie the Firewoman

Playing in the blocks

Painting

Fishing

Playing music

Driving a delivery truck

And no trip to Imagine It! would be complete without a chance to milk a cow!!!

Beware when it's quiet

One Saturday, Millie was playing in her room, very quietly I might add. I finally went in to check on her and this is what I found....she had completely assembled this box of puzzle pieces that are opposites.

Months of the Year

Yesterday, on our way home from the babysitter's house, Millie was talking in the back seat. I started really listening when she said, "September, October.....(pause)...what's the next one?" And I said, "November." And then I told her through February (and she repeated) and then she said, "March, April, June, July." My mouth dropped. She had learned the months of the year at school. That was so neat to hear her repeat that.

Next week is her last week of school. She has Water Day at school today and her Preschool program next Tuesday. My baby is not a baby anymore!

IT'S OFFICIAL......

As of the end of 29 months, beginning of 30 months - MILLIE IS POTTY-TRAINED!!!! She now only needs a diaper when she naps or sleeps at night. And even if we have no panties clean and she has to wear a diaper, she always goes in the bathroom, takes off the diaper, uses the bathroom and then we have to put the diaper back on.

This past weekend we went to Savannah to celebrate Jacade's birthday and I only used 2 diapers on her all weekend, including the traveling back and forth. I put a pull-up on for the ride down/back and she went to the bathroom every time we stopped.

She always says, "I do like Mommy."

She's Graduated!

Yes, that's right. Millie has graduated from her baby crib to a big girl bed! And she has done great, so far.

Monday, September 7 - Night 1 : Put Millie to bed, put pillows on the floor on one side and lots of comforters on the other side, closed the door and she slept til 5 a.m. and came in the room with us.

Tuesday, September 8 - Night 2 : Put Millie to bed, put pillows on the floor on one side and lots of comforters on the other side, closed the door and she slept til 5:40 a.m. and came in the room with us. But I took her back to her room, tucked her in and turned on her music and she went back to sleep til 7:30 a.m.

Wednesday, September 9 - Night 3 : Same routine and she slept til 5 a.m. Took her back to her room, tucked her in and she slept til 8:00 a.m.

She is doing a lot better than I had imagined, ever. It's like she was ready to sleep in a regular bed. And she is really enjoying her new room. It's very spacious; plenty of room for all sorts of playtime. She also has a big walk-in closet and her own bathroom.

Do you know your ABCs?

Millie does. Well, she can pretty much sing the whole song, although sometimes she gets a little sidetracked. We are still working on identifying the letters by looking at books but I just started teaching her the song last week.

Two Biggies

Last night, before Millie took her bath, she undressed herself and took off her diaper. She then said, "I want to poop in the potty." Fine with me. So she climbed up there and sat there for awhile. Then she had "that look" in her eyes and yes, she did it! I was so proud of her! I think we are on our way because she has been using the potty a lot more lately.

And then before she went to bed last night, I was rocking her and I asked her, "Millie, would you like to go to the potty before you go to bed?" And she replied, "No thank you." Whoa, was that for real?

Later on, checking to make sure that wasn't a fluke, I asked again, a little while later. And again she said, "No thank you."

Jumping In!

Jumping In!

Coming back up!

She doesn't seem upset at all. Good job Millie!

Millie's a fish!

This past week Millie has been taking swimming lessons for 30 minutes each day. One day this week, she didn't last very long because the lessons were right during naptime, and she was just so tired. But she finished well and now we just need to practice.

Here are some pictures that Jacade took today, her last day. Can't wait to get in the pool with her in two weeks when we go to North Carolina! Look out fish, here comes Millie!

Happy Birthday Millie!

I know I am late in posting this (and Marshall, you're going to get to see some new photos) but Millie celebrated her 2nd birthday last Thursday!

Wow! I can't believe she is already 2 years old. Where did the time go? Out the door and down the street!

