I could take Pictures of her all day...

mo

Pacifier Free! (Hopefully)

Monday night we went to the pool with Aunt Jamel and the kids. I ask Jamel to look at Layla's teeth because I thought she may be getting her molars. Jamel could not see anything, but said she is the right age. She then asked " she still uses a pacifier?" Oh no...she could tell. She said her palate had an arch and we needed to stop using one, and try to get away from sippy cups as well. I was heart broken, I don't want to do anything that may impact her life long term, however I was not ready for this battle. After she potty trained early and went to a big girl bed we had decided to leave this one alone for awhile. I had never planned to use a pacifier past like 6 months. I never wanted a toddler walking around with one. But the older she got I realized I just didn't care. It makes her happy, and she didn't use it all the time. It was for sleeping and the car and some times while playing upstairs. So I thought it was something I would deal with later in her life.
But I know found us at a point where we needed to do something. Jatovi has Bulls Games all week so I was not going to do anything about it while he was not here. I was not going to listen to the crying by myself, I am not that strong. I have heard of great ways to get rid of it that seemed better than cold turkey( which is what Jamel said to do)
* go to build a bear and put it in the bear(my favorite)
* tie then to balloons and send them to the moon
*trade them for another toy

So we decided to wait until the weekend, go to build a bear. We are going to the beach next week so maybe she would forget about it while there and like her new bear. In the mean time  Tuesday I cut the end off of it. Another tactic I had heard works, if they can't suck it isn't as rewarding. Although she kept telling me "her pacy was broken" she kept on using it. I guess she figured it was better than nothing. So hide all of them, give her the broken one until we were all home on Sunday, then to build a bear we would go.

Well not as planned as usual...."pacy went with her poop"
Last night at bedtime she said she had to poop. I took her even though I didn't believe her, and sure enough she went. As she lend over to flush...the broken pacy fell in! The look on her face was so priceless, and into the tears she went. My heart broke for her, as I stood there trying to decided what to do. Do I go get another one and cut it..even though I had told her they were gone? I was a little panicky. Jatovi wasn't home, and I couldn't deal with the crying. I picked her up and we sat and rocked. She stopped crying and said"pacy went with my poop" Well at this point I decided to be strong. Yes Layla it did and it will not be back. She went to bed with very little tears.

I was so proud of my big girl, but I was more proud of myself. I didn't think I had it in me to be strong, and I did. She was not asked for it today, but does talk about it every time she goes into the bath room. So I know I can't give in and give her one, no matter how hard she cries. I think this was been harder on me than her!

Yin and Yang

Before we had Layla I was terrified. For as long as I can remember I didn't even know if I wanted children. The hesitation was all fear based. Jatovi has always known he wanted children, and because I trust him with all of my heart, we took a chance.
Layla Katherine has been the BEST decision I could have ever made. Although mother hood has been so muck different than I could have thought. I was sure that a newborn baby would be great, sitting around holding your baby, watching it sleep. What could be better? But I was afraid that once the child grew up I wouldn't know what to do. Watching other toddlers over the years did nothing for me. They get into things , don't listen, and cry loud and this was not for me.
However in my life lessons that I have learned from my Lay, I found it to be the exact opposite. The baby stage was exhausting, and miserable for me.I need sleep and she gave me none, she cried all the time, so there was no sitting around holding her. As for Layla the toddler, I LOVE it. I adore her. She makes me laugh, she makes me smile and I have so much fun with her......most days!
Life with a two year is very interesting. She can warm my heart with a smile, make me laugh out loud with a questions, make coming home from work the best, but boy can she drive me crazy too!
She can be stubborn, demanding, and loud. She is messy and bossy. I can go from a terrible day with her, when I think will this day ever end. To waking up then next day to a perfect princess that I want to be with every second. It is days like this that keep me going. During the bad days I need to tell myself it is all worth it because tomorrow, she will look at me and say "I love you Daddy"..lol


Yin and Yang
Because living with a two year old has it's ups and downs I now find myself with a struggle internally again. " Do we have a second?" For most of Layla's short life I have thought...not a chance. She is perfect, lets not mess with that. However the older she and I both get I find myself thinking that one more might me ok. Although I am terrified again, it turned out ok the first time right? what could go wrong with another adorable child around?
See that is the problem, I can think of many things. The baby could be sick, I might not love it as much as Layla, it could cry more that she did, we can't afford it, more laundry to do, a messy house, and that's just to name a few. I see these other mom's that have 2 and 3 kids and just seem to know that's what they want. I just wish I didn't have the personality that worries about everything.
However what would I do with all of my free time if I wasn't worried about something? I can't imagine a life that calm. So for now I will worry about the future little Mcduffie like I did Layla and if it turns out half as well as she has then it will be ok.

