January 14

Besides moving Audrey into a big girl bed, we're also thinking it's time to start potty training. My plan is to start serious potty training after our trip to Florida in February. But I want to start talking about it and practicing a little now, so it's not a totally foreign concept when we decide to do it for real.

So I got this potty book for Audrey to help peak her interest. She hasn't really been interested in sitting and reading books much lately (which makes me very sad), but she loved this book. She wanted to read it over and over, and then she wanted to go sit on the potty and read it over and over. She sat there for a long time. Occasionally she would stand up and look in the potty, as if she expected something to be in there, but nothing happened.

I really do not want to potty train Audrey. I think it should be called "parent training" instead, as it sounds like it takes a lot of discipline and diligence on the parents' part to help kids learn how and when to use the potty. And honestly, I'm just lazy and don't want to deal with it yet. Changing diapers may be stinky (literally!), but it seems a lot easier than potty training.

But Audrey can't wear diapers forever. She is showing some signs that she might be ready to use the potty, and it would be nice to get the potty training mastered before baby #2 shows up. I like the strategy of this mom, and I think I will try a similar method.

So...I'm writing this here now, so you all can hold me accountable and make me actually do it! Potty training in the Shelton house will begin around the first week of March. If I am not writing about potty training that week, you all better start commenting and tell me to get with the program!

January 13

I'm a bit frustrated today because I woke up early this morning feeling very nauseous, and the feeling has stuck around all day. I had been feeling better for the past week or two, so I was hoping this part was past. But no such luck!

The good thing about today is that I think Audrey had a really fun day. So I feel better knowing that my ickiness didn't ruin her day!

We started the day at the Chatham library. If you live in the area and have little ones, it's a great place to take them. They have a nice little play area. Audrey played for a long time while I sat and read a couple of magazines. The library also has a little cafe, so Audrey got to enjoy a cookie before we left. She really likes the "special library" as she called it.
Tonight, Daniel had practice at church, so Audrey and I were by ourselves. I decided to pull out some stamps for Audrey to use. I don't know why I haven't done this before, because she absolutely loved it! And for a two year old, she is a really good stamper! Her fingers may be pink for the next day or two, but for the most part she was very neat and careful. We made a picture for Daddy, and then we made pictures for all the grandparents (so all you grandparents can be expecting some mail from Audrey soon!). Audrey stamped for a solid 45 minutes, and probably would have gone longer if I had let her!

January 12

I found a great way to entertain Audrey this morning: Toys R Us! She is still young enough that she doesn't understand the idea that we could possibly take their toys home with us...therefore, she doesn't throw fits about wanting to buy things. I'm pretty sure Toys R Us is like a museum to her, a place where she can just go and have fun playing with toys. She stood and played with this little video game for a really long time! (I was using my phone so the picture quality isn't the greatest).Audrey loves these ride on toys that all the stores have. Especially this one, because it has Barney on it. (I let her pick a movie out at the library last week, and she picked a Barney one. She has been completely obsessed with Barney since then...I don't know what I have started!). The best thing about Audrey and these ride on toys is that she still doesn't know they are supposed to move and light up and play music. She is more than content to climb up and sit on it and push the buttons (that don't do anything!). I'm waiting for the day when she sees another kid riding one and figures out that she has been ripped off all this time!
So, the reason for this trip to Toys R Us was really not to play with all the toys (that was just a little bonus for Audrey). We were driving around to several stores checking out new bed options for Audrey. I think it's time to get her out of her crib. We don't have an extra bed for her right now, so we will have to buy one. I'm debating on whether we should get a toddler bed or a twin bed. A toddler bed is small and will fit better in the space we have (we're planning for Audrey and the new baby to share a room for quite a while). But a twin bed seems a little more logical as she won't outgrow it, even if it may take up more space in the room. Thoughts, anyone??

January 11

A Photo a Day doesn't seem like a very good title for this blog anymore. Yesterday, I only posted videos. And today I have much more than one picture to post. But it's my blog, so I say I can post whatever I want! =)
This morning, I babysat Elliot for a little while. I'm always nervous about having kids over to our house, because Audrey is sometimes not very nice when it comes to sharing her toys...especially the new toys that she just got for Christmas. But she did great today. She was very nice to Elliot; she even willingly gave him her toys a few times! Maybe she is starting to learn how this sharing thing works after all.

It's funny how the two of them respond to each other. Audrey took a drink of milk, so Elliot wanted to take a drink of milk too. Elliot would dance, and then Audrey would want to dance too. Audrey would laugh at something, making Elliot laugh too. Elliot would make a funny noise, then Audrey would make the same noise too. In the pictures below, Audrey was laying down on the floor pretending to be asleep, so Elliot came down and joined her. And then when I was trying to get them to smile for the camera, Audrey started sticking her arms out and waving them around, so of course, Elliot had to raise his arms up too!

Taking these pictures today, reminded me of another time when I babysat Elliot and Audrey...back when Audrey was 10 months and Elliot was 7 months. Aw, look at how much they have grown up!
And finally, we got some more snow today. Even though I'm not a big fan of the snow or cold, I didn't want to deprive Audrey of the experience of playing in the snow just because I am a wimp. So we got her all bundled up in her boots and hat and coat and gloves (none of which match!) and headed out in the snow. Audrey is a bit prissy, so I had a feeling she wasn't really going to enjoy it. But I tried to make it sound fun and exciting for her, and she was ready to go "pay in the toe", as she says it.While walking on the shoveled sidewalk, Audrey got a bit of snow on her boot. And then she wanted a towel to clean off the snow! I knew then that playing in the snow probably wasn't going to happen. I did get her to walk into the snow. She stopped to look at me and say cheese, but she was much more interested in finding a towel to wipe the snow off her boots than she was in playing or making a snowman with me.

We will have to get the sled out soon and see if she likes riding in the snow better than walking in it! Her boots will hopefully stay clean in the sled!

January 10

Audrey and Daniel were playing hide and seek tonight, and it was pretty adorable. I couldn't quite capture the cuteness of Audrey's game with my camera, so I opted for video instead.

This last video isn't the greatest, but if you listen closely you can hear her saying, "Hmm..Where's Daddy at? Hmm...where's Daddy at?" The camera is shaking because I was laughing so hard!


I also have to add that she used to be better at counting. Somehow her counting skills have deteriorated over time. She almost always skips 4 now, and when she says 7, it sounds like 11. And she starts to sound like a broke record when she gets to 8, 9, 10, 11.

January 9

We watched gymnastics on TV for a few minutes this afternoon. Audrey wanted to do her own "a-na-stics", so Daddy help her do some flips on to the couch....which led to Audrey having lots of fun and her hair getting super crazy!

January 8

Amy is probably going to post the same picture as me tonight, but I'm going to beat her to it!

We hadn't seen the Millers in a while, so we had them over for dinner and games tonight. Audrey was a bit of a grump at times, but she and Cael also had some fun moments. Especially when they raced and slid down the stairs together!

We also played Daniel's new Catan Seafarers game that he got for Christmas. It was a fun game, and I won, which makes it even better!!