A shameless birthday brag

Today, Kalina turned 2. She celebrated yesterday with the cat party she'd been dreaming of (and asking for) for more than a month and a half. (Pictures and post still to come.) I'm going to celebrate with some shameless bragging, because if anyone gets to, I do. Besides, I can only do this for a few more months, as then I will have another child to brag shamelessly about and won't be able to use superlatives for either one. So if you'll excuse me, here goes:

Kalina is the sweetest, cutest, most precious, most hilarious, smartest, nicest, best kid I know. No contest. If the world were sinking in a boat and I could either save the world or Kalina, I think I'd choose Kalina. Sorry, everyone. This is why Jesus wasn't a woman, let alone a mother.

I love the fact that she's not one bit impressionable. No amount of peer pressure sways her, although marshmallows occasionally do. She has her limits, and can't be coaxed to cross them. She doesn't care what anyone thinks, or what everyone else is doing, least of all kids her own age. She just wants to be left alone to do her own thing. I think that's awesome.

I admit that I'm thrilled she's an introvert. Matt and I both understand introverts. I love the fact that when she warms up to people, she really warms up to them. It might take a little extra time and effort, but there's nothing better than being on Kalina's "good" list. And I think it's cute that she sometimes has just as much fun watching as participating.

I couldn't be prouder of Kalina's sweet, quiet activities, and also when she breaks out of quiet activities to run laps around the house chasing the cats with our "cat-whapping stick" (yes, this is a real thing in our household). I'm also ecstatic that she plays almost exactly how I did when I was a kid, with stuffed animals surrounding her pretty much no matter what she's doing. We would've gotten along great--and in fact, we do.

I like Kalina's surprisingly adventurous spirit. Not in dangerous things, but in the fact that she'd almost always rather walk than ride, and can imagine herself trying new things (currently, she has on her list that she wants to ride in a hot-air balloon, in a helicopter and on a fire truck).

I sorely missed Kalina one time during potty training when I had to go grocery shopping without her. It just wasn't the same, and how was I going to find the bananas and eggs? Matt and I both find it a bit tragic whenever we see a fire truck on the road and she's not in the car with us. What a waste of a good fire truck!

I find it remarkably endearing that Kalina could care less about numbers (and occasionally gets hostile about them) but can name several bird species by their calls and identify more bugs than I'm quite comfortable with.

I love the fact that she has resembled almost everyone in both our families at one time or another, but has my eyes.

I think it's sweet that Kalina is still a Mommy's girl. I know this will eventually change but I like to be the one who cheers her up and takes good care of her and knows what she's saying 99% of the time.

Kalina's just the best. And every day of her two years makes her one day better. There, I said it. I'm just so blessed that I get to be her Mommy.

And I'm thrilled that Child #2 will likely be equally amazing in her own way. Yes, there will eventually be a brag post about her too.

By the way, you're welcome to say the same of your child(ren). I just couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. No harm meant.

Photo: Taken a few months ago, but sooo cute and sooo Kalina.

The ups and downs of a Flower Girl

Ms. Manners would back me up in my assertion that one, and only one, wedding guest is allowed to wear white--and thus compete with the bride--on the big day. And that special person, of course, is none other than the Flower Girl.

Kalina was given this honor last Saturday as we welcomed her new Uncle Chris to the family as Aunt Laura's husband. [A huge congrats to the wedding couple! We couldn't be more excited for you both!]

It was a big weekend for a little Flower Girl. Here's how it went.


As many big weekends do, this one began about a week early, with us mounting a PR campaign to help put Kalina in a good mood for the trip. Every time she'd point an airplane out in the sky, for instance, we'd remind her that she'd be on one in just a few days. Once the 24 solid hours of packing that included no less than 11 stuffed animals (because a Flower Girl must have all of her things with her at all times, should any situation she find herself in demand a little extra attention) were passed and we were headed with Aunt Nancy toward the airport, she was excitedly chatting about airplanes and every single vehicle and sign we passed on the way. Good.

We scheduled the flight during naptime because it was better than waking our household at 4:00 am or arriving at 10 pm. We crossed our fingers as the flight took off. Kalina, who had been sleeping excellently lately, zoomed off to sleep in our arms and stayed that way until we were descending into Minnesota.

Despite all our advance preparations and care, there was still a lot to do our first evening, from renting a car to picking up a pack-n-play at Matt's parents' house before heading to our hotel (we were trying to stay out of the way from wedding hubbub until the big event was over). The enchantment of flying having worn off, Kalina protested that she'd much rather go "back home."

