Someone suggested I do a weekly post about cute things Camila says or does. I like this idea, but am not sure what to call it. Does anyone have a suggestion?
This past week we potty trained and it seems to be sticking. She is not accident free all the time, but there is usually an explanation for the accident, such as she was asleep (her cough isn't helping things) or we didn't get to her in time.
When she went potty, we would give her a small candy. Apparently one evening last week her mom asked her during a discussion of her day, "And did the potty give you candy?"
She stared at her mom with disgust. "NO. BABA candy." I have to admit, I wouldn't be crazy about the idea that my candy came from the potty either!
When she used the potty with dry panties, we made phone calls, at least the first few times. Friday, her mother called her. Emi was crying for a bottle, so I just picked up the handset and handed it to Camila. She got very excited and walked off, cradling the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mama!" I got Emi settled and sat in the living room with her. After a few minutes, Camila suddenly said, "Bye, Mama!" and threw the phone to me. I told her mother she was done and hung it up.
As I was washing Emi's bottle, Camila brought the phone back. "Call Gaga?" (Gaga is her name for her paternal grandmother.)
"Sure. Or we can go see if she's on Skype." She eyed me skeptically, so I decided maybe she wasn't thrilled with that. "Do you want to use the phone or Skype?"
"Phone."
I dialed the number for her and when her grandmother picked up, explained that "Camila wanted to call and talk to you." I handed her the phone and she flounced out of the kitchen, away from me, as if to say, "I've got this." I followed her anyway and watched as she laid back on a mat on the floor, legs kicked up in the air. She looked so big, almost like a mini teenager. She laid there a full five minutes, chatting with her grandma about the whereabouts of various family members and the escapades of Mickey Mouse. It was so cute!
Then yesterday, since we have done so well pottying, we decided to venture out to Booksamillion. We found a book her mother had asked me to pick up, as well as a Dora book and the CUTEST Dr. Seuss book ("The Digging-est Dog") and headed for the register. Suddenly she froze. "MICKEY! MINNIE!"
She picked up two pens, with the characters on the top. "I buy it!" Before I could stop her, she marched up to an empty register, plopped them on the counter, and announced again, "I buy it."
The cashier smiled at her (this store is one of our favorite hangouts, so people vaguely know us). "You're going to buy these?"
"Camila, where's your money?" I asked.
She looked down at her pocketless dress and held it out. She lifted both hands in a shrug. "Money all gone!" Her face was so crestfallen we had to laugh.
"I guess your mommy will just have to buy it for you then, huh?" The cashier explained to me that she has a 2 1/2 year old daughter. "Just wait till she turns two!"
I didn't tell her we're already there in entirely too many ways. But she minds her manners well out in public (and mostly in private, we're just dealing with a little temper here and there), and most people are utterly charmed. In addition, her mother is teaching her some words, such as "bald" in Portuguese so if she chooses to comment on anything in public, no one will be able to understand her!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tip #1: Positivity Is Key
Okay well I'm still taking suggestions if anyone has them. I do think I had a comment issue over the weekend, so if you tried making a suggestion it just didn't work, I apologize.
So anyway, it recently occurred to me that being a nanny is almost like being some kind of life coach. For me personally, I have to encourage the mother almost as much as the kids. My employer was never around children and knew very little about them. She's picked it up pretty as much as she goes along and is doing fairly well.
A prime example of this entire concept is what I am doing right now: potty training. (Squeamish readers may want to exit at this time.) Camila just finished day 3. Since we got the plan for "3-Day Potty Training", her mother assumed we would be completely done and fancy-free at this time. We're not.
Don't get me wrong, Camila is doing very well in that from the very first accident, she knew to go to the potty and has even asked to sit and try. Today she made #2 for the first time since we started, IN the potty with dry panties! The main problem is that she doesn't recognize when she has to go #1 until she is already going. It starts, she yells "Pee-pee in the potty!" and tries to run. If I pick her up and run her to the toilet she can stop it but she can't stop it while running so the poor baby just kind of waddles. She manages to stop it and finishes in the potty. But I seriously have never seen a child so motivated and mentally invested in it. She WANTS to do this, she just can't get the feel of the controls. I vote we stick with it until she gets it because mentally, she is already there, she's just trying to catch up on the physical side.
