White Pine, and the world over, according to Carina: the ordinary is extraordinary. A day filled with events that we adults often overlook as nothing more than routine, mundane, and normal is cast in a completely different light when viewed through Carina's wide eyes: it is an adventure into Wonderland.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Welcome to Trainers 1: The Beginnings of Toilet Training

Ahh, yes, toilet training.

October 2010

Here we are, 2.5 weeks down in her new classroom and she's already making strides.

Messy ones at times:
4/18/11, poop + bathtub containing child from whence it came and multitude of toys = 
"OMG, Mama, when I say I have to CACA, I don't mean you have 30 leisurely seconds to lift the lid on the toilet, gingerly scoop me out of the tub...I MEAN NOW!!!"

However, progress has been charted, even with baby steps.

We're pretty open at home, so if you're offended at the lack of 'appropriateness' or lack of privacy for her in this blog entry (and any future ones for that matter--Uhhh, hello?! Thinking, feeling, sharing Mother here), please make your way to the exit. Everyone does it. Pees and poops, "it" is. I mean "it" is SO common, someone wrote a book for children called just that,"Everyone Poops". And here's another not so genteel way to put it: "Everybody Poops 410 Pounds A Year"

Carina "moved-up" to Trainers 1 at school on April 4th and in this classroom they hit the ground running with potty training as soon as the child demonstrates he/ she is ready and showing interest. We've been working with Carina, complete with gender appropriate demonstrations, and showing her how it all goes down since last Fall, so she's not unfamiliar with this whole shabang and so far has taken to it pretty well. She gladly asks to "go peepee", helps remove her "dadoo" (diaper, for those of you unfamiliar with her language, Carina-ese), asks for "paper" so she can get "all clean, BOOP-BOOP", and then happily, nakey-ly toddles over to the handle to "fush". She's only actually USED the toilet twice so far, but that's two times fewer in diapers. 
I'm notoriously looking for a silver-lining.

Dada has been talking about how excited he is about potty training, pooping in the toilet especially, and so on since...well, since she was in utero. The topic became a hot one once she was out of the womb and filling up diapers faster than we could change them it seemed. The day she took her 1st consecutive, 5 or 6 unaided steps (around 11 months old), Dada looked at her as she was arriving in his arms and said to her,"Look at you, Big Girl! Walking! Now you can learn to use the toilet!" I didn't note even a hint of sarcasm in his voice when he said it either.  Who could blame him? 

Friday, April 1, 2011

Carina's Birthday Party at M&P's


 Booger

 Mamaw whet her appetite for cake..

 Papaw busted them.

 Getting scolded. Yeah, right.


 Presents first...

 Spring-y outfits, picked out by Carina's very own Personal Shopper and Part-time Stylist: Papaw.

 Ooooooh, Play-Doh!



 Fascinated. She caught on very quickly!
 Dada made something INAPPROPRIATE with Carina's play-doh. Can't ya tell? 
If I didn't know better, I would think she KNEW exactly what it was he made...


 Trying out the different shape-makers

 Being sung to for at least the 3rd time that day. 

3/4 of her Birthday Quartet (with Mama manning the camera)

3rd serving of birthday cake for the day. Surely that's a family record!

How fun...

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Celebrating You, Carina: Happy 2nd Birthday!

March 30th, 2009

From the moment we first met (on the outside of the womb), we've been smitten with you, enraptured by your sweet and docile nature, alarmed and alerted by your foghorn-like cry, melted by your smile, giggles, and affection for your family and our pets,

and lost in your deeply intense eyes.
March 30th, 2009

You're a smarty, such a bright little gal, so attuned to your surroundings and any changes occurring within, and sweeeeeeeet, so sweet, even when you're having a rare (as of yet) fit.You have your preferences, you thrive on your schedule (or "skehd-joo", as you used to call it), bedtime and naptime and sleep-time at anytime must involve a 'gah' and your thumb since this day:
June 30th, 2009

You've trained us well. In many ways, Dear, YOU are raising US, training US, and teaching US to be our best selves, our most aware selves (anyone who has ever reared or babysat a toddler understands the perils of a non-babyproofed home), our most forgiving, patient, open-minded, and open-ended selves.
July 16th, 2009

October 11th, 2010

December 7th, 2010

January 10th, 2011

All that we truly know now is today, save for a few somewhat short-term goals. We have dreams, hopes, ambitions, and aspirations of our own for ourselves individually, as your parental unit, and for you, but as unpredictable as life has been oftentimes for us, there's no predicting either what your individual future will hold or what our future as a family will resemble.
April 15th, 2009



 July 11th, 2010

We're just anxiously looking forward to all of it. The good and bad, the happy and sad, the ups and downs, and everything between. 
Halloween 2010

September 24th, 2010

July 3rd, 2010

August 27th, 2010

November 28th, 2010

December 29th, 2010

 January 10th, 2011

 May 2008

 March 30th, 2009

"Love at first sight" made its first appearance in our lives on the day you were born, March 30th, 2009. You are loved, beyond belief are you loved, more today than yesterday, more tomorrow than today. You are a precious, blossoming little person and we want nothing more than to encourage every positive attribute that makes you who you are and who you become.  Never to squelch, never to demean, never to degrade. Always to love, and to love as fully as humanly possible.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweetheart! We love you and hope you had a perfectly birthday-riffic day! 

 I'll try not to cry when you blow out your #2 candle tonight...
 You're our big girl now.