103 Weeks

Carmen had a good week - she cried a lot when I left her at school on Monday morning, but on Tuesday morning she just turned to me and said, "Bye Mum" and that was it!  They have been putting a pull-up nappy (diaper) on her there, because she is too gun-shy to use their toilets.  Since she has been wearing the nappy there, she is so much happier.  They say she is like a different girl, laughing and giggling and confident, and even napping (well, at least on Monday!).  I feel bad thinking that all of this time she was uncomfortable and stressed about wetting her pants, but at least they figured out what was wrong.  So, Carmen is fully day potty trained everywhere except for day care.  But whatever makes her happy there.  She also spent Wednesday  through Thursday afternoon at her grandparents' place, giving me much needed rest.  On Saturday she went to her friend Hunter's 2nd birthday party, which she was very excited about.  It was her first party, and I think she had a great time.  This morning we went to her grandparents' house for morning tea.  It has been raining horribly, so we haven't been able to get outside much.  And it's supposed to rain for most of this week too :(  We didn't take many photos this week-end - I just don't have much energy left, and I am horribly uncomfortable!  Not long to go now...

These are some photos from last week-end that somehow got left on the camera:

 At Hunter's party

After the party - a little tired!

Note the pickle in her hand - she is still addicted.

102 Weeks

Carmen is sick again!  Damn daycare!  A friend told me that it took 2 -3 months of daycare before her daughter stopped getting sick.  I guess it is going to be the same for Carmen.  She has a cold again.  But on the bright side, she had a really good day there on Tuesday, and even lay down and napped for 45 minutes! They told me they were all very excited and even took a photo :)  

We had a fairly quiet week, with a few visits to some parks, some painting and playdoh sessions, and an overnight stay at Carmen's grand parents' place.  Now that it is coming down to the wire baby-wise, my parents have been kind enough to take Carmen off our hands for a while, to give me some rest.  I am exhausted, my feet are like balloons, and I have a very ungraceful waddle to my gait.  Pregnancy can be so undignified!

Cute video of Carmen dancing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMrs9MkeTqg&feature=youtu.be

Playdoh time

Carmen's home-made head band

 Playing with balloons - her new favourite activity

 She prefers to wear her helmet backwards in the house

101 Weeks

We have had a happy week, no illnesses, and lots of fun.  Carmen cried a fair bit when I dropped her off at school on Monday, but Tuesday was much better.  She still did not sleep on Tuesday - she did sit on her bed for nap time, but when they asked her to lie down she said no.  She was very tired, and apparently whenever they weren't looking, she would lie down and put her head on her pillow, and then whenever they looked over at her she would sit bolt upright.  They told me she is very cunning :)  On her school days I pick her up early so that she gets dinner early and is in bed by 6pm, because she is so exhausted from lack of sleep.  This makes school nights good for me too!

Carmen is being a little naughty these days, particularly with me (perhaps only with me).  I will ask her a question and she'll just look at me and smile.  She won't sit still for meal times, and whines and complains A LOT!  We have started counting to 3 and doing time outs with her, putting her into her bedroom for 2 minutes with the door shut.  It is working a charm.  The funny thing is, when I go in to get her after her time out, she is always standing in the same spot with a little grin on her face.  But the bad behaviour is over, so I don't think it matters that she actually enjoys her time out!

This week I took Carmen to visit with her little friend Hunter and his twin baby siblings.  She held one of them on her lap, but I don't think she gets the connection yet that she is going to have one of her own soon.  Carmen also had a surprise visit from one of the neighbourhood kids, because apparently Carmen has the best play room in town.  And then on Saturday we went to the Scarecrow Festival in Milton with her grandparents (whom she has officially named Lolo and Dida), and then on Sunday while I worked, Carmen and Jeffrey had a daddy daughter day and went to the beach.  So all in all, a busy and happy week :)

Carmen enjoying her mummy's "green smoothie"

Surprise visit from Feine

100 Weeks & 23 Months

This week-end we hit 100 weeks and 23 months - this means only one month to go until my due date.  Scary!

Carmen came down with a cold and missed school on Tuesday.  She is at the tail end of it now, so it hasn't been the best week, more-so because she passed the cold on to me, and my mother!  I was sick all week, and still am not in the best of shape now.  I guess this is my punishment for sending her to day care!  She went again this morning, and was so horribly upset when I left, it was awful.  I cried all the way into town.  I called them about 40 minutes later, and she was still upset.  But when I picked her up this afternoon she was happily playing.  She still hasn't slept there, but at least today she sat in her bed and read a book - this is progress.  They said they thought she would fall asleep sitting up and then just keel over, but it didn't happen.  She is very stubborn!  Her speech has become very good, and she surprised us this week by counting to 12 without any encouragement from us.  She has also become obsessed with pickles.  She just absolutely loves them, to the point where it is the first thing she says every morning, or whenever she is fussing and we ask her what she wants, the answer is always, "Pickle".  I don't think they're the healthiest snack, but I guess it could be worse!

This week-end we went to a photography exhibition at Cupitt's Winery, and we took some amazing photos. We had such beautiful ones of Carmen against this totally scenic background and crazy sunset.  Lovely close-ups and beautiful landscapes.  And then when I went to download them onto my computer, there was an error on the camera card and all of the photos were erased.  So, we don't have great photos for this week-end, just two photos from this morning right when we were leaving for school (which is why Carmen looks distressed - she kept saying, "No school.  Home." and breaking my heart.

Here is a video of Carmen counting to 12 (for all who didn't see it on Facebook):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_2XpqquJlY