As some of you know, this is a good start. Some kids utterly refuse, some sneak off and hide to wet themselves, some just aren't interested. We are blessed!
But still, every night, I've had to give her mom a pep talk via text. I assure her she's doing well, point out the areas that have improved, and remind her we can do it. (And discourage her from even CONSIDERING bringing the diapers back out!) She calms down and says she'll trust me on it, admitting that she does see improvement. Let me state that she was the one that wanted to do it, I just said I would support her and be up for it whenever she decided to do it. I did not push her into it and am not having to push her to support my idea.
This is true of pretty much every situation. A lot of nannies work for new parents, and a lot of them are new to children in general from what I hear. They need encouragement.
One more thing: it takes a lot of work to stay positive yourself. For instance, there is a very snide part of me that wonders why her mother gets so overwhelmed after two hours on her own when I am working 9 hour days this week, with her home only for short breaks. How do I end up giving HER pep talks? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
But I have the experience to encourage me, I know that we can do this. She doesn't. It's entirely new territory to her. So sometimes even if I don't feel positive, I have to BE positive.
And YES! Her mother texted me as I was writing this and said that Camila tried to go before bed and couldn't. She asked to go again as they laid her down and didn't. She called out shortly after and this time she went, dry panties and all! THEN she just texted me again and said she WOKE UP and called for them to come get her (she's still in a crib) and take her potty. It took them a minute to get in there so she dribbled a little but HOW AWESOME is that???? YAY!
See? Positivity works!!!!
So anyway, it recently occurred to me that being a nanny is almost like being some kind of life coach. For me personally, I have to encourage the mother almost as much as the kids. My employer was never around children and knew very little about them. She's picked it up pretty as much as she goes along and is doing fairly well.
A prime example of this entire concept is what I am doing right now: potty training. (Squeamish readers may want to exit at this time.) Camila just finished day 3. Since we got the plan for "3-Day Potty Training", her mother assumed we would be completely done and fancy-free at this time. We're not.
Don't get me wrong, Camila is doing very well in that from the very first accident, she knew to go to the potty and has even asked to sit and try. Today she made #2 for the first time since we started, IN the potty with dry panties! The main problem is that she doesn't recognize when she has to go #1 until she is already going. It starts, she yells "Pee-pee in the potty!" and tries to run. If I pick her up and run her to the toilet she can stop it but she can't stop it while running so the poor baby just kind of waddles. She manages to stop it and finishes in the potty. But I seriously have never seen a child so motivated and mentally invested in it. She WANTS to do this, she just can't get the feel of the controls. I vote we stick with it until she gets it because mentally, she is already there, she's just trying to catch up on the physical side.
As some of you know, this is a good start. Some kids utterly refuse, some sneak off and hide to wet themselves, some just aren't interested. We are blessed!
But still, every night, I've had to give her mom a pep talk via text. I assure her she's doing well, point out the areas that have improved, and remind her we can do it. (And discourage her from even CONSIDERING bringing the diapers back out!) She calms down and says she'll trust me on it, admitting that she does see improvement. Let me state that she was the one that wanted to do it, I just said I would support her and be up for it whenever she decided to do it. I did not push her into it and am not having to push her to support my idea.
This is true of pretty much every situation. A lot of nannies work for new parents, and a lot of them are new to children in general from what I hear. They need encouragement.
One more thing: it takes a lot of work to stay positive yourself. For instance, there is a very snide part of me that wonders why her mother gets so overwhelmed after two hours on her own when I am working 9 hour days this week, with her home only for short breaks. How do I end up giving HER pep talks? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
But I have the experience to encourage me, I know that we can do this. She doesn't. It's entirely new territory to her. So sometimes even if I don't feel positive, I have to BE positive.
And YES! Her mother texted me as I was writing this and said that Camila tried to go before bed and couldn't. She asked to go again as they laid her down and didn't. She called out shortly after and this time she went, dry panties and all! THEN she just texted me again and said she WOKE UP and called for them to come get her (she's still in a crib) and take her potty. It took them a minute to get in there so she dribbled a little but HOW AWESOME is that???? YAY!