She is doing so many things now and talking so well. Of course, when we went to the doctor, she wouldn't say a word. Go figure. But she is repeating everything we say. Hard words too. She is not doing her sign language as much; hey, she can talk! But she still does some. We are busy pointing out everything to her. And she doesn't forget a thing.

What she loves right now:
reading/looking at books
playing outside
going to the park
dressing/undressing herself
her babydolls
listening to music and dancing
running
jumping

What new foods she is eating these days:
She actually likes broccoli - we call them trees
most beans
grilled cheese sandwiches
spaghetti (sometimes)
pizza
cereal bars
most all fruits

A sense of direction

One day last week, I had picked Millie up from school and on our way home, we drove by one of our friends' house on Maple Street. Right as we were driving by, Millie pointed out the window and said, "Doug's house." WOW! How did she know that? I told her, happily, "Yes, that is Doug's house."

On Friday evening, she and I went to Jackson for the Relay for Life at the park. Millie's first babysitter, Melanie, is a cancer survivor. As we are driving to Jackson, we passed the High Falls Road on the right, and as Millie pointed to the road, she said, "Church." She really does pay attention to where we are going. I was impressed.

Testing the waters

Millie has been very testy lately, at home and at Ms. Andrea's. She had to go to time-out several times yesterday because Ms. Andrea would tell her to pick up the toys, and Millie would just stare and her and say, "No."

Then, last night, she was misbehaving at dinner and started hitting me. So I said, "Okay, that's it. Dinner's over, let's go take a bath, and you've lost your milk for tonight." She cried, kicking and screaming all the way to the bath, and cried while taking a bath. I got her ready for bed, and she then started asking for milk. I had to break the news to her.

I told her, "Millie, you've lost your milk tonight because you were being mean to Mommy and disobeying Ms. Andrea." She then started hugging me and saying, "Sorry" in sign language. I told her that I accepted her apology but that it was too late for tonight. I also explained that she couldn't act like that; that she needed to be nice. She kept hugging me and saying sorry.

But, I didn't give in....

It took her longer to go to bed last night, even though I started the process early. But that's the only way she will learn. And she knew exactly what she was doing.

The second night

Last night, instead of eating dinner at home, I packed a little sandwiches and we headed to Stoney's house to go......FISHING! Jacade had gone earlier that day with Stoney and he wanted to go with us. So we went, but Millie just wasn't interested (go figure, she is only 22 months old). But she did have fun throwing the minnows in when we were about to leave. And she was not scared or unsure at all. She dove right in (no pun intended).

So, needless to say, we got home a little late and she sat down with us and ate a bowl of Cheerios (she was still hungry) and then she got her bath. Went to sleep around 9:30 (yikes, that's late) and woke up crying around 1:45 a.m. I went in and told her to lie down and I covered her back up. Then she just kept crying and wanted the music on. Fine. I turned the music on and left. But she then started screaming and screaming. So I went back in and asked her if she wanted to go potty. She said yes and she went. And her diaper was dry. Then she went back to sleep.

Fast forward to this morning. She woke up....DRY....but didn't want to go to the potty. So she didn't. No big deal though. I went to work and Jacade got her ready for school.

We're just taking it one day at a time. No rush. But we're still proud of her!

This is BIG!!!

Last night, before bed, Millie had her usual 3 oz of milk before bed and went to sleep (slept all night too). This morning, I had to wake her up and take her to school because Jacade got up early to go fishing with Stoney. So when I woke her up, I felt her diaper and she was......DRY! Yes, all night, she didn't use the bathroom. Whoa...this is big! So I told her that she was going to the potty. She didn't want to at first but I was so excited. She finally agreed and sat on the potty. And she PEED.....A LOT! And I was clapping my hands and praising her like crazy and told her that I was going to tell everybody! She was smiling too!

