Happy Horsey Halloween

Halloween isn't as big of a deal here in Germany as it is in The States but we still wanted Alessandra to have a good experience.  

So we bought some candy, took it to Jon's work, handed it out, and sent Alessandra from desk to desk to go trick or treating. 

We taught her how to say "trick or treat" and "candy please" and sent her on her way

.

We reminded her to say "thank you" and Alessandra added kisses and waves to her repertoire.

Zero Degrees

Jon and I finally caved.  It hit zero today so we turned on some of the heaters.  It has been feeling more like winter and less like summer these days.

This weekend Jon and I made another trip to Ikea to get the stuff we need to have overnight guests.

Lisa and Ben are just a couple hours away by train and it's taking everything in me not to just pack a bag and go see them.  

Jon got all of our Ikea stuff up and even found time to 

hang a little project I've had sitting on the sidelines windowsill for a while now.  

We will be meeting up with them later this week.  Jon is taking most of the week off and we'll be heading out.  Now we just need to figure out the logistics - YAY!!!

I Pinned It!

I had heard about Pinterest but I had no idea what it was.  On top of that I didn't really think I was that interested in finding out.  My initial thought was confirmed when I first got on yesterday.

It was awful!  There wasn't anything to see unless you click through to the different topics.  I didn't know how to find people or pass along the pins I found.  Then I read the how to's and started looking around and it started growing on me.  I figured out how to search and found my friends and family.  And then it started to get more Pinteresting - hee hee.  

Today, I found some cute hairstyles I can try on Alessandra.  One of them I actually attempted.  Now, let me first start off by saying it didn't turn out nearly as cute as the picture but, 

I DID IT!!!!

Yup, I attempted my pin.  

 As you can see the couple pictures of her hair turned into a big fall time foto fest.  

Have any of you actually attempted something you found on pinterest?  

If so what was it?

Did it turn out?

Charmian

Daddy's Birthday

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Dear Daddy!

Happy Birthday to You!!!

The Things I Don't Want To Forget...

...23 months.

Alessandra is 23 months old today and before I got to busy with the hustle and bustle of the day I decided to do Alessandra's birthday post.

This is the first of what I'm assuming will be a long tradition of interviews.  I decided that this edition of "The things I don't want to forget" would be best suited for video because they are all things that she says and does.

Alessandra says most things really well but there is one word that isn't even close.  And it is so cute when she says it.  Oh, and don't you just love the way she says her name?!?

VIDEO

In this video I tried to catch Alessandra doing her faces.  It didn't really turn out very well but you can get the idea.  Then she takes us on a quick walk.  She is so funny and only a little bit bossy.  ;o)

VIDEO  

That's that.  She is still as tiny as tiny can be.  But she is constantly going, going, going all day long.  She still loves to dance and sing.  She likes to read books, play with her friends, go for bike rides, go to the pool and park.  She is such a character, chatter box, sweet heart, and cuddle bug.  She's our little Sweet Pea and we couldn't imagine what life would be like without her.

As you can see there are no videos.  

Somehow between filming and uploading they got corrupted.  

:o(  

I will re-film and upload as soon as I can.  

UPDATE:
The videos are on my Facebook page - can't figure out how to get them from Facebook to the Blog.

Bobolino's

Here it is...

Drum Roll Please!

BOBOLINO'S!!!

Due to fall break and the over abundance of big ones we quarantined the little girls to the ride section.  Luckily they were having so much fun protecting their covered wagon from THE BOY that we didn't actually have to put any coins in the rides.  The poor little guy just wanted to play with them but I guess these two little girls already have it figured out that boys have coodies.  

Here I am hiding in the sagebrush chairs watching the battle go down.  

Spoiler Alert!!

The girls were triumphant.  

Although they did get a talking to about sharing with the other kids though.

Bobolino's has a baby section, a bounce pirate ship, a giant volcano, trampoline room. race track,

and yes even inoperative massage chairs.

It's got it all!  

The best part of bobolino's is about 4-6 hours after we leave Alessandra is asleep.

Gotta Love It!!!

Tea Party!

What?

Not what you were expecting?

I thought this was how everyone played tea party?

Potty Training

Warning:  This post is filled with "TMI" statements.

