Thank You Gramma Mary

Many many months ago Gramma Mary sent Lydia a sparkly purple chandelier. Lydia has been delighted with this chandelier and finally convinced her dad that she needed it! Hanging on the wall. We found the perfect place for the chandelier right over Lydia's kitchen ;)

Play Table

Apparently Lydia's babies have been needing a table to eat at. I was unaware of this so we used our imagination and the coffee table became Lydia's babies kitchen table. PERFECT! She has spent many many many days cooking, setting the table, and then feeding all her babies ;)

Durham Life and Science Museum

Lemurs were Lydia's Favorite (she could get up close to really see them!). 

Watching the bears (not sure that she ever really saw the bears but she acted like maybe she did...) 

Play Boats! 

Kitchen Sink Part II

Finished with cute little washcloths! 

Lydia LOVES the kitchen sink! 

Oooohhhhhh what's behind the curtain! 

Flowers to pick

Flowers for mom! 

The kitchen sink moved to the basement with the rest of the toys!!!!!!

Goodbye Paci and Uncle Paul

Yesterday after Lydia's nap she woke up on a mission to go to Target. "We need paci Mom". Thankfully as the tears started to pool Lydia heard her friends outside, brushed her tears away, and went outside. The rest of the night - no tears. Slept all night without a peep.

I wanted to count my blessings on one hand but on the other hand we took away the paci and that seemed to be pretty important to her. Honestly I was a bit concerned.

But Lydia seemed fine. She got herself dressed in a Christmas dress and pink boots. Helped me make muffins. Played toys. And really was quite happy. So I was counting my blessings and we went to MOPS (a group at our church).

Then we walk in the doors of the church and Lydia decided she wanted to go to her old classroom. I told her she was a big girl and we walked to her new classroom while I am talking about all her friends and teachers who will be in her new class. And then the tears came. And not just any tears heart wrenching sobs. Hmmm, I think. Chalk it up to delayed paci tears and let her stay with me for a bit and then took her back to her class.

According to Lydia's teacher, she was tender but participated. In the car on the way home, Lydia told me about her sheep craft and that she cried. But would not elaborate on why she cried.

Over lunch the truth all came tumbling out (we have often said Lydia has a confessional over every meal!).

Lydia: I cried.
DeAnna: I know. Why?
Lydia: Paci bye bye. Never coming back.
DeAnna: Yes. You are a big girl. (I could tell she had more to say on the subject but she was much more interested in her fruit).
Lydia: Look grapes. Apples. No more strawberries.
DeAnna: More strawberries next summer.
Continue eating in silence.
Lydia: No old class.
DeAnna: You are a big girl and all your friends are in your new class. What do you like about your new class?
Lydia: No answer (Think Lydia and I need to chat later about her new class too but for now we will just let that one be!).
After a long pause:
Lydia: Told Uncle Paul bye. No hug.
DeAnna: You chose to be silly instead of hug Uncle Paul. Andrew, Bethany, and Aunt Dawn are going to be intown for a couple more weeks. We can play with them and I bet they will give a hug to Uncle Paul for you.
Lydia: ok. Uncle Paul bye bye. Never see.
DeAnna: (light bulb went off in my head!) We will defiantly see Uncle Paul again. You can call him. Email him. And he will visit. Maybe we will even visit Uncle Paul.

The conversation continued - apparently we also need to call some pacis later too! Moral of the story - saying bye to Uncle Paul on Sunday night and saying bye to the paci on Monday morning was a cruel thing for Mom and Dad to do. Lydia has been so nonchalant about Uncle Paul and family moving to CA that I assumed that was a foreign concept to the 2 year old (California vs. across town - are they really different to a 2 year old???). She understands and comprehends waaaaaay more than we give her credit for!

P.S. We really are very excited for Uncle Paul and his family. They are looking forward to their new adventure and new house. And Paul is looking forward to his new job doing the geek things that he really loves!   

Goodbye Paci

I know, I know, I know. Lydia is a bit old for pacifiers. BUT the paci has been her easy way to fall asleep and we have let her keep it for night time/nap time only.

