A Frozen Birthday Party

My baby turned 2!

We were lucky enough to celebrate her birthday with a party on her real birthday. That doesn't happen very often, but we had such a fun day with our little girl. I chose her birthday party theme as Frozen, because A: its the only movie she has ever watched to the end and B: I wasn't going to do a Daniel Tiger birthday party. 

It was a little difficult find anything snow related since it is now spring, so mainly it was a blue, purple and silver party. If you know me, you know I love throwing parties, but it has been pretty difficult while living in a small apartment and a state that is snow covered 7 months of the year, but I think this party went off pretty good. I did get a little stressed out because Anthony had school right in the middle of day and a bunch of baking mishaps happened. I convinced him to ditch class and help me bake cookies and cupcakes. He is true dad. 

The night before her birthday we set up THE kitchen. We bought it a few weeks ago, and I have been dying to put it up. I have heard the horror stories of this kitchen saying it takes forever. Well, I know I have the best handyman for a husband and knew he could do it fast... 

.. 3 hours later, and I swear there should have been plumbing hooked up to this thing. Its truth people. 3 hours. Luckily, she L.O.V.E.S. it. and she better love it until she is 15 for a very long time. My mom gave her a grocery cart, and my grandma sewed her (and her baby!) an apron. So were set from some good quality kitchen play time.

She woke up and we had her favorites for breakfast:

Banana pancakes, strawberries, and eggs.

This is the closest I have gotten to a real smile for the camera in a LONG time.

She got some veggies and other foods that she cut. She loves that she has a knife.. creepy.

and she got this baby from my dad. Her eyes close and she keeps putting her "Night Night"

After nap time, I found her running off with sneaking treats.

The party!

We had so many friends to celebrate with and Amelia loved seeing all of her little friends come and play. Every time somebody would tell her Happy Birthday, she would tell them Happy Birthday back. and tell them they are now 2. 

Her boyfriend, Hal, building a snowman

Don't mind my hair.. there were 100 people and our apartment was boiling.

It was a great day. and she was sooo happy. She is just the biggest sweetheart.

Polar Vortex of Insanity

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”  -John Steinbeck

The winter in Ithaca has been a horrible one. I may have a distorted memory of last year since I rarely went outside with my baby, but this year it's like I am living in a vortex of perpetual frost. Until today, I had almost accepted the fact that this was my day to day life. I was getting used to it. I started to think it may not be that bad... 
People..I WAS STARTING TO THINK -10 DEGREES WASN'T BAD. 
I heard on the radio that this winter is the coldest winter in over 100 years. I'm not sure if I feel honored to have experienced it, but I do feel mildly insane. 

Then today happened... well, technically it started yesterday, but whatever... it got to 54 degrees.
 54... 54. 
I wore flip flops. If there isn't snow on the ground and it's above 50, the flip flops come out. 

we. played. outside.

 Amelia wore a light jacket and was absolutely flabbergasted as to why it didn't have a hood, and why on earth she wasn't wearing socks in her shoes.. She also wore caprees and kept trying to pull them down. Poor Girl. Ithaca is really getting to her, too. 

Luckily for us, she won't be confused much longer and freezing will again become our new norm. Between tomorrow and Thurdsay we are supposedly getting 10+ inches of snow. For a minute there I thought we were coming out of this wasteland, but alas, we are not. 

We have been doing a lot of indoor activities, but I am so not a craft mom. I will do it if it easy, not too messy, and she can do it herself after a few tutorials. Because of this, we have been frequent visitors to the science center, which she calls Duckies, and the bounce house at the mall, which is now called Slides.

Attempting to go outside

The perfect Scarf from Aunt Katie

Bounce House aka Slides

Practicing motherhood

My newest anxiety

A Lot of Baths.. pretending we are in the Bahamas with blue water

I promise I'm not making her a child slave! She enjoys it... Probably a side effect of  this winter.

Went to Frozen!

More Slides

Dressing herself

Going NightNight in her ball pit

Sledding indoors.. much better

Making Valentines

A lot of Barnes N Noble trips

Naked Forts

Learning New Tricks

I am really hoping for a better April. (because Amelia will be turning 2.. and I want a Park Birthday Party.)

Potty Trained in 3 Days.. SupaaaStaaa

By Golly. I think she's finally got it!

Potty training Amelia was such a terrifying thought. I always frowned at parents who told me their child was potty trained before 2 years old.. I also thought they were lying. Like that unspoken competition of "my child is better at pooping than yours" and they were cheating. 
Then one day, Amelia asked to go on the potty. And she went. Then she asked the teachers at the YMCA to take her potty. And then I knew. She was ready. 

I felt silly that I was so scared to potty train her. Seriously... I was SCARED. And looking back, I have no idea why I was scared. Here were my worries:
1. I couldn't drive more than 1 hour at at time.
2. It would be hard to go in public worrying that she would have an accident.
3. I didn't want her out of a crib. She is too much of a free spirit for that. 
4. I don't even know.. Failure? Being too early.

Just so you know, all of these don't matter. You can drive and bring the potty, or just plan ahead and think about water consumption and all that. Being in public is actually EASIER. I don't have to haul around a diaper bag, and everywhere has bathrooms. She wears a diaper when she sleeps, so there's that. And failure? Please... she is a champion.

I followed the Naked Potty Training guide. My friends, Elyse and Courtney, both suggested this website. Potty Train in Just 3 Days. Not only did it work like a charm, but it worked in just 2 days. Yep. On day 3, I took her to the gym for 2 hours and she didn't have an accident. She told the teachers she needed to go and that's that. 

Not quite sure what to do with these undies

New Undies for Valentines Gift

BatGirl!

Anyone need a plumber?

And then this happened.

Not Naked. just the best seat in the house.

Some tips:
1. Get a potty that they will be excited about. Amelia was OBSESSED with it. 
2. Make sure they are ready. Honestly, Amelia potty trained herself. 
3. Get a treat/treasure jar. Every time she went Peep, I gave her a sticker for her chart, and a Hershey's Kiss. When she went poop, she got a sticker again plus a toy. Poop is just scarier, so the reward needs to be worth it.
4. The first day, or two, might seem like they are just playing or they just don't get it. Don't give up. Go outside, give them a break and see how they do.

Amelia was potty trained at 21 months using this method, and it was the first try. This isn't mean to be a "My kid poops better than yours." This post is to say that it works, not too scary, and definitely worth it. 

**IF THEY ARE READY**