I've had some questions about how we potty trained Alessandra so quickly, and the answer is - it wasn't quick.  It took almost 18 months.

Birth - 6 months:
That's right we started potty training Alessandra when she was just a couple weeks old when we put her in her first cloth diaper.

• I truly believe that cloth diapers help babies potty train sooner.  It's simple - they can feel when they are wet.  They let you know that they're wet so that you put them in a dry diaper.  And they quickly learn that being dry is more comfortable than being wet.

Jon and I tend to be an open door family.  We don't make a big fuss about making sure the doors are closed even when using the restroom.  That means Alessandra has seen Jon and I use the bathroom  since she was born.

Surprise - Surprise, Jon and I are talkers.  Which means we have talked to Alessandra about everything (including potty talk) since she was born.  We told her when we needed to go, if she was with us we told her what we were doing, when we were done we told her what we just did.  Going to the bathroom has been something she has known about since day one.

7 - 10 months:
When Alessandra started on solid food she didn't like pooing in her diaper.  It was too much work and uncomfortable.  So, when she started pooping she started fussing.  What did I do - I opened up her diaper and rubbed her little belly.  Well, then I realized if I'm going to take off her diaper for her to poo then why don't I take off her diaper and put her on the potty so I don't have to clean up the poop.  So - that's what I did.  She was happy and I was happy.

11 - 13 months:
Alessandra decided it wasn't a big deal to poop in her diaper anymore and she started doing it without a big fuss.  I didn't stress - I didn't feel like we were taking a step back this was a part of her process.

12 - 15 months:
With Alessandra's increased mobility she was able to get around the house easily on her own.  Which led to her "telling" me that she needed to go potty.  She would toddle into the bathroom and bang on the toilet lid and say "poop - poop"  I went along with it and played her potty game.  I'd strip her down and put her on.  Sometimes she'd do something - sometimes she wouldn't. It was a game.  It was like when we played with her dolls or other toys.

When I would go to change her diaper after meal time or nap time I was finding that she was often dry.  On those occasions I would march her into the bathroom and put her on the potty.  If she didn't do anything right away I would "encourage" her to pee by making the pee "psssssss" sound.  Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't.  Once again - I didn't stress.  She was learning what the potty is for.  And for crying out loud she was only a year old, she didn't need to be potty trained yet.

16 months:
Alessandra started "telling" me more often than not that she needed to go potty and more diapers were dry than wet.  So I decided it was time to start - officially - potty training.  We spent a week in the house.  I rolled up all of the rugs.  Put changing pads down on the furniture or under her for nap time.  And Alessandra was naked or bottomless.  We did use food treats as rewards for when she 1. told us 2. put something in the potty and 3. was still dry.  I know this is a big debate with parents but it worked for us.  So we did it.  (We used mini Smarties - for all of you American's think mini M&M's.  So they are tiny little chocolate treats.)

After the week was over we resumed our normal life.

A day in the life of potty training Alessandra looked like this if we were home:

• wake up  - go potty
• eat breakfast - go potty 
• play - go potty
• nap - go potty
• eat lunch - go potty
• play - go potty
• snack - go potty
• play - go potty
• eat dinner
• get ready for bed - go potty

The only way I changed her schedule when going out was: 

• put pants on Alessandra
• go potty before we left the house
• go potty as soon as we got where we were going
• go potty before we left
• go potty as soon as we got home
• take off Alessandra's pants
• resume above schedule

17 months - now

Alessandra was introduced to panties.  It took this long because I couldn't find any that would fit her here in Germany.  She still wears pull ups for nap time (when I remember) and bed time.  Alessandra has had good times - like when she went a fully week without a single accident or wet pull up.  And bad times - like the day she didn't pee in the potty once (so frustrating and it was this past Tuesday).

When she is having an "off" day I just resort back to the good ole days of potty training and strip her down and then have her "help" me clean up the mess if she has one.  

So that's that.  She still has accidents. I still have to bring changes of clothes when we go out.  But, for the most part she's dry.  The norm for her is to go pee and poop in the potty.  And every once in a while I have to remind myself that she's not even two yet and has been out of diapers for 5 months now.  So she's doing pretty well.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Charmian