First Hair Cut

First, I will say Mikayla tee tee'd on the potty again this morning. I am so proud!

Mikayla had her first hair cut today. Needless to say it did not go great, but the beautician said she did better than most other first hair cuts. My mom (Mimi), and sister (Auntie) went with me to take her. Angela recorded the whole thing on my camcorder. The DVD is priceless! You can hear Mikayla saying, "hold you mommy." Her hair does look better. Mimi says she looks more sassy!

Mikayla is unfortunately running fever now. I'm not sure what the cause is yet. She is sleeping next to her Auntie at the moment. Everyone else is still up to ring in the New Years.

Happy New Years!!!!

Tee Tee'd in the Potty!!!!!

I found out yesterday that Mikayla is going to be promoting to the next class at Daycare. She will officially be starting potty training! She'll probably promote next week. Tonight I noticed when I went to give her a bath her diaper was dry, so as soon as I got her out of the bath I put her on the potty. She had been playing with the potty last night, so it was in the kitchen floor- oh well! I was so proud, and she was too. You can tell by the picture- and she got a piece of chocolate as a reward. I can't believe she did it!

Merry Christmas!!!

It has been a wondeful Christmas! I was sick (stomach bug) for 2 days- including Christmas eve, but I survived and had fun anyways...even without getting to eat steak on Christmas eve :-). Mikayla and I made cookies for Santa last night, and she LOVED putting the icing and sprinkles on the cookies. We also opened presents last night. Mikayla helped everyone open their presents and enjoyed picking up the wrapping paper. Mikayla got a BIG slide from Santa, so she has been having LOTS of fun. Enjoy the pics!

School is Out!

Friday was wild for me! Mikayla also had parties at her school. She got to wear her PJ's all day. Wearing PJ's all day would've been nice. This weekend Mikayla goes to TX, so there may not be any more updates on here till after Christmas. We'll probably be in Haynesville from Tuesday-Friday. Here are a couple recent pictures. In the picture where she's sleeping she's holding the tube that the wrapping paper had been on. She had been helping me wrap and didn't want to hand it over after all the wrapping paper was off. I took it from her after she fell asleep.

One more day!!!

You can tell I'm teacher. I'm counting down the days till we get out for Christmas, and tomorrow is our last day until we go back on January 5th! Yeah!!!!!! I can't believe it is almost Christmas. This year should be even more exciting because Mikayla is finally old enough to really enjoy everything the holidays bring. I look forward to making cookies for Santa with Mikayla on Christmas Eve. There will be lots of great pics coming later next week!

Christmas Program

Tonight was the Christmas program at my school. Mikayla did pretty well. Of course she was dancing in the isle, and she couldn't understand why she wasn't getting to get up on the stage!

Santa Came Early

I can't believe it is Sunday night. This weekend was a whirlwind between Angela going to the ER, a Christmas party, and putting toys together!!!!! Thank goodness we have ONLY ONE WEEK till we get out for Christmas break.

As a child I was one of those who would go hunting for my presents- in closets, under beds, etc. Angela and I would use each other as a look-out so that we wouldn't get caught. I'm also one of those people who can hardly wait to give other people their gifts. Well, Christmas started a little early for Mikayla at my house- not that she doesn't get stuff all the time!

Mimi and Pop kept Mikayla yesterday afternoon and last night so that I could go to my Christmas party for work. When they came to get Mikayla they brought Mikayla's "big" Christmas present. It was so big that it came in 2 large boxes! I had ordered this really large "walk-in" kitchen. I decided to use my "free time" to put it together. I knew we would be in Haynesville Christmas eve, so what the heck. It was originally going to be from Santa, but there was no way I could put it together in Haynesille and then transfer it to my house- it wouldn't go through a door way. Mikayla has plenty of other presents to open and play with.

Angela is here, but crippled at the moment, so she was NO HELP in putting it together! I am so proud. I did it all by myself!!!! I can use tools- including an electric drill!!!!! The kitchen takes up about half the toy room. I did put a sheet over it and shut the door. When Mikayla got home today of course she went and opened the door and then began crawling under the sheet. I told you it was "walk in", well, there's a little bar area, so she was crawling under it. I took the sheet off, and she was so excited. She kept calling it "her house" and saying "pretty" (which sounded more like "petty"). She will enjoy this kitchen set for many more years to come.

