1,2,3...Pee Pee...Please

We've had quite a few "developments" in the last week or so.

Sophia had her 18 month check-up (officially she was exactly 19 months that day but we had to push it back a bit due to scheduling conflicts) on September 2.  Since Sophia was only a little over 4 pounds when we brought her home from the hospital, we are always eager to hear where she ranks in height and weight at each check-up.

Here were her stats:

• Height - 30.75 inches, 50th percentile
• Weight - 25 lbs, 75th percentile
• Head Circumfrence - BIG! Much bigger than average...as usual.  Not big enough for concern, just big. :) 
• Word count - Above average - Approximately 40 words that she uses regularly and in combination with one another, several more that she has said once or twice but we don't count them as part of her vocabulary.
• Other Skills - Above average - Climbing on everything, walking on her tippy toes, expressing herself through words and gestures, etc.

What the doctor said -
I asked her if it was ok that Sophia's weight was in such a high percentile.  She told me that most kids Sophia's age have already become picky eaters, therefore they aren't necessarily getting the nutrition they need.  This is clearly NOT a problem for Sophia.  She eats pretty much everything under the sun.  She rarely eats fried or processed foods and she doesn't seem to enjoy red meat in any form.  She absolutely loves fresh fruit, grilled or baked chicken, grilled fish, fresh or steamed veggies, and especially fresh fruit.  Most restaurants offer healthier Kids Menu items now too.  They usually offer grilled chicken and we substitute the typical french fries for tomato slices, which she adores.  She also has very little sugar in her diet, other than what comes naturally in fruit.  We pretty much never give her juice, as she is perfectly content with milk and iced water and we don't see the need to give her all that sugar.  Occasionally when we go out to eat we will order her a lemonade and dilute it with water.

As for everything else, the doctor said that she assumed because I'm a teacher and have experience with young children (I guess she forgot I teach high school), I must have realized that Sophia is above average in all areas.  She encouraged me to get her into preschool ASAP and to continue reading and doing other skill building activities as much as possible.  I don't mean to brag but...well..ok, I guess I don't mind bragging about my beautiful angel :).

In other news, Thursday evening Sophia was repeating something over and over and we couldn't figure it out.  She was saying  "Unnnn, duuuuu,  deh".  The next morning she was looking at one of her books and saying it again, this time pointing at the pictures.  Then it dawned on me...She was COUNTING!! "One, Two, Three!"  GENIUS!!  Yay NUMBERS, says the math teacher.  :)

Thursday evening was also the first day she FINALLY started saying "Please".  We have been working on it for a LONG time and she finally got it.  Her first "real" words were "Thank you"  pronounced "Tuh-tuh".  She can now engage in a complete transaction "More Banana Please"  followed by "Tankyu".  So cute.

And finally, before giving her a bath on Saturday, I sat her down on her potty for about 5 seconds and away she went.  Pee pee in the potty!  She and I had a HUGE celebration!  She hasn't done it again yet, and she really isn't telling me if she has to go, but it's a start and I'm not pushing it.  She'll let us know when she's ready.

Yes, this is the pee in the potty.  It's my blog and I'll post pictures of pee if I want to.

And here is a little video of our visit to the NMSU duck pond yesterday.  We fed the ducks, played "soccer", attacked trees, and walked around the campus.  Typical Saturday in the Fall for the Elfleins.

Not sure why, but I guess she was trying to stab the tree here.  Her lack of success was very frustrating for her apparently.

We love our Sophia SOOOO MUCH!! She is a constant source of joy in our lives.  We are continuously amazed by her.  She is such a blessing to us!

Ahhh....September

The leaves of brown came tumbling down
Remember in September in the rain
The Sun went out just like a dying ember
That September in the rain

To every word of love I heard you whisper
The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain
Though spring is here to me it's still September
That September in the rain

To every word of love I heard you whisper
The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain
Though spring is here to me it is still September
That September in the rain



Frank Sinatra


Ok so maybe the leaves aren't turning, maybe it has only rained about 2" or something all year, maybe it was 100 degrees outside today, but when I think of September I think only happy thoughts. I LOVE SEPTEMBER!!  September means: Pumpkin Spice Latte's (which I actually didn't know were on the market this early until Michele Griego, a fellow PSL lover, clued me in), multi-colored Chile ristras hanging on the front porches of the local businesses in Hatch, Christmas decorations have been on the shelves at Hobby Lobby for over a month now, the smell of roasting Green Chile at all grocery stores, completely unnecessary sweaters being sold at clothing stores, and two more VERY IMPORTANT things.  


1) Football.  Ahhh...football.  Love it love it love it.  When I was about 8 years old I fell in love with Joe Montana.  I also happened to be in love with my Daddy.  My Daddy was in love with football.  Every Sunday we would hang out at my Grandma's house watching football all day.  I figured that if I was going to have to watch this thing every week I might as well learn what it was all about, not to mention this would give my Daddy and I something to talk about.  So I started asking my Dad about the game.  "What's a first down?"  "Why is it called football when they rarely use their feet?"  Etc.  Incidently, I still don't understand why a "down" is called a "down".  My curiosity grew into interest then, once Joe Montana came into my picture, into obsession.  Unfortunately my entire family is made of die-hard Cowboy fans.  Even my sweet Grammy was unfortunate enough to be a victim of the "America's Team" curse.  Even more unfortunate for me was the fact that the Cowboys dominated my Niners for the better part of the nineties.  


