36 Weeks

36 Weeks Old ..the weeks seem to go faster and faster. Doesn't Princess look like a pretty Chinese doll. This beautiful dress was a gift from her Grandma and Grandpa who are in

Hong Kong. on a mission. She is just growing into it.

She is getting good at walking with help and sometimes will even stand by herself.

Princess has decided she doesn't want pieces of an apple, she wants the whole thing like mom, and brother. She often crawls over to our box of apples and picks one out for herself. If I start it, she will scrape the fruit out with her teeth. It is pretty cute.

I know this video is sideways, but I love watching her eat the whole apple. It's just too funny.

She loves to eat oat O's and Kamut puffs. These O's ended up lots of places, but not in her mouth.

She kept trying to pick another one up and put it in her mouth, but she would drop them, or push them out with her tongue.

When there were no more on the table, she tried to get the ones off her chin with her tongue.

Lately she likes to be what we call nakee-butt. After I take off her diaper and potty her, she will crawl away as fast as she can. She screams and cries about getting a new diaper on. It's pretty funny. Sometimes during the day I will just let her be for a few minutes. Eventually she will crawl over to me and we get the diaper on without so much of a fight.

She is a joy to us all.

3 Months Old

Today is Princess's 3 month birthday. This is her Paris hat, she is so fashionable. She has slept 5-6 hrs in a row at night a few nights which is great for Mom and Dad.

She is now big enough to sit on the potty with Mom instead of being held in arms. This helps our arms not get so tired, she is so big! Still catching almost all the poops and a lot more pee's.

Her legs are getting stronger and she loves to stand up!

She has listened to Coach read two whole novels. "Spindels End" and "Fablehaven" they are now reading "Princess Academy" This is their evening ritual.

Starboy loves to read to Princess each day also. He does 20 minutes of reading everyday for homework. Princess will coo and smile while she listens to him.

We love watching her daily milestones. She is such a happy fun baby. We are all so lucky

Elimination Communication

This last week I have begun Elimination Communication (EC or Infant Potty Training) with Princess. I am not obsessed about it, I just give her a pottytunity each time I change her cloth diaper. I try to always change her in the bathroom so that I am close to the sink/toilet/bathtub (someplace I can wash away any remains quickly and easily) So far I have been using the sink. I take off her diaper and hold her over the sink making a "ssss" sound. I usually hold her there for about 1 minute. If she needs to go she does and then I can wash away the elimination (and disinfect the sink). So far I am catching about 2-3 pees per day and 1-2 poops. I am also starting to notice her cues more which is really cool. She makes a really funny grunting sound when she needs to poop. Coach tried it last night and was so excited when his little girl urinated on the "sssss" cue.

Now some of you may think this is awfully strange, but in Mongolia where Coach and I served in the Peace Corps there were no disposable diapers or cloth diapers. People used Elimination Communication and split pants. At first I thought this really strange. I asked one Mongolian Mother how she knew when her baby needed to go. She said to me "The same way I know when he is hungry, or thirsty, hot, cold, or tired. I listen to his cues." So when I found out that a few of my friends in America were actively encorporating Elimination Communication in the USA it seemed to make sense to me. The book "Infant Potty Training" by Laura Boucke was very helpful in preparing me to use it with my daughter. EC is used through-out the world: China, India, and most of Africa are just a few of the other places where this method is used.

There are actually 3 or 4 other mothers in my Le Leche League group that practice Elimination Communication with their children as well as my niece who lives in New Mexico. I love it because it makes it so my baby doesn't have to get feces all over her. It protects her skin and the better we get at it will help with saving water and less cloth diapers to wash. For those who would be using disposable diapers, it helps protect the enviornment by using less diapers. Everyone has to do what works for them, but I am excited about listening to my daughters cues in yet another way.