The first picture you'll see below is from the ToysRUs website. It does not have Mikayla in it, but I wanted you to be able to see the kitchen I was just talking about. The second picture s of Mikayla playing in her kitchen. I couldn't get her to look at the camera because she was wanting to play!

Exciting Night

Angela (A.K.A. Aunite) came to spend the night at our house tonight, and I ended up with her in the ER at the VA in Shreveport- not what I call a good place on a Friday night! She had fallen down the front steps of my parent's house a few days ago. Her leg was swollen really bad, and she was in a lot of pain. My Aunt Dee and Uncle Chuck met Angela and I at the ER, and they took Mikayla home with them. The Doctor gave Angela some pain meds through her IV and demanded that Angela stay off of it. Needless to say- it has been a crazy evening!

Angela had brought a few cupcakes with her. Mikayla wanted one of course. The picture below was taken before the excitement of the trip to the ER.

Pictures

The picture of Mikayla was taken this morning on our way to school, and the other picture is of my classroom- where I spend all my time!

Snoozing Away

Mikayla is snoozing away in my bed, and I'm about to head there. She went to the ENT yesterday, and he said her ears looked great. She has bad congestion, so he gave her some meds for it, but her ears were clear!!! He did say that if Mikayla had not had tubes put in the congestion would've caused another ear infection. We did the tubes just in time!!!

Rough Monday

Mikayla did NOT want to get up this morning. She cried "nooooo" the entire time I was trying to get her ready. Normally she sleeps through the whole thing, but not this morning! I didn't even try to put her shoes on her until we got to Daycare. She did not want me to leave her at Daycare either. She wasn't with me a whole lot this weekend, so that may have had something to do with it. Mikayla was thrilled when I got there to pick her up. She ran to me as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Tomorrow we go back to the ENT for a follow-up for the tubes being put in. Hopefully everything is perfect!!!!

Precious!

Mikayla did not like Santa. She liked it when she was on one side of the gate and Santa was on the other. I held her so that we could take a picture with Santa. She didn't cry, but if I had made her sit alone with him there would've been a melt down.

We also had her pictures taken in her Christmas Dress, and the picture below is of Mikayla playing while we were waiting to have her pictures taken. She looked ADORABLE!!!!! You can't really tell by this picture, but the dress was smocked with little snowmen.

Back to the Daily Grind

With a lot of tears Mikayla went to Daycare this morning. We have spent so much time together that there was a little problem with separation. She apparently made it through though. When I went to pick her up the Daycare Director told me that she thought Mikayla was talking a lot more today and that she seemed to be more balanced. I had thought those things myself, but it helps to hear someone else say it.

The pictures below are from tonight. She is actually crawling up in my lap as I type and pointing to the pictures of herself saying, "Kayla." Soooo cute!!!

Mimi's Boots

Potty Time!!!

As a first time mom I'm getting close to a time I've been dreading- potty training!!!! Mikayla is showing signs that she is ready. I have now bought her an Elmo DVD about potty time, and yesterday we went to Wal-Mart and bought her her first potty. She can tell you what it is, and when I'm not looking she'll sit on it (with clothes on). She will tell you that it is the potty. Just a minute ago I said, "Where is your potty?" She started calling for her potty. I followed her into the bathroom, and she said, "there it is!" A couple times she has actually pulled her pants and diaper off! Who knows when we'll actually start really trying- maybe during Christmas. I'm going to talk to the people at the Daycare on Monday about it- we'll see. I'll be happy not to buy diapers!!!!

Ho Ho Ho!

Mikayla and I just went to the mall. We went by to see Santa. I wanted her to see him and for her to see the other little children in his lap. Last year she had a melt down, and I ended up in the chair with her! My goal is to not be in the picture this year. She was waving at him, so that was a positive. On Tuesday night we are heading to the mall for pictures with Santa. I'm crossing my fingers. I'll dress nice in case I end up in the photo.

The picture above is from Thanksgiving day. Mikayla was sneaking her some crackers and dipping them in the veggie dip!

