First Nutcracker

On Saturday, Helen Grace performed in her very first Nutcracker with Stars in Motion/Ballet DeSoto at the Hernando Performing Arts Center. Since it was a wild west version of the Nutcracker, her preschool class dressed up as tumbleweeds.

Her daddy was in Tampa on a business trip and wasn’t able to be there, but she had all of her grandparents (and Bubba too!) there to cheer her on. She even went easy on me and took a really early 45-minute nap since the performance was during her nap time and chowed down a turkey sandwich before we left- both without a fuss. She let Spiffer and me put her hair up in a ponytail and pull her hair off her face, but only because she was most excited about getting to put on Mama’s blush and lipstick!

As show time neared, Helen Grace was thankfully as cool as a cucumber and so very excited to get on stage, while I was the one that was shaking like a leaf. I dropped her off at the door to the auditorium, and she didn’t even look back as the big girls took her backstage to get ready. I hadn’t seen her costume until she walked on stage, and when she did, I was *shocked* that she let them put it on her- grass skirt, apron bib, and a big plate-shaped hat tied on her head. Of course, because the teenage girls dressed her, she was happy to put on the scratchy outfit! She did really well for her dance and stayed on her tippy toes the whole time. She loves the big jump part the best (so cute in the video!!), and she did a great job of paying attention and following the line on and off the stage. I realized that I had been holding my breath throughout her performance, and I was soooo relieved when she pranced off the stage as happy as could be. Her group came back on at the end for the finale, and we couldn’t have clapped any harder as she took her bow.

Afterward, I picked her up backstage, and her grandparents had all kinds of goodies for her- a pink rose, princess balloon, and ballerina books. She didn’t want to get off the stage and had a ball running around up there one more time. We then treated her to a cupcake (for more potty progress), and her celebratory dinner choice was Chick-fil-A.

So very proud of our little tumbleweed!

One last minute practice as we are heading out the door Right before the show An ad for our baby girl in the program During the finale After the show Couldn’t get her off the stage Chasing Grandma and so proud of herself 

Some video from her practice the week before the performance. Daddy came along with us so that he could see her moves.

The big performance!!!

It’s a Potty Miracle!!!!

I am proud to say that I have now experienced the most rewarding parenting moment to date…hearing the potty flush on the other side of the house and not having had a thing to do with it!

We have been working hard on this since the summer with several potty boot camps where we went straight to big girl panties and would tough it out for a weekend. Our strong willed child never fell for these. She’d start out cooperating, but eventually, no amount of gifts from the diaper fairy or reward or punishment would get her to participate. We’d end the weekend all more frustrated than we began.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve (by ‘we,’ I mean ‘John’) started showing some tough love and making her sit on the potty at bed or bathtime and not letting her get up until she made a contribution. A week before we went to NOLA, she finally started listening and begrudgingly cooperating. While we were there, she began asking me/ telling me when she needed to go (although on the road trip, we were still in diapers).

On Wednesday, Nov 7th (the week after our trip), the miracle started. Since I was off work that day, I sat her on the potty in the morning and told her we weren’t going anywhere until she went to the potty. We ended up missing our moms’ group Bible study due to the stand-off, but she eventually gave in. After that, I put on a pull-up and told her she HAD to tell me when she needed to tee tee, and we stayed in for the rest of the day. I’d ask her throughout the day if she needed to go, but she soon started telling me when she had to go. While she fussed about going to the potty half the time, she had no wet diapers during day. For what it’s worth, I think she was comforted by wearing the pull-ups rather than the big girl panties and seemed to be more content to tell me when she needed to go when wearing them. Also, after all the gadgets we’d bought to make it easier, she wanted to sit on the big potty with no steps, toddler seat, etc.

By the next day, Thursday, at Grandma’s, she was taking herself to the bathroom when she needed to go and had no accidents.

On Friday morning, I was back in my bathroom and heard water flush somewhere in the house. The dishwasher was running, so I blamed it on that until HG ran into my bathroom screaming, “I went potty by myself!!!” I about had a heart attack! Later that morning, we met Callum and family to play at Sega Gym, to see the trains on the Collierville square, and to eat at Chick-fil-A. She went for first time in public (four times) with just one accident when she got distracted playing at Chick-fil-A (although she did come running to tell me).

On Saturday, we had another big development that we’d been waiting on…#2 all on her own. That’s all I say about that, but we sure did a big ole happy dance!!

Ever since that first Wednesday, she’s never looked back. We are all so proud and shocked. I still almost cry every time, and she’s started tell me, “Mama, don’t be proud. Don’t get excited. Mama, don’t run- we can walk.” And I’m even getting shoved out of the bathroom!