See? Positivity works!!!!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Any Ideas?
So I'm thinking of trying to organize this blog a little better...any suggestions? I was thinking maybe once a week some sort of tip of being a nanny, but I'm not sure what else. I can't post EVERY day, but maybe just two or three days could be spoken for.
We are on a no-smiling-for-the-camera kick again.
Meanwhile, here are a couple pictures!
Emi all dressed up for church.
I found that $48 dress on sale for $7. Go me!
Emi went to Camila's play class with us yesterday and even got to sit in the circle (in a bumbo).
We are on a no-smiling-for-the-camera kick again. Which makes this picture of them BOTH smiling at the SAME time a momentous occasion.
She's been such a comedian lately. I love 4 months. It's the perfect age!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Two Homes
I fully intended to do another post last week, but got sick around Tuesday and was pretty much down for the count. (I only missed two days of work but Wednesday was ROUGH.)
Backtracking, I must say I am very impressed, yet saddened, by how grown-up Camila is becoming. I toted both of them to church with me again Sunday and she didn't do as well in the service this time but she made it through the song time and the offering.
At offering time my brother gave her a dollar. I whispered in her ear, "Are you going to give that to Jesus?" (I've been trying to work on her concept of God lately.)
She turned to the elderly man seated next to us and held out the dollar. "Here you go!" Apparently our concept needs more work.
She was squirmy through the singing so before the sermon started I said, "How about we go to the nursery?"
She clapped her hands. "Yay! Nursery!"
Emi was content in my mother's arms so I walked Camila back. There were only two other children so after giving her a minute, I told her I was going to go listen in church then I'd be back for her in a little bit. She wasn't concerned so I left her there.
When I came back she was happily playing. They said she had only gotten teary eyed once!
Tuesday we went to play at a local play area and she played extremely well, both with a little boy with Downs Syndrome and with a very pushy older girl. I'm so proud of how well she gets along with others.
Then later this week, I got sick and a babysitter came in to help while I was out (bronchitis, I think). She did well Thursday but Friday she was so hard to deal with that her mom let the babysitter go early. That night her mom asked if she liked the babysitter. She said she grew serious and said, "Baba [her name for me]? Baba coming home?"
She thought maybe I had left her and the other girl was my replacement. She thinks her home is MY home too. Her mom explained that I was sick, so she promptly fetched the Vicks for me! I felt like a horrible person for being sick. :(
But I go back to her tomorrow, and hopefully she will be happy that I am "home".
Backtracking, I must say I am very impressed, yet saddened, by how grown-up Camila is becoming. I toted both of them to church with me again Sunday and she didn't do as well in the service this time but she made it through the song time and the offering.
At offering time my brother gave her a dollar. I whispered in her ear, "Are you going to give that to Jesus?" (I've been trying to work on her concept of God lately.)
She turned to the elderly man seated next to us and held out the dollar. "Here you go!" Apparently our concept needs more work.
She was squirmy through the singing so before the sermon started I said, "How about we go to the nursery?"
She clapped her hands. "Yay! Nursery!"
Emi was content in my mother's arms so I walked Camila back. There were only two other children so after giving her a minute, I told her I was going to go listen in church then I'd be back for her in a little bit. She wasn't concerned so I left her there.
When I came back she was happily playing. They said she had only gotten teary eyed once!
Tuesday we went to play at a local play area and she played extremely well, both with a little boy with Downs Syndrome and with a very pushy older girl. I'm so proud of how well she gets along with others.
Then later this week, I got sick and a babysitter came in to help while I was out (bronchitis, I think). She did well Thursday but Friday she was so hard to deal with that her mom let the babysitter go early. That night her mom asked if she liked the babysitter. She said she grew serious and said, "Baba [her name for me]? Baba coming home?"
She thought maybe I had left her and the other girl was my replacement. She thinks her home is MY home too. Her mom explained that I was sick, so she promptly fetched the Vicks for me! I felt like a horrible person for being sick. :(
But I go back to her tomorrow, and hopefully she will be happy that I am "home".