Snoring Away

Mikayla is napping at the moment, and I'm about to join her. I just wanted to let everyone know that Mikayla did get to go to the doctor this morning. She does have a bad cough and sinus stuff, but her ears are clear. The doctor even let me look through his little ear thing at Mikayla's ears. You could see the tubes! It was pretty neat. She got a shot and 2 more prescriptions- one for cough and one antibiotic. Hopefully she's on a fast road to recovery. At least we have the weekend to relax and recuperate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mikayla and I are back at our home. Mikayla isn't feeling well, and she's just like anyone else- wants to be home when she isn't feeling well. I hated to leave our family early, but she's pulling on her ears, congested, and coughing! I did not expect her to have problems with her ears. Her doctor's office is open tomorrow from 9:00-12:00 for urgent care, so I will be taking her first thing in the morning. I'll update everyone then.

Having Fun at Mimi and Pop's!

Is It Christmas Yet?

Very Determined!

First, I will say we all survived the weekend. Originally when I posted after surgery Mikayla was doing great. She has run a little fever this weekend and has NOT been completely cooperative...especially with nap time and night time. We did spend time with family this weekend because I knew I'd need their help. Mom (or Mimi) was a huge help. I knew that washing Mikayla's hair after tubes was going to be really difficult, but I had no idea! I had bought some plugs, but she really wanted absolutely no part in that. I thought my mom was going to have claw marks from Mikayla. We tried to get her to lay her head back. She wanted no part in that either. I think my mom and I looked like we had been in the sink with her. Mikayla has said the word, "no" more times than I can count. At least she doesn't say it with an attitude, but you can tell she knows what the word means! Even if she was a little pill at times we all enjoyed the weekend. We'll go back in a couple days to visit more of the family, and Mikayla will get to be the center of attention! (as she always is)

I did have to take Mikayla to the eye doctor today for her checkup. She'll have to go back every year because of the eye surgery she had when she was 6 months. The doctor told me today that her eye sight seems great. One of her eye lids is a little droopy, but we can deal with that if we need to when she is older. Thank goodness because I can't deal with any more procedures or surgeries at this point in time! Mikayla didn't handle the visit well at all. As soon as she saw people in scrubs she started crying and saying "Nooooo." Bless her heart. I don't think she'll have to go to the doctor for a few weeks until she'll go for the follow-up with her ENT.

She's a Little Trooper

Mikayla had her surgery this morning. It took them about 20 minutes tops- to get her to sleep and to put the tubes in. She really did great. Mikayla was pretty mad at the world when she woke up, but Mimi and Auntie were there to help me. She has refused to take a nap and is having the best time watching a movie.

So, we made it through and she's on her way to a speedy recovery! If I had known how quick and painless it would be we would've done this months ago. Of course now I have to put ear plugs in when she gets in the bath because she splashes so much!!!

Thanks for all the prayers.

Friday

The picture isn't great, but she was enjoying her banana! It was hard to get a clear picture because my camera still isn't working right. This was the best I could do.

We went to the ENT, and as I knew would happen- she will have tubes put in. They wanted to do it this week, so on Friday she will be having tubes put in. If her adenoids are inflamed then those will also be taken out. I'm sure that this is all for the best, but I do hate that she has to be put to sleep again (this is the 5th time). I will always worry about my little girl.

I saw a quote the other day that said something like this- "Mothers hold their children's hands for a while but hold their hearts for a lifetime."

Sympathy Pain

Okay, so I've already said Mikayla had a bad ear infection in her left ear. I don't know if it was sympathy pain or what, but I have an ear infection in my left ear also. I will say that I am feeling better than I've felt in several days. You can't tell it by the way my voice sounds, but that may also be due to how much I've had to yell in order for my students to hear me :-).

Mikayla is doing much better. I don't know if her ears are still infected, but she's acting like they aren't bothering her. It's hard to believe, but her personality keeps coming out more and more every day. I get lots of laughs every night- even when I'm not feeling well.

