A few days at the beach

I apologize for the absence, but it's been a busy week or so. We went to the beach for a few days and I've been furiously trying to complete my digital photo books. (I decided to complete this project before the baby gets here and am working on my last of four books.) That, and the last few nap-times have been spent trying to relieve some of the back/hip/leg pain that has come along with this pregnancy. Regardless, I am back and with beach pictures!

The trip was planned for a few days on Bald Head Island with my family. Dan was going to stay home to work and enjoy some quiet time without Abby and I around. Or so I thought. We were leaving on Thursday morning and coming back Sunday, so a part of me thought Dan might cut out of work early on Friday and join us for a day.* However, when my mom and siblings showed up at the house, there was Dan too! I was quite happy and glad he would be there for to play with Abby in the ocean. (I hate the ocean, and spend as little time in the sand as possible. I thought my daughter would have more fun with the playful parent and not the stick-in-the-mud one. And, I enjoy having him around. Silly me. :) )

*He is know for doing this sort of thing. Dan loves surprises, and since he thinks way more than the average person, he's really good at them. He once rode a Greyhound from Harrisonburg to DC to Richmond and spent a day with my family, just so he could be at the airport when I came back from a trip to New York. It was late at night and he didn't want me to have to drive back to JMU by myself. He spent 8 hours on a bus for 2 hours in the car with me. It's always been one of my favorite qualities about him.

Anyway, the trip was nice and relaxing and Abby has a blast at the pool, beach and with Grandma, Grandpa, Kelsey and Jordan. It also didn't hurt that we ended up ocean-front thanks to a broken AC in our original house. As in, on the beach! Like, walk out the back door and you have sand and ocean views!

In true Abby fashion, she would only spend 10-15 minutes playing in the waves before wanting to go back in the house, but she had a lot of fun trying to build sand castles and collecting shells. Dan tried boogie-boarding and narrowly missed getting bit by a sting ray. He stepped on one and came running back to the house very quickly. Thankfully, it was Saturday so no one else felt the need to go back in the water.

All in all, a great trip! Enjoy the pictures, Shutterfly is calling my name...

Adventures in Potty Training - 2 weeks later

It has now been two weeks of potty training and I must say, I am exhausted. Spending several hours a day sitting on a hardwood floor reading books is not good for anyone, especially a pregnant woman who already has back problems. But, alas, I've pushed through.

When I left you last time, Abby had initiated the training process and was doing well. However, as soon as I hit "submit" on that post, she turned on me. The following morning Abby went from active, excited trainee to stubborn, screaming every time you mentioned the potty detainee. I was stumped and have to admit the morning started with screaming and tantrums and ended with both of us clutching each other, sobbing. I reassured Abby I loved her; she told me the same. Something else had to be done. It was a turning point, but we soon discovered the key to our potty training success: the egg timer.

Abby has always responded to times. Tell her there's 15 minutes before bed, and as long as you count down she goes up without a fight. (Most of the time.) So, when she refused to sit on the potty, I introduced the timer and told her she only had to sit for 5 minutes. When the timer went off, she could get up. It took a few times, but eventually she understood the time on the potty was short and stopped fighting me. There were a few times she immediately had an accident after getting up from her 5 minutes, but there was no screaming or fighting so I considered it progress.

Everyone advised me to switch to big girl underwear and it would be a snap. We tried; I cleaned the floor four times in a morning and switched back to pull ups.

Wednesday of this past week we tried again with the big girl underwear (after having pretty good success for a day or two) and this time it seemed to stick. We went three days with only one accident, and even then she was at the base of the toilet before she started to wet herself. Yay, progress!

I was nervous about this past weekend because we were traveling to Northern Virginia and Abby was going to stay with her MaMa while I went to a baseball game with Dan (and Jaime, Joe and Carol). I knew Mama would do a great job of trying, I just didn't know how Abby would respond. I was terrified my last 2 weeks would end up being for not. But, Abby did great. She stayed dry to and from (3 1/2h car trips!) and used the potty at MaMa and PaPa's . She had a few accidents while I was gone, but I blame that on all the fun she was having.

Which brings us to today. Two weeks later.

It was a long journey, but I think I can say I have an almost* potty trained little girl.

*Almost, because I still have to calm her down and talk her through pooping on the potty. And she's still in diapers at night. And she's terrified of public restrooms, so she just holds it until we get home.

Regardless, diapers to underwear in 2 weeks isn't too bad.

Does anyone know a good masseuse?

How cool was that?

Abby is always full of energy after dinner. It's the combination of full belly, sugar from a popsicle and (mostly) the fact that Daddy is home. Yesterday, she was beyond excited. She was hyper. She was running back and forth between Dan and I jumping on us and diving in for hugs. While adorable, it was not the most gentle of activity. After a few too many bumps to the belly, I started to get kicked from the inside as well.

This continued for several minutes, until Dan decided Abby should go upstairs to play "soaps and makeup" (translation- Abby plays in our room with her many soap, lotion and makeup containers while I lay down and watch from the bed.) She calmed down slightly, but was still yelling, laughing and having a blast. Meanwhile, the action in my belly kept increasing. It was getting downright uncomfortable.

