Maya’s Travels

Dear Mai, (our little big girl)

So a few posts back I mentioned that we were getting ready for your big girl bed... well that day has come. (It has passed actually but whatever)

Grandma came in town and we had another great visit with her. This visit had a purpose though. Fix up that little girl's room! If you haven't realized it yet, Grandma is very crafty, artsy and creative. She loves putting together designs. In fact Grandma has helped decorate every house we've ever lived in, rented or owned. When we sold our Ohio home Grandma helped stage the place and that probably was 99% of the reason we sold it mid recession. What I'm trying to say is that Grandma has skillz and now that she has got the hang of pinterest she's out of control. So while we had a blast with her visit as always, she was dead set on getting your room together for you before you left. Her only constraints? Purple. You had to have purple. 

So you'll find that the one thing I'm really bad at are the "before" pictures. I want to do a whole "before" and "after" series now but alas I don't have any pictures of what your room looked like before we started to change it. Best I can do is the actual real estate picture I found of it when we bought this place and a few random "work in progress" pictures of me putting that stinking Ikea bed together.

And...

the...

reveal....!!!!

TADA!

We love it! Thanks Grandma!

You are doing awesome in your big girl bed. We were worried you would never sleep there but after just a little bit of fuss, nothing. You love going to your own room in your own bed. Mama asked you to sleep with her the other night and you responded: "No mommy. I have to sleep in my own room. You'll be okay though! I can give a kiss and a hug!"

You love your room. You had a play date over the other day and you wanted to show her your room. You showed her your purple wall, the lanterns, your purple light, your mirrors and your sunshine. You were pretty proud of everything.

While Grandma was here we had fun getting the room together while still showing Grandma around Seattle. We hit the international district to pickup the Japanese lanterns.

You slept with Grandma every night she was here. We were worried that was going to create a monster and you weren't going to want to sleep by yourself. Luckily you like your room so much its not an issue. AND as a bonus, because you and Grandma went to bed together, Mommy and I had a few couch date nights! Score!

You are getting so big and grown up so fast kiddo! Remember that whole potting training business? Well, just as we suspected as soon as WE (mommy and daddy) got serious about it you were pretty much instantly potting trained! About 5 weeks ago we started our serious training and you had it within a few days. Heck you've only had maybe 3 accidents since we started training 5 weeks ago. Good job Mai!

As always, your awareness and intelligence always impress me. While you and mommy were having a cheese snack you took a bite of your cheese and said: "Look Mommy! Idaho!"

You are also turning into our good little helper too. While we were taking down our Halloween decorations you asked if you could take a walk. I said "Sure! as long as I can see you." Maya: "otay." You walked all the way down to the end of the block all by yourself. Don't worry you knew not to walk into the street or anything. My little baby and her independence! :)

We're having fun Mai. AND we just booked our Ohio tickets for around Christmas time. We can't wait for that. I fear we turned you into a little travel junkie. You've been saying: "I want to stay in a hotel again sometime." :) I think you have travel withdrawal like Mommy and Daddy get. Let's hope our Ohio trip scratches that itch for everybody.

I love you so much Mai. I love watching your grow and discover more things every day. Don't grow up to fast! Mommy and Daddy still want to enjoy our sweet little baby for a bit longer.

Love,


Daddy

Dear Mai,

So you are about to hit your 2 year, 7 month mark and we are on a mission to have you potty trained before Grandma visits in a few weeks. We are pretty much in potty training bootcamp. Well as much of a bootcamp you can get with fairly lazy and inconsistent parents but we are not here to talk about us. This is about you missy.

We thought for sure you were going to be a breeze with potty training. I mean, you had your first potty success when you were 15 months old! That was like 14 months ago! It has been a roller coaster ride since then.

To be fair, we really didn't start being consistent until recently. Up until then it was more just getting you familiar with all the ceremony, if you will.

What we don't understand is how you an be so smart but still not have this down. I mean you knew over 20 of the 50 states by the time you were just over 2!

Here are some stories we've heard from other parents:

"Oh, potty training was easy. She/He learned over the weekend."

"As soon as she/he saw me go potty, she/he wanted to do that too and just started using the potty."

And my favorite from multiple people...

"Oh we didn't do much. She/he pretty much learned how to use the potty at daycare."

Lies. All lies.

You totally understood what "going to the potty" meant by the time you were 18 months. Up until very recently, here are some typical conversations.

Mommy: "Maya! Let's wear big girl panties today and use the potty."

Maya: "No. I don't want to do that. I'll wear a diaper."

Daddy: "Maya, don't you want to be the princess of the potty like your book?"

Maya: "No. I'm just a baby still."

I know, I know the blame is 99% on us and our inconsistency but the rational and diaper complacency on your end is a bit over the top. 

We've also gave ourselves the excuse that we like to travel and go out so much that potty training can wait a bit. But now its almost winter time and time to buckle down. No more excuses.

We've tried all kinds of things. Sticker rewards, praise and we even resorted to giving you m&ms for successful potties. We have a system. 1 m&m if we ask you to go potty and you do. 2 m&ms if you go pee-pee on your own with out coaxing.  And 3 M&Ms if you go poo-poo on your own! You've only gotten 3 M&Ms once. Of course you can't just get any old M&M. 

Maya: (after going #1) "I get 2 M&Ms! I want purple M&Ms!"

Daddy: "We don't have purple m&ms."

Maya: "I want 1 brown M&M and 1 blue M&M."

I feel like Eddie Van Halen's tour manager from 1982.

Luckily within the past month you seem to have a vested interest in conquering this thing. It might be because you are pretty excited about getting a big girl bed. We've been shopping lately and you love trying out new beds. At the end of the day you really don't care what kind of bed it is, as long as its purple. It has to be purple. Everything has to be purple. You want purple everything. If I tell you that you can't have something you usually respond with "Maybe I can get one when I get older. Maybe I can get a purple one." The "one" can be anything from a spatula to a garden hose.

(That last pic is of one of your "buildings." You love to take whatever is around and build these structures and call them your house or your garden. This is your new bed in your bedroom." I smell architect in your future.)

You also want to wear big girl panties and use the potty. In fact using the potty is probably our most talked about subject right now in our household other than our little "what do you want for dinner" make believe game. 

Mommy: "Everyone wears big girl panties and uses the potty. Mommy does. Grandma Does. Lorelei does."

Maya: "Uncle Shawn wears big girl panties too?"

Daddy: "Yes Maya. Uncle Shawn wears big girl panties too." :) (Sorry Shawn, I can't let that one go)

I'm confident in you (and in us) Maya! We can do this. I want to update this blog in less than 2 weeks from now with the title "Princess of the Potty" and not look back to diapers anymore. Let's do this!

Love,

Daddy