Here are a few cute things she's done:
1. Yesterday she opened up my cell phone, pointed to her picture and said "Kayla." When she closed the phone she said, "bye Kayla."
2. She had her container of blocks. Every time she would hand me a block or if I handed her one she'd say, "Thank You", but it sounded more like "Tank You." It was absolutely Precious!!!! The first time she said Thank You was actually at the doctors office when they gave her a sucker.
3. We were leaving the house the other morning, and she looked at the sink and said "bye water."
4. Now if I open up the fridge and she's around she opens up the drawer where the cheese is and grabs her a slice because she loves cheese!!!!

Mikayla does go to the ENT on Tuesday morning, so we'll see what is going to happen with tubes being put in. I'm wishing they'll go ahead and do it during the week of Thanksgiving so I'll be off!

As for pictures. My camera is taking fuzzy pictures for some reason and needs to be taken back to Best Buy. As soon as it is fixed I'll post some more pictures. I'm lost without my camera.

Sick

First, I will apologize for the lack of postings. It has been more difficult to have time to do the "extra" stuff since becoming a 4th grade teacher. I have also had a horrible headache the last 3 days along with some other cold symptoms.

I took Mikayla back to her doctor yesterday, and her left ear is "really infected." They then made the referral and called me today with an appointment for Tuesday morning for Mikayla to see an ENT. I was told that they usually can do tubes the next week, so maybe they'll be able to do it while I'm off on Thanksgiving break. I'm already going to have to miss school the entire day this next Tuesday because of the time they made the appointment for. I've lucked out that I really haven't had to miss very much yet. I've only had to take 1/2 days- and I think I've only missed 2 of those. My 4th graders might could tell you that two 1/2's makes a whole :-).

Well, Mikayla is asleep, so I'm heading to bed too in hopes that I'll wake up without a headache tomorrow. Thank goodness it will be Friday!

Tubes

Mikayla began getting congested on Thursday night. She didn't sleep well for a few nights either. Luckily the ArkLaTex Pediatrics office is open on every Saturday and some Sundays. I went ahead and took her this morning. She had to see one of the other Doctors because only one Doctor is there each weekend. We had to wait for about an hour, but I'm glad I took her because she has ear infections again! Last time they told me that the next time she had ear infections we'd be going to the ENT. I'm supposed to call her pediatrician's office on Monday to get a follow-up appointment and at that time we'll get the referral. I've been dreading tubes, but I know she really does need them before permanent damage is caused. Mikayla is napping now, so I'm about to go take a little nap too. I have so much that needs to be done, but napping for 20 minutes or so may help!

Is It Christmas Yet?

I don't have time to write at the moment, but the picture of Mikayla is from just now playing in her room. The other picture is her Christmas dress. It's kind of fuzzy, but you can still see how cute it is!

Great Day!

First, I will say that I did have a day off technically. I didn't really take it off though. I went ahead and took Mikayla to Daycare today, and I went in and did stuff at school. Normally on a holiday we can't get into the school, but they used the school as a place to vote, so I lucked out. This is the first day that I've actually had to work in my room since changing to the new position.

When I went to pick Mikayla up they told me that she did great with her OT today. The OT took her outside to work with her, and the older children were outside playing. The teachers told me that Mikayla would do something right and then look to them for them to clap. They said she loved the audience. It doesn't surprise me one bit. When I got home the therapist actually called me to tell me how well she had done and that she was close to meeting several goals. Yeah!!!!!

Our First 911 Call

I'm almost ashamed to tell the story, but I now can really laugh about it. We went to TX today for visitation. We (Angela, Mikayla, and I) got to the meeting place in Lindale, and Angela left the vehicle to go into the gas station. I decided to let Mikayla get out of her carseat and stretch a little bit. I put her in the front passenger seat and was then heading around to my driver's seat when I heard the car get locked. Mikayla had pushed the lock button and locked the car with herself in there and the keys in the ignition. My heart started racing and the first thing I did was to hollar for Angela- she hadn't made it into the store yet. Angela has been a 911 dispatcher in the past, so she knew that if a child is locked in the car the police will come and unlock it. So, she called 911. They were on their way and in the meantime Mikayla was having the best time. She climbed over to the driver's seat and pretended to drive. She was pushing all kinds of buttons and even continued pushing the Lock button but never would put the windows down or push the unlock. Believe me- I tried to coax her into it, but she wasn't understanding what I wanted her to do. She was just a laughing at her mommy and Auntie standing outside the car. It was amazing the amount of people who just walked by us and just looked at us like we were crazy- not one person asked if there was something they could do. The policeman made it there and Mikayla really got a kick out of him sticking the thing in to unlock the car. Needless to say- Mikayla is safe and sound and never again will I make that mistake!

