The Meltons

Today we went without a pacifier all day excluding naps and bedtime. Thankfully, with only relatively minor meltdowns it was a success. The most difficult times were in the car, since our drive is around 50 minutes. She gets bored, so she'd ask for her paci. I would tell her it was at home in her bed. She'd cry, maybe throw a bit of a fit. But was easily distracted by books. Let's hope the rest of the week goes as smoothly, and by the weekend we won't be so dependant. *fingers crossed*

The good kind, that is. The other kind… well, I'm working on it. :)

Aylin has crossed some kind of threshold in the last day or two, and wants to be talking all the time. She's kind of like a broken record, but we tend to learn by repetition, so that's not really a big deal. She'll latch onto a phrase for a little bit — "I don't need it [shakes head]," for instance — and repeat it over and over again, looking for confirmation that she does not, indeed, need whatever it is.

She's mostly internalized the please-and-thank-you routine. The other night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. We were walking through the parking lot, Aylin holding my hand on the way to the door, when one of her Crocs came off her heel a little bit. Kristina said, "Aylin, your shoe's coming off; let me help you." Aylin stopped; Teena fixed her shoe, and Aylin immediately said, "Thank you, Mommy!" And off we go again.

It's fascinating, humbling, fun and inspiring, all at once. These are some of the best things about being a parent: Watching your child grow and learn, becoming a little person.

I suppose I should spare y'all the down-and-dirty details… But suffice it to say Aylin continues to move forward in her potty-training.

I was really dreading this process. I've heard so many horror stories from other families along the way, I guess I expected it to be really hard. So far, though, it's just been a very natural progression for Aylin. She's basically directing the timeline. She's as excited about it as we are, I think. After her successful trip this evening, she was running around yelling, "So poud of oo! [So proud of you!]," which is what her momma told her after she finished.

When Aylin went back into daycare last year, she joined a class full of kids who were just a little bit older than her, and that seemed to jump-start her language development. It seems that the same thing is now happening with potty-training. There are a lot of kids in her class who are developing their potty discipline, and I can't help but think it rubs off… no pun intended.

I'm glad to see Bela has finally mellowed to the point where she can let Aylin maul her like this.

This one!!! So so SO SO PROUD!

Although sometimes it's hard to believe that it's been two years ago that God blessed Jeff and I with the most amazing and precious gift. It's days like we've had recently that remind me she is no longer a baby.

For one she has started learning to count at daycare, and can count from 1-6 on her own. Then she usually skips straight to 9 from there. Tonight she started counting and was pointing to each of her fingers as she did so! She's so smart!

She's also learning letters. Some she actually gets right most of the time. P, Y, W, O are a few.

She transitioned to the 2 year old class at daycare 2 weeks ago today. And literally required ZERO transition time. Normally they give two weeks of part time in each class to get used to the new room. She went up one day and was doing so well they let her stay and hasn't gone back since, much to the disappointment of her first teachers. She learned all of the names of her new classmates within the first week. And her new teachers are constantly telling me "she is SO smart!".

With the move up to the big girl room she gets the opportunity to use a potty. While she has tried a few times at home she hasn't been terribly interested in it. But now with other kids doing it all day, she wants to know what all the fuss is about. So she has started trying on the potty at school once a day. They let her try as often as she asks, or they ask if she wants to try. So far it's just once a day.

She has NOT transitioned to a toddler bed, apparently it's just not time for that yet. But it will come in it's own time I'm sure.

Another clue that my sweetheart is growing up... She turns to me while in the bath, asks me to "Open it?" On her empty bottle of shampoo for playing. After opening said bottle she turns to me and says "Thank... You... Momma." Then offered me a kiss on the mouth. :)

She really is growing up fast, some days I feel like I can hardly keep up. But she fills my heart with so much love some days I feel as though I could burst. Then there's the days when she pushes me to the edge of disaster... But somehow i forget about all that disaster stuff the second she giggles or offers kisses, or any other sweet thing. :) I am so very blessed!!

Thanks to the good Lord and Uncle Sam, these will be installed on Monday -- weather permitting, of course. #thankful

Playing in the water from Jeffrey Melton on Vimeo.

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go play in the park. This little drainage ditch was a big hit.