This weekend though Lydia started chewing on the paci and was informed that if she was old enough to chew her paci then it was time to send the paci to babies who still suck. Lydia verbally agreed with us. We let her pick out a cheap big girl toy, packed up the paci, and gave them to the "babies".

Lydia was totally cool with all of this! Surprisingly. Deep down I think she knew that her paci days were numbered. 

The baggie of paci going to the babies! 

Lydia is also nobody's fool. She saw the opportunity to barter with mom and dad and announced that she "needed ice cream cone after nap with no paci".

Lydia and I decided that after 7 successful naps/night time without the paci THEN she can have an icecream cone.

Our Reward Chart

Lydia still on a quest for chocolate asked if she could have M&Ms after nap with no paci. 

So we made a deal: 

1 M&M for staying dry, 1 M&M for staying in her bed, and 1 M&M for sleeping without a paci. 

Nap Day One: 70 minutes to fall asleep. Chanted to herself "Lydia big girl. No paci. Cocoa. Cute Puppy. Brave big girl" with a little tear and sad face (really good thing that Mom threw the paci away because those big blue eyes, those curls, one solo tear, clutching the pink bear and puppy, and she totally would have gotten a paci!). Lost 1 M&M for making a not so great choice (diving on to your bed = not staying in the bed...). 3 potty runs. 1 firm talking to. By 30 minutes she could have cared less about the paci!

Old Man Radio

James likes to listen to "Old Man Radio" (some people refer to this as talk radio!). We were taking a ride this weekend and James was intently listening to an exciting story about the history of essays. (For real!). When a break in the show came I informed James that he was an Old Man.

James and I are going teasing each other about this ridiculous radio show and I glance in the backseat to see our precious daughter  buckled into her car seat with her ears plugged and giggling! (Ofcourse her ears are plugged because she doesn't want to listen to the Old Man Radio!!!!).

So I believe that Lydia is as sassy as her parents are!

First Day of Dance Class

 Over the years I have always chuckled when moms call me and want to register their brand new 2 year old for dance class. And here I went and signed my brand new 2 year old up for dance class (her class is mom and me so maybe I am not really pushing her!).

My brand new 2 year old REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to go to dance class (or go to work with me!). As I have seen how unpredictable 2 year olds are we just signed Lydia up for a 3 week introduction to Ballet with Mom in the room. Thought this was a perfect fit.

Lydia was SO excited about her dance class. She talked about it for weeks. She was up at 4:30 AM ready to go dance (thankfully the class is a 9AM class!). She practiced dancing before we left. I thought for sure I could get a picture of this cute little girl dancing. I tried but this is the best that I got!

See I said 2 year olds are unpredictable! 

On the drive to dance class, Lydia talked constantly about dance. She was going to spin, jump, kick, AND listen.

Walking in to dance class, Lydia continued talking about how much fun she was going to have but quit demonstrating.

As we waited for the teacher, Lydia sat in my lap looking at her new friends.

And then the class started, Lydia observed dance class. I think maybe by week 3 she might move her foot ;) hehe

BUT at home she was thrilled to show me all that she learned in her dance class. No camera though for Lydia's dancing. Over the past several days, Lydia has shown us a few more dance steps and has defiantly talked about dance class. But I think we will wait another year or so before signing up for another dance class ;)

The Carrot Seed Book

We have been reading "The Carrot Seed" book. Allot actually - multiple times a day!

I thought Lydia would like to grow carrots herself but after thinking about it - a 2 year old's attention span is quite small. Would she remember what was in the cup of dirt? Maybe. Would we actually be able to grow carrots? HAHAHA - we do not have green thumbs at our house.

So we planted carrot tops in water. I am hoping that the carrot tops flower like they are supposed to. If nothing else, Lydia is getting great enjoyment out of watching the water in the bowl!

Flour and Sugar Canisters

We had a mini crisis at our house a couple weeks ago. Lydia was baking up a storm in the basement and she realized that she did not have any flour! Or sugar.