Worry number one...getting pregnant!! Let the fun begin.

Trip North

We all jumped in the car and headed north, to Grammie and Poppies house. Layla traveled much better this time. I was certainly scared after last years terrible drive. But I am happy to report it was a nice drive( well as nice as any 15 hour drive can be)
We had a great time, fishing in Grammies pond, playing in the pool, African Lion Safari but most of all it was great to see Grammie and Poppy.
As fun as a trip home is, it really just makes me angry, sad, happy, and so much more. I am angry when I have to leave, sad to say good bye, happy I have Jatovi and Layla, and so much more. Leaving gets harder and harder every time. I miss my parents, and brothers. I want them to be "everyday" part of Layla's life. I get so jealous of Jatovi, he gets to see his parents with Layla all the time. But then I sit back and realize if I didn't live in NC I would never have met Jatovi and all things since.
So I have to take the good with the bad and say "Good bye until next time"!!

Summer fun with Family and Friends

Ok she's back!

So it looks like it was Jatovi and I that needed trained. After a week or so of pottying at 4am leading to party time for Layla, I put a child proof handle on her door. And it worked! The first night she screamed for 11min and then nap time the next day is cried for 6 min...and since NO crying at all! Jatovi has also started to wake her up around midnight to go pee.And with all of this our sweet girl has returned. It seems like the combination of being in a new bed, being potty trained at night and therefore not sleeping left her every tired, thus a bad girl. Since her sleeping has improved, her behavior has as well. Don't get me wrong, she still see's time out regularly.

Layla's mattress is still on the floor and I think it will be there for a while. Since her falling out of the bed woke her a couple of times, I don't want to risk it. Also she really seems to like it so why not?

Where Did my sweet girl go?

Living with Layla these days is like living with some one who has bi polar, she is up and down....and driving me crazy! We use to have a sweet girl who listened to us, behaved out in public and slept through the night. Well ALL of that is gone :(
Over the last couple of weeks Layla has spent time in "time out" almost every day. Usually for hitting Jack or Molly. She is very mean to both of our pets, and we will not have her abusing animals. For the most part she doesn't mind time out, and in fact has put her self in time out a few times.
After the first few days of big girl bed the honeymoon was over. Layla will wake up to pee and not go back to sleep, even if its 4 am! We walk her back in over and over again but she just keeps coming out of her room. I should be pleased that is she completely potty trained including at night by 25 months but really I would be fine with her sleeping through the night and using her diaper. But our girl is done with diapers and wants to use the potty, no matter what time of day it is.
Terrible two?? I sure hope so because that means she will not be a brat for ever!

Soccer...or somthing like it!

Layla started "soccer"today, how ever it was really just little kids running around. It is a four week program to get kids interested in soccer. Her team is called Thumpers, and Jatovi plays with her. I think they kicked the ball all of twice during the whole 45 min.But she had fun and got some activity which was the plan.

Daddy's Girl!

Layla had so much fun running, and running! It seems like we just need to find some other kids for her to run with because that seems to be her favoirte part. I guess she is taking after her Daddy who ran track. Lets see if the ball is used more next week!

