Emma on naps

Scene: kitchen table, lunch time, sunny day.

Mama: Mama might need a nap today! (while yawning)
Emma: No, no, no, no. (while shaking head and sticking out lower lip)
Mama: I'm listening to my body and it is telling me, go to sleep.
Emma: No, no, no. (pause)
Emma: I am listening to my body and it is saying, Emma wake up!

A few pics

Sleep Mode

So if you have been reading the other posts from today you might be wondering about Sleep Mode (AKA lock mode). It all started when Emma figured out how to open doors by herself (even with child proof locks on them), broke an outside hook lock, was waking up multiple times at night, was not falling asleep in her room or anywhere for many hours at bedtime, was waking us up at all hours of the night and was not going back to sleep after repeated trips back to her bed.

We tried it all to encourage good sleep habits and discourage unwanted sleep habits. Candy, stickers, colorful charts, colorful sleep rules, locking other doors in the hallway, taking toys and privileges away, emptying her dresser, talking about her health, sitting at the top of the stairs and putting her back in bed or in her room. Nothing, yep, nothing worked. So we (actually Steve) turned her door knob inside out. The locking mechanism is now on the outside, effectively locking Emma in her room. We are calling it sleep mode, mostly to make ourselves feel better and to avoid any CPS calls. :) Of course, sleep mode does not help Emma sleep in her bed. No, that would be too easy. She still sleeps on the floor behind her door. (We need Grandma here for this, too. In CA after two nights on the floor, Grandma had Emma sleeping in the window seat bed for the rest of the visit.) But the good news is that Emma now falls asleep much more quickly and last night she stayed asleep until right before wake up time this morning when she had to go potty. (That's the other great bit of news. Although she wears a Pull-up for nighttime sleeping, they are dry in the mornings! Amazing!) Wish us all many nights of good sleep and good sleep habits so that sleep mode will someday soon not really mean lock mode.

PS Yesterday at nap I explained to Emma that the door was going to be in sleep mode when I left so that she would be able to help herself make better sleep choices by having to stay in her room. I told her that sleep mode meant the door would not be able to be opened by her. She thought about that for half a second and then said: Mommy, will the door be locked? She is just too darn smart for her (our) own good. :)

Potty update

Emma is almost 100% potty trained! Yippee! Hooray!

The almost part comes in to play when we cover the poop factor. Pooping in the potty is still scary and hard to time just right. The typical progression for the pooping process is as follows:
1) Emma is pacing with her knees bent and somewhat pained expression on her face.
2) We ask: Emma do you have to go potty?
3) Emma answers: No. while sort of grunting.
4) We head into the bathroom while explaining that bodies really do not like to hold poop in.
5) Emma may or may not sit on the potty and always nothing happens. She may or may not grunt and make "poopy" faces.
6) She then states: I do not have to go anymore.
7) To which we reply: are you sure? Please listen to your body. It will not be comfy to have undies full of poop.
8) repeat steps 1-7 up to 5 times.
9) Successful pooping in the potty most of the time!

Just today she had to poop; well it was clear to us but maybe not to Emma. She disappeared around the corner and was quiet for a bit too long. She came back and said: Mommy, I just had a little poopy on the floor. And sure enough there was a little poop plop right on the carpet next to the couch! Of course nothing else came out in the potty.... until later and then it was only because I put her poop there.

Emma was all tucked in for the night when I heard her crying in her room. Since she cannot get out of her room by herself anymore (starting yesterday at nap time) due to the door being in sleep mode (AKA lock mode) I went up to check on her. Emma was doing a half cry when I peeked in on her and she said: I have to go poopy. When she walked past me I said: It looks like you already went poopy. Her pull up was quite droopy in the back and had a foul odor. :) So we dumped it in the potty and cleaned her up. She didn't get any chocolate covered raisins for that poopy scene.

But Emma is doing great and I am very pleased with her potty skills. More importantly, Emma is very proud of herself. She has become quite good at telling us in public places that she has to go; and then peeing in the big toilets with help. She is also using the potty at preschool after having one accident and two days of wearing pull ups. It is all undies from here! And all of this is due to Grandma. Thank you Grandma! If it weren't for our trip to CA I don't think that Emma would be as successful as she is at using the potty. Grandma just laid it all out on the line and had Emma cruising around in just undies all day- even for naps. There was one accident in her bed while we were there and a couple on the floor, but Emma quickly found out that Grandma knows best- it does feel icky to have pee run down your leg and poop stuck to your bum. I owe my mother-in-law every ounce of gratitude and appreciation for pretty much potty training my daughter. And I would do that all again!

Preschool

Yep, Emma started preschool at the local Montessori school just down the street from us. She started 9/13/10 at 8:30 am. She attends Monday through Thursday from 8:30- 11:30 so we are able to enjoy lunch together every day. The first week she had a couple of mini-meltdowns where she did not want to go to preschool, but they did not last long. She really likes it there! This past week she had a very feeble attempt at not wanting to go. Over breakfast she said in a quiet voice, I don't want to go to preschool. Then less than one minute later she busted out with, I wonder what is for snack today at preschool.

Snack is indeed one of the highlights of her day. Asking about what she ate tends to open the conversation up to other avenues such as what work she did, if she had any lessons, or what her teachers said to her. And of course she is always eager to tell about her friends that cried or did something they were not supposed to do. I think we need to talk about what it means to be a friend. :)

I asked her point blank the other day if she likes going to preschool and if she likes her teacher. An emphatic yes was Emma's response.

Overall I think it is safe to say that we are seeing positive changes in Emma. One day at lunch she was moving her fingers and hand in the Montessori fashion that precludes writing. Emma is great at counting up to ten, not just the words, but counting objects. She still loves to read and actually has been requesting that we read chapter books or much longer books to her. The Velveteen Rabbit is one favorite. The Magic Finger (Roald Dahl) is a humorous book that she likes to listen to. Farmer Boy and On The Banks of Plum Creek (Laura Ingalls Wilder) have become two favorites, too. It just amazes me that she can sit and listen (and absorb) stories without pictures at her age! And finally, Emma is becoming more and more comfortable socializing and interacting with other kids. She is still shy at times, but now she will walk up to kids and tell them things or ask them questions. Like today at a baptismal party, she marched right into a room full of boys playing with Star Wars toys, despite the fact that one boy said that girls were not allowed. :) Not that I think preschool has everything to do with these changes, but I am sure it is doing more good than harm.

As for me, it is hard to say goodbye every morning, and I really miss having Emma's company at the nature center for Wonder Bugs. But, it is easier knowing that she likes preschool and is learning tons. Plus, I do tend to get more done everyday, which will be great for my own schooling. More so than anything, I am just bursting with pride at her accomplishments at her tender age of not quite 3.