She tried hard to convince me that she needed Mom's canisters in the basement (really little girl there is no way I am letting you have containers of flour and sugar in the basement!).

I tried hard to convince Lydia that the empty yogurt cups in her bucket of toys would make perfect flour and sugar canisters.

Lydia was unconvinced and had to settle on boxed cake mixes. (Which is what we use 75% of the time anyways!).

The next week we made flour and sugar canisters for the play kitchen. Happiness!

DeAnna's Little Project Part 1

Everybody needs a project. I have been wanting to make a play kitchen - just looks like fun to me! But the logistics of said project have kept me from doing it.

I did find this little night stand and thought, "OH I could make just a little kitchen sink". Lydia already has a play kitchen so I am doing this kitchen sink really just for fun and keeping it super cheap. (The child does not need another toy!)

I sanded the nightstand. Let Lydia pick out the colors for the kitchen sink (I was thinking lavender would be pretty...). Lydia thought "watermelon" - also known as hot pink - would be ideal. We needed a contrast color and I decided that to keep the cost cheap (and use up craft supplies at home!) we would go shopping in the closets at home. Whoohoo - there was a bright purple. Perfect!

Compliments of an old dance recital costume - I had silver paint. With glitter! Lydia is super excited about a glittery faucet!

The faucet is the letter L  and some random wood peices that look like a handle from Michaels.  

The nightstand shelf was having some challenges holding the hot pink paint. After multiple coats and sanding, the old paint was still shining through just a bit. SO back to the closets I went and found some neon green paint. Did some sponge painting (well, no sponge in the house so I did paper towel painting!).

Seriously can that get any cuter????

And then Lydia's favorite part: flower pots. Seriously how fun for any little girl!

Think these are going to be paper toweled painted with some neon green too (and touched up a bit!). 

Stay tuned! The project will be finished soon ;)

CUPCAKES!

Lydia had her first fancy cupcake. Surprisingly she chose the "wedding cake" cupcake...

Tea Party

Super fun pretend tea and REAL pumpkin bread tea party! 

Bow Tie Felt Pasta

How cute!!!!!!

Roaches

I hate roaches. I love everything else about living in the South but those disgusting roaches. Them I could do without!

Typically I scream at the roaches, wear James boots, use small appliances, etc... I even quote Scripture at the roaches. Eventually I scare the roach until the thing dies. Lydia screams. I scream. It is a bad situation.

I have been known to even look out my window and if I happen to see a kind neighbor outside I will bribe the neighbor to come kill the roach for me. Terrible I know!

If James is home, I just yell for him ;) (While running outside so I don't have to listen to him chase the roach around house!).

But really I am so much bigger than the roach. Screaming at them is really not that mature. If they touch me, well how much different is that then the weird bugs that touch me outside. Or cleaning up Lydia's POOP! Really I can do this!

So my first drama free roach killing session... Killed with a FLIP FLOP (that is bravery right???).

Puppy Poops!

For those of you who don't know, we have a very large side yard between our driveway and sidewalk - no windows to really see this piece of land so it is rather "private" (for the middle of town that is!). We maintain this piece of land. We play in this piece of land. We pay monthly for the privilege of having this piece of land.

AND every neighbor with a dog seems to think it is OK for their dog to poop in this space. As gross as it is I have stepped in dog poop countless times in this part of our yard. James has considered installing lots of illegal things to electrocute, spray water, paint, etc... the dog that crosses into this peice of land. We have laughed about putting a giant sign that says "Smile You Are On Candid Camera". We have considered installing a large sign that says "Would you appreciate my child pooping in your YARD???". We have even considered a kinder more gentler approach of installing a motion sensing light to the side of the house but this would really only help with the dogs walking at night.

But at the end of the day when the jokes are over, Lydia isn't allowed to play in that piece of land any more and every week or so I go out there (and try to even keep a nice attitude about it!) and clean up the poop that is between the trash cans and driveway.

