She loves Babies...for now

There is no doubt that in less than 75 days Baby DIVA is going to be a BIG SISTER! Lately she has been very in tune with all things baby. She sees babies in the street and tells me "Bay-bay momma". She brings me her pull ups and wipes and wants to change her "bay bay's" dipey. She races up to me and kisses her baby sister without prompting. And recently she grabbed her newborn snapshot and tried to feed it her sippy cup. All of this tugs at my heartstrings and I think it is just adorable!

Feeding her "Bay Bay"

Changing her "Bay Bay"

A few days ago Baby DIVA enjoyed some playtime with her cousin for his 1st birthday. Now, let me remind you that my Baby DIVA is a jolly green giant and is super tall but she is also kind thin. Her cousin however is a beast. He actually weights more than her. But, she loves "bay bay's" and kept trying to hold him. After a few minutes she became very agitated and started to throw a big tantrum because she could figure out how to hold her "baby" cousin. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time.

Please let me hold you Baby cousin!!!!

Once Critter2 arrives I sure hope this love of babies trend continues, but I'm betting when she realizes that "bay bay" sister never leaves she will change her tune. What do you think?

Picasso in the Bath

My grungy little tot, Baby DIVA, has decided she hates baths. It became a problem. Not only because my Hippo size self with Critter2 protruding from my mid-section is starting to have a hard time reaching Baby DIVA down in the bathtub, but because Baby DIVA would scream and cry and thrash about when bath time rolled around. It took me and H4L, as a team, to get this stinky girl bathed. Not so fun. And this is not cool because my kid is a dirty kid. She likes dirt. No bueno.

Luckily for us this phase passed almost as quickly as it came about. But it didn't stop us from researching and prowling the net for ideas to help spark our tots interest in bath time during this short month long phase. And that is when we found it. Homemade Bath paint. Let our Baby DIVA "destroy" the walls of the tub and she just might want to bathe again. hmmm. This might be a winner we thought. And we were right!

I found this recipe online and tweaked it a bit. I used baby soap instead. I mixed the soap, cornstarch and food coloring and Voila, bath paint. Then H4L and I swooped in and scooped up the Baby DIVA and tossed her in the tub, with the paint. We demonstrated to her the skills mastered by our 80's roots of the art of splatter paint, and she took right to it. That is MY girl! Giggles ensued. No screams. H4L was able to get her scrubbed clean without a thrash fight. My hippo self was able to stand nearby and snap pictures. No one needed Tylenol or vodka after the bath. It was glorious. Baby DIVA completed her masterpiece with a smile and we haven't had any bath troubles since.

And cleanup was a snap and left Baby DIVA's bath tub sparkly clean!

Simple ingredients we all have around the house!

Happy Go Lucky!

Happy Saint Patty's Day to everyone!

Baby DIVA awoke this morning to a fun game of Leprechaun hunting. Followed by a fabulous breakfast of rainbow cake. Holidays are too much fun when you have a toddler!

Leprechaun Catcher

Yummy Rainbow cake

Do you have any special plans for this lucky day?

UPDATE!!! We made the cut!!

After a round a tamiflu for Baby DIVA and a round for myself, some clorox and lysol used on every surface in our home, and some fresh air, we can officially say after last weeks torturous illness that we are H1N1 FREE! YAY!

And just in time. This morning we were granted with a coveted spot in our MDO of choice. We met with the staff and toured the facility about 2 weeks ago and Baby DIVA was informed she was "accepted" into the program. However, we still had the daunting task of standing in the line, trying not to push other moms and tots out of the way, as we tried to score a spot for Baby DIVA.

Luck would have it, or maybe skills, that my pink hair is quite memorable. Not to mention my gorgeous Baby DIVA and hilarious 6 month pregnant waddle, so as we entered the MDO facility the smiles begin to flash our way. At least that was what I was telling myself in hopes that some of my breakfast didn't take this trip with us via my nose or something. Luckily it wasn't the latter. Finally it was our turn and WE GOT IT!!! Baby DIVA will starting her FIRST day of "school" on September 6, 2011. At the the MDO of my choosing and super close to home!

YAY! We rock. And I guess I am one of those moms now. Critter2 is a shoe in for this same program, at a sibling discount of course, when it is her time, and she hasn't even arrived yet. Motherhood and the politics. Who knew?

H1N1 in the house

On Monday Baby DIVA popped a fever. Pretty high hitting 104 at times, but not too alarming. Baby DIVA doesn't get fever often, but when she does she tends to have high temps. By Wednesday morning we had no relief, so I decided we best head into the peds. Fevers always get a Dr check in my world. Especially for a kiddo who rarely has them. Poor Baby DIVA.

The office was packed. All the tots in our great city seem to be sporting snotty noses and fevers and various other "cold" symptoms. Fun times. "Sniffle sniffle, no momma. Whine", was common sound while waiting for our name to be called. I was most impressed that Baby DIVA continued to feel sick and even kept her fever for the Dr appt. Most peds appt's usually make me look like and idiot. you know, a really sick kid miraculously recovers for the 15 minutes you are at the Dr, only to have a full "relapse" on the way home. Not this time though. Dr was able to see all her symptoms in full force and assured me something was definitely up.

We had a look over, checked for bunnies in her ears, birds in her throat and swabbed her nose for ugly green monsters. The verdict rolled in shortly after...H1N1. Swine Flu. Awesome! How the heck did we catch that? Not something you ever want to hear, especially about your Baby DIVA or while you are pregnant with a Critter.

A round of Tamiflu for my tiny tot and a round of Tamiflu for myself and Critter2 have now commenced. Baby DIVA seems to somewhat be doing better. Her fever is going down, but she is still whiney and miserable. This morning she only wanted to wear her favorite TUTU while being sickly on the couch. Unfortunately she barfed all over it and a wardrobe change was necessary. Now she snoozes and Momma sure hopes she wakes up fever free and feeling better.

We did receive Flu vax this year, so mommas keep your kiddos safe and clean their noses and hands! Germs are out in full force!

My non girly Baby DIVA

And this is how we wear our headbands.

Colored Ice fun

Since the snowmagedon blizzard of 2011 failed to arrive with the gusto as predicted, we were jipped of our snow ice cream making plans. BOO! Instead we improvised and made colored ice.

Really simple. You need water, food color, a freezer (or snowmagedon outside), and a fun loving toddler who likes to get dirty.

Baby DIVA helped me color the water in the ice trays. Then she took a nap. Exhausting work. But perfect timing for the colored ice to freeze to play perfection.

When she woke up the ice was ready. I grabbed some towels and wrapped a baking sheet in white paper. Gave her some colored ice and some cups and let her go to town. she got all kinds of dirty and lots of "ewwww's" were to be announced. But she had a blast playing with the ice, sorting the colors, naming the colors and showing me her colored fingers. A great way to waste half an hour!

This project was a lot of fun and is quite similar to the project we did last summer, Ice Painting, which is also lots of fun and messy!

Snack Necklace

Baby DIVA and I have been doing a little project everyday. Some days it is as simple as sitting in the backyard naming off colors as we see them. Other days we make crafts or bake or dance and sing silly songs. Whatever it may be, I make sure to spend a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour uninterrupted each day giving Baby DIVA my undivided attention. No laundry, no phone calls, no Facebook, no tv, nothing. No interrupting mom and babe. Just time devoted to one another without distractions. This is a very important gift that I give my child, and I do my best to make sure she gets it almost every single day.

The other day we did a project and Baby DIVA had so much fun. she giggled and laughed and it tickled me so. It is a really simple project. Something that all of us moms, girls, humans know how to do. A project I kind of threw together last minute. The project was making cereal necklaces.

I took some string and plain old Cheerios's. And then we began to string the cheerios. Baby DIVA squealed with delight and promptly began to eat the cheerios off the string quicker than I could put them on. She looked adorable. Like a little puppy scavenging for treats, as she devoured each "bead" of the cereal necklace. She thought it was awesome. After a few minutes she grasped the concept and we worked together to finish the first necklace. She quickly put it around her neck and started eating. Giggling all the while.

It just tickled me so to have her react so well to such a simple idea. We had a ball making necklaces. We ended up making about 6 in all. And she was ever so delighted to show them off to H4L when he came home from work.

Toddler time FAIL

Books. Books on shelves at various levels. Books on shelves at various levels in a quiet location. Not a good mix for Baby DIVA.

My little one has always been interested in books, but not really for reading. She loves to snack on them, tear the pages, flip the pages, wear them as hats, make them into flying carpets. Whatever, she is using her imagination so I roll with it. Over the last few weeks, Baby DIVA has sparked a interest in the actual words inside those flying carpets. She will bring me a book and we will sit down and read.

I love it. I have a passion for books, (although chasing a tot around 24/7 leaves little energy to actually hold my own book up and read), so this development made me really happy. I decided it was time to brave the library with Baby DIVA. We have toddler time at our local joint and I was thrilled to finally be able to attend with a story interested tot.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HUMILIATED!

My precious, quiet on the car ride, relaxed Baby DIVA and myself arrived at 10am prompt for toddler library time. We strolled inside and grabbed our tot ticket to story time. Then we headed over to the children's area to look at some books and see what craft they had for us to do. I am not sure what happened on this short walk, but Baby DIVA grew some horns. As we rounded the corner and entered the racks of kid books, her voice began to echo throughout the area. "Mama, Mama, Mama, Ca-Ca, Mama". So I thought perhaps she needed to take a crap. I asked her if she needed to go potty. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Mama" at full scream.

Attempting to distract her, we went over to the craft table and I tried to engage her in this activity. She proceeded to try and eat the glue stick, try to climb up over the top of the table, tried to steal craft pieces from other kids, all while squawking and mortifying me. Fail.

Then I pulled out the big guns and decided we should walk the racks, burn off some steam, hoping that this might bring my sweet quiet Baby DIVA back to reality. Off we went, hand in hand. And then she squirmed loose and was gone. Sprinting through the racks. My Fluffy pregnant self chased her down and found her attempting to scale the racks of My first Chapter books. AWESOME. Baby DIVA scurrying up the racks in the library. Yes, I am that mom. And might I add, quite memorable with hot pink hair. No hiding me!

A glance around the room at my fellow toddler moms, hoping to be met with looks of "oh honey, I have been there stares", was met with a surprise. Pure distaste looks from these fellow tot moms. Hatred. I am the devil with pink hair mom looks beamed my way. Like their tots are always perfect. Again though, Mortified.

I scooped up baby DIVA and headed back to the librarians desk to turn in our tot ticket. There was no way we were going to make it to story time, much less through story time without destroying something. The kind librarian asked me to please stay. That she had some toys to entertain my tot, and that she would eventually learn the ropes. I denied the offer and high tailed it out of the library. Glances from peering adults from the historical section on the opposite side of the library pretty much demonstrated I need to leave with my tot, PRONTO!!

Perhaps we will try again in a few months. Until then story time will be on my living room floor and might involve a nibble of pages and a timeout or two. Oh and did I mention as we drove home, Baby DIVA was a quiet perfect little princess? Don't you just love the terrible two's?

Oh and those moms who gave me the look of death, I hope your kid throws food at you tonight at dinner!

L&D, poop in the potty and PREGNANCY SUCKS!!!

Wow. What a freaking week. I tell you what, all those people out there that think being a pregnant SAHM is the life and make nasty judgmental comments about these ladies when they see them strolling around the world, just need to come take over my life for one week and then we will see how you feel. And I know you make these comments, because honey I USED to be the one judging and making comments. Boy, I tell you best zip them lips because KARMA is a bitch! If i knew then what I know now...

So lets see where shall I begin this week; at the part where I was covered in poo for 3 days, 8 hours in labor and delivery or perhaps at the point where I finally broke down and put on the granny panties?


Ok lets just go in order. Baby DIVA is still "potty training". And as I have learned as a getting fatter by the moment pregnant chick, this really never ends. (granny pantie story to come) So Baby DIVA took pretty fast to pantie wearing and pee pee in the potty. Poop in the potty, not so much. It became a nightmare. She would alert me, even at 2am via monitor, "Pee Pee Mama", but never would should she show one inkling on interest in alerting me to the dirty doo. She is more of a silent but deadly kind of girl. She slinked away and then would gracefully waltz by and let me inhale my notification.

Have you tried changing poopie panties? It sure isn't pretty, and it is plain out awful when you have a Critter2 tagging along for the ride whirling up your some special tummy gurgles and a very active toddler "telling you how" all the way through the process. Needless to say after 3 days of poopie pantie changes covering me in the doo at least twice a day, I broke down and committed my personal momma failure. I bought the pull ups and went against my original plan and stuck my kid in pull ups for potty training. Sue me! I am PREGZILLA and get to do what I want. I am the MOM!!! Im in charge and I am bigger than a poop turd. TAKE THAT! Wouldn't you know that very same day, Baby DIVA mastered the art of poop in potty, and we have not had a poo in the pants incident since. Awesome.

Moving on.


I caught a bug, along with everyone in this country dealing with the crazy weather. I caught a nasty little bug that brought on the "pregnant" sneezes and the coughs. All the momma's out there are cringing knowing what story is about to unfold now. The newly pregnant and non breeders are about to be privy to some information they never knew they didn't want, but need. I committed the sexy wife sin. (not to mention I am about to commit the TMI sin) I became so tired of sneezing and coughing in the "pregnant" way, that I went and stuffed my pregnant body into those granny panties, you know the ones. I was desperate I tell you, and I know I am not the only one who has reached this point before. And it was such a relief...for a little while at least, until my ego joined up to my desperation. H4L caught a glance at me sporting this new wardrobe accessory and just shook his head. I reminded him, it was HE who put me in this situation.

Moving on.

I had my first trip to L & D this week for Critter2. This is not a place I like to frequent. Really, I am thinking one visit to Labor and delivery is far more than enough, right? With my BP issues with Baby DIVA, I visited L&D all the time. I was hoping to keep Critter2 from falling into that same pattern. No such luck. But, good news is that this trip wasn't for bp issues and we left L&D knowing all is A okay.

I was having incredible pain in my gut. Not something a pregnant lady wants. And then the "Crotch daggers" set in. For those who don't speak pregnant talk, Crotch daggers are my term for contractions. I did the usual routine of lay down, relax, drink water, wait for contractions to stop and NADA. So I called the Dr like a good little patient and off he sent me to L&D. 8 long hours (alone though, without a tot in tow so very privileged boring alone time) many, many blood tests, watching a lady's water break in the waiting room, high blood pressure, hearing Critter2's heartbeat thumping softly in the background, it was determined that I look perfectly fine. Critter2 looks great. And I just need to suck it up and deal with the terrible pain. "its okay you are halfway there, only 20 weeks to go." It is obvious that the L&D Dr that advised me of this as I left, has never been pregnant. Just saying...

So I took my painful tummy home and that is that. We now just have pain. Awesome. Fun. Is it June yet?

Baby DIVA freckles

Baby DIVA is so stinking cute. Every day she grows before my eyes; learning, assessing, making more and more strides into being a big girl. It is so bittersweet. I am so excited to watch her grow into a young lady but it pulls at my heartstrings to watch my baby slip away.

But then, it never fails, Baby DIVA will do something so sweet and innocent, it brings me back to reality and reminds me no matter how many days or weeks go by, she will always be my perfect, innocent little bundle of joy.

Take for instance, a moment this last week. Baby DIVA made a clever discover on her tummy. She found two little freckles. Cute as can be freckles. I was watching from a foot away as she yanked up her little shirt to show me her belly button for the 100 zillionth time. She stopped and paused and looked a little bit closer. Quickly she tried to brush away the "ewwwww" as she calls it. "ws tat?", she asked. I told her those are your two baby freckles. Like she knew what that meant, but that is all it took. "ohhhh".

And then she was off to play with her toys again. This quick shift in attention also is a daily reminder that my Baby DIVA is still just a tiny tot! The absolutely adorable thing about this little discovery is that when these little freckles first made their debut some many months ago, I being the crazy picture happy first time momma I am, took a zillion pictures of these freckles. Im just crazy like that.

This moment warmed my heart though. Watching her grasp new concepts, interact with me, and hone in on something I too found fascinating not too long ago is just amazing. My Baby DIVA, growing into a little girl, full of life and love and eager to learn. Melts my heart. And makes me so proud. I just love that stinking cute little girl!!

Christmas Recap

I have to hand it to all you fabulous bloggers that were able to scribble out some thoughts and get posts up during this holiday season. I just couldn't. Between baby kicks, Toddler tantrums, gift wrapping and family visits any extra second I grabbed involved my bed and my pillow. But that is just one pregnant gals way to cope with the hustle and bustle of the holiday! I did enjoy reading your posts between naps.



Now that 2011 has sped its way in to our lives, I thought I would just give you an update to what a wonderful Christmas season we had, between naps of course! Baby DIVA warmly welcomed Santa claus into her life this year. She was ever so thrilled to learn that her great behavior in 2010 rewarded her with a small toy store under her Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

After Santa dropped by!

After opening everything from Santa!

It really is an AMAZING feeling being a parent of Christmas morning. Far much better than being the child. I am still glowing at watching my child live the magic and knowing how excited she feels. I LOVE IT!!!!

H4L and Baby DIVA on Christmas morning

Momma, Critter2 and Baby DIVA on Christmas morning

Saying Farewell to the (chocolate) advent.

Scary Zippers?

Not that it is cold here in Texas today. No, we are unseasonably HOT. Hitting the 80's this week. Joy. 2 days before Christmas and its a tropical heat wave. Not exactly Jacket weather. However we do get a few hours a year where a jacket of sorts is needed.

I suppose this is good news for one Baby DIVA. The girl HATES to put on jackets of any kind. Anything that has a zipper or buttons down the front she throws a full out tantrum scream fest. We have a knock down drag out every time.

What is a mom to do? Was she trapped in a straitjacket in a previous life? What would make my 2 year old terrified of jackets. This is quite baffling. And we have about 48 hours to figure out the problem before a blast of cold snap through town and drops out temps to 30, just in time for Santa's arrival.

Any thoughts?

12 days of Christmas

In hopes to keep Baby DIVA entertained during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season as well as to keep her from noticing we don't hit the park too often because it is a tad chilly, I have been trying to come up with fun crafty things to do indoors to peak her attention. Now we all know a 2 year old is going to have the attention span of OH about 30 seconds, so these are quick projects, nonetheless I find myself finishing them alone while she runs off to get into something she is not supposed to. AHH the life of a mom with a toddler.

Yesterday we completed our 12 days of Christmas project for this year. Simple really. I traced Baby DIVA's hand onto green paper and then cut out a bunch of her prints. We then took her hands and constructed a Christmas tree from them. I also cut out a few pink and blue ball ornaments and red candy canes and a single large yellow star from construction paper for the tree topper. Simple. Easy. She was entertained for a whole 2 minutes. It was grand!

We hung our masterpiece by the fireplace. It looks quite cute. Now come December 13, we will begin to place a construction paper present under the tree, one each day, for the 12 days of Christmas. An advent calendar of sorts. A craft that keeps on going. A little something fun for my Baby DIVA to do every day between now and Christmas.

Bye Bye Chupy

Baby DIVA turned the big 2 last Thursday. And many of you moms out there know what that means. Time to take away the pacifier, or Chupy as we call it. We spent the last few weeks discussing this revelation with Baby DIVA. I literally could see my words going in one ear and out there other. I assumed it was a lost cause and this Operation chupy removal would be a nightmare.

I have been pleasantly surprised though. We have taken away Chupy for the entire day. Baby DIVA must turn it in to the Cabinet fairy in the morning when she wakes up. She can not have Chupy all day long, not even for naps, but at bedtime we let her have it. The magical cabinet fairy brings chupy back foor one special Baby DIVA. Just for this first week. Starting week 2 she must go night night without Chupy.

So far so good! She is a tad fussy in the car without her pal chupy, and seems to take an extra 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep at nap time. But other than that we are soaring through operation chupy removal! I am actually kind of excited about it. I will admit I thought she wouldn't give it up and it was gonna get ugly. But I was wrong, at least so far!

Here is hoping potty training goes as smooth! :)

Must do's for December

December is almost here. It is time to race around like the world is coming to and end and get everything done. Never mind we have spent the last 12 months sitting on our asses watching re runs of House all weekend. NOW though, we are just so busy and must get things done. No more butt sitting. Must be jammed packed from this point on!

Okay so perhaps I am over exaggerating a bit. But seriously, have you ever noticed how "busy" we all become during the month of December? Each year I feel that no matter how prepared we are there is still the hustle and bustle and constant "stress" of the month to get everything done. Make sure all the sights are seen and pcitures taken to document the season. I recently was checking out our family calendar while trying to schedule lunch with a friend and caught myself saying, "Well you know I am really booked up, What do you have available in January"". REALLY?? How the heck did that happen? I am a SAHM, and don't get me wrong it is a double full time gig, but really how did my schedule get so backed up.

Then I looked into this problem a little deeper. What exactly is it that we are so" busy" doing? Here is the rundown. Now take notes locals, you might need to fill your calender too! Some of these things are just too good not to stuff on your schedule!!

City of Katy Tree lighting
December 2 at 5pm Katy Heritage park.

Lanier Xmas party December 5: and invitation only bash thrown by a local lawyer. Complete with an invitation that came via Ferris wheel! This will be our first attendance to the bash and I am actually looking forward to it. An alcohol free family event with guest performer Sting. Sounds fun to me!

The Cottage Charm A wonderful little spectacle we discovered last year. Local christian ministries team up and provide a wonderful display of dancing lights themed to wonderful music all while running a food drive to help those in need. WE took many cans of food last year and enjoyed the show so much. It is free, just if you can spare it please donate some can goods and take your family out to see spectacular dancing lights. Runs 6pm to 11pm every night throughout the holiday season

La Centerra offers visits and pictures with Santa every Saturday and Sunday throughout the month of December. Cost is free. But remember to bring your own camera if you want those pictures. We took Baby DIVA last year and were delighted to find out Santa also provided breakfast prepared by Mrs. Claus who also makes her appearance. We look forward to visiting again this year.

Houston Area Mommies in addition to our regularly scheduled play dates and mom events, HAM will also be hosting some fabulous Holiday events/parties for the moms, tots, and family. Such a great community to be involved in.

Other things we have going on this month include Baby DIVA's 2 year checkup! WOWSERS. Numerous Birthday parties, Uncle Diamonds Graduation: complete with a trip to Paris!, and of course TONS of holiday baking! It is a very busy month but I am looking quite forward to it all! Maybe not all MUST HAVE to do's but majority of it is fun anyway. Maybe a nice hot cocoa and a snuggle with Baby DIVA on the couch watching Backyardigan re runs instead of House re runs might need to be added to schedule too!

What are your plans this season?

Baby DIVA turning 2!

It is unbelievable! My precious Baby DIVA is going to turn 2 years old next week, on Thanksgiving Day no less. It astonishes me. Where has the time gone? How did she reach 2 years old so quickly? I am so excited to watch her grow but it also tickles a little nostalgia inside me. I miss her being so tiny and dependent on me. Now she pushes me away, whines when she doesn't get her way, is VERY independent and has to do everything her way, but she always flashes the sweetest smiles while doing so. Or perhaps it's a devious smile.

With this special day on the horizon, one might guess that a birthday bash is in the works. And BOY is it! Baby DIVA is having her very own Yo Gabba Gabba party this weekend. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba and although it is slightly annoying to me, and has a cult of pot smoking college kids following it, it is what my child adores, therefore my entire home will turn into Gabba land for a full day in honor of the one, the only, Baby DIVA.

Funny thing is, there isn’t a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba party items out there. You are shocked right? After pouring over the net and party stores, I finally decided to make Baby DIVA’s party decor from scratch. Yep. I did. And smart move on my part because I committed myself to this endeavor all while sporting some fabulous morning sickness with Baby DIVA’s little brother or sister. Smooth move mom. I simply must win Mother of the year this year. Hands down.

I found myself over on the Nick Jr website and let my creativity go wild. The website has tons and tons of printables with the Yo Gabba Gabba theme and characters. So, I printed them out and put them into play. Here are a few teasers of what Baby DIVA will find on her big day tomorrow!

Centerpieces

Goodie Bag Treats: Yo Gabba Gabba Silly Bandz!

Homemade Goodie Bags with awesome treats inside!!

Although we went the frugal route this year with Baby DIVA’s birthday, I think it has turned out amazing. We were able to purchase Yo Gabba Gabba plates, cups and napkins but the rest of the decor was made by me. It is exactly what I know my child loves and I cannot wait to share her big day with her! But she does have one special bonus. My Mother-in-law made Baby DIVA's birthday cake. And it is nothing short of spectacular. I promise to show you this masterpiece post party!!

Emergency Bath

We are sort of engaging in Potty Training here at the Pink Haired Momma house. But not really. I mean, we have introduced Baby DIVA to the lovely little potty we have for her. We have explained to her what happens in the restroom. She has watched us "do our business" since birth in the restroom. She has gone and sat down on the potty a few times and done her business. But we are not really pushing this milestone yet.

Last week we had a breakthrough. Baby DIVA came into the bathroom while I was finishing up some stuff. She took off her diaper, sat down, went pee, stuck her hand out for toilet paper,(which I gave her), she attempted a wipe, stood up picked up the bucket and proceeded to dump in the toilet. HUGE celebrations went down! Lots of cheers, dancing, singing, clapping. The works. Both momma and daddy were present and partook in the festivities. Pee Pee Dance was in full active mode! I was so incredibly proud of my tot, especially because she had no real coaxing in the matter.

Since then we have had a couple of other times where she has used the potty. We are by no means pushing the use and just kind of are letting her figure it out on her own. It might also be that she doesn't really talk yet, so even if she needs to go she doesn't really know how to say, "Yo momma, I gotta pee!" But either way, I prefer to just let her develop this at her own pace.

Fast forward a week to yesterday afternoon. I was keeping the toilet warm doing stuff and in strolls Baby DIVA. She needs to go, she exclaims by ripping her diaper off and plopping down on her potty. She does her business and at a much more rapid pace than I can move gets up and proceeds to DUMP. Never mind that I am still in the dump site!

Emergency Bath took place immediately following celebratory You went pee pee in the potty dance!

Pumpkin time!!!

It is that time again! October has come and Halloween (and my FIRST anniversary) is on the horizon. The air is crisp and cool, at least for today, and there is candy every which way I turn. And more importantly there are giant orange pumpkins bouncing around all over town.

And Pink Haired Ladies sliding down giant pvc pipe slides with Baby DIVA's!

We took Baby DIVA to Dewberry Farm this weekend for a good ol' time and a romp in the pumpkin patch. Dewberry Farm is a tradition here for us, a tradition of 2 whole years now. Click HERE to see a few pics from our fun from last year at Dewberry. This year Baby DIVA was a little bit more involved. She enjoyed sliding down the slides and playing in Fort Dew hickey. She cautiously but ever so full of curiosity examined the chickens and turkeys and goats and pigs in the animal petting zone. We climbed through tires and wrestled in the Corn crib and sand pit. The weather was gorgeous and inviting as Baby DIVA had a full out tantrum and refused to climb in the Hay pile, I suppose she didn't want to give her DIVA bum dirty. So we loaded her up in the stroller and got ourselves lost in the 4 acre Corn maze. Fun at first, annoying when I really couldn't figure my way out!

Daddy taking a break while lost in the Corn Maze

This view is SCARY! Lost in Corn...not cool!

We jumped aboard the "hay ride" that drove us out to the pumpkin patch. Its was a sea of orange...well kind of. The heat from the harsh summer months and the fact we are still a little early in the season gave us more of a pond of orange, but nonetheless the PUMPKINS were out and ripe for the picking. We scurried on out posed Baby DIVA at every awesome pumpkin we encountered, just to torture her of course. And then she took off scouting out the orange balls for her very favorite. And she found one. A nice plump pumpkin to take home and have Daddy carve a big old Moose A Moose in! Yippee!

Tire playing