We are still in pull-ups for the time being, but she has only had two or three accidents that I can think of, including nap and nighttime. She’ll usually wake me up at night if she needs to go, and lately, she’s even sleeping all night and waking up dry. We’ve started talking about switching to big girl panties because I know she can do it- I just have to let her think it’s her idea. I’ve been told by Grandma that another little boy we all know and love well was really set on knowing he could do things completely and exceptionally before he tried to do them at all (talking, walking, etc.). I believe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Sunday Funday in Oxford

On Sunday, Helen Grace and I headed to Oxford for a fun girls’ day. First, we went to Twisters to celebrate Mallory’s first birthday. I can’t believe it’s been a year since HG and I were in Philadelphia visiting Em and got a frantic text from Russell saying that Whitney was being rushed into an emergency c-section. What an entrance Mallory made! It’s a wonder how she came to be such a laidback, go-with-the-flow baby after coming into the world like that! As usual, Helen Grace had a good time playing with “the baby” and trying to pop puffs into her mouth. For the record, Mallory liked her cake alright but didn’t go wild over it. She must be like her mama and not be all that crazy about sweets.

{HG meeting Mallory, Dec 2011}

{Mallory’s first birthday party, Nov 2012}

Mrs. Carole, Mallory, Haney, HG  

Afterward, I had an advisers and officers’ transition meeting at the Delta Gamma house, and HG came along to “help.” I always get excited to see the house decorated for Christmas. It brings back memories of our helping our house mother get the tree decorated and enjoying all the sights and smells of the season. HG enjoyed exploring the house (we went up and down every stairwell ten times), and the girls were so good to entertain her, although she mostly got shy as soon as they started talking to her. During the meeting, she wanted us to sit down on the floor like the college girls were doing, and then, the girls took turns discussing their office. Toward the end, HG turned to me and whispered loudly, “Mama, when’s it going to be your turn? You haven’t talked yet. You need to go!”  She was surprisingly cooperative and let me take a pic of her in ‘my chair’ from my pref party years ago. She’s grown quite a bit from her first time there!

Putting her to work in the rush room!

Lots of Firsts

First homework assignment- match and color the pumpkins First time out of the house with big girl panties on (to Walgreens)- and NO accidents! I was a nervous wreck though. Thankfully, she waited until we got home to have one. :/ Baby steps. First nap with no diaper- and NO accident! Again, I was a nervous wreck, but she was so proud of herself.

We are hearing a lot lately from the princess that her name is “Helen” and that things are often “boring.”

One night, I was trying to get her to chill out and get settled in bed, and I said out loud, “Lay down. How many times can I ask you that?” She immediately quipped, “Five or six.”

She’s learned the meaning of “dilly dally” (sometimes she says ‘dilly daddy’), and now she uses the word all the time…or should I say she acts it out.

“Mommy, that fly is having me for lunch!”

She saw a couple the other day and said to me, “They are married.” I asked her how she knew that, and she responded, “Because they kissed. That means they’re married.”

Often, when she’s cranky and tired, I tell her that she is acting that way because she needs a nap, hoping it’ll coax her into going to sleep more easily. Well, she must be listening because when we were watching Princess and the Frog, she said, “That girl needs a nap because she is acting CRAY-zy!”

She loves to tell you that she lives in MississippiMerica, all run together like one word. She’s finally getting the order of city, state, country, but she’ll often get it all mixed up- so cute!

She makes me cry happy tears all the time, and she’s started noticing it and understands that I’m not crying because I’m sad but because I’m overwhelmingly happy. Lately, when she does something she’s proud of, she’ll turn to me and ask, “Mommy, are you going to cry happy tears now?!” with a big smile on her face. :)

Proud to be a Mississippian

With Daylight Savings Time on Saturday night/Sunday morning, we were up BEFORE the rooster in New Orleans, so we went ahead and hit the road to get home a little early on Sunday. My parents were in Jackson, so we were planning on meeting the family for lunch and then heading home together. With our early departure, we had a bit of time to kill in Jackson, so HG and I stopped at the Mississippi state capitol building to explore. This was a timely adventure since the presidential election was this Tuesday, although I’m finding politics, legislators, and elections a hard thing to explain to a three year old. At the least, it was a fun place to run, climb a lot of stairs, and burn some energy! We couldn’t find any doors open at first, but right before we headed back to the car, we saw a couple coming out of a door in the front. We slipped in and walked all the way up to the top of the capitol and back down. As we approached the door to leave, we were met by a Capitol Policeman. Oops! He smiled and said, “Hi there; how are y’all doing?,” but as we walked out the door, he pulled it shut behind us and locked it quickly. Hahaha, glad Helen Grace was able to get a look inside and that he was so nice about it. We met all of our family for a quick lunch and were on the road again. We were so thankful to have some driving relief, thanks to Spiffer and Granddaddy! HG and I both took a little nap on the way home. What a fun adventure!

Helen Grace’s First Trip to NOLA

My twinkie cousin, William, moved to New Orleans this fall to pursue a Master of Healthcare Administration from Tulane. We’ve missed him like crazy, so we decided to take a road trip and check out his new city. We hadn’t been to NOLA since before John and I were married, so we were way overdue. This was also a reward for Helen Grace for making some good progress toward potty training, so she thought she was pretty cool to get to take a road trip with Mama.