And so we began the process of running our girl into the ground.

Our parenting strategy includes a strong emphasis on proper sleep, down time and nutrition as ways to give Kalina half a chance to navigate a frustrating world with an even keel. So far, this, as well as a million other factors that probably play into it, has worked very well. We have a nice kid that people like to be with. Problem is, when you remove about 25% of her sleep, reduce her nutrition to, at times, salted peanuts and McDonald's hash browns for lunch and barrage her with new people and places, the nice kid gets a little needy.

And our strategy for helping our little homebody (as Kalina really is right now) survive the long weekend was to hold off the inevitable complete meltdown until at least the rehearsal dinner and maybe even until the wedding reception. How long could our little time bomb endure being so far out of her element before she'd explode? We knew we'd find out.

Despite our best attempts, our little Flower Girl finally drifted off almost 2 hours past her usual eastern time zone bedtime. We braced ourselves for what could be an arduous trip for all of us, as Kalina only rarely sleeps in, and never in a strange place.

The next day had us taking it remarkably easy for being a day before a wedding. We played at Grandma and Grandpa's house, ate nice food and made it back to the hotel for a barely-long-enough-to-count naptime, which also turned out to be prime room-cleaning time for all the rooms surrounding ours. May I never forget what it's like to have a napping toddler, and may I always hush my voice and activities in hotel hallways. May I take Do Not Disturb signs at their word.

And then we headed off to the rehearsal. The moment of truth. Would our little Flower Girl, in her underslept, overstimulated state, actually carry flowers down the aisle? Would she also be carrying up to 11 stuffed animals for comfort? Would her daddy be carrying her instead? Would he be carrying her and 11 stuffed animals? Would it just be him and the stuffed animals and flower basket while Kalina consoled herself on my lap?

Somehow, Matt managed it. He was able to send Kalina down the aisle with a basket of bubbles (her practice flowers), no stuffed animals and a relatively happy expression on her face. Admittedly quite surprised to see her make her appearance, I was at the end of the aisle, Kalina's dubious "reward" for making it all the way.

I thought this whole Flower Girl thing might actually work out after all.

Kalina's mood deteriorated from there enough that Matt dropped both of us off at the hotel with Subway sandwiches for supper on his way to the rehearsal dinner. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Kalina look more relieved. Only an hour past her bedtime, she was in dreamland.

The next day we decided to avoid any potential wedding fray and focus on hotel fun and an early nap, since Kalina would almost assuredly have to be woken from it for the wedding. Awake far before the pool opened, we grabbed breakfast and switched between World Cup soccer and Animal Planet while we waited. And then we spent all of 20 (albeit quite fun) minutes there before Kalina's lips turned a shade of blue we weren't quite comfortable with and we headed back upstairs for more soccer and animal antics.

Kalina napped early and well and we barely had the heart to wake her, but we did, stuffing her into the car and navigating tricky traffic all the way to the church. Then we pulled the fancy princess Flower Girl dress over our still-groggy girl, stuck a floral wreath on her head and headed out to show her off.

Fortunately, Kalina, who has had an aversion to dresses lately, was easily convinced to like her Flower Girl gown. And who wouldn't? A light, poofy confection garnished with wide pink ribbon and tiny white beads, the dress was truly fit to compete with the bride's. She enjoyed glancing at herself in the mirror on the way to get her pictures taken, and didn't even complain about her white patent leather shoes.

And that's when our child began to hit rock bottom, poor girl. I didn't even see it coming, but you could hear our time bomb's explosion throughout the church. Boom! Kalina's grinned happily for the camera for the past 6 months, enjoying posing almost anywhere, but not today. The large photographer and fast pace were a bit much for her, and unless she was sitting securely on Mommy's--or, worst-case-scenario, Daddy's--lap, frantic shrieks and a usually successful desperate rush to escape would replace any trace of a smile.

The photographer, who has probably worked with hundreds of kids, insisted he could cheer Kalina up. He could not. He did, however, render her terrified of himself and the sanctuary area of the church before finally giving up. Poor girl shook with fright in Matt's arms, and it took an abnormally long time to help her regain her composure, and even longer to get her to even look at the aisle she was to walk down again. The photographer's redeeming quality is that he actually took very nice photos, as we were able to see a few days later. Nevertheless, I don't know if my protective mothering instinct will ever find a way to forgive him. It's fine if everyone else does, though.

Plans ruined for our little Flower Girl actually making it to the end of the aisle herself, we focused, instead, on getting her comfortable with the inside of the sanctuary, and then with her flower basket, and then without her animals, and also without her mommy, who would be enjoying 10 minutes of peace and relative solitude as a wedding guest.

