Love this Kid

Ah, the ebbs and flows of a life with a two year old.....it's certainly a roller coaster ride. I feel like we are in a pretty good space right now. I heard from one parenting speaker that toddlers continually test boundaries to make sure they are still in place, then back off, then if something changes, they test them again.... Well, I find this to be true. We will be in a phase where we are constantly in the punishment/consequence mode. Having to be right on top of her & not letting much/anything slide. Then, she realizes (again!) that yep....still have to obey these parent people. And then, she is fairly obedient again for a phase. With the birth of a new sister, mommy being busy, lots of nursing/tv sessions, we were not too good at punishing her because we were just too busy. She got away with alot more stuff & consequently, was not being the most obedient child. But now, I'm getting my game back with having two kids and have been back on top of her making sure she obeys.....or else! And amazingly, after a few days/week of being very firm with her....guess what?? She's being a lot more obedient again. YAY!! I'll enjoy it while it lasts!!

We've also been working on potty training (again) for about a month. She is pretty much fully

trained to go #1. The other.....not so much. She has full control of it, but is adamant about not wanting to go on the potty for that #2 business. She wears panties most of the time now, and just waits until I put a diaper on her for naptime (though doesn't always make it, but does a lot). Well, I read online that you can try easing them into the potty by having them tell you when they need to go,

then putting them in a pull up/diaper and having them at least go stand

in the bathroom with the pull up on. That has worked a little for us too, but again, not always. I've just come to the realization that she won't be one of those kids that trains in a weekend. It's quite the long process here. But, we're making progress...... I look forward to the day that I can post that we are fully potty trained. Until then......I'm praying for patience!

And for fun.....a couple Mackenzie-isms.... She calls a guitar a "tar". No first syllable needed. She's known this word for a long time since she sees her daddy playing one all the time. She learned when she couldn't speak too well, so it was called tar. It stuck. She still uses the "Y" sound for her "L's". WHich I think is super cute! I love to hear her ask for one of her favorite treats....a "Ya-Yee Pop" (lollipop). A hard word when you can't say your L's!