Party Time

I think Mikayla is hyped up on candy and sweets! I took pictures this morning. One of the pictures is so funny because she was giving her "look." The first picture is of Mikayla and I. I even wore a Halo on my head, but you can barely see it in the picture. The kids at school really enjoyed it. Enjoy!!!!!

Doctor In Training

I never did tell everyone that Mikayla does have a costume- well, sort of. She is going to be wearing little pink scrubs that have "MD" on the front, and on the back it has "Doctor In Training." She does have the little medical kit to go with it. Hopefully she won't try giving anyone a shot (hahaha)! She'll be comfortable at least. She doesn't mind wearing the scrubs. We tried them on the other day to decide between 2 sizes, and she just kept them on and played outside. I already had to wash them. Good News- they held up fine and I didn't even have to iron! Hopefully they won't give her too many sweets tomorrow. I did my duty as a mom, and I made sandwiches. They wanted someone to bring something that wasn't junk, so I signed up. Mikayla hardly ever gets to eat candy, so the aftermath from tomorrow should be interesting. Really the only time she gets candy is when the nurse at the Doctors office gives her one after they've made her mad!

It's Almost Wednesday!

Last night Mikayla did not want to go to bed. I said several times, "It's time to get on the bed," and her response (in the sweetest and most determined little voice) was "No!" She has that word down pat. There were a lot of laughs this past weekend at Mikayla saying that little simple word that she has now mastered. This morning she did NOT want to get up. Without even opening her eyes she was crying "Nooooooo." Of course it broke my heart, but she was fine by the time I got her out at Daycare. I made the mistake of putting her on the stool while I signed her in, and when I tried to take her down she simply said, "No!" It didn't surprise me, but the whole point in me dropping her off is to get to work. I had to take her off the stool and carry her into the room. She didn't get upset. She just looked at me with this very pouty face.

As I posted yesterday- some kid at Daycare was diagnosed with some contagious disease. Apparently for the time being they are checking the kids hands for bumps before the parents take kids home from Daycare in the afternoon. I guess that makes me feel better. I was actually told this afternoon, as they checked Mikayla's hands while I held her, "she's good FOR NOW." That part wasn't too reassuring.

As for me- I was observed today, which I think went very well. Another teacher (the teacher who is now teaching my old position) came in this morning and told me that kids had actually said to her, "Are you going to be mean like Ms. York was?" I actually had one entire class stay inside during their entire recess to practice getting in line today. I told them that if they were going to take my class time because they were not following directions when I said to line up then I would take their time. I bet that class will get in line like they are supposed to next time. If they don't then I'll take another recess. I'd rather be known as a mean teacher at the moment, while gaining their respect than to not have their respect because they think that I don't have control of the classroom. Believe it or not- I really believe that students thrive when there is structure. I do believe there can be "controlled chaos," but there are too many classrooms that just have chaos.

A Little Updating

Mikayla and I went to Haynesville this past weekend. We had a pretty good weekend. It was good to go to Haynesville and great to see everyone, but I think we get more rest when we get to sleep in our own beds at home. Mikayla was really restless Friday and Saturday night, which meant I didn't get much sleep.

Last night Mikayla actually bit me. She smiled after she did it, but I had to get onto her. IT HURT! She was hugging me when she bit me! I'm sure she's learned it from being bitten so many times (happened again last Thursday).

Today I found out that someone in Mikayla's class at Daycare was diagnosed with that Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (or whatever it's called), so now I have to be on the lookout for that.

Tomorrow I am getting observed at school, so lots of stuff to do. The first picture above is from this weekend when Mikayla fell asleep in my lap. The other picture is of her sitting in her rocker at Mimi and Pop's.