Occasionally if I see a person allowing their dog to poop in the yard I will kindly open the door and say "oh I see you don't have a poop bag wait just a second and I will give you one". Genuinely thank the shocked and bewildered person for cleaning up their dog's mess and tell them how much my daughter loves playing outside in her yard!

BUT the point of this post: this morning Lydia was enjoying her morning spy session on the neighbors. "Mr. Wade is sleeping. His car is home." "Oh, Miss Vickie Miss Vickie (sings Lydia) what are you doing today". "Mom what about Avery". "Can Jack play?" "Play nice with David". "Remember watermelon". And on and on and on the conversation went - quite honestly I tune these spy sessions out! But then I hear the front door opening and I go running only to find my dear daughter on the patio yelling at a passerby "Puppy poops. Need a bag. WAITTTTTTTTT. Don't leave gross!"

And yes, the passerby who was leaving puppy poop in our yard was made to feel very guilty and seemed to appreciate the bag that my daughter ran out to give to said person. Personally I wouldn't allow my dog to poop in the crazy toddler's yard again!!!!!!

No Privacy Left at The Stojan House

This morning we were out and Lydia needed to go potty. I was skeptical that she really needed to go potty but she insisted. So we went and found the disgusting public restroom (I haven't found a public bathroom that made me sing and dance for it's cleanliness yet!). I take her in to the potty and after she quit admiring the dusty fake flowers I usher her into the little tiny stall.

Lydia: Potty Mommy I will watch.
DeAnna: (Thinking quietly to herself, "seriously did you really just insist that you needed to go potty to watch me potty in this disgusting bathroom"???)
"Lydia, I don't need to go potty. I went at home."
Lydia: Shaking her head, arms waving "No mommy potty".
DeAnna: Do you need to potty?
Lydia: Still having a small fit "No I AM FINE".

I then wiggled and squirmed to get the upset child and myself out of the disgusting bathroom. Got ourselves washed up and as we are walking back to find James Lydia is loudly declaring "Just wanted to watch Mommy potty".

I have no privacy out in public and defiantly no privacy at home either. 

Mom and Dad Apologize

Lydia has a "new" (slightly annoying) trick. After she is tucked into bed, she knocks on her door and says she has to potty. We play this game for 45 - 60 minutes - pretty much every night for the past two weeks.

My patience is growing thin with this "trick". James patience is growing thin with this "trick". And she gave us a couple nights off - we cheered for her and were hoping that we had survived another developmental milestone.

Last night she started her trick again. I played the game for 35 minutes and then told James it was his turn. (He was SOOOOOOO excited!). James played the game for one round. The second round Lydia was informed that the game was over and she needed to go to bed.

James went to watch his football game in the basement. And I heard the knocking again. Ignored it. And then 45 seconds later lots of banging with a new urgency.

Oh, yes. Lydia wasn't lying that time and really needed to poop! 20 minutes later after that lovely mess was cleaned up and the little girl was tucked back in the bed James and I both apologized to her. Tonight we are talking about only knocking when you need to potty (how can we know if your knocking means something when you knock lots of times for NOTHING!).

The Deck!

I always thought we had a small deck. Then we took the huge playhouse off the deck. And the flower pots that "one day we will plant something in" (giving up - when one day comes I can go pick out new flower pots!). AND then we discovered that this deck is actually 300 square feet and badly needing to be stained and repaired. We got ambitous and decided we could do this on a weekend.

Which we did but have decided next time we will just sell the house before staining it again! But it's done ;)

Freshly Power Washed. Looks almost brand new!

Before.... 

After... 

24 Hours of Firsts

First bee sting (and thankfully not allergic!). AND amazingly enough, I have never had a bee sting nor have I ever cared for anybody with a bee sting. So we are thankful for neighbors who are always a phone call away ;)

First time fishing underwear out of the toilet. Not asking how. But lesson learned - we don't put things in the toilet. First fishing out of "stuff" from the toilet is complimentary. NEXT time dear child, it's on you to fish whatever you threw in the water out of the water!

First time washing Lydia's big girl sheets just because it's been a week and a half since I changed her sheets! Not wet with urine. Not poopy. Just dirty from daily use ;) Celebrate!!!!!!!!!!