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Ricky's Birthday
I apologize to Ricky and his little gerbil cousins for taking so long to post pictures. It has been a busy week. Another working weekend (this time my girls Saturday and Sunday and another job tonight, which is Saturday...sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking) which means more scrambling in the evenings to have everything else in place. Lucky me, it's not only Father's Day but it's my turn to bring Sunday school breakfast. But being the awesome person I am, everything is all set. ;)
So anyway, yes, last Friday, we celebrated the birthdays of Ricky, Sydney, Salem, and KJ. I had to stay home with my parents' dogs so Rachel and I could not go anywhere. We couldn't decide what to do until I realized it had been almost a year since we bought our pets. They were 6-8 weeks old when we got them therefore their birthday is likely in early June! We went all out but had a great time!
The party table
The proud mommies!
Possibly my favorite picture EVER. He looks like he wants to KILL me.
His cupcake! He didn't really get to eat it but it's a cute picture.
Sydney, Salem, and KJ: the gerbil cousinsSaturday, June 12, 2010
More Fun Days
Things have been very busy, but we are all enjoying ourselves. The girls' grandfather is here visiting all the way from Brazil. He's a sweet man and dotes on them, even if he sometimes forgets that Camila doesn't want to be treated like a baby. He tries to feed her when she can use a spoon and fork by herself very well, does the airplane trick, etc, and all she wants to do is eat her lunch. I've gotten her to let him do it anyway since no one can seem to explain to him that she doesn't like it. He enjoys it and he's only here a few more days.
Although Camila just turned 21 months recently, she is already very much two. She thinks she can do everything grownups do, which in some cases is a good thing (for example, we are potty training very soon). But in others, it's becoming dangerous. She wants to let the dog in, sterilize bottles, cook dinner, and it's only a matter of time before she tries to pick up Emi. She takes care of "Baby Goofy" very well, giving him his bottle, burping him, changing his diaper, putting him down for a nap, and taking him for walks (which she also wanted to do on the road like we do one time). It's definitely one of those don't-take-your-eyes-off-her-for-a-second phases.
But thankfully, except for occasional showings of toddler attitude, she isn't doing things to be bad. She is just trying to help. For some kids the terrible 2s are much more extreme, so we are blessed.
Emi is still growing quickly and I'm pretty sure she's discovering her will. She fought sleep several times this week, growing very angry when we tried to put her down, but we knew she was tired. She just didn't WANT to go to bed. Then she went on a hunger strike when she decided she didn't want a bottle, she wanted to nurse. She usually does when her mom is home, which is why she didn't want the bottle. For a long time she got one bottle a day (which is actually recommended if you plan to use bottles we found), but the last week or so, she has mostly nursed. Considering I have them all weekend next weekend, we decided that had to be fixed so we kept trying and yesterday she was taking a bottle well. And she isn't even 4 months old! Thinking of her at 2 is kind of scaring me.
Emi is still growing quickly and I'm pretty sure she's discovering her will. She fought sleep several times this week, growing very angry when we tried to put her down, but we knew she was tired. She just didn't WANT to go to bed. Then she went on a hunger strike when she decided she didn't want a bottle, she wanted to nurse. She usually does when her mom is home, which is why she didn't want the bottle. For a long time she got one bottle a day (which is actually recommended if you plan to use bottles we found), but the last week or so, she has mostly nursed. Considering I have them all weekend next weekend, we decided that had to be fixed so we kept trying and yesterday she was taking a bottle well. And she isn't even 4 months old! Thinking of her at 2 is kind of scaring me.
But still, she is a sweet baby overall, it's much easier to make her smile than it was Camila, and her baby giggle is so sweet. She's always happy to see me and this week I have taught her to give me "kisses". I love her even when she's bad. :)
This was a spontaneous moment, not posed, but it turned out PRECIOUS.
In the car on the way to the park, the poster child for Toddlerhood.
The outfit is not her fault actually; I dressed her, then let her pick the bow because there are many colors in the skirt. She picked the biggest one we had but I was like "Okay." Then her mother put the socks on her. Then we put her sneakers on. Then to top it off, the sunglasses her mom had bought because they reminded her of the big sunglasses I always wear and Camila likes to wear sunglasses like me. Altogether it looked bizarre, yet adorable. Especially with Goofy tagging along.