As a side note, it was lovely for those 10 minutes to actually be a wedding guest. I learned through this process that being the Flower Girl's mommy is almost as difficult a task as it is to be the Flower Girl herself. I (with Matt's help, certainly), had to walk the tricky line between meeting the rigorous wedding schedule and etiquette (rigorous to a toddler, anyway) and keeping my girl in a pleasant enough mood to not ruin the wedding for everyone, not to mention to play her appropriate role. Worth it? Of course. Still mentally drained? You bet.

I'm not sure if anyone else heard Kalina's cries in the back of the church as all of us guests quietly chatted, but I did. With minutes to go before the ceremony would commence, I was once again rocketed into uncertainty. Our plan now was for Matt to carry Kalina: all hope was lost of her walking on her own. But now I had to wonder again whether that would be enough. Would an usher tap me on the shoulder and make me walk the aisle too, so I could calm my girl on the way down? Heaven forbid--I'd spent all of 5 minutes on my own appearance.

And then the music began, and then the important relatives were escorted in, and I forgot about Kalina for a few seconds in the happiness of the occasion. As I was surreptitiously snapping pictures of the wedding party at the front of the church, I realized that the Flower Girl was making her entrance.

And when the Flower Girl comes into the church, everyone pays attention. There was my beautiful little girl, all decked out, gripping five stuffed farm animals in my husband's arms, smiling because her daddy had told her to. The ring bearer kept his distance, but walked nearby.

Towards the end of the aisle, Kalina saw me and thanked her lucky stars I was there, jubilantly saying "Mama!" before Matt brought her over to settle in between us. Hopefully no one heard the cellophane rustling as we dug out the special treat her daddy had had to promise her (a marshmallow left over from potty training), as the bride herself walked in.

And Kalina's minute of fame was over, but it was a very sweet one. I couldn't have been prouder had she walked in on her own, curtsied, and sang a pretty little song for the occasion before releasing a single snow-white dove.

The rest of the ceremony was spent bouncing bunny-shaped crackers up and down her arms as she gobbled them up, pointing out pictures in a new book and chuckling with the rest of the crowd as she happily said "Dida" (Daddy) when Matt stood up as a reader.

And then the reception came, and the three of us were so relieved that the tough part was over that we all had quite a nice time. The low point came just before dinner was served, but was remedied well enough by allowing Kalina to eat every bit of three butter balls that were to be for our rolls.

The evening's entertainment included square-like dancing, and Kalina was an avid watcher. She smiled at the funny moves, and after a good long look decided she could try twirling on the dance floor herself, in an out-of-the-way corner. A Flower Girl is always a popular dance partner, and ours was no exception. However, she was also a picky one, and other than Mommy, would only dance with Grandma and two of her young second cousins (or first cousins once removed, or whatever--children of Matt's cousins).

By the time everyone was ready to take a break, it was close to 9:30 and Kalina seemed to realize she was up far, far, far past her bedtime, even in central time. She drifted off to sleep on the way back to the hotel, waking not much more than eight hours later, which was not late enough for any of us.

The rest of the trip passed rather peacefully. I trekked off the next day to a family reunion of my own while Matt and the rest of his family went to a lovely brunch. I left Kalina with Matt, rightly deciding that what she needed most was a long nap, not a long car ride and more new faces/places. While I was gone, she ate well, slept well, held toads captured in Matt's parents' yard and became so petrified of the neighborhood deer population that she refused to step foot outside, other than to go to the car, for the rest of the trip.

Meanwhile, I was able to refresh myself with lots of pampering, mostly in the form of uninterrupted conversation, plentiful food and the opportunity to sit down in a real chair (and not on the floor) for as long as I wanted to while not reading stories or building endless block houses.

And then we spent more downtime and an early birthday celebration with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Brian as we all tried to recover from the weekend's events, and then we were again on a plane headed homeward. After a short, awkward nap (because this flight was also during naptime), Kalina hardly stopped chanting the trip's mantra, "back home! Back home!" until we pulled into the driveway.

And that's the story of Kalina's experience as a Flower Girl. She served in her post to the best of her ability and, we believe, fulfilled her duties of supreme cuteness on the special day.

