Put on your Big Girl Panties

Today was the day! (September 22, 2010) I picked Everlee up from school and they suggested we start trying Pull-Ups (the Big Girl Panties) instead of diapers. I thought she might be a little too young (Mommy isn't ready to let go just yet) but they were very encouraging and the extra help can only be beneficial. So, Everlee and I went to Walmart to pick out her Pink Princess Pull-Ups. She was so excited she even carried them into her room and we started to put them away into the basket together. Later that evening, she came out to the living room with two Pull-Ups and pretended to put them on. Maybe she was ready?

The following day I delightfully surprised to hear she went pee-pee in the potty. Her teachers were thrilled considering it was her very first day. I can't wait to pick her up from school today to see how the Big Girl panties went.

It was a nice thought.....

So I decided I wanted to do something nice for Everlee's teachers to show our appreciation because they are always so good with her and she just loves being at school. I decided we would make them cookies and it would give us the chance to do this together for the first time. I stopped by the local dollar store for a few Halloween items and decided to grab the cookie mix while I was there. Suddenly, I realized we didn't have enough eggs, they didn't have eggs at the Dollar Store (thank goodness) so I settled for the generic already frozen prepacked cookies. I was a bit nervous on how they would turn out but I was trying to something nice and work with what I had. Everlee and I headed home and she was thrilled with the idea of "Cookies". She loves anything cookie related. We preheated the oven, pulled out the cookie sheets, and she placed them on the sheet. At first she didn't quite understand the cookies needed to bake. She quickly shoved the first piece of dough into her mouth and aimed for the rest. It took some explaining but we finally got the cookies into the oven. Well, this was going to be a very productive Miller home afternoon so we started folding the laundry in the bedroom. In the end, the generic Dollar Store cookies ended up burning to a crisp. There was no way I was going to give this gist as an appreciation....but it was a nice thought! The next time I will just wait for the eggs and do it the old fashion way.

Brushy, Brushy, Brushy

I know this sounds like a silly song to sing while brushing your teeth but so far it has worked great with Everlee. I actually got the song from the movie, Grease. It has always stuck in my head so I just went with it. On September 16, 2010 Everlee had her first dentist appoitment and I was terrified her teeth wouldn't be clean enough. We do the best we can when it comes to brushing twice a day and getting the toothbrush to actually touch the teeth. There have been days where it is a knock down, drag out fight. (Exaggerating of course) But there have been days where it just wasn't going to happen...not even if I bribed her with a coookie afterwards. So I was delightfully surprised when the Dentist said her teeth were very clean, no cavitities, and the spacing was perfect for adult teeth. Toot, Toot (My own horn) I guess this is a lesson in not stressing over the little things. Everlee's teeth are fine, she is fine, and overall everything will be fine even if her teeth are not primed and polished twice a day, every day!

"I'm leaving on a Jet Plane......"

Everlee had the chance to experience her very first airplane ride as we jetted home to Maryland to visit family and to watch the Washington Redskins game. (September 10, 2010) It was a little hard to know what to expect so we sought the advice of our fellow friends who were frequent flyers with their little ones. They suggested new toys, books, snacks, drinks, etc. Anything to keep a very active 2 year old occupied. Well........the first flight was a little nerve racking. Everlee screamed for what seemed like forever but soon became content one we pulled out the trusty DVD player. Who said kids shouldn't watch TV? Not me. Everlee did a great job the rest of the flight home. She loved watching her DVD, smiling at the passengers, and crawling beneath the seats. It actually made it easier for us because another child decided to scream throughout the entire flight. At least, it wasn't our child. All in all, I think it was a very successful trip and something we would definitely do again.