Jaelin turned 3 years old last month in March 2014. I would hate to forget this moment that started this weekend when she started to sing. Granted her songs sound kind of mono-toned but oh my gosh, it is the cutest sound in the world. It started this weekend when the hubby and I were in the family minivan driving somewhere and Blues Clues was on the DVD player. She started singing along to the Blues Clues theme song. I just remembered my mouth dropped and my eyes widened. It took everything in me to not turn over to look at her because I knew if I did, she would get embarrassed and stop singing. Hubby enjoyed it too. Today, Jaelin and I were on our way to Joanne's store to pick up some fabric, she sang again. She sounded so cute and I can't put the words together to explain the cuteness. I'm sure it's because she's my baby. I just couldn't stop smiling behind that wheel.
Then this week, she started taking showers on her own. She said only babies take bathes and started taking showers. Of course, I'm always there to supervise but she has been washing her own hair, lathering up the rest, then rinsing all by herself. It made me very proud but sad at the same time. I mean it's great that she's learning how to be more independent with the baby coming in October. However, it made me kind of sad that she is starting to not need me as much anymore. Sooner or later, she'll stop wanting to hang out with me. It's hard to believe she's only 3 but I guess this is what other parents, particularly friends, mean when they say kids grow up too fast.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
"I Don't Like Big Girls!"
I went to pick Jaelin up from preschool today and she already had this look on her face that she wasn't happy. When she saw me, she wanted to be picked up so I did. She then started letting me know how unhappy she was. She threw her bug head piece she made for the day and told me she didn't like it. I sat in the lobby area holding her for about 15 to 20 minutes hoping that she'd calm down. She was quite agitated for some reason. The teachers told me she did great in class although I didn't ask them and I believe them. Something obviously happened in class that bothered her. I tried to soothe her enough to put her shoes on but she resisted. All she wanted was to be held. Given that she's almost 40 pounds and I'm 13 weeks pregnant, this wasn't an easy feat. I gave it my all by picking her up and grabbed her lunch box, shoes, and bug head piece and slowly walked to my minivan. Finally, in the car while she was crying and waling, she told me she didn't like the big girls. She didn't want to play with big girls anymore and she only wanted to play with boys and girls from now on. I didn't understand since she's actually the biggest and tallest girl in class. I figured something just happened that set her off in a really bad mood. Wish I was there to figure out what it was.
Anyways, in the minivan, she didn't want to sit in her car seat. I tried to reason with her that we had to go home to let our dog out into the backyard so he can go pee and poo but that didn't work. I tried to bribe her with ice cream at home but that didn't work. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go back to preschool. She didn't want to sit in her car seat. She did mention she wanted to go to Target to buy a toy early on in the drama but I brushed it off and didn't take her request so seriously for some reason. She cried for a few more minutes. As I looked up at the clock, it was already 45 minutes that we were sitting there. I finally asked her if she wanted to go to Target and she complied. She sat in her car seat and I drove there. Target is actually in the same shopping complex as her preschool but I drove anyway. I didn't have it in me to carry her if that's what she wanted.
At Target, she was happy. She happily climbed out of her car seat and held my hand. She walked into the store. As we entered, we both grabbed a sanitizing wipe to wipe down a cart and she asks, "what's that smell?" I told her it was popcorn and asked if she wanted some. She said yes so I sat her in the shopping cart and we headed over to the concession stand. I ordered a bag of popcorn and a strawberry smoothie. She started munching right away and was happy. I asked her if we can go home now and she said yes.
That was quite an unpredictable afternoon. It was also pretty hard but I think I did the right thing. I'm not the type of parent to force my child into her car seat or punish her for having a bad day. I have to admit though, today was one of those difficult parenting days.
Anyways, in the minivan, she didn't want to sit in her car seat. I tried to reason with her that we had to go home to let our dog out into the backyard so he can go pee and poo but that didn't work. I tried to bribe her with ice cream at home but that didn't work. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go back to preschool. She didn't want to sit in her car seat. She did mention she wanted to go to Target to buy a toy early on in the drama but I brushed it off and didn't take her request so seriously for some reason. She cried for a few more minutes. As I looked up at the clock, it was already 45 minutes that we were sitting there. I finally asked her if she wanted to go to Target and she complied. She sat in her car seat and I drove there. Target is actually in the same shopping complex as her preschool but I drove anyway. I didn't have it in me to carry her if that's what she wanted.