Photos:

1. Kalina happily playing with Cow as the reception began. Wedding couple in the background, as things should be (right, Kalina? :) ).
2. Playing with Grandma and cats (after the wedding, but I needed something to fill the space here). It too a while to get this shot because Kalina would keep jumping up to look at the picture just as the red eye flash was blinking.
3. Early birthday presents! (Also after the wedding) The cats wanted to be put into the bags, even before the presents were out of them.
4. See how well she did at the rehearsal?!? See!!!
5. Daddy and his little princess.
6. Playing with an early birthday present. 10 finger puppets--imagine that! One for each finger!
7. Kalina making her entrance!
8. Relaxing at the reception. Kalina brilliantly held a plastic cup in her mouth--no hands!--for the camera.
9. Dancing with Grandma.
10. See the empty chair? That's where I was sitting before snapping this photo. Just chatting and relaxing. Nice!

Picture Post!

Recently, we welcomed Matt's parents to town for Matt's cousin's wedding! We had fun seeing lots of family during the weekend. Unfortunately, the term "we" applied mostly to me and Matt, as Kalina was recovering from probably her worst illness yet (which still wasn't too bad), and was also still working on potty training. Our little anti-socialite spent an uncharacteristic amount of the weekend pleading "Back home, back home!" And looking up at us with those large, adorable brown eyes. However, we still managed to get some cheesy grins out of her. Here are our best shots:

First photo: Matt's mom took this amazing family pic of us at the wedding.!

Feeding a plethora of ducks and geese and turtles and fish (not pictured) at the local gardens. This local heron was feasting in the area, too. Matt "chummed" the water around him with bits of bread, which the fish gobbled up before they, in turn, were gobbled up. It was pretty amazing, and a little creepy--I couldn't watch parts of it. And then the heron chased a mommy duck who was protecting her ducklings from it, and I really couldn't watch, but fortunately everyone escaped unharmed.

Matt's cousin (the beautiful bride) greeting Matt and Kalina. Poor Matt and Kalina got cut off in favor of the bride, but I think that's just the way it's supposed to be at weddings.









Storytime with Grandma back at home.










Storytime with Grandpa back at home.

The perils of a second pregnancy, and a baby update!

While many first pregnancies are fraught with imagined peril (OH NO!!! I WOKE UP LAYING ON MY BACK! WILL MY BABY BE OKAY??!??), second pregnancies are filled with real dangers. Here's a rundown of the top 5:

1. Registering. Baby showers.

One of the most taboo topics about second babies is the question of supplies.

Even though everyone has a different opinion, it's generally agreed nowadays that it's okay to have a baby shower if:

a. The second baby is a different gender than the first.
b. The kids are separated by more than 5-ish years, or long enough that you already gave away your old baby stuff.

If neither of these are true, people may frown on you, even during this sensitive time in your life.

Clearly, I should not have a baby shower. However, I registered anyway, more so that I can keep track of what I need for Little Sister than anything else. It was fun, and Kalina was patient (I think she was sick, and that's why she was so happy to sit in her stroller, bad mommy), and now at least my shopping list for the "oops, it's my due date and the crib isn't even set up" last-minute run to the store is complete.

Fortunately, it's okay to celebrate the new baby through a formal or informal gathering that generally includes some sort of pampering. Word has it, I will be doing this. Already counting down the hours!

2. Toddler kicks meet Baby kicks.

While a 1.5-lb. tiny baby kicking your tummy is cute, it's far less endearing when your toddler decides to. For the baby, too, I would imagine. Ouch.

Incidentally, Kalina of her own accord, figured out that the baby in Mommy's tummy is generally sleeping (shhh! she cautions). I added to her short list of supposed Little Sister activities by helping her feel a little kick. Whenever I bring it up, Kalina performs her own cute little kick for me, to demonstrate. I just know the two will get along great--they already have so much in common.

3. An inability to sit down, or eat, or anything else that's considered helpful while you're pregnant.

And I thought it was funny the first time around (not to mention after the baby was born) when people told me to take it easy. Now, those who've never been in this situation before still tell me to take it easy, while anyone who has doesn't bother. I also find it ironic that doctors don't even try to warn pregnant mommies of toddlers not to lift more than 25 pounds.

Fortunately, I've also found that toddlers and pregnant women have a lot in common, and so we can get along fairly well at times. These include:

-Snacks. We require lots of them. We can easily agree on ice cream.
-Water. And now we can even share the same water bottle.
-The restroom. It's kind of functional-disfunctional that we're both rushing off to the restroom at various times.
-Naps. Theoretically, when Kalina takes hers, I can take mine. Very, very theoretically.

And that's it.

4. A double-dose of forgetfulness.

Mommy brain meets pregnancy brain. I've never been so double-booked, or short of necessary dinner ingredients, in my life. Last time around, it was nausea that plagued me relentlessly. This time, I'd just like my brain back, please.

