Bridgie- Ready or Not

Our Little Bridgie is throwing down the gauntlet. All in one week she stretched her skills beyond what I am ready for. It started by her learning how to open the back door by herself. She let herself out while I was nearby. I am glad I'm aware of this skill as it has increased the mommy auditory sensors to hone in on the sound of the door. She is reluctant to slide through the open door for fear of getting squished as she tries to hold it open, but she is determined and I don't think a little fear will keep her in for long.

Also in the same week she learned how to climb out of her crib when the side is up and to open her bedroom door. I have yet to see her do this feat as she only does it when she is supposed to be napping. The first time I was in the basement vacuuming when I looked over to see Bridget standing, chest out, grinning from ear to ear. (eyes squinting from the size of the smile). She was so pleased with herself. It took me a moment to get over the shock and cuteness and put her back in bed. So then on days she just wasn't in the mood for a nap I put the baby gate across her door and I continually put her back in her crib. I leave the side down on these days in the hope of decreasing the risk of a fall. It took her many attempts to get her door open but now I hear the jiggling of the knob and out she comes. Luckily many days she conks out pretty fast for nap. Recently I have had her repeat "It is nap time and I will lay down" as I place her in the crib and this has prevented the climbing out for about 45 min -1 hour. If she is still up after that point we call it a good try and if she gets out nap is over. She still needs a nap but it may be an every other day thing.

And still in this same week Bridget started removing her clothes whenever she peed or needed to pee. The big girls thought this was hysterical and I think encouraged it by their laughter. I can't say I blame them as she is cute naked, but the cuteness wore off when she removed a poopy diaper in the dining room while I was cooking dinner. ugh! Dinner didn't turn out well that night. We took this as a huge sign that she is ready to potty train. We are sitting her on the potty regularly now but I have her in diapers. Anytime she does anything in her diaper (fart, pee, poop) she says "I pooped'd". I am not ready for the potty training commitment yet. With weather warming up and my schedule calming down soon I think it is time.

She is so much fun and so verbal. Sometimes when I ask her a question her response starts "Well, actually...". I love to sing with her at bedtime because she sings along and makes requests. Her recent favorites go along with the Easter season. "Jesus remember me, when you come into your kingdom" and "The stone is rolled away". Many evenings she says "Jus one more, please." and she holds up her little finger. She exhausts me but she makes me smile.