Just Hangin' Around

Should I start this post by blatantly ignoring the fact that it's been well over three months since my last entry, or should I address it, state the obvious and move forward from here. I'm turning into such a broken record by apologizing before every entry. Wait? Haven't I said that already too? Screw it. Let's continue.

Oh life, you fickle beast you. You've thrown me up, thrown me down, shot me out like a boomerang and I've made my way back into, what I will momentarily call, control (duck!). What am I up to you ask? Oh, right, right, right. I'm no longer the star attraction here, let's be honest with ourselves. I suppose you want a KT update? Well I'll make you suffer first. Plus I have to give my readers (pray, tell, what are those?) some filler before I get to the punchline, after all. It's only fair. 

Jeff and I you ask? Too kind, too kind of you. We've been staying very busy. In the past three months we have changed jobs (well just me), gone on vacation bought a new car (Jeff), lost 10 lbs, gained 2 of them back, escorted KT to and from school, escorted KT to and from Mimi's Summer Day Camp, Sea World outings, family outings, friend outings, family visits from Florida peeps, a new laptop, some photography, some relaxation, and whole lot more that I've forgotten about at this point. 

Now, on to the good stuff. This face:

That's what you're really here for anyway, right?

KT has grown so much this summer. Both physically and mentally. Back in April/May we were having a lot of problems with her biting classmates. Friends kids? nope. Us? uh-uh. Random Strangers? negative. Kids at Class Only? Bingo. And I'm sure you're thinking, Oh, there must be something at her school that's bothering her. Well, you may be partially right. I think the number one reason she was having so many issues is because she couldn't find the best way to communicate. So she went with her gut reaction. And that was to take a chomp out of the first kid that crossed her path. Literally. Sometimes completely unmotivated. Trust me, I observed it. It was quite the frustrating experience because how do you tell your 2 year old not to do something that you've never seen them do but you know they are doing but only doing in class. Wait, what? Exactly! Anyway, we came *this* close (imagine tiny space between thumb and pointer) to getting the boot from her daycare. That's right, KTK, you almost got EXPELLED! That's going in your baby book. Well, if you had one that is. That's a WHOLE other productivity issue in itself - let's just say I'm working on it!

Back to the point. Drastic times called for drastic measures, or maybe I'm drastically over dramatizing. Nevertheless, the daycare really worked with us and we agreed that the best solution was to downgrade for the summer. Two days at school. Hrm, 2 days, but what about the other three you ask? 

Stage Right, Enter Mimi.

Thank God (no seriously, Thank You, God) that my mother is retired. How many times have I said that aloud, in my head, and anticipate saying it in the future. Serious lifeline here, people. If you don't have a retired mother, go forth and get one. They are very resourceful. Ring a ling ling. Hello, Mom. We need some help. Of course there was acceptance on the other side, I mean, please reference above pic, how can anyone say no to that face. Seriously, try it. It's hard. So, Mimi's Summer Day Camp, as it is affectionately been dubbed opened in June. And ran for 10 weeks. Bugs, Dinosaurs, Library visits EVERY WEEK (heaven!), animals, gardening, chickens, guineas (um, shortlived, literally), movies, donkey rides (of the mechanical nature). You name it, she experienced it! And, as much as I am bummed, these experiences didn't happen with me, I give thanks that my kid got to be a kid this summer and spend quality time outdoors. 

The timing could not have been more perfect. KT's communication improved 10-fold over the course of the summer. She is literally chattering up a storm. All. The. Time. Yes, yes (insert Colleen talking all the time joke here) - I could hardly guess you'd say something! 

She's also, dare I say it, potty trained!!! Completely. Of course, we still have the occasional accident when we are playing too hard and forget to think about things. But man, after our first attempt back in March, I was fearful on how things would play out in this realm. But, gradual potty training really worked for us. Of course I bribed her with candy. Look, I don't need your judgement. I already judge myself 10x over for these decisions. But, miracle of miracles, bribery worked well for us. Also, allowing her to decide that she needed to go. And always, always, always, even if you 100% KNEW it was going to amount to nothing encourage and follow through with potty time. Sometimes we sat there for 20 minutes just waiting. Take a book in there (for both of you). Just sayin'. But we made it through, with relative ease. 

And so now, we reflect upon our summer with bittersweet memories. Sweet in that we have been blessed in so many ways this summer. Our entire family. And bitter in that, it signifies our little girl is growing, growing, growing and there really is no way to slow down time. Le sigh. 

You can find me wearing white paints and sandals and drinking lemonade every day until Labor Day so I can desperately hang on to what's left of this fabulous summer.