potty training

I am very proud to announce that Eloise has been potty trained for about 1 1/2 years with no accidents.  we started our potty training journey back in November  2013.  When I noticed Eloise was not wetting her diaper over night. 

Potty-  the potty we brought the potty out in October to introduce her to it so that it was not a scary thing she had fun playing with it she sat on it to watch movies with her diaper on and even for a couple days used it to store her diapers . After a month we moved it into the bathroom beside the toilet. and every morning when mommy got up and went to the bathroom Eloise followed and would sit on her potty beside me and wait . About two weeks of that we moved onto taking her diaper off and getting her to pee when momma did which started our routine. With in a week Eloise was great at it  some mornings before momma even got up she would walk to bathroom take her diaper off and pee on her potty some mornings even have a bowel movement. then wait at her potty for mommy to come wipe her bottom. Then we started to take her to the bathroom about 20 minutes after eating or drinking to void and so that she doesn't go in her diaper.I was so happy on how fast she caught on she started going on her own then would clap so I knew when I  herd clapping she was in the bathroom and had used the potty.well in October we took a trip out west to British Columbia I couldn't bring her potty so when we got there we bought a potty seat.

Toilet seat-  While on a two month vacation to British Columbia. My sister and I picked up the cutest toilet seat it was Disney princess one that was pink  for the toilet that fits on perfect but also is perfect size for kids to use with out falling into the toilet this one actually had a button that made sounds when she pushed it which was like a reward to her to push it when done she would have the hugest smile and was so proud of herself it didn't take her long to get used to this potty seat and love using that over her potty so when we got back home her potty turned into her stepping stool to wash her hands after using the potty. With her using the big girl toilet she now doesn't need any help she even wipes her own bum and when done places the seat on top of the toilet and when needed she sets it in place and uses the potty.

washing hands- Eloise is such a independent child that she loves to wash her hands on her own. I know some kids just love water from birth like eloise did but she is very thorough on washing her hands after using the potty or  just in general she doesn't like dirty hands so when we were on vacation in British Columbia and visited the store YaYa Baby  they had this awesome device called the Aqueduck which is a extender for the tap to make it easier for kids to wash there hands. one of the best inventions ever eloise for first 3 weeks was washing her hands every 5 minutes if we let her or she would get her hands dirty so that she could wash her hands using the aqueduck.

rewards -  When she went on the potty we would cheer for her and clap our hands also some days she got a M&M  after about two weeks we got a sticker chart and she loved the sticker chart and was very proud of it she would show visitors it as soon as they came in. 
  

routine- We started by putting her to bed with out a diaper on and a soaker pad under her she did great first two weeks then she had one accident which was not to bad we just changed the soaker pad and it was a quick and easy fix.  and the next step was to  before bed and as soon as she got up we would go to the potty and sit on it till she went . then we started that every 2 hours we would go to the potty. about a week after that we moved onto trying   20 mins after each meal or snack we would use the potty. Eloise caught on every quick .

special hand & footprint gifts for different occasions

I love hand made gifts so when eloise was born I was so excited to be able to make  gifts for  family and friends and to have memories of making them with eloise. As a child my mother always helped us make handmade gifts. I have always preferred hand made gifts as it meant someone cared enough to take the time and put thought into the gift. over the past year we have made many different gifts for all occasions and holidays. these will make awesome keep sakes which if you wanted to make something similar each year  for different people the change in foot and hand size is always something that will change and not be the same each year as she grows and if the art is displayed out in the open you can tell by size each years painting and the ages or difference a year makes they grow so fast its great to have keepsakes like these and they make awesome art for walls.

what you will need:
none toxic paint (assorted colours)
canvas mini or medium size
paint brushes different sizes
googlie eyes
glue
glitter/glitter paint
ribbon
water to wash hands or brushes between colours
baby wipes work perfect to clean off the paint quickly from hands and feet

Here are the many different gifts we have made in the past two years

 

water gun painting

    This summer Eloise had tons of fun with water guns. Normally I would not let Eloise have a toy gun, but this was a great idea that included using them. This way I could use a water gun she had gotten in a surprise bag. I was told about this idea which was so much fun and I love looking at her paintings she made. This makes great abstract art. People don't even realize Eloise made them. I have been asked a few times where I bought my paintings. Eloise loved this way of painting we did this more then once over the summer.  We plan on doing this again soon. This was a pretty clean way to paint Eloise ended up with barley anything on her hands or clothes. These paintings would make awesome gifts for family members.

What you need:                

canvas

Paint multiple colours of your choice

water guns

Directions:

 pour paint into water guns

set canvas up in a spot outside

stand in front of canvas

point water guns and squirt till your happy with your board 

when your board is covered or you like what your art looks like

finish paint off in guns and wash to reuse or change colour if you only have one gun

Bird Feeder (sensory craft)

   While out on a walk Eloise started collecting pine cones. When we got home she asked to make a craft that is when I  got the bright idea to make these bird feeders. Eloise loves sensory play so this was a great sensory craft. The peanut butter gets a little messy. The feel of the bird seeds stuck to your hands with the peanut butter is a sensory play.  Eloise loves to bird watch. So this was a great idea when we were done we hung them and watched for birds.  we hung a few of these up at our trailer to bird watch in the country and some in our yard . I forgot to take pics of the birds eating. We did see a few different kinds of birds. Eloise's favorite bird to watch eat was the black cap chickadees. This is a perfect rainy day craft to make and a great day after activity of bird watching.

What you need:

Pine cones

peanut butter

string

wild bird seed

Directions:

1) tie string around top of pine cone

2) cover pine cone in peanut butter

3)after pine cone is covered in peanut butter roll it in bird seed

4) let dry and hang outside in a tree or somewhere for birds to find

5) enjoy bird watching