After a half an hour, things calmed down a bit and we went back downstairs so Dan could go for a run and Abby could try the potty. (Potty training is a whole other story, I'm not ready to tell. It's not been fun. She did however have success on this try.) As Abby calmed down, so did the circus that had been going on in my belly.

At first I thought it was strange how the two correlated, but after thinking about it, it's kind of cool. Austin is at the stage where he can hear and react to things outside of the womb, and he was reacting to Abby's noise and chaos.

For the first time, at 21 weeks gestation, my two kids were playing together.

The "Ballet" Recital

Yesterday was Abby's first "ballet" recital. I put "ballet" in quotes for many reasons, the first being that she really is in a Little Gym class that's 30 minutes of gym and 15 minutes of ballet. The other main reason, is that there was ballet at the recital, but none of it was from my child.

Yep. The other little girls did their dance (well, it is only a three person class), but my sweet little girl ran all the way to the other end of the gym when the music started. This picture pretty much sums up our day:

On the bright side: she looked adorable, and she was really good at the balance beam and uneven bar. Enjoy!

Adventures in Potty Training

Potty training has been an ugly demon in the back of my mind for the last six months or so.  Abby was ready, excited and having success back in November, but alas, we were moving.  We were in four different houses in about a month's time and there was no way we could have kept up with training. The potty training window didn't just close, it slammed shut and was dead-bolted.

From November until now, we've tried several times and each time was met with a stubborn refusal.  (Abby is half Dan and half me.  She has quite the independent streak and a battle of wills in this house often turns ugly.) However, preschool in September is looming, and it had to be done.  So, Dan and I devised an elaborate plan.  There was M&Ms, stickers, hand washing (because she loves it), timers and big girl underwear involved.  We were to start Monday.

Abby, had a different plan. 

Tuesday, (a week prior to our start date) I was in the shower when in waltzes Abby pulling at her diaper and asking to go potty.  I jumped out of the shower (covered in shampoo, soap and soaking wet) to help her.  Nothing happened. After I was fully showered and dressed, we tried again.  After 20 minutes of trying and about twelve books , we had a very small amount of poop in the toilet! I could not believe it. She got to wash her hands, pick out a sticker for the chart and have a few candies.  She was so proud of herself!

I thought for sure that was it, but the day kept going and we had two more successful trips to the potty, with a few extra tries thrown in.

Day two started off rough, with a Mommy short on patience and a little girl in a foul mood.  Several tries and several hours later, she went again.  We're headed to ballet now, so only time will tell how the rest of the day will go.  Fingers crossed!  

Abby's first haircut

After much deliberation and fretting, we took Abby for her first haircut. I was in a full blown panic that something would happen and the lady would cut off all of her beautiful ringlets. Or, and I know this is totally ridiculous, by cutting a little bit of hair off, she would magically lose all her curls and be cursed with the stick-straight-can't-curl-it-if-you-try hair I have. Yes, I know this makes me slightly crazy, I blame the hormones.

To tell the truth, I wouldn't have done it if Dan hadn't been asking me to for the last six months or so and it does tend to get knotty in the heat and humidity. There's also the fact that she now fights ponytails because "brush hurt me!" So, it was time.

Dan came with me, to make sure I didn't cry and to help take pictures.

Before:


Go figure, my kid chose the motorcycle chair over the pretty pink car:

Despite the way it looks in the pictures, she did really well. They played a Dora video for her and she gripped hold of those motorcycle handles for dear life. There were a few tears (only from Abby, I did surprisingly well) but when I held her hand she did fine.

After:
In the end, they really did just rim up the dead ends. She still has her curls, she can still wear a ponytail, but now she doesn't scream when I brush her hair after bath time. Now, the only question is how to keep it cute and curly instead of frizzy in the front. Maybe some sort of spray in solution? Maybe wet it in the morning and let the curls dry? Suggestions are welcome: I have no idea what I'm doing with curly hair.

Welcome!

Welcome! The last year has been full of changes for the Salgado family. Dan moved to Raleigh in July, I quit my job in October, we sold our house in a short three weeks, and Abby and I joined Dan in this city called the Triangle. Raleigh was always "Dan's place;" it was full of memories for him but mostly a big scary place where I knew no one or nothing. And for those of you that know me, you know how well I do in the face of change :)

Turns out, there was nothing to be scared of. I have absolutely loved our move down here! Of course, the largest part of that has been the switch from a job I hated (but was pretty good at, and made a damn good living considering I only worked 3-4 hours a day) to the job I always wanted (one I'm even better at, even if the pay is in love and tantrums and not cash.) But, Raleigh has also brought new friends for Abby, Dan and I and a lot stronger family bond. Oh yeah, and I'm also pregnant with our second child, so Raleigh brought that too!

All that being said, I've felt a little disconnected from the family and friends that are now at least 2 1/2 hours away and, I can say it, I'm a little intellectually bored. Don't get me wrong, I love coloring and singing and the ABC's (not playdoh, I HATE playdoh) but I used to converse with people who spent several thousand dollars and many years on their educations on a daily basis. Even though, most of the conversations consisted of "can you sign? I left you some samples of 30's and 60's."

The solution? This blog. I've always loved to write, just ask my brother or sister who've endured/sought out my advice on many a school paper. I've even written a few college essays other than my own. (You're welcome, Bud!) I have no idea where this will take me or if I can even keep up with it at all but we'll see. Glad to have you along for the ride!