Alyce Lost Her First Tooth

Tonight something amazing happened! Alyce lost her first tooth! I was working on getting Luke ready for bed when Alyce walks into his room saying "my tooth fell out". I was like "what?" and she opens her mouth and sure enough there is a hole where one of her middle lower teeth used to be. I asked her where her tooth was and she said she couldn't find it. I go into the bathroom and between the two of us we look all over the floor and I just happen to run my hand across it. As small as it is it was pure luck I found it. I was just happy she didn't swallow it.

For the rest of the night until she went to bed I fawned all over Alyce and the new hole in her smile. She kept messing with it too. She kept sticking her tongue through the hole.

As we both calmed down I talked to Alyce about taking good care of her teeth. I told her now that she lost a baby tooth a big tooth would come in and that it was the only tooth she'd get there. And if she wanted to keep it forever she needed to make sure to brush good. She seemed very keen to do just that. Judging by the health of the tooth she lost we don't have much to be worried about. The tooth is in perfect shape without any sign of plaque or tartar.

Following the public service announcement about proper tooth care I told Alyce all about the Tooth Fairy. Alyce knew about the Tooth Fairy and knew that she was supposed to put her tooth under her pillow. However when I told her that the Fairy takes the tooth and leaves money Alyce says "I'll get some money?" At that point she was keen on getting that tooth under her pillow. I convinced her to wait until tomorrow night so Mom could see the tooth when she got home from dance class.

Once Alyce was in bed I took a few minutes to see if a 5 year old is supposed to be losing their teeth yet. As per the Mayo Clinic kids are supposed to start loosing their teeth around age 6 with girls starting earlier than boys. I think everything is ok but I have a feeling that Mom might be calling the dentist just to double check.

Here comes Christmas with Alyce missing one of her front teeth. We'll have some great pictures!

Seat Belt

It's official Alyce is all grown up. This past weekend she started buckling her seat belt by herself. She was able to do it as long as Mom or I gave her some slack. Tonight getting into the car she didn't even need that. She did 100% all by herself. She can open and close her door and now this. At this rate she'll be driving next month.

Way to go little one. Mom and I are proud of you. Now stop growing up so fast.

New Car Seat

A few weeks ago Alyce got a new car seat.  She didn't need a new car seat, Luke did.  Luke, now 8 months old has grown out of his 32lb pumpkin seat and is in need of a real car seat.  Alyce, luckily, is now within the height / weight range of booster seat.  So we decided to move Alyce onto a new seat and give Luke her hand me down.  Yes this is yet another hand me down Luke gets of Alyce's but at least he won't be able to wear any of her old clothing.

Alyce's new car seat is an EvenFlo "Big Kid" booster seat.  It has an removable / adjustable back, two drink cup holders, and flip up armrests.  The most important feature of this new seat is that Alyce gets to use big kids seat belts.  No longer do we have to attach the car seat to the car and then her to the car seat.  Now we can just plop Alyce on the booster and with a single click she is good to go.  Because it doesn't need to be mounted to the car we can switch her car seat to another car in about 30 seconds; a feature we've already used.  The whole point of a booster seat is to get a kids smaller body in the same position an adult would be to make full use of a 3 point seat belt hence why it doesn't need to be attached to the car.

Since the first time Alyce viewed her new seat she has been in love with it.  Every time she gets into the car she says out loud "I'm going to get into my new big kid car seat" or "that's my new car seat".  I think she likes the idea of using the adult seat belts rather than the car seat's 5 point harness.  It does provide her with some additional mobility that I think she enjoys.  Alyce is also a big fan of the arm rests.  There is one downside to this booster compared to her old car seat and that is there isn't a good way to sleep.  With her old seat it wrapped around her and she could lean into one side or the other, rest her head, and fall asleep.  With the new seat there isn't a lot for her head to rest on so she doesn't sleep much in the car or when she does she doesn't stay asleep for very long.  That being said with her now being three missing a nap isn't as big as a deal as it used to be and if she doesn't take a nap in the car she won't be ruined for the rest of the day.

Climbing a Ladder

Sitting on a bench eating lunch made me remember something Alyce did from a few weeks ago. We were out to dinner with Jeff and Liz. It was the first warm day in a long time and we thought KFC in the park would be great.

After dinner Alyce, Jeff, and I played on the playground equipment. Things went along as normal with Alyce taking laps on the slide. After a bit she walked up to one of the ladders and said "up". The playground was empty and we had the time so I decided to let her have a go; she did remarkably well. I was within an inch of her waist the whole time but didn't need to be except for the transition to the level surface. We tried the ladder a few more times before we left and Alyce never faltered.

Cross another physical milestone off the list. Pretty soon she will be on the monkey bars and climbing trees.

Miss Independent. From Alyce's Perspective

I'm getting to be a big girl now. I'm becoming Miss Independent. In the last week or so I have been wanting to do things myself that usually Mommy or Daddy did for me. Mommy and Daddy used to put on my shoes and socks and they also used to put me in my car seat and buckle me in. Those times have changed. I'm Miss Independent now. When I want to do those things now I tell Mommy or Daddy "doo bit" which really means "do it" or short for "I do it". I say "do bit" because Daddy thinks it is the cutest thing. He also likes it when I say "oh nooo" but I begin to digress.