We drove to Jackson on Thursday afternoon and spent the night with Aunt Glo. We ate dinner with Glo, Suzanne, Worth, and Grace Ann. Love watching how excited HG gets to play with her cousins.And you know you have a true friend when she gets her THREE kids up early and drives 30 minutes to see you at 7:45 a.m. before the girls had to be at school. We were thrilled to see Reba, Adickes, Leighton, and Elliott. (E wouldn’t slow down long enough to get in a picture.) Made it to NOLA! She slept for an hour or so in the car with her reward being able to go straight to the aquarium.Audubon Aquarium of the Americas was amazing. We could have spent all day in there, but my three year old would look at something for a second then start running again. Stimulation overload. They had a bird exhibit like they do at the Memphis Zoo, but these food sticks are half the size and the birds are 100 times more eager. This pic was taken two seconds before birds starting landing on HG’s arm to get the food and she had a major meltdown. Good thing we only wasted$1! After we explored the aquarium, William had finished studying, so we headed to his house in Mid City. Since HG was having a conniption fit to ride a trolley, we decided to hop on one and go back to the French Quarter to see Jackson Square. She was so excited! {She thought they were super cool for the first time or two, but after the third ride, she deemed them ‘boring’ and asked if we could ride in our car.} She wanted to play games, so William and I came up with a ‘lap’ game which consisted of running around trees in Jackson Square. This entertained her for quite a while, and William and I enjoyed kicking our feet up and catching up. Making a wish in the fountain On Friday night, we ate at Mandina’s, a great little local haunt near William’s. It is apparently pretty legendary, and it lived it up to its reputation…delicious food and wine and really loud so that no one could hear my delirious child singing at the top of her lungs. She was a hot mess by this time of night and was covered in ‘sketti’ from head to toe.  

 

We woke up early Saturday morning, but we couldn’t tear her away from William’s Mardi Gras beads until mid morning. I was DESPERATE for beignets, so we finally got started on our trek to Cafe Du Monde. Due to some construction on the trolley tracks, we had to switch from the trolley to a city bus. Thankfully, William didn’t tell me about this until he was pushing me on the bus, but it actually wasn’t bad at all. HG is now a pro at both buses and trolleys. Only subways left to conquer! AT LAST!! Cafe Du Monde, it’s been way too long since we’ve seen each other. My mouth started watering for beignets about 100 miles outside of town when I could smell the powdered sugar. There was a long line, but she was entertained by a balloon man and a little band. She thought it was pretty cool to drop a dollar in their bucket. The silly girl wouldn’t eat a bite of beignets; she’d only lick a little powdered sugar off her finger. That’s alright- more for Mommy! She was fascinated by the street performers. While I wanted to stay back a bit to keep from having to fork over $20 to the persistent tumblers, she wanted to scoot closer and closer. While William headed to a Tulane tailgate, Helen Grace and I headed to the Audubon Insectarium. She really enjoyed checking out all the creepy crawlers, and I like the butterfly room. She saw one land on a girl though, and she must have had flashbacks of the birds- she was READY to get out of there! After a much deserved nap, we headed to City Park’s Carousel Gardens Amusement Park & Storyland, which is one of New Orleans’ best kept secrets. It’s an amazing place for kids- Helen Grace calls it Magic Land. Admission is $3 (plus ride tickets), and just off the amusement park is Storyland, a little wooded area with all kinds of treasures from fairy tales- Rapunzel’s Tower, Cinderella’s castle and pumpkin carriage, Snow' White’s cabin, the Three Little Pigs’ houses, just to name a few. HG was in heaven! “Wake up, Snow White!” The carousel was the first ride she went for. And then the Ferris wheel. I swear, I’m getting too old. This wasn’t the gondola kind of Ferris wheel but one that is only attached at one point on each side. It would lurch with any slight movement or breeze, and she refused to let me put my arm around her. I was clinging to the hem of her dress like a mad woman. She would look at me with a huge smile on her face and say, “Mama, are you scared? Are you nervous? I’m NOT!,” and then would cackle! I mean, we were so high above the trees that you could see the New Orleans’ skyline in the distance! I wanted my feet planted securely on the ground asap. Lots of deep breaths. Dinner at Juan’s Flying Burrito and gelato at Brocato’s capped off a fabulous day and weekend.  

I have to make note that the people of New Orleans surpassed my expectations and were the nicest people I’ve ever encountered in a Southern city. Strangers gave us free wristbands for rides at City Park, a trolley driver gave me some money back even though you were supposed to get the credit on a card for future trips, and someone in line at the bug museum gave HG a stuffed animal that they won for spending a certain amount. I was constantly shaking my head at people’s generosity and welcoming attitude.

At every point along the trip, whether at Gloria’s or William’s, she’d say, “I love it here. I want to come back.” She was a great travel companion, even though William and I had to slow down our pace because we kept forgetting her legs were so much shorter than ours, and she really enjoyed time with all ‘her people.’ Can’t wait to go back and check on “Will-em” again soon!