Amazing weekend

This past weekend was wonderful. Saturday morning was the second Dallas Hydrocephalus Association (HA) Support Group meeting and there was a wonderful group including a couple all the way from Houston - the Houston Support Group leader and a Houston WALK co-chair! It was great getting to meet several people who I had only been in contact with via email and Facebook previously. That evening, my neighborhood was having a little block party so Emma and I went out and met everyone. I'm loving my neighbors and am even happier that we moved.

Watching Mommy getting things ready for the Dallas HA Support Group Meeting

 

Add to that, this weekend was the Belgium Formula 1 Grand Prix, and Emma and I have been without cars going "VROOOOOM" for far too long. I was excited to wake up Sunday morning as I had a planned snuggle session with Emma to watch the race at 7AM. She woke up before the race around her normal time and started her morning routine of singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" as well as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" along with a few others. I love listening to her in the mornings for a few minutes before I go in and get her just to hear all the wonderful things she is saying. But then she said something I hadn't heard her say before that lit me up like the Griswold's house on Christmas Vacation. When I heard the words, "I love you, mama" come out of the monitor, I couldn't contain myself. A couple seconds later, during my little happy dance in bed, she said it again! I jumped out of bed and went in to tell her how happy she made me.

After we ate breakfast, we sat down and proceeded to watch Formula 1 qualifying before the race. After qualifying, Emma sat on her potty for about ten minutes with no sounds other than the both of us singing. This is a rather recent new adventure as her first official day of "potty training" was Thursday, August 22nd. Emma has been saying "change" for getting her diaper changed (mostly after she had filled one up) for some time now. In an effort to help her understand a warning instead of a notification is preferred, we have started sitting on her potty twenty to thirty minutes after meal times in hopes that we'll catch her in the act so she can understand the goal. Since we only just started a few days ago, I wasn't expecting much. Once she was safely back in her diaper, we went back to the living room and started the race. Emma asked for juice around 9:50A, so I gave her about eight ounces. She guzzled that down quickly and happily asked for more. I gave her an additional five ounces which she almost finished.

Part way through the race, I realized she hadn't gone potty since I got her up that morning - and I knew with the milk, cereal, and juice in her system, it was only a matter of time. We took a break from the race and went back to her potty. To my surprise, she went pee-pee a little!!! I think the sound surprised her a little as did the fact that she didn't feel the warmth like she would from her diaper. It may have been only a little, but it was a BIG step for Emma and I was so proud! At the end of the ten minutes, we went back to watch the rest of the race. Shortly after we got all cozy, the warmth returned. When I asked her if she went pee-pee, she giggled. I changed her diaper only for her to go again before I could even lift her up off the table. I looked at her and asked her again if she went pee-pee. This time she whispered "pee-pee," and giggled again. Such a little stinker.

We finished the race and the rest of our weekend with a new warmth in my heart. She is growing up so much and making me so proud every day. I love my little munchkin!