Daddy's big boots

She loves 'em.

Cutest. Kid. Evar.

Srsly.

A couple of recent videos of the kiddo…

Just a-swingin'!

I hung a swing in the old oak tree in the front yard this afternoon. The weather was perfect when the girls got home, so Aylin got to swing for quite some time while her mom cooked dinner. Looks like a winner to me.

Paci Free Day #1

Today we went without a pacifier all day excluding naps and bedtime. Thankfully, with only relatively minor meltdowns it was a success. The most difficult times were in the car, since our drive is around 50 minutes. She gets bored, so she'd ask for her paci. I would tell her it was at home in her bed. She'd cry, maybe throw a bit of a fit. But was easily distracted by books. Let's hope the rest of the week goes as smoothly, and by the weekend we won't be so dependant. *fingers crossed*

Language is exploding at our house!

The good kind, that is. The other kind… well, I'm working on it. :)

Aylin has crossed some kind of threshold in the last day or two, and wants to be talking all the time. She's kind of like a broken record, but we tend to learn by repetition, so that's not really a big deal. She'll latch onto a phrase for a little bit — "I don't need it [shakes head]," for instance — and repeat it over and over again, looking for confirmation that she does not, indeed, need whatever it is.

She's mostly internalized the please-and-thank-you routine. The other night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. We were walking through the parking lot, Aylin holding my hand on the way to the door, when one of her Crocs came off her heel a little bit. Kristina said, "Aylin, your shoe's coming off; let me help you." Aylin stopped; Teena fixed her shoe, and Aylin immediately said, "Thank you, Mommy!" And off we go again.

It's fascinating, humbling, fun and inspiring, all at once. These are some of the best things about being a parent: Watching your child grow and learn, becoming a little person.

More potty-training successes!

I suppose I should spare y'all the down-and-dirty details… But suffice it to say Aylin continues to move forward in her potty-training.

I was really dreading this process. I've heard so many horror stories from other families along the way, I guess I expected it to be really hard. So far, though, it's just been a very natural progression for Aylin. She's basically directing the timeline. She's as excited about it as we are, I think. After her successful trip this evening, she was running around yelling, "So poud of oo! [So proud of you!]," which is what her momma told her after she finished.

When Aylin went back into daycare last year, she joined a class full of kids who were just a little bit older than her, and that seemed to jump-start her language development. It seems that the same thing is now happening with potty-training. There are a lot of kids in her class who are developing their potty discipline, and I can't help but think it rubs off… no pun intended.