Ears are Clear

I finally got Mikayla to go to sleep, so I'm about to enjoy a very hot bath! I need to relax every once in a while. I wanted to let everyone know that Mikayla's ears are clear. We saw the doctor this afternoon. If she gets another ear infection any time soon though tubes will be recommended. This is my shortest blog, but I am exhausted. Have a great Thursday!

Chuck E. Cheese

My school had a fundraiser from 3-9 at Chuck E. Cheese, so I took Mikayla when I picked her up from Daycare. She had a blast, and I enjoyed getting to just have fun with her and with some of my students. Angela and I were always scared of the person dressed as Chuck E. Cheese, and I figured that Mikayla would be too(is scared of Santa Clause). I saw Chuck E. Cheese from a distance, and I expected Mikayla to start crying. She didn't though. She started waving (still at a distance), so I decided to push my luck and told her to go give him a "high five." To my amazement- SHE DID IT!!!! I was so proud. I couldn't believe it. I am ashamed to say that I didn't have my camera. I don't take it to school with me, and I didn't go home before picking Mikayla up. You'll just have to take my word for it. I'll get a picture next time.

Asleep With Coat On

Absolutely precious- I did just go in there and take it off without waking her up!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Mikayla must love to wear her rain coat because she does not want to take it off. She got it off the chair and then wanted me to put it on her. I put it on her about 2 hours ago, and she refuses to let me take it off!!!! Of course she looks adorable in her PJ's and rain coat.

I believe Mikayla has gotten over the last ear infection. She hasn't been pulling on them, which is a good sign. I take her back to the Doctor Wednesday afternoon, so I'm crossing my fingers for great news!

I'm sorry for not posting as much lately. I switched positions at school, so that has occupied a LOT of my time. I'm sure things will settle down once I get everything organized.

Entertainment at PTO Meeting

Mikayla is soooo adorable, and every time I take her somewhere I am reminded of it. As a teacher, I was expected to be at the PTO meeting tonight. Well, as a single mom I don't exactly have someone who could just stay home and watch Mikayla. The only option was to take her, so I did. I dressed her in some of her cute new Fall/Winter clothes and took a bag of puzzles and books for her to entertain herself with. Of course I also took a snack too (which she was trying to feed others). She didn't just entertain herself. She entertained everyone at our table, and I'm sure most of the other people heard her. She was naming all the things in the books and even making animal sounds. It didn't help that the School Counselor was sitting next to me getting her to make some of the sounds that she thought were cute and then laughing at her! For some reason she really enjoyed hearing Mikayla do the sound for the sheep. Laughter just eggs Mikayla on. Other teachers were holding their arms out to Mikayla and she even let a couple of them hold her (not exactly typical of her). Mikayla didn't just sit at the table- she was sitting ON the table. People were looking at me and whispering "she's adorable!" All I could do was smile and say "thank you." I guess I enjoyed showing her off, but that shouldn't surprise anyone!

When we got home Mikayla cried when I took her shoes off. I put her PJ pants on, but she refused to let me take her shirt off (she had already had a bath when we got home from Daycare and had clean clothes on). So, you'll see in this picture of her sleeping that her clothes don't match. She also insisted I put her shoes back on. So, she fell asleep in non-matching PJ's and had on a pair of shoes! I could not resist taking the picture.

To the Doctor

Mikayla had a restless night last night, which meant I also had one. My goal is to be in bed by 10:00, which means this will be sort of short. If there are typos or something doesn't make sense just ignore it- I'm exhausted from Mikayla and changing positions at work (another long story for later).

Two weeks ago I had taken Mikayla to the doctor for congestion. He told me she had ear infections, and at that point she wasn't even pulling on her ears (it's the sign that always tells me she has problems!). The last few days she has been pulling on her ears, and she STILL HAS THE EAR INFECTION!!!!! They gave her another shot today and different antibiotics. They asked me about past ear infections. She has had problems in the past, but not in the last couple months. She has to go back to the Doctor next week, and at that point we may be sent to an ENT specialist for tubes if still having problems with ears. This particular doctor doesn't just jump right into wanting to put tubes, but he said today that they don't want her to have more speech development delays, hearing loss, or other problems from ear infections. They also don't want to keep loading her down with different antibiotics, which I agree with. I was told that when they are sent to the ENT that tubes will definitely be recommended. He said I could say no, but I honestly figured the days of tubes in her ears were coming. So, we'll see in another week. If she gets worse I'm supposed to go ahead and take her back before next weeks appointment.