5. Doctor visits

The visits themselves are still interesting and enjoyable. Even during a needle stick, at least you're sitting down and making smalltalk with another adult (so you don't think about the needle, at least that's my strategy). However, you have two choices for your toddler:

Option 1: Line up babysitting. And not so you can go to a movie, or get coffee. So you can go sit in a waiting room. Then you owe someone money, time, or dessert which, by the way, if you had on hand you'd be eating yourself.

Option 2: Drag your poor toddler along. Only if you also drag your spouse along, or have no other options, or get sentimental about the toddler hearing the baby's heartbeat. As I did this past week, which brings us to the:

Baby Update

My latest doctor visit was on Tuesday. For the first time (other than the big ultrasound), I brought Kalina with me. My motive was double-sided: not only did I want her to hear the baby's heartbeat, I also thought that seeing Mommy go to the doctor might be good for her psyche--and her upcoming 2-year visit. Besides, it was supposed to be a quick visit, with no needle sticks.

The visit was not, in fact, quick, but it was rather painless. Kalina was on her best behavior, and we brought some of her favorite things along: stuffed animals, plastic animals, and books about animals. She did furrow her brow quite predictably when I mentioned the doctor, but I assured her the doctor wouldn't bother her at all, let alone try to weigh her. She seemed to accept this.

Little Sister also cooperated by only gaining her Mommy 3 pounds (we all celebrated later with a Chick-Fil-A milkshake a few days later) and by registering her heartbeat at a very normal 156 beats/minute. No, Kalina was not too afraid of the doctor (she even showed him, and the friendly nurses, her stuffed cow and horse), and she seemed pretty happy to hear her sister's heartbeat.

Other news:

The baby's nickname on this blog, I've decided (and you've already seen), will be Little Sister. I hope she's not offended, but I thought it sounded cuter than Baby Girl 2. We don't yet have a name for this new baby and, again, probably won't until after we meet her in person. Kalina just smiles when I ask her opinion.

Speaking of which, asking a toddler for their opinion is kind of like asking a Magic 8 Ball. You get a different answer every time and the answer has no relation, outside of sheer coincidence, to the truth.

Little Sister happily kicks and squirms for me all the time, and patiently endures the times when Kalina uses me as a jungle gym. I'll save all my predictions about her for another post.

Pregnancy insomnia has hit really early, but it's fortunately combined with Kalina sleeping in lately--so at least we get to catch up on weekends. I'm generally still pretty comfortable. My maternity clothing situation has had a recent upturn with an influx of clothes given/loaned to me by friends.

While things are going well, I can tell that the time of discomfort is on the horizon. Pregnancy's worst perils: sleeplessness, aches, labor, etc., are still to come. Fortunately, so is pregnancy's great reward. Just, um, not quite yet, please!

Photo: Kalina let me put pigtails in her hair. Once.

Odegaard Toddler Potty Trains

Odegaard Toddler Potty Trains

The Odegaard household was left stunned on Wednesday when Kalina Odegaard, 23 months, completed the waking-hours transition from diapers to underwear.

"Underwear is way better," the girl commented. "Let's go to Goose Park."

Daddy and Mommy Odegaard varied in mood from proud acceptance to wide-eyed, ecstatic, bubbly relief.

"I knew all along she'd do it," stated Daddy calmly.

"I can't believe she's potty trained!" trumpeted Mommy, with tears in her eyes, to anyone/thing with ears.

Mommy later mentioned that a week ago, potty training wasn't really even on the household's radar--except, possibly, Kalina's, as the toddler later admitted.

"I'd been considering giving up diapers for a while, but I didn't think Mommy was quite ready," Kalina explained.

"We were going to wait until Kalina was a little more ready," Mommy said in a separate conversation. She attributes the success almost exclusively to the young girl. "All I did was provide the underwear. Sure, I had a few helpful tricks up my sleeve, but Kalina caught on fast. She really took me by surprise."

When asked what motivated her to make the switch, Kalina listed a combination of detesting diaper changes, receiving marshmallows, and the fact that "Mommy, Daddy, and many other people I like wear underwear. Mine are pink."

Repeating several times during the interview, "I'm just so glad it's over," Mommy cited potty training as the thing she's dreaded almost as much as labor and delivery. "Fortunately, Kalina made this one rather easy for me," she smiled wearily.

The transition process wasn't all fun and games, though--at least not for Mommy, as she told reporters. "I think on Day 2 I came close to giving up just about every hour. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I'd have to coax Kalina back into a diaper, and I figured cleaning up accidents would actually be easier."