At Target, she was happy. She happily climbed out of her car seat and held my hand. She walked into the store. As we entered, we both grabbed a sanitizing wipe to wipe down a cart and she asks, "what's that smell?" I told her it was popcorn and asked if she wanted some. She said yes so I sat her in the shopping cart and we headed over to the concession stand. I ordered a bag of popcorn and a strawberry smoothie. She started munching right away and was happy. I asked her if we can go home now and she said yes.
That was quite an unpredictable afternoon. It was also pretty hard but I think I did the right thing. I'm not the type of parent to force my child into her car seat or punish her for having a bad day. I have to admit though, today was one of those difficult parenting days.
Monday, March 31, 2014
First Day of Spring Day Camp
Jaelin was off from her regular MyGym preschool this week due to spring break, although they still charge the full $169 for the month. Anyways, I signed her up for day camp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The day camp is still at MyGym for an additional $29 per day. I don't mean to complain about money. I've been a bit worried lately with the new baby coming and other issues with the husband's business I don't care to elaborate on.
We were a few minutes late today but all went well. Jaelin said good-bye and gave me a hug and went in to play with the other kids.
She makes me so proud to be her mom. She's fun, social, happy, athletic, and friendly. All she wants to do is play with other kids. Once she's at MyGym, she doesn't even acknowledge me anymore. She's into her own world and doing her own thing. I didn't expect this separation anxiety to hit me, considering how nice it is to see her being independent.
I'm just waiting for my doula to arrive to give me my first free consultation. Hopefully, everything turns out well and she can give me some encouraging words with my plans for a VBAC in October.
We were a few minutes late today but all went well. Jaelin said good-bye and gave me a hug and went in to play with the other kids.
She makes me so proud to be her mom. She's fun, social, happy, athletic, and friendly. All she wants to do is play with other kids. Once she's at MyGym, she doesn't even acknowledge me anymore. She's into her own world and doing her own thing. I didn't expect this separation anxiety to hit me, considering how nice it is to see her being independent.
I'm just waiting for my doula to arrive to give me my first free consultation. Hopefully, everything turns out well and she can give me some encouraging words with my plans for a VBAC in October.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Dramatic Day
The morning went well. My 3-year-old daughter had two servings of egg whites and finished her strawberries for breakfast. Usually, she's a picky eater so it's difficult to get her to eat anything in the morning. I took her to preschool and all was well. I picked her up at the usual time after running some errands and she was happy and showed me the bird house she made for the day.
When we went home, she had a meltdown in the minivan. She just started crying and screaming and I couldn't understand why. She didn't like the fact that grandma was there visiting. She didn't want to eat anything for lunch. She didn't want to come into the house from the garage. She didn't want me to hold her. All she wanted to do was scream in tears. I've learned to be more and more patient over the 3 years so it wasn't a big deal but it wasn't easy either. It took a couple of hours to calm her down and she finally went down for her nap.
With another baby on the way, it's days like these I wonder how in the world I'm going to handle another baby starting October. I wouldn't trade my life for anything but I still get these thoughts in my head. How in the world am I going to do this? How am I going to breastfeed this baby for a year while my toddler is still comfort grabbing my boobs at night? What am I going to do when both kids have a meltdown at once and their daddy's at work? These thoughts are overwhelming but then I look at her and remember how it's all worth it.
When we went home, she had a meltdown in the minivan. She just started crying and screaming and I couldn't understand why. She didn't like the fact that grandma was there visiting. She didn't want to eat anything for lunch. She didn't want to come into the house from the garage. She didn't want me to hold her. All she wanted to do was scream in tears. I've learned to be more and more patient over the 3 years so it wasn't a big deal but it wasn't easy either. It took a couple of hours to calm her down and she finally went down for her nap.
With another baby on the way, it's days like these I wonder how in the world I'm going to handle another baby starting October. I wouldn't trade my life for anything but I still get these thoughts in my head. How in the world am I going to do this? How am I going to breastfeed this baby for a year while my toddler is still comfort grabbing my boobs at night? What am I going to do when both kids have a meltdown at once and their daddy's at work? These thoughts are overwhelming but then I look at her and remember how it's all worth it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)