82 Weeks

This week we took Carmen berry picking, despite how busy we are these days.  It was really hot, and she loved the berry picking, but she definitely liked the ice cream eating part the best.  We got a ton of blue berries, and now that we are eating them every day we are fully addicted and realise we need to go back to the berry farm.  When time permits!  Jeffrey is now working two jobs, and I am really busy with the gallery, as last month I sold tons of stuff!  As for Carmen, she is doing great.  She is talking more and even lets me brush her teeth these days (your electric toothbrush idea totally works Dad!).  She definitely has potty training anxiety, even though we gave up long ago, and now she is scared to poop in her diaper AND on the potty.  Apparently her preferred method is bare-bottomed, standing up on the bathroom mat.  Hopefully she'll get it one day.

After breakfast, watching her videos

Ice cream before berry picking

Once again, at Mollymook beach park

81 Weeks

We had a pretty good week here.  Carmen suddenly is picking up lots more words, and it makes her much easier and more fun.  I can't wait until she is talking, but I know it's going to drive me around the bend in a different way.  The weather here has been so up and down.  On Friday we had the hottest day on record (yes, and our ac is still broken).  It was unbelievable.  We took Carmen to Narrawallee again to cool off, I only wish we could have stayed there all day.  But then the following day was almost chilly.  We took Carmen up for a 'coffee' (a babychino), and then on Sunday I took her for a playdate over at her friend Hunter's house.  He is  a few weeks older than Carmen, but the difference between them is amazing - you wouldn't think that boys and girls would be so different already at 18 months of age, but they really are!  

A blue tongue lizard found his way into our house!

80 Weeks

It has been a good week!  Great sales for me at the gallery, trips to the park for Carmen, a play date with her friend Hannah, and a heat wave too (OK, this bit wasn't so great - our ac broke, and the town smelt like smoke from all of the horrendous local bush fires).  Carmen is still as cute as ever, except when it is time to brush her teeth, and then it is an awful struggle with quite a few tears.  (Advice, anyone?)  We have also given up on potty training, despite a couple of successes, because Carmen is so anxious now when she has to pee.  But it was worth a shot.  She is learning words so quickly, it is so much fun to watch her and her vocabulary grow.  She is turning into a little girl!

Play date with Hannah

Look who came to visit, in the middle of the day!

79 Weeks & 18 months

Carmen turned 18 months on Wednesday.  I can't believe what a big girl she has become!  My cousins came down from Sydney for the day, and they brought their kids too, so Carmen had a blast running around with her new little playmates.  We have also been potty training this week, but I think we are about to give up for a while.  We have only had two partial successes in 8 days!  She will tell us when she has to go, then she will sit on the potty for a good 20 minutes and continuously peek between her legs to see if she has peed, but to no avail.  She seems to want to pee, but can't, and gets off the potty but tells us she still has to go.  We end up giving up, and within 2 minutes Carmen will pee on the floor, or on whoever she is sitting.  It is very frustrating, but I figure she is just not ready :(

On another note, we have been taking Carmen down to Narrawallee Inlet.  It is so amazing down there, just like a giant splash pool.  She had a play date with her friend Hannah at the Inlet (this day was made even more exciting because Carmen pooed all over me!)  Today is an absolute scorcher, so as soon as Carmen wakes up, we are headed back down there.

18 months today

Down at the inlet

78 Weeks

Well, it has been a fairly boring week, which is probably a good thing after all of the excitement of Christmas.  We had a few visits to the farm - Carmen is still obsessed with Whinny the horse and neighs all the way there.  Carmen also has two new molars poking through (still hoping this accounts for her super fussy days), and she is still rather clingy.  We are starting potty training, so I'll let you know how it goes.  She has been telling us for a while when she goes to the loo, so I think she is ready, but so far it hasn't been a huge success.  Keep your fingers crossed!