According to Kalina, though, the process was easy. "I even convinced both Mommy and Daddy to give me a marshmallow if I just 'tried' to use the toilet! However, I've noticed that they brush my teeth a bit more carefully in the evenings nowadays."

Going out has been a bit more of a challenge, but the girl has weathered it in stride.

"Thank goodness for bribes," Mommy said.

Another challenge came on Friday morning when Kalina spiked a 103-degree fever, and then threw up when Mommy tried to put her in a diaper since she was so sick and drowsy.

"There's no going back to diapers. Gross," said Kalina. "I think Mommy understands that now."

But potty training wasn't all that was going on in the Odegaard household this week. With all the at-home time and in between educational trips to the toilet, Kalina also mastered her alphabet.

"Have you ever heard the Alphabet Song? It's hilarious!" Kalina told the press, giggling for about five minutes after singing the first three notes.

At the end of the busy week, all family members report optimism about the future.

"We still have to work on using public restrooms, but, really, who wouldn't rather hold it?" Mommy said. "The big challenge is going to be our big family trip in three weeks. Fortunately, we have three weeks until then."

Kalina added, "Rumor has it, Mommy found cat underwear for me! Cats! On underwear!"

Resident Expert Mommy Odegaard offers her top three tips for potty training a child who's exactly like Kalina:

1. Motivate. Also called "bribing." While the best motivation is the child's own happiness in her accomplishment, marshmallows work in a pinch. If one particular motivation doesn't do the trick, ramp it up until you find one that does.

2. De-motivate. Our best success came when Kalina was dressed in underwear and clingy cotton pants. Turns out, they're quite uncomfortable when wet, providing the best de-motivation of all. Another thing--don't rush to change your child out of her wet clothes. First, clean up the accident on the floor together while your toddler walks around bowlegged, and then change into new underwear and another pair of clingy cotton pants. Remember that accidents are a good learning experience for both of you--your toddler learns that it's much better to use the toilet, and you learn your toddler's patterns and capabilities.

3. Communicate. First, teach the rules. 1. No potty or poop in underwear (your child learns that wearing underwear is a bit of a privilege) 2. Potty and poop go in the toilet. 3. Tell Mommy/Daddy before you need to go potty/poop (or, older kids may be able to head straight to the bathroom by themselves). Repeat these often and have your child repeat them. For accidents, use words like "Yuck, your pants are wet, now we have to go change," and "Too bad! We have to clean this up. If you'd gone in the toilet you'd be getting a treat right now!" Lavish praise for all success.

Photo: Toddler Kalina Odegaard proudly holds her catch of cats.

Odegaard family beach vacation 2010!

Lately, Kalina's been requesting:

1. to go over to Grandpa's house for hot dogs
2. ice cream
3. a cat party
4. to fly a kite

And we've been working our way down the list. (The cat party will be held around the time of her birthday. And yes, she came up with the idea all by herself.) And where better to fly a kite and eat ice cream than at the beach? So we went.

We followed the good deals to North Myrtle Beach and sprung for a suite so that Matt and I might actually be able to enjoy naptime (hah!) and bedtime in front of the cable TV (at our house, the TV only works if there's a DVD playing, and we kind of like it that way).

The drive down took all of five minutes. Spirits were high, Kalina was content to point out various colors of signs, and we introduced animal crackers to her, which she enjoyed playing with more than eating. Fine by me. Once we got to North Myrtle, the mini-golf courses were more than enough drive-by entertainment ("Look, Kalina, a dinosaur!" "Another dinosaur?" "Sure, we'll look for another dinosaur.").

The suite was perfect, as was our view. We quickly coated Kalina in sunscreen about 1/4 inch thick and dashed off to the beach.

Kalina greeted the ocean as if she were seeing an old friend. As Matt set up the umbrella, I got the fun privilege of holding Kalina back as she rushed toward every wave, as if to give the Atlantic a great big hug. Matt soon took over (the strength of the ocean and my excited little girl wore me out!) and I watched for dolphins, because how cool would it be if Kalina got to see dolphins? (She didn't.)

Towards suppertime, we made our way through the maze of pools, dipping into one or two just because we could, and ordered pizza to eat in the room after cleaning up a bit.

Of course, we couldn't resist heading back out for a pre-sunset walk (Even Kalina's vacation bedtime, which meant she could stay up to her regular bedtime even though she hadn't really napped, wouldn't allow us to actually watch the sky turn pink from anywhere but our balcony). Regretting not sticking the girl in swimsuit and swim diaper, we nevertheless let her splash in waves and "puddles" (the little tiny creeks and ponds that form up on the sand as the tide recedes) to her little heart's content.