Camila recently saw my Disney pictures where Rachel and I are making scared faces on the Dinosaur ride and she thought it was hysterical. So when we met Rachel for lunch, she kept saying, "Rachel, dinosaur! Rah! Dinosaur scary?" So for a picture, I said, "Camila, can you be a dinosaur and scare Ms. Rachel?" She giggled and said "Raaah!" and Rachel made the face and she thought it was GREAT. She thinks we are probably the coolest people ever for having met Mickey Mouse and the gang in person.
For anyone who hasn't seen Finding Nemo, you may need to watch it to get it. She has found this very funny for a couple days, starting at the park when we were feeding ducks and seagulls, and I did it for her. It was all I had to do to get her to smile for a picture yesterday. I love it when she does it!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Good with the Bad
It was a pretty good weekend. I had a few days off and had lunch with pretty much everyone I could think of. :) My friend Rachel and I got to hang out over the long weekend. She went to church with me Sunday night and then we watched a movie. Monday we went to the beach. The weather said thunderstorms all day but we never saw a drop of rain!
She got some pretty cool pictures. I think they've very "me". (See below)
Then came this morning. I was ready to see Camila and Emi but woke up to see that I should have left the house 15 minutes ago. That's always a great start to a morning. I was only 20 minutes late for work (but I HATE being late EVER) and they had no plans to leave the house anytime soon. Camila was a little shy today with everybody (it was kind of weird but she met a LOT of people on vacation and was just done with people I think) but we had a good day overall. She's putting longer sentences together now and starting to talk like such a big girl. It's hard to believe in 3 months she'll be 2 years old! And today, for the first time, she told me "I love you". It was soooo sweet, I almost cried!
Emi grew up so much. She's so agreeable; she laughs at just about everything you say. I had this awful headache (sinus I think; we had thunderstorms today instead of yesterday) with a shooting pain in my face. When it hit I screwed my face up and she laughed. At least, as much as she laughs. It's still this spastic "Ha!" but it counts.
And tonight I am going to bed at a decent time and setting THREE alarms instead of the two I set this morning. (Can you believe NEITHER went off????)
Me & Rachel
Yes, I am fully clothed.
So the water was all seaweed-y so we kept saying we weren't going in but every time it's warm & I start going just a little farther I end up getting soaked. Eventually I gave up and just sat down & let the waves crash over my back. :)
Rachel was thrilled when I got into her car soaked and covered in sand and seaweed. But it came back to haunt me. I stunk like seaweed the entire 2-hour ride home.
She got some pretty cool pictures. I think they've very "me". (See below)
Then came this morning. I was ready to see Camila and Emi but woke up to see that I should have left the house 15 minutes ago. That's always a great start to a morning. I was only 20 minutes late for work (but I HATE being late EVER) and they had no plans to leave the house anytime soon. Camila was a little shy today with everybody (it was kind of weird but she met a LOT of people on vacation and was just done with people I think) but we had a good day overall. She's putting longer sentences together now and starting to talk like such a big girl. It's hard to believe in 3 months she'll be 2 years old! And today, for the first time, she told me "I love you". It was soooo sweet, I almost cried!
Emi grew up so much. She's so agreeable; she laughs at just about everything you say. I had this awful headache (sinus I think; we had thunderstorms today instead of yesterday) with a shooting pain in my face. When it hit I screwed my face up and she laughed. At least, as much as she laughs. It's still this spastic "Ha!" but it counts.
And tonight I am going to bed at a decent time and setting THREE alarms instead of the two I set this morning. (Can you believe NEITHER went off????)
Me & Rachel 
Yes, I am fully clothed.
So the water was all seaweed-y so we kept saying we weren't going in but every time it's warm & I start going just a little farther I end up getting soaked. Eventually I gave up and just sat down & let the waves crash over my back. :)
Rachel was thrilled when I got into her car soaked and covered in sand and seaweed. But it came back to haunt me. I stunk like seaweed the entire 2-hour ride home.
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