And last night, we went to Goodberry's. First time we have gone with our not peanut allergic child. So our frozen custard treat was made on the machines directly infront of the window and I lifted Lydia up to watch. She thought this was the greatest thing EVER! In proper Goodberry's fashion when our treat was served to us, the treat is tipped over, and then handed to us. Lydia thought this was pretty neat. We talked about it but I didn't think a thing about it. We drove home in the 90 degree heat and ofcourse our treat melted just a bit. I gave Lydia her bowl of frozen custard and she promptly poured it out. In slow motion just watching her sweet goodness dribble out of the bowl, on to her pretty dress, all over the seat, and down to the carpet. I would like to say a lesson was learned but nope. Lydia's viewpoint on the entire situation "magic ice-cream". Yep it's magical - or something like that!

Promotion Sunday

 In preparation for promotion Sunday at church (when the children all move to their new classrooms!), Lydia's classmates have gradually been introduced to the idea of a new classroom. Two year olds are not known for their ability to handle surprises well!

Week One: the children went on a field trip to visit the new hallway. Coincidentally the same week a child pulled the fire alarm... Hmmmm interesting! But Lydia was excited to make a "being brave" necklace in her new classroom.

Week Two: The children got to visit the new classroom and be picked up from their new classroom. Lydia's discovery "animal cookies for snack". Seriously I think we could have taken her to the new class without any transition time at all if she knew she was going to get animal crackers instead of Cheerios. UPGRADE! I think she learned a lesson but all Lydia learned was how great snack time is on the preschool hallway.

BUT Lydia got to say bye to her teachers, receive a certificate, and get bubbles. Let's not forget about the fact that apparently snack is better on the preschool hallway!

This Sunday coming up is the big week - she moves to the preschool hallway. I think she will be just fine (but she has spent the week giving kisses to the picture of her toddler teachers!).

She was telling me all about those "yummy" animal crackers! 

Close up of her certificate. 

Power of M&M's

What will a little girl do for ONE M&M? Stay dry all night! Motivates a little girl to not be lazy and walk the 7 steps from her bedroom to the bathroom at nap time too.

Lydia had been staying dry at night. And then she decided that she would just pee in her pull-up (seriously why did I give her those??? Sometimes Mom will do anything to sleep!). We will avoid my soapbox but Lydia was choosing to pee in her Pull-up rather than walking to the potty. I had talked to her. I had kindly taken her to the bathroom when I went to bed - which equaled Lydia being awake until 2AM. James had talked to her. We had offered her park trips, pool trips, walk to the lake, etc... Really nothing was motivating her and she was peeing more in her Pull-up. Really a little girl should not be peeing so much in her Pull-up that she is soaking the bed!

And then she started having trouble at nap time. Which we mastered nap time dryness weeks after potty training. I was frustrated to say the least!

But I decided to show my poker face and not let Lydia see my frustration. So as I was eating chocolate after cleaning up poop in the bed (it's a fact anybody who scrubs poop off their potty training child gets the chocolate treat of their choice!) and Lydia wanted a treat. My initial thought: oh, no! I am sneaking this treat because I just cleaned up your POOP because you refused to walk into the bathroom and poop! But I was the grown up and gave the toddler a small bite which she declared "mmmmm" and wanted her own handful.

My response: "Well, sweet girl treats are for big girls who stay dry".
Lydia: "I will stay dry"
My response: "After you are dry, you can have chocolate".

James and I decided that we were not going to make a deal anymore about her sleeping wetness/dryness and just move on. Pull-ups aren't that evil AND sleep. Well, we all need it.

The next morning I hear a little knock coming from a certain some body's room followed by a little voice "get chocolate need to peeeeeeeeeeeee". I go running. And that child had stayed dry all night.

And she got THREE M&Ms.

60 hours and counting of dryness!!!!!!!!!!!! (P.S. The Pull-ups are leaving our house - at our house the Pull-ups breed laziness! From mom and daughter!)