Fin's Hair

I just want to take a minute to brag on my accidentally good hair cutting capabilities.

A few months ago, I gave Finley a haircut. In an attempt to cut the longer, straighter top hair off of the curlier back hair in a sort of layered fashion, I cut off her curls as well. Thankfully, the side curls, which are the favorites of us all, as they tend to stick out in peculiar ways, remained. The result was a punky, trendy cut that actually looked good.

As it grew out, I debated on letting her hair grow out as most folks tend to favor long hair on little girls, but wasn't happy with the idea. This week, I cut her hair again, taking pains to leave the ear curls and trimming the longer wispy bangs so that they won't get stuck in her mouth when she eats. I trimmed up the lower back.

It looks great. And I am especially proud of the way her hairstyle helps give her head more shape, as she inherited a nice flat head from my side of the family. The only downside... once in a while, Finley has to bat her bangs out of her eyes. But that is a small price to pay for such a good look, and besides, I'd put a barrette in her hair if she'd leave it in.

Joe Sings His ABCs

Future American Idol contender?

Fly and Be Free

This morning (Sunday) as we were walking outside, Chris noticed that the butterflies had emerged from their cocoons. One was flapping furiously against the window. I was so distressed that I immediately opened the door and watched it fly away.

'What are you doing?!' Chris asked me. He wanted to get pictures. I reluctantly shut the door on the other two.

Here is a shot of the third butterfly as we 'released it back into the wild.'

Cocoon

Because I know most of you are just dying to know how our caterpillars are doing...

Well, really, I have no idea if you care, but I'll update you anyway. I didn't realize that when the caterpillars were ready to cocoon themselves, they wouldn't just jump happily onto the nice sticks I provided. All but one of them made several attempts to escape the nice confines of my critter cage. Three of them manage to attach themselves to various places on my sunporch before I could put them somewhere more appropriate.

The first one that escaped attached itself to a candle holder of mine. A day or two after it attached itself (forming fuzzy tie from its bottom), I checked on it as I took the kids outside to play. There were two strands of silk from it back suspending it away from the candle holder, and its green color was fading to a grey. When we came back into the house an hour later, it was cocooned, and a little ball of skin lay on the table beneath it.

I was determined to not miss the transformation of the next caterpillar, so when I noticed another one turning grey and wriggling in a strange way, I locked the kids in the house and only poked my head in once in a while to make sure they hadn't hurt themselves or were destroying something.

Everybody talks about the drama of the butterfly emerging from its cocoon, but somehow, I doubt it can compare to what I watched. Perhaps it is only because I can relate more to this stage of developement at this point in my life.

I have no idea how long the caterpillar wrestled within itself before it molted its last caterpillar skin. (They molt several times as they grow and eat the skin they shed.) I watched it off and on for an hour. Finally, the skin split around the head, and it writhed as it worked the skin down over its body. The skin balled up in front of its tail so that it was stuck between it and the stick it was attached to. It was now pale green and moist, and it looked so vulnerable, like the flesh of a wound that oozes. Although it was naked, it continued to writhe, working to get the old skin away from itself. When the old skin finally dropped away, it slowly calmed down.

Looking closely at the new, raw form, you could see hints of what it was going to be... Future butterfly legs and body and tail. It was amazing. Then the soft outer flesh started hardening. It started to tighten up so that vulnerable creases were pulled up in behind the new tougher flesh. The pale green faded, and soon it had closed itself into a grey and black little fortress, where it could continue its metamorphasis in relative safety.

Pursuit of the Potty

I had high expectations when I introduced the potty to Finley around 18 months. I potty trained myself at 23 1/2 months (No lie. I have written proof.), so I figured this would be a breeze. And Finley is my daughter, after all.


I had no idea how exceptional I was in that department. And I discovered that Finley was not going to be another version of me. I was relatively independent, but as a child, I exercised that independence safely within the boundaries set for me. Finley...


Finley is so independent, she likes to test the boundaries on a daily basis. Her confidence in herself when she is out in public amazes me at times. Like many two and three year old, she likes to do as many things for herself as possible... when it is convenient for her.


And Finley is so independent, she had gotten into the habit of wetting her pants at home because it was easier to do that than bother with the potty. Of course, she hadn't wet her pants away from home in probably six months.


So I asked her pediatrician if he had any advice, and he suggested cheap prizes to reward her when she initiates pottying on her own. Been there, Done that. M&M's, stickers, smiley faces... you name it. They all worked for a few days until she got bored with them or they were such a given, it wasn't real motivation anymore.


I have to admit, she has been pretty good in the poop department. It was obvious, though, that she would wait until the absolute last moment to deal with number twos.


So I think I've finally figured it out. It is all about keeping it new and interesting for her. I was reading some advice from one mom to another about night-time training, and she said she put the training potty next to the bed. The toddler was told to use it whenever needed in the night, and if he woke up dry, would receive a reward.


Anyway, I thought about trying that with Finley, and mentioned it to her. She got so excited about having her potty right next to her bed, that she asked me to go get it out of storage right then. That was nearly a week ago, and she hasn't had an accident since. She uses her little potty throughout the day (insisting on emptying it herself) as well as the big potty.


The funniest part to me is the change in her pooping habits. She would usually only deposit a number two in the toilet every two or three days... and it was usually very large. Since she's had the little potty out again, she's pooped in it every day, and, no surprise, they are much smaller.


Joe has taken an interest in the training potty, sitting on it whenever he can. Unfortunately at 16 months, I don't think he's quite ready for it yet.


Now I'm wondering what new gimmick I'll have to employ once Finley gets bored with her little potty again. What an adventure.