Big Girl Bed

We have been taking about putting Layla in a big girl bed for awhile but decided to wait. I figured this fall we would change her bed and buy a nice new duvet set for the winter. This means we didn't have to worry about her roaming the house at 3am. The doctor at her appointment told me she was ready, but we weren't.
But like everything else in Layla's life she had her own plan. Layla has been a pretty good sleeper since 6months old. Then last week she started waking up at 6am to go pee. She had stopped using a diaper completely it seemed. We continued to put her in one every time she went to sleep but they were always dry...which some might think it is a good thing. But really I like my sleep and would like to sleep until at least 73O am each day, so I kinda wished she would just go in her diaper. But we couldn't untrain her, so we delt with it. Then Tuesday after a busy morning when she was clearly tired she started having a tantrum when I tried to put in down for her nap. If I picked her up her she would fall asleep. This happened again at bedtime. Jatovi was at a bulls game so I was all all alone figuring this out. While we were sitting in her chair with her half a sleep, I said "Layla do you want to sleep on the floor" I was joking and really just talking to talk since I had no idea what else to do. To my surprise she said yes, and laid down on the floor. I gave her her blankets and babies and left. No crying...she seemed happy. I waited 10min to see what she would do, and went back in. She was lying happily on the floor. Well this made me so sad to see my baby on the floor. So I took her mattress out of her crib and put her on it. I didn't want to bring her to our bed since I have made a point to not let her sleep with us often, and never over night. So this is were she slept!
The next morning Jaovi took the rail off her bed, but she slept on the floor again at nap time. That night I put her to bed and she slept all night. She has been sleeping well since. She has not left her room except to pee or get up as they yet. She starts calling us as soon as she wakes up so we have not had to deal with her roaming around the house by herself yet.
I feel a bit over whelmed with all of the changes in Layla these days. No more diapers, no more crib, speaking in sentences, eating at the table with no booster seat, and able to count to twelve! Is she really only 25 months old. I didn't realize this would all happen so fast. Babies sure aren't babies for long.
The last battle we have is her pacifier, but I have no plans on taking that away form her. I planned on her having it only till 6 months! Isn't that a joke! But it is the only baby thing I have left,and  it makes her happy. And really she only sleeps with it so how bad is it really?

Two Years Old!

Layla turned two last month. She went for her second year doctors appointment this week. It really was more like a 25 month appointment but it was the only one they had that fit our schedule. As usual Dr Sloik was happy with her health and development no concerns at all. Her weight was 30.4 lb(86%) and 35.5 inches tall(69%). So really no change a little taller than average and a big heavier. Her BMI is 17 so no concerns with being over weight. They completed a BP for the first time 82/40, which is also normal. So everything is "normal" Exactly what we what!

Layla is "potty trained" now. No accidents in weeks,and dry diapers in the morning as well. I hope that is a sign of things to come, because it was really rather easy to train her. Although I give her doctor full credit, I never would have trained her so young. We even took the change table out of her room since they only thing she used it for was a climbing table.

Meal times are pretty routine, we don't force her to eat. If we make dinner and she doesn't eat then oh well. I am a believer that is a toddler is hungry they will eat. And it seems to work, other than vegetables. Layla eats tons of fruit including water melon, and "bango"( which is really mango). Her favorite meals are rice and mac and cheese.

We have routine play dates, and Jatovi takes her swimming at least once a week. We tend to go out and play every morning, then lunch. After her nap some days we stay home or run errands. Layla loves playing at the sand box at the airport and the Durham Museum. She has started to enjoy swings as much as a slide but they have to be close to the ground so her feet can touch.

Layla's real favorite past time is watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse! If I turned the TV on she would watch Mickey for hours! We tend to let her watch TV first thing in the morning while we shower and get dressed, because we know she won't move. After her nap if we have nothing planned and an episode before story time at bedtime.

Laylas hair is finally growing in fast. Thank fully its not thick yet, it remains soft and thin and very curly! I still style it curly and Grannie still likes it braided. So she get her hair done ever day. Jatovi jut pulls it back in a pony tail, and it falls out mostly but at least he tries.

Parents morning out is still going well, and she loves it. One day when I picked her up her teacher told me that she had spent most of the morning in "tine out" I was shocked because they had never told me anything bad before. It would appear our sweet Layla doesn't like to share. After this information we started to work on sharing with her. Boy the teachers were right Layla doesn't like to share! So with this only child thing working against us, we work with her sharing her toys with us and kids she has play dates with. It is a work in progress.

Two looks like it is going to continue to be challenging, but completely different than the past two years. For the most part we have fun and enjoy every minute watching our baby turn into a little girl.

Watch Out Mommy got a new camera!

The day of Layla's birthday party my camera broke:( Jatovi bought me the camera like 6 or 7 years ago. It is a "high end point and shoot" and I loved it. However it is slow. Grammie and Poppy have DSLR cameras and I love them. Jatovi and I researched cameras, watched you tube videos and went to several stores. I had a really hard time picking a new camera because I wanted a small fast camera. I am tired of Layla looking cute with a big smile on her face but when I push the button she has moved by the time it is taken. So after trying many cameras I went with a sony a-57! It is a DSLR and bigger than I wanted, but it takes 12 pictures a second! I have order two cute camera bags because I want to be able to take it everywhere.

This is going to be a fun summer, and I will be able to take pictures to prove it!