The other evening, I was cooking dinner and Jacade was talking to Kelly in the dining room and we both hear the toilet lid slam. "Jacade, go see what Millie is up to, please." He went in the bathroom and she had taken off her diaper, used the bathroom, had dumped the pee in the potty and was about to wash out the container. What? She's only 22 months old and she's doing this? So we praised her again.... A LOT!

I think she is just potty-training herself. We're not pushing her but are trying to be very encouraging and praising her afterwards.

Coincidental or for real?

Last week sometime, while Millie was taking a bath, she had all of her toys out. And typically when I tell her to clean them up, she will. Well, this time she wouldn't. So I told her, "Millie, it's about that time to get out of the bath. You need to clean up your toys." Nothing. And again, I told her the same thing. Nothing. The third time I asked her, "What do you want to lose?" Still, nothing. So then I told her, "Okay, you've just lost your milk for the night." (She usually gets a little milk before she goes to bed every night). She finally picked up her toys, which I told her thanks for doing. And when it was time for bed, she asked for milk, which I explained to her that she had lost it for not following directions.

Fast forward to last night....she was taking a bath again and I told her it was about time to get out. "Millie, please pick up your toys." Nothing. "Okay, Millie, what do you want to lose tonight? Your milk?" She then started picking up her toys. Ha! So was it coincidental or did she really make the connection? I hope it's the latter. And I really believe it's the latter.

Is this normal behavior?

Is this normal behavior for a 22-mo. old? On Friday, when we got home, I was trying to open a bag of dog food for Bella. And I was struggling a little...you know how hard it is to pry apart those bags?? So Millie saw my struggle and went into the kitchen, opened the top drawer where all the utensils are (which, by the way she cannot see into) and fished around for a second. She then found what she was "looking" for and brought me the SCISSORS! What. How did she know that? We've definitely never taught her that, although we are constantly teaching while we are living. But I was really amazed and couldn't believe that she had put 2 & 2 together.

Potty time!

What is the exact age/time to start potty-training your child? I've been told by different sources, many different things. Maybe it depends on your child.
At any rate, we have been introducing Millie to the potty, since about 18 mos. old. First we used an insert on the big potty, and then we got a small potty from Aunt Barbara and she's been using that now.
She even likes to pee in it and then take the insert off and pour it in the big potty. She is quite observant.
But last night, we got home from eating out (didn't feel like cooking) and I was getting ready to give her a bath. She laid down on the floor in our bedroom, unsnapped her overalls, took off her soaked diaper, and went into her bathroom, sat on the potty, and USED IT!!! As soon as it hits the bottom, she starts smiling and gets all excited!!!
I then gave her a bath and after her bath she wanted to sit on it again. So she did, and USED IT AGAIN! Good job, Millie.
This morning, when she woke up, she tinkled again and was so proud of herself.

Maybe it's too early, maybe not. But we're just going with the flow (no pun intended!)!!!

Taking care of business

Last night, before Millie took her shower, she needed to sit on the potty. And no potty experience would be complete without a few books to read while you wait. I thought the event was worthy enough to photograph. By the way, nothing happened, but she did get some experience. {As a side note, she has used the potty before, just not last night.}

Millie uses the potty...in the middle of the night

Last night, around 12:45 a.m., Millie woke up crying. I tried to leave her alone for a few minutes, but she insisted. So I went in and she kept pointing to her diaper, saying, "Diaper" and crying. So I asked her if she wanted me to change her diaper, and of course, she said yes. So when I unzipped her sleeper, I checked the diaper, and it was dry. That's strange, huh?

So I asked her if she wanted to go to the potty and she didn't object. So we went into the bathroom and I put her on the potty and a few seconds later, she started using the bathroom. I was really proud of her.

She finished and said "all done" so I put her diaper back on. Then we rocked for a few minutes to the music and I put her back to bed. Of course, she objected but I left the room anyways. She cried for a few seconds and decided to go back to sleep. She was wet this morning, but not soaked like she normally is. Of course, I don't want this to become a habit (I need the sleep and she does too).