And Kalina's little heart sure was content! She took to the beach at a run. Apparently, smooth sand and no roadblocks are irresistible to an active toddler. She stopped only to play in the water a bit or draw a continuous line in the sand with her foot as Matt had taught her. Meanwhile, Matt dug up mole crabs and chased minnows, and Kalina happily glanced at them as she hopped* by. He also was instrumental in keeping Kalina out of the ocean's depths.

When we could put off bedtime absolutely no longer, we all headed back to our room. We promised ourselves an encore first thing in the morning.

The next dawned a bit brighter than Kalina did: a string of bad naps (starting Wednesday of the week prior to our trip) was beginning to take it's toll. We headed back to the beach as soon as we could, and started off on a walk.

Poor Kalina. On this particular morning, she enjoyed the beach (and later, the pools), more from Mommy's or Daddy's arms than in person. I think I even caught her saying "naptime" once or twice by 9:00 a.m.

The bright spot was flying the kite on the beach, as I'd told Kalina she could all throughout the week before our trip. One small problem: the day was as calm as could be. Fortunately, the wind picked up a tiny bit by mid-morning--enough for the kite to become airborne as long as Matt, holding the string, kept running (I was happy to be the photographer). Kalina wanted to fly it herself, with absolutely no help, even for launching, but fortunately was able to compromise and hold it while Daddy ran with her in his arms. It worked well enough for her to be able to say "I flew a kite on the beach," although I think she thought the whole experience was rather anti-climatic and didn't really ask to do it again.

An hour spent back in the room watching Animal Planet did nothing to revive Kalina's spirits, and after one more jaunt out to the beach and a hasty lunch we put her down for a nap, waited a good 15 minutes for her to quiet down, and headed out to the balcony.

Half an hour or so later, when Matt popped his head back inside to check on the girl, he heard far too much chatter for our liking. My nose told me a diaper change was in order, and although Matt did his best to get Kalina back to sleep afterward (he's better at that than I am), it soon became clear that not only was our happy girl back, but there was no way she wanted a nap.

Happy vacation, Kalina! No nap for you. We promised each other up and down that we would put her down for a really, for real, no really, early bedtime and headed off to the local aquarium.

Still clinging a couple animal crackers we'd given her for the road, Kalina was fairly content to walk around to various tanks and help us spot stingrays and colorful fish. The missing nap(s) soon caught up with her, though, and it soon became obvious that she wasn't enjoying herself nearly as much as she would've if she had the sleep she needed (I should note here that Kalina certainly wasn't making up for lost sleep by sleeping in until, say, 7:00 or 7:30. That would just be ridiculous). Poor girl.

Fortunately for all of us, our wanderings led us to a tank with a long, windy tunnel through it that you go through via a flat conveyor belt thingy you stand on (it's hard to describe). And what did Kalina find swimming overhead? A shark. Lots of sharks. And a few other fish, and lobsters, too. She was ecstatic. Thrilled to have our happy girl back, we trekked through it at least 3 times. Kalina, for her part, made sure Lamby was able to spot the sharks, too.

The rest of the afternoon/evening was unfortunately not spent on the beach, as an impending thunderstorm sent us out for dinner and ice cream instead. After all, we'd promised the girl ice cream and didn't mind enjoying some ourselves. Despite the return of sunny, gorgeous skies at 6:30 that evening, we nevertheless forced ourselves to get Kalina ready for bed and have her in it at a decent time, instead of heading back out. We crossed our fingers for good sleep, and a happier toddler in the morning.

And she was! Our little sunshine dawned early, but without too many detrimental effects. We once again headed to the beach.

After we all played in puddles for a while, Matt dug up a few mole crabs (he can never resist), and soon Kalina was digging up a mole crab too, in the puddle Matt had put it in. As someone who doesn't want to get within poking distance of the creatures, I didn't quite know what to think when my sweet little girl held one up. She could even find it after it had burrowed into the sand. Should I be worried?

And then we made a sand fortress and some sand cats, and Kalina was absolutely thrilled. "Another cat!" she said, over and over. My cats got much more rudimentary as I struggled to keep up with demand. Fortunately, she never asked for another fortress, because it was pretty elaborate.

We'd hardly played in the pools at all during our stay, so with still more than an hour left before checkout, we dove in. Scared at first, Kalina allowed herself to be coaxed into the water by riding piggyback on Daddy's shoulders, and thought chasing Mommy around was the best thing ever.