Lost Her Cookies

This will be short and to the point! I'm ready to go to bed. Basically Mikayla ate too much too fast and then drank milk. She is constantly asking for food, and apparently I'm going to just have to say no! She was laying on her bed watching Barney about to fall asleep, and then I heard her crying. I was beginning to enjoy a hot bath. I made it in there (wrapped in a towel) right as she began throwing up. Not only did it get on her (she had already had a bath), but it got on the comforter. As if that weren't bad enough it went through the comforter onto the sheets. I have done 3 loads tonight! Mikayla felt perfectly fine after she lost everything she ate. She actually came into the kitchen saying "cracker!" I couldn't believe it. I guess her stomach was empty after everything that came back up. She is now asleep thank goodness. I ended up enjoying another hot bath later and now am going to bed. Good night!

"Mikayla, put that back!"

I have realized that I say "Put that back!" a lot to Mikayla. Typically at some point in the day Mikayla goes through these moods where she just tries to find everything she can that she isn't supposed to have. So, I say "Mikayla, put that back!" First, she usually freezes right where she's at to see what's going to happen. She may also give you this look that only Mikayla can give (she gave it to the Daycare teacher this morning). If I start counting (1, 2, 3) by the time I get to three she is taking off running and throws whatever it is down. I guess she thinks that if it is no longer in her hands she is no longer guilty. I have to watch it because sometimes she throws something she really shouldn't (like my glass of tea!), so in that instance I have to just quietly sneak up on her and take it from her!

Mikayla is now telling me "back." For instance, I gave her her juice out of the fridge, and she no longer wanted it, so she said "back." I now know she understands the concept that "put it back" means to put it where she got it from. She has learned a new word to say, but it has also helped me to realize that I really need to watch how I say things to her. She is now at the age where she really doesn't say what you want her to say when you want her to say it, but eventually it will come out of her mouth!

Shopping Day

Today we went shopping for Fall/Winter clothes for Mikayla. Mimi, Red, and Auntie came to go shopping with Mikayla and I. Mimi and Red both bought Mikayla some clothes at the LA Boardwalk. We shopped at OshKosh, Gymboree, Carters, and the Children's Place. Red got her some really cute leopard print clothes from Gymboree, but the Children's Place had the best deals. We should've gone there first! People tell me how she is always dressed so cute, well this Fall/Winter won't be any different. We got some really cute clothes, and even better we got GREAT DEALS! Mikayla slept through the first part and then was in a pretty bad mood until we got her some icecream at Coldstone. She enjoyed her Strawberry Shortcake Icecream. She's at the age where she doesn't want to ride in the stroller, but she's still not quite big enough to listen and stay with me. We actually even thought she might wear one of those backpack things (tried it a couple months ago) that you can hold onto them with, but that did not go over very well at all. She actually screamed when we tried that. That thing got taken back! Anyways...we really enjoyed having Mimi, Auntie, and Red come to spend the day with us. Hopefully we can get all rested tomorrow for a busy week.

Maybe just a rough week?

Mikayla got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. She got mad even with me trying to put socks on her feet. We made it to Daycare with no shoes on, so I took her shoes and braces in with me to put them on. She did okay, but as soon as I put them on she started holding her hands up for me to pick her up. Normally she doesn't cry when I leave her. The Occupational Therapist called me around lunch time to say she had seen Mikayla today and that Mikayla just didn't cooperate to do any Gross Motor Skills stuff. She said Mikayla normally says, "No" but she can get her to do it without crying. I then called the Daycare around 2:30, and the director told me Mikayla had been off today. She had slept for less than an hour and was cranky. I had an inservice today till 5:15, so I was later than normal picking her up. She seemed to be in a good mood when I picked her up, but things changed once we got home. She was very uncooperative. She did eat dinner, but absolutely refused to take a bath....I mean screamed her head off. I wiped her off with a rag and put her PJ's on. I decided to just let her watch Barney and play with her blocks on her bed. She was asleep by 7:00! Tomorrow Mikayla isn't going to Daycare because I don't have school because of our fall break (still go back on Monday). Maybe Friday will be better. I'm just hoping she doesn't wake up before 8:00!!!! :-) I guarantee whether she wants to or not she will have a good bath in the morning.

