No More Diapers!

We have had an eventful week around the Brauchi household. The first and most important development is that Leslie is now potty trained!! We tried over a couple days last month, and learned that while she can "hold it" for at least 6 hours, teaching her to "let it go" was more difficult. So, we decided to give up that round and try again over Christmas or spring break or maybe even the summer:)

But, she came home from school Tuesday wanting to wear panties, so I told her that if she went potty she could wear panties the rest of the night. She walked into her bathroom when we got home, went potty, put on panties, and hasn't looked back! The only accident she's had was Wednesday she pooped in her panties, but she even got that down by Thursday!

Here she is one Wednesday wearing her M&M's shirt to commemorate her first full panties day because she gets an M&M every time she goes...

We are starting to have some trouble in setting some limits and boundaries in her new found freedom. Such as, she'll go just little drops all morning and then fill up her pull-up at nap time which I think is very intentional. I know she can hold it through her nap because those first couple days potty training, she did. So, we might have to go just panties at nap and wet the bed a couple times to learn that lesson.

The other issue we are encountering is her wanting to use the potty out of boredom when we are out shopping or eating. Like I mentioned before, she can hold it for an incredibly long time, so we've been pretty good about letting her go when it's convenient and telling her she just needs to hold it when we know she just wants to have fun. And, she hasn't made me eat my words yet:)

Sports Songs

I don't know why this video has given me so much trouble, but I finally have it for all to enjoy! As I've mentioned before, she loves football and Texas Tech and sports in general. So, combined with her love of singing, it's only natural that she loves sports songs so much, too.


Here she is singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Listen how she routes for the "Homies." I say "home team" and Barry says "Cubies," so she combines them to get "homies."

Then she sings the Texas Tech fight song. You can usually understand her alot better, but I was just glad to get it on tape finally! Notice how she has all the guns up in the right places too! We couldn't be more proud of our lil Red Raider in training. I'll write the words below for those who want to follow along:)

And as the finale, she does "crab hands" in honor of Tech's amazing receiver... Crabtree.

Fight Raiders fight! Fight Raiders fight!

Fight for the school you love so dearly.

We'll hit them high. You'll hit them low.

We'll push the ball across the goal.

Tech! Fight! Fight!

We'll praise her name. Boost her to fame.

Fight for the scarlet and the black.

We will hit 'em! We will wreck 'em!

Hit 'em Wreck 'em Texas Tech!

And the victory bells will ring out!

Art Projects

Leslie is finally starting to get the idea of coloring and using her imagination. She brought 2 art pieces home from school this week. And, for the first time, she was able to tell me what they were!

This is a flower.

This is an alligator.

I'm so proud of her! She's getting to be so big! We'll be doing sand art and lanyards in no time:)

Surgery Pictures

All the kids get little doctor polar bears. She liked making hers slide down the bed...



They gave her some medicine to relax her, but it just made her act all loopy. She was too funny fighting staying awake. I didn't mind so much because it was the most she's let me cuddle her since birth...

They came to get her about 5mins after her medicine wore off. She had fun taking a ride in the bed and elevator. And she kept on thinking this nurse was Mam-maw (her great-grandmother.)

And finally, here we are back upstairs in her room enjoying chocolate ice cream for breakfast and watching Toy Story 2. Life is back to good.

Finally!!

Leslie slept through the night and didn't wake up until 8:30! God is good!

Nocturnal Escapades

Last weekend Leslie spent the night at a boys house, and then this week, we caught her trying to sneak out! The time change has REALLY messed up her sleeping. It wouldn't be such a big deal except she realized she can open her door and come wake me up in the mornings instead of playing in her room for a while like she has been since we took the side off her crib.

I finally realized I needed to be a little more proactive in correcting her schedule when I woke up one morning (after telling her to go play in her room for 15mins until my alarm went off at 7:30) and found her in the backyard playing in her pajamas. So, we went to Target that evening to get some childproof doorknob covers. Of course, they were out, so I decided we could make it through one more night without one.

So she comes and wake me up periodically throughout the night wanting to get up or have me put her covers back on etc..., so I get up and put her back in bed, no big deal.... Then I wake up to thuds. I'm not sure if she's in her bed kicking the wall or if she's out roaming the house trying to turn a movie on or something. So, I turn my head to expose both ears and get a better gauge of the sound. It's quiet for a while, so I figure she was kicking wall and I start going back to sleep.

All of the sudden I hear the back door open and her yell, "It's cold!" I told her, "Leslie Claire! Yes it's cold- it's 4:30 in the morning!" A cold front had moved through since her morning escapade. She had been on the back porch playing this whole time! I hustled her little hiney back to bed and didn't even have to yell at her... she knew. She slept the rest of the night no problems.

She was rather upset when she woke up in the morning to find I had gated her in her room:) Lord help me... While I don't think she's a terrible two, she certainly keeps me on my toes! Stay tuned for more wacky stories as we journey through toddler-hood together...

Singing

Here is a few of Leslie's songs. She loves to sing... but not so much for the camera. Luckily, her love of looking at herself when we turn the camera screen around surpasses all else:)


Here she is singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and part of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"...