Hello all, so this is a post I began in December of 2016 and never posted. I wanted to post it because it has some good information in it and I am currently working on a new post now. Enjoy!
It has been over 2 years since I've posted and life has been busy! Olivia is doing great, she is now 3 1/2. She has been in a bi-lingual daycare for the past 4 months and her language skills have improved drastically.
Things that have occurred in the past 2 years:
Potty Training -
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This was difficult for us. In hindsight I realized we created the problem ourselves by trying to force the issue. She was not ready to use the potty when we were ready for her to use it. In the beginning, it seemed as if everything was going to run smoothly. I did research online, I talked to my mom, sisters, cousins and friends to get tips and tricks. We were ready! By "we" I mean my husband and I. We were ready to stop buying diapers. We were ready to stop changing diapers. We were ready to put that money towards something else. Olivia, on the other hand, was NOT ready. The first exercise we tried was potty training in 3 days. This is where you are basically held hostage in your own home for 3 days while you pump your child with water and/or juice and sit them on the toilet every 20 minutes. Olivia loved being able to drink more apple juice than normal. We stayed home and I did just that, I even put an alarm on my phone to remind me of when I needed to bring her. The weekend was fantastic and I thought we were home free, but then I realized she didn't poop at all. A few weeks went by where we were forcing her to sit on the potty and it became this big negative thing for her. Junior and I discussed the problem and we decided to take a break from potty training because we did not want negativity to go with that. We decided to try again when she was around 2 1/2 and we discussed it with her before we did it. This time around it was easier with pee, poop was a struggle. To be honest, she still gets embarrassed every now and then and tries to hide.
Pre-school - :-D
At the end of July of 2016, Olivia joined a preschool and it's bilingual! She misses her babysitter but she loves the school. It is so much fun see her interact with other kids. She really enjoys it there and she is learning a lot. The school kind of like a Montessori school of thought which we love. They also have flamenco dancing on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the parents that want to pay extra for this service, it looks like fun but we haven't added her yet.
Behaviors
Olivia knows what she wants and she is not afraid to express her displeasure if she doesn't get it. We are struggling with getting her to listen more often. She listens every now and then but not enough to for my satisfaction. When Olivia loves a particular outfit she wants to wear it non stop. Like every.single.day! This stage has been exhausting, luckily there were lots of great spots that keep us sane.
Olivia has a natural caring and nurturing demeanor about her. She is very sensitive to the emotions of others. Whenever she sees someone crying or sad, she always points out that they are sad and if it's a kid, she will go up to them and hug them. She is always giving out hugs and kisses which are amazing. She gives great hugs. Olivia is also willing to help others in need.
Medical
Praise goes to God for Olivia's health. Overall, she is very healthy and has no major complications from the prematurity. She did end up in the hospital a few times with bronchiolitis and once with double pneumonia. She was taken care of each time by the wonderful staff at Coral Springs Medical Center.
In September of 2015 , Olivia received her first pair of glasses. She is near sighted with bad astigmatism. She looks so adorable with her glasses on. The transition to wearing glasses wasn't that bad I don't think. I honestly can't remember, I'll have to ask Junior.