Another Ouch Report

Mikayla has an enemy apparently, and her little enemy is being kicked out of Daycare. She was bitten again today, and definitely more severely than yesterday. The culprit bit someone else today too. At least the little boy will no longer be there. Mikayla's arm looks pitiful. The picture doesn't do it justice. From the picture you can barely see the complete set of teeth marks on her. There were also scratches around it. There are no words to describe how it made me feel, and I honestly was about to cry when I saw her.

She also got her new shoes in today. We had to try them out tonight to see if the braces put red marks, but so far no red marks! She seems to be adjusting well!

Ouch Report

As soon as I walked in to pick up Mikayla the Assistant Director told me she had an “Ouch Report” for me to sign. She then informed me that Mikayla had been bitten! Go figure. Yesterday I write about how Mikayla hasn’t gone through that and then the next day she was the victim! I’m not really sure how it exactly happened. I just know she was taken by surprise because she was bitten on her back. She never even saw it coming. The report said that she cried. No duh!!!!! The assistant director said the little predator must have thought she was going to taste sweet. Hahahaha. I do know that the child who bit her was not the one who bit someone yesterday when I picked up Mikayla. When I looked on her back I didn’t see a place, so we made it through the first attack at the Daycare!

She's Already a Princess but Still Needs a Costume!

Mikayla was asleep around 7:30 tonight. As far as I know of (if they told me the truth) Mikayla had a great today. She wasn't even wearing food all over her when I picked her up. Now that I think of it- she didn't even have a drop on her. I wander if she actually ate! She rarely turns down food, but it has happened a few times. She was playing outside when I picked her up. One of the teachers was getting onto another little girl for biting a little boy. They looked like they were Mikayla's age. Mikayla has never bitten anything but food. I'm wishfully thinking that she never does! I doubt we make it through our terrible 2's without ever biting someone.

I really am proud with how Mikayla has been. I guess it's been a few weeks now that Mikayla has made it sleeping in her bed the WHOLE night. There was one night that she slept with me because she just didn't feel well and we were lucky to sleep at all! I am finding that I am getting more rest- once I actually fall to sleep anyways. As I'm going to sleep I lay there thinking about all the "what ifs." It's hard because she is on the complete opposite end. She is doing great and is doing so great that when Auntie came to visit me I made Auntie sleep in my bed with me because there was no way she was going to kick Mikayla out of her own bed. I figured it was easier for Auntie to sleep with me in a Queen size bed than to sleep with Mikayla in a full size.

I now have the dilema of finding Mikayla a Halloween Costume! Mikayla doesn't like anything poofy or it would be easier to find something (she will cry if you put poofy on- and refuses to even move!). I'm needing a 2T for her and a lot of stuff is 2/4. She doesn't need a 2/4- she needs just a 2!!!!!! She gets to dress up on the 31st for Daycare and I certainly don't want my baby being the only one not in a costume. So, I'm on the hunt. If you have ideas let me know!

The picture below is from last year! Her shirt said "Who Needs a Costume when You're Already A Princess." It's true, BUT this year she really does need a costume. In the picture you can see that she is looking over at something- it was me. Last year at this time Mikayla wasn't walking. I was so afraid she was going to just fall out of the chair that I couldn't move far from her. She has grown so much since then!

What else can she get into?

I keep stuff put up around the house so that Mikayla can't get into trouble (at least not danger anyways). I know that if I don't want her to have something I have to keep it out of reach....which her arms seem to be really long when she really wants something. I don't think Auntie has learned that lesson. Mikayla first put Auntie's shoes on- which is no problem, but then she got Auntie's Oakley Sunglasses. The shoes gave her just the boost she needed. Mikayla is very resourceful! Of course she was as cute as a button, so I snapped pictures!