I'm pretty good at putting on my shoes and socks. Socks are really tough but I'm getting better. I like to practice a lot. When at the house with Mommy during the week I take my socks off and put them back on over and over again because I need the practice.

Putting on shoes is pretty easy now that Mommy and Daddy got me some new shoes. These new ones have really easy velcro and I can get my foot in there without stepping on the tongue of the shoe. I'm getting so good I even know which shoe goes on which foot.

The only problem Mommy and Daddy have with me putting on my shoes and socks is that I want to do it when we are getting ready to leave. I guess they have a point, it does take me about five minutes to get my socks and shoes on.

Mommy and Daddy seem sad sometimes when I do something they used to do. They always say stuff like "our little girl is growing up". They will eventually get over it because even though they are sad they want me to be the best Miss Independent I can be.

Get the lights on the way out.

This morning Alyce woke up early again. This time however she didn't surprise me. When I got out of the shower and I heard our little girl in her room making the occasional sound and quietly asking for mommy. Looking down the hall I saw something surprising. The lights were on in her room. Alyce has is now tall enough that if she stands on her tip toes she can reach the light switch. I guess this will bring a new round of baby proofing as Alyce can now get to things like the oven burners and other counter top items.

Alyce continued to play in her lit room doing whatever little girls do when playing by themselves until I left to go to work. I enjoy being able to trust her to keep herself entertained for a while. Too bad in a few short weeks we start all over again.

Simple But Profound

So Alyce gets it. Well she gets something. Something simple but profound. Yesterday Mom and I were in the Kitchen talking about something unimportant when Mom has a really big sneeze. A few seconds later Alyce comes running into the kitchen with a tissue in hand. She walks over to mommy and hands it to her. We didn't ask her to get a tissue. We haven't ever asked her to do something like that. Yet somehow she put all the pieces together to know that when Mom sneezes, she needs a tissue, and that she could / should get her one.

Pretty profound.

Big Girl Bed

Tonight we tried to get Alyce into her toddler bed. I wouldn't call it a disaster as much as a learning experience. Mom put Alyce to bed and setup the baby gate over the entrance to her room. Mom came down while I was down here writing this post. About two minutes later we heard the creak of little baby feet on the floor. About then we hear from upstairs a cry for mommy and daddy. Apparently she wasn't as excited about her new bed as we thought she was. It seemed that she was scared of her new found freedom. I can't say I blame her. For the last two years of her life she has seen her sleep routine from behind cute little white bars.

So Mom and I figure we will try again in the future and maybe try a nap instead of bedtime. Eventually we are going to have to tough love Alyce into sleeping in her bed. I figure three nights before Christmas isn't a good time to unnecessarily mess with her routine.

In a few weeks or months I will look back at this post and wonder how I didn't think of x,y, and z. But that is the fun of documenting Alyce's development as well as my own.

Big Girl Bed

Alyce is approaching another milestone. This is one that is forced upon her as much as she is ready for it. Alyce is going to be moving to a big girl bed pretty. A few weeks ago we inherited a toddler bed from Alyce's god parents Trend and Lisa. A few nights ago we picked up a mattress and sheets for it. We have everything we need to make the transition.

We are making the transition to a toddler bed to make room for our baby boy coming in April. We are doing it now so that Alyce will lose any emotional connection to her crib and room and hopefully not feel any animosity to her new baby brother taking her stuff.

The real question is when and how to do it. We are planning on making the switch during the Christmas break. I will be out of the office for five days and hopefully that will be enough time to see if a new routine will work. We are expecting a few bumps in the road. I haven't done any research on the subject yet, but Mom and I were thinking of having her take her naps in the toddler bed and sleeping all night in her crib. We may have to invert the order as Alyce typically falls right asleep at night and stays awake for longer during the day. We are going to have the toddler bed in her room at first and eventually move Alyce out of the nursery and into the guest bed room. The room move will probably happen sometime in early March or late February.

Sharing

Mommy and I witnessed something tonight that left us speechless. Alyce, our daughter shared! And it wasn't a little share; this was a big share.

Tonight Mom and I went to Locomotion Commotion. It was a one time class at the early childhood development center of our school district. Locomotion Commotion consists of a bunch of kids all playing in a gym with a myriad of different toys. Alyce is a big fan of the gym. Every time Alyce attends they put out a different set of toys with a few larger pieces of equipment sticking around. One of Alyce's favorite things to do is to go down the slide.

Another one of Alyce's favorite things at the center are the push cars. Push cars are the same childhood toys that mom and I had. Whenever Alyce sees one of these toy cars she HAS to have it. Tonight was no different when we showed up. Alyce made a bee line to the car and claimed it as her own. After a while we pulled Alyce away from the car and onto other things like the slides or stacking blocks. Later in the evening Alyce again took possession of the car. However she took possession in front of another pint sized playmate.

This is where things get interesting. Alyce noticed this other boy crying about the car. Alyce got out of the car, held the door open, and gestured towards the boy. She was willing to share the item she held most dear. Mom and I were dumbfounded. It was great to see a milestone right in front of us. Our little girl is growing up right before our eyes.