In 1999, Ken and I had just started dating and were about to spend our first Sunday together.  He asked me what I wanted to do that day.  I must have looked at him like he was an alien.  Hello!  What do NORMAL people do on a Sunday??  FOOTBALL OF COURSE.  He had no idea.  I preceded to teach him about the game, just as my Daddy had taught me.  I am now the proud owner of a football obsessed husband.  


2)  The BIGGEST reason I love September.  My Biz.  I've told the story before, but at a party in 1999 I met the love of my life.  September 4th to be exact.  It wasn't exactly love at first sight but once we started dating, I was hooked.  5 years later we were engaged.  2 years later, September 2, 2006,  we were married.  And 5 years later I am the happiest person I know.  Ken and I are two halves of a whole.  We think alike.  We like alike.  We dislike alike.  We love alike.  Ken know's me better than anyone else on Earth. I wonder frequently how it's possible for him to know me so well and still love me the way he does.  He's so thoughtful.  He's so considerate.  I'm so undeserving.  We have grown up together and have grown more and more in love.  The other day he surprised me in my classroom during my planning period.  After 12 years, my heart still did a flip-flop when he walked in.  In our wedding vows, I promised to give him beautiful babies.  Little did I know it would be Ken to actually give me the gift of our daughter.  Neither of us came from families where our Mom and Dad were happily in love.  It is our dream for Sophia to look up to us as a couple.  She does deserve to meet a man as wonderful as her Daddy.  


Here is little peek into the last twelve years.






Happy Anniversay Sweet Bizkit.  I love you more than you could ever know.

No!

February 2, 2010.  8:49pm.  Due to some issues, we had been notified that we would likely not hear Sophia cry when she entered this world. And so we waited. The first sound we heard was a tiny little whimper.  She didn't cry when she was cleaned up.  She didn't cry when I first held her.  She didn't cry that first night in the hospital with us...or the second...or the third.  She didn't cry when she woke up to eat during the wee hours of the first night back home...or the next...or the next.  To get our attention she would simply whimper and whine.    This was true for the entire newborn stage.  From weeks 2-8 or so she would whine from the hours of 5-8pm, not hungry, not gassy, not needing to be changed just fussy but still not crying.  Once she became mobile and started falling down or boinking her head and such, she finally cried out some serious, tears rolling down her face, holding on to Mommy or Daddy for dear life cries.  That was it.  We thought "Wow! We must be raising the happiest baby in the world!"

Fast forward to Friday, August 19, 2011.  I went to the daycare to pick her up after school and she greeted me with her usual "Ma!"along with a huge hug and smile.  She saw my keys and said "Ba-bye!" grabbing my hand and walking toward the door.  I asked her to hold on just a second while I collected her things.  Bad choice.  Apparently in Sophia's mind this meant we weren't leaving as she had planned. She threw herself to the floor and begun thrashing, kicking, and screaming uncontrollably.  I literally for the first time in my 18 3/4 months of parenting had no clue what to do.  If I would have had ice cream, she would have had it.  If I had a soda, she would have had it.  If I would have had an inappropriate cartoon for her to watch, she would have had it.  But I had nothing.  Nothing would appease her for several minutes until finally, she was over it.  I was mortified.  Who was this little child?  Surely someone had pulled the ol' switcheroo with my baby at the daycare.  None-the-less it was over.  From here we went to the car and drove back to Cruces as if nothing had happened.  She preceded to "tell me about her day" the whole way home.

Since Friday, this has become a recurring situation in our house.  For no reason what-so-ever that is apparent to us, she FLIPS out!  Screaming, throwing things, going stiff when we try to pick her up, etc.  In addition to this "NO!" has officially become her favorite word.  We try not to use "no" too much when disciplining her, instead we try to redirect her behavior to something she is allowed to do.  Unfortunately this is easier said than done.  Of course when she is about to do something or touch something off limits our first instinct is to tell her "no no".  As it turns out "No!" is her first reaction to nearly EVERYTHING right now combined with pointer finger moving side to side in a move made famous by my Grandma.

While making dinner the other night she was in the middle of a tantrum and I asked her a series of questions trying to figure out what exactly was causing her frustration:
Me:  Soph do you want some milk?
Sophia: No!
Me: Soph are you hungry?
Sophia: No!
Me:  Soph do you want to go nite nite?
Sophia: No!
Ken: Soph do you want a million dollars?
Sophia: No!
Whattaya gonna do?

Incidentally, I was looking online for effective ways to prevent a toddler temper tantrum.  My findings were strangely similar to strategies I use in class with my Freshman (READ: Really Tall Toddlers).  For example:  Keep them entertained, give them positive attention, change things around so that they don't fall victim to their own short attention spans, give them tasks within their zone of proximal development so that they don't get frustrated and/or bored, etc.  Maybe I should start using time-out in my classroom?

So is life.  I have learned that just as soon as I get used to something in parenthood...it changes.  I'm hoping to get used to this phase very quickly.

On a positive note, today while we drove home she spotted my after-school snack - a banana.  "Banana? Banana?" she asked.  I handed a chunk of it back to her and took a bite.  "Banana? Banana?" she asked again.  I said, "Sophia, do you want MORE banana?  MORE banana?"  "Mo nana?" she replied. I gave her another chunk. "Tankyu." :)