The Linda Family

From the mouth of the girls…

“wub you meee!”

“I L-o-v-e Y-o-u!”

When I was pregnant with Ashleigh, I had one irrational fear.  Looking back, it was a pretty superficial fear, but it was my biggest concern.  I was terrified that our kids wouldn’t be smart.  I just didn’t know how I would cope with (and not frustrate) a child who just didn’t grasp things.  I didn’t know how I would handle someone who brought home C’s on their report card, and how I could encourage and be a good mom to someone who needed something from me that I just didn’t think I posessed.

I recall praying that our kids would be smart.  I didn’t need Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein, but someone who loved to learn and was good at it.

Well, my prayers were answered…..and then some.

Ashleigh LOVES school.  She comes home telling us all about the life cycles of Monach Butterflies, which is what they are currently studying.  She has gone from starting to think about reading, and being able to spell simple words to reading street signs and causing me to do a double take when she writes someone a card.  She also has re-discovered her love of the monkey bars and can now cross them all by herself.  She is so proud, and can’t wait to show us this weekend at her school’s Chili Jamboree.  She is also taking an art class on Monday afternoons at a local art school.  This class is focused on crafts and multiple mediums.  I thought it would be a good starting place for her.  She is the youngest kid in the class (it’s for kids ages 5 – 10) and seems to be enjoying it and keeping up reasonably well.  Obviously the older kids painted picture frames look a lot different than hers, but she is able to keep up.  I’m so glad that she is excited by so many different things and I’m happy to see her growing and learning.

Bekah has hit a vocal explosion.  People have told me how much more talkative she is (vs Ashleigh at the same age) and I have to agree.  I thought Ashleigh was verbal, but Bekah is trying to keep up with her big sister now.  She repeats EVERYTHING and has very little tolerance for things like quiet and stillness.  There are certainly times when this can set me over the edge, but I really love seeing her learn.  She constantly asks, “What’s that?” and when you tell her, she responds with, “Oh. [whatever you just told her].”

I love that she has learned to say ‘excuse me’.  It is the cutest thing to hear her little burp followed by an ‘excuse me, mommy!’.  I’mconstantly amazed by the things she comes up with and the words she says.  I feel like I should compile a list, but I can’t imagine trying to write down her words.

The better news is that she is such a loving and nurturing girl.  She sees lots of babies every week at church, and she is very interested in them.  She also LOVES caring for her babies.  She will wear them in her sling or her sister’s mei tai.  She also rocks them and pats them on the back, whispering ‘ Ssshhh, shhhh, shhh.  I know, I know.  Sssshhhh, ssshhhh, sshhh.  I know, I know….’  Last week she was running around naked (her favorite) and she held her baby up to nurse.  After a few seconds she yelled, “Ow!!” and pulled the baby off.  I about fell over, I was laughing so hard.  Apparently her baby is just like her!

I’m constantly amazed by these two girls, and they certainly keep me on my toes.  I am glad I have a smart phone, with Ashleigh around I probably should just bookmark dictionary.com and wikipedia.  I’m always trying to find a definition for a word that she can grasp, and we’re always looking up strange things like what ducks eat.  It should be fun in 2 years when Bekah joins in the wanting to know things Mommy has no clue about camp!

When I prayed for smart kids, I didn’t know much about being a mom.  Now I know that every child presents unique challenges to their parents no matter what, and while I love seeing the world through my daughters’ eyes, and I’m thankful that I’m learning new things along with them, I know that I’d love them no matter what.

Dare I say it?  We’re on day 4 of potty use only.  What?!  Can it really be that in a month, a month where we went on vacation and life got thrown into a tailspin while Ashleigh started Kindergarten that Bekah has potty trained?  I’m not sure I believe it.  I’m waiting for the wet diaper, the refusal to use the potty, something to remind me that she is 1 1/2.

It started a month ago when she wanted to get out of the pool to pee in the grass.  We had the potty out, she looked at it, used it a little here and there when I caught her at the right time, etc.  I took her cues, and off we went.  We had a few accidents over the past month, but nothing horrible.  Well, except for when she was home with Wes and decided to poop on the floor and walk in it.  But, at least it was in her bedroom where there is no carpet, right?  Yeah.  That and it was on Daddy’s watch, not Mommy’s.

I honestly don’t remember the last time she actually wet a diaper.  It was some time over the long weekend.  Sunday night we went to dinner after church and she SCREAMED ‘Potty! Potty! Potty!’ until I look her to the bathroom.  At the restaurant.  Ick.  She did use the bathroom and of course, got praise from me for being a big girl.  Monday we went to the MD State Fair, and I am going to guess that she wet a diaper at some point during the day, but I know for sure that when I put her diaper on before bed (between 8 & 9 PM) it was dry Tuesday morning.  100% dry.  She used the potty, we took Ashleigh to school, we ran some errands, and she came home and used the potty.  She repeated this on Wednesday.

Today we went to look at office space.  She started telling us she had to go potty as we drove from the first space to the second.  We had to drive another 5 or 6 city blocks, park the car in the parking garage, and walk to the building (2-ish blocks).  We waited for the broker to let us in, then he asked his sales-y questions and THEN we were able to get her to a bathroom.  The child held it!  So, today I ordered some Gerber training pants, since the smallest 2T underwear I can find is really baggy on her and she gets annoyed.  I hope she likes them.

I’m still not sure I can call her potty trained.  When do I call it a success?  After 2 days?  4 days?  A week?  I’m not sure.  I am sure that I am amazed at how quick this process as been, and I can only hope it’s forward progress from here!

Less than two weeks ago Bekah started “practicing” on the petty. I assumed it was some fluke and her interest would disappear just as quickly as it had appeared.

I am happy to report that as of now she still loves the potty. When she wakes up in the morning she asks to go potty. If I let her run around in a shirt or a dress she will go on her own! I have not been brave enough to try underpants around the house yet. I guess that needs to be our next step…

She has asked several times (while in a diaper) to go potty, but she is not a fan of (and will not use) full sized toilets. When I put a kid sized seat on the full sized toilet she will use it.

While this is certainly not a thrilling and riveting topic, I wanted to make sure to document it, so that we remember the final weeks/months of baby-hood….

That was Bekah’s first 4-word sentence.  She put that one together all by herself!

Last Sunday we were heading out of ‘church’ and she fell down and smacked her face on the grass.  We had church at someone’s home, complete with a pool party, baptisms, and child dedications.  Bekah had a blast swimming in the pool.  She even went as far as to demand that she be left alone to swim.  We put her in some swimmy arms and she had a blast.  Bouncing up and down, taking in a little water and spitting it out.  It was hilarious.  On the way out she was running and her foot hit a small depression in the lawn and she went DOWN.  It was not pretty.

She was, of course, just fine, but after she calmed down she asked for some ice.  I took an empty sippy cup and put some ice in it for her and handed it to her in the back seat.  She sat there chomping away on ice cubes for the drive home.  A few minutes into the drive we hear a VERY clear, “I eat ice cube!” from the back seat.  Wes and I just looked at each other, in shock.

I’m not sure we’re ready for two fully verbal little girls.  Our house is about to get a LOT noisier!  Oh boy…