Back at the room, we rushed to clean up and clear out. The vacation was over. So sad.

This was never more obvious than on the ride home, which took about two days and almost took longer. I convinced Kalina to go to sleep, but an ambulance woke her up after--you guessed it--45 minutes. We still had a long, long way to go.

At home, we were rewarded by the fact that Kalina's toys all seemed new to her and she was content to play nicely by herself while we unpacked and tried to forget about the drive.

We still talk about the trip fairly often, and look at pictures, usually to rounds of "again? Again?" Clearly, Kalina remembers her beach vacation fondly, as will we. Plus, we could check off "fly a kite" and "have ice cream." Missions accomplished.

*"Hopping" is Kalina's favorite form of travel, both for herself and any animals she sees, real or pretend. True hopping is a light gallop, and it's best executed by the hopper repeating "hop, hop, hop" in a high-pitched voice mostly to herself. However, hopping can also mean a run, a jump or big step up to a higher place or onto an object (like a step or a slide), or really any means of bodily conveyance from one place to another. It's just precious.

Photo 1: Kalina "flying" a kite, all by herself!
Photo 2: Odegaard family beach trip photo
Photo 3: Daddy and Kalina chasing seagulls. Because what else would you do with a seagull?
Photo 4: Kalina's cool line in the sand
Photo 5: Kalina's favorite thing to do nowadays is wrap up in towels. Kitchen towels are usually the best fit, but we made a beach towel work.
Photo 6: Kalina flying a kite with Daddy's help
Photo 7: At the aquarium. In my haste to get a cute picture of Lamby, I forgot to include the shark everyone's looking at.
Photo 8: You can't really see the mole crab, but Kalina dug it up and is holding it. Look how proud Daddy is.
Photo 9: Sand cat-sles and other creations

Potty Training: Somewhere within Round 2

Round 2 of Potty Training began after we returned from vacation and had unpacked and rested up a bit. It turns out, our vacation did nothing to either advance or halt potty training so we were, indeed, able to pick up where we left off.

Whereas last week, Kalina was more or less happy to sit on the toilet and impress us with her pottying prowess, at least until toward the end of the day, I realized after yesterday that she'd need a bit more motivation. What's more, she needed some de-motivation from simply using her underwear--accidents bothered her at first, but she soon got over it.

A timer did nothing to convince Kalina it was time to use the toilet, nor did the reminder of "you'll get a sticker!" We upgraded to mini marshmallows, and Kalina has been all sunshine since, except for the time she was frustrated because she couldn't use the toilet within 1 minute of having previously used it. I explained that drinking water would help her situation and after quite a tantrum, she settled down nicely with her sippy cup.

For de-motivation, we decided to put pants on Kalina over her underwear. Cotton pants. Pants that get soggy and yucky when she has an accident (they help keep the accident off the floor, too!). They were put to the test, and kind of work.

My problem now is figuring out how to get Kalina to tell me she needs to go instead of telling me she just went. She clearly understands the process, she just needs to put two and two together. Our conversations:

"Kalina, where does potty belong?"
"In the toilet!" (With a huge grin)
"Where does potty not belong?"
"In underwear." (Somberly, with a frown)
"What happens when we put potty in the toilet?"
"Treat!!!" (Can barely speak for dancing around jubilantly)
"And what happens when we put potty in underwear?"
"Wet." (A somber frown again)
"What do you do if you have to go potty?"
"Toilet!" Triumphantly

And yet, accidents still happen.

Also on the agenda: lengthening the amount of time between potty trips (she ranges from upwards of 2 hours to a mere 15 minutes), and venturing out of the house.

My other problem is that eventually, even marshmallows will get old. Will she be potty trained before she's receiving a pony on each trip to the bathroom?

I'm still not sure whether to keep slogging through this or not. How long is it supposed to take? Is she really, really ready?

Factors in our favor:
1. I think she's poop trained. And she's approached me (mostly by just looking up at me, rather distressed) for the last two days when she needs to poop. Yay, Kalina!
2. Marshmallows are working.
3. Accidents at least make her stop what she's doing for a minute.
4. She prefers underwear over diapers.
5. She's very proud when she does go potty.

Factors against us:
1. She generally won't tell us when she needs to go potty.
2. She sometimes can hold it for a long time, sometimes not.
3. She doesn't strive for independence. Really at all, in almost anything except pulling our big wagon up hills.

Would you keep going?

Still to come: The Odegaard Beach Vacation post