Archive for September, 2008
Potty Update
September 22, 2008 9:18 pmAs many of you know, Arden has been using the potty with variable consistency from the age of 6 weeks. Recently, however, she’s had some pretty major breakthroughs. She has started to give us the potty sign (a shaken fist in the form of the ASL letter ‘T’) and is therefore using fewer and fewer diapers every day (we continue to use the biodegradