Binky Free!

Last weekend, I thought I would start getting Audrey ready to give up her binkys - my goal was to have her done with binkys by four.  Saturday morning, I pulled her on my lap and we looked on the computer at a big girl "princess" bed and a big girl fancy bed set.  I told her that whenever she was ready, she could throw her binkys into the trash can and mama would get her a fancy big girl bed.  I emphasized the fact, that I wasn't going to make her throw them away, she got to do it whenever she was ready.  And as a reward for becoming a big girl, she would get to sleep in a new fancy big girl bed.  

Immediately, she wanted the binkys, and ran upstairs to "take a nap".  So I was pretty sure, we were going to be talking about this for a good long while.  

About 20 minutes later she came downstairs with her binkys and was telling me about them and how she liked them, etc.  About 5 minutes after that, I asked here where the binkys were and she said, they were in the garbage can.  I ran over to take a look and sure enough, there the three binkys were (one sucking-on binky, and two flipping-nose binkies) in the garbage can.  Audrey just beamed up at me, I am ready for a big girl bed Mama.

So the rest of my day was spent purchasing a bed frame, bed and setting the whole thing up.  That night she of course, talked about how she wanted to have her binkies back, but we reminded her that she threw them away.  She has asked for them a couple of times since, but that is it.  We are binky free!!

First Purchase

For Valentines Day, Gigi (aka Grandma in Pheonix who now lives in Seattle), sent Audrey a Valentines card with money in it - $1 bill. Audrey was thrilled and immediately exclaimed, "mama, I got money! I love money!" Then she ran up to her room and put the bill into her piggy bank, where she puts all of the money she ever gets.

When she came back down she headed straight for her puzzles and I was watching her do her puzzle and realized that she doesn't have very many of the more age appropriate puzzles. So I suggested to her that if she wanted to, she could use some of her money to buy a new puzzle. She loved that idea.

So tonight, we pulled all of her money (she probably has $12 in small bills from Gigi) out of her piggy bank and put it into a baggie and put the baggie in her purse. Then she and I went to Wegman's and had sushi for dinner. Yes, she loves sushi - California rolls are her thing. Afterwards we went over to the miscellaneous goods section and the puzzles were on super sale. So she picked out 2 puzzles and then we picked an empty register with a patient looking teenager and Audrey made her first purchase. She carefully pulled each of her dollar bills out of her baggie inside her V-day purse (I crocheted the purse) and handed them to the cashier. All $1 and $2 bills. Her total for the two puzzles was just under $6, so she waited with an outstretched hand and then put the change back in the baggie and the baggie into her purse and he handed her the bag with 2 puzzles in it and a receipt and you should have seen her face. She was positively glowing! She was so proud of herself for doing something so big. It was adorable.

She also did both puzzles by herself when we got home.

(Pics will follow, but I still haven't found my camera cord).

Officially a "preschooler"

Audrey and I went and toured Prince William Academy, and she loved it so much that she immediately joined several classes and cried when I told her we had to go home because she wanted to stay.

So after a little more research (especially into our budget), we let the school know that Audrey will be enrolling and she starts on Monday.

We are super excited for her. The maximum class size for her age is 8 students per teacher, and the kids all get to pick 2 languages to learn (Audrey will be learning Mandarin and Spanish). They have bathroom in each of the preschool classrooms (with cubbies for each child with an extra pair of clothes if there should be any accidents). They have a huge gym for winter playtime and a large playground for nice weather playtime and it just seems like a good fit for her.

Audrey has been asking to go to preschool for months now and we told her it wasn't an option until she was potty trained. Well, she is basically potty trained, so she has become more and more insistent that potty training equals preschool. The truth is, the timing is great because Ryan could really use some guaranteed and dedicated study time other than the weekends and Audrey loves to be with other kids.

We are starting her off with 3 days a week 8:30 to noon. One thing she seems very excited about is having her own lunchbox. At 10:00 a.m. all of the preschoolers have snacks that they bring from home.

Almost Potty trained - almost preschool

Audrey and I went out bed shopping the other day and she went potty in a potty that was not in her home for the first time and she did it twice. She wore only big girl panties the whole day, no accidents at all, no incidents, smooth as can be. However, she also did not even attempt to do any #2 - the whole day. ...

So now that she is almost potty trained, I can let her play in the kids area at Ikea where you drop your kids off. She has been begging to do that for a while now. So on Sunday I let her do that for the first time. She LOVED it. In fact, when the timer went off to tell me to come back and get my child, Audrey started crying because she did not want to go with me. She wanted to stay and play.

Also, because she is almost potty trained, we can put her in the almost preschool at Gymboree. So Ryan took her there today for her first "preschool class". She put on her backpack (with a handmade washcloth that is Taka's blanket in it) and brought Taka along with her. She seemed to really enjoy it.

She is getting so big so fast, I just can not believe it. I tend to cry easily, but I must admit I got misty-eyed in Ikea when I walked away from the kid area without her.

No binky for me.

Last night for the first time, Audrey slept without her binky!! It all started because she has a little rash on the lower side of her mouth going onto her chin. Well, she has had it for a week or so, and I think the binky is partially to blame. So I showed it to Audrey in the mirror after her bath and told her that we needed her to sleep without her binky so that it could heal. She agreed to that and went right to bed without it. Of course, we still gave her the "flipping nose binky", but at least she wasn't sucking on a binky. She slept all night without incident.

I am so glad she is such a reasonable kid. I mean, she just agreed to sleep sans binky, because she could see that there was a good reason for me asking. And that was that, no fuss, no fight, no crying, just talking and hugging.

"Oh for Pete's sake"

This morning Audrey was walking down down the stairs and paused to say, "Oh for Pete's sake!" then turned and looked back to Ryan and I and smiled. We both burst out laughing. She says the funniest things these days.

Also, she calls us Mom and Dad more and more, rather than a more 3 year old appropriate name like mommy and daddy.

In potty news, if we let her go "barebuns" she will tinkle on her own, no prompting needed. However, she will not even think about doing anything beyond that in the potty. It is a start. And what is her potty treat, you ask? 2 m&ms (dark of course, b/c those are the best). If she goes #2, she gets either 5 m&ms or a chocolate covered pretzel. Here's hoping. :)

Biting

Apparently Audrey has begun a new stage in life - one that unfortunately includes biting.

I was sitting at the table and Audrey came up and bit my knee. So I told her in a very serious and stern voice (while pointing my finger) "Audrey NO biting. We do NOT bite in this family." She looked back at me with a smile and then tried to bite my extended finger. At this point her daddy, Aunt William and Aunt Genny all started to laugh. So I had to give them a "no laughing allowed" look. Then I looked at Audrey and again told her NO biting.

She hasn't tried to bite since, but I am afraid that it is just a matter of time.

Tantrum Time

For about a month now Audrey will throw mini tantrums - kick her legs, sit down forcefully, fuss and wave her arms - when she really wants something. Unfortunately for her, I generally find her tantrums (at least at this stage) kind of cute and I often laugh when she starts to do one. If Audrey catches me laughing at her, she starts to cry for real. Apparently she is quite serious and if I am not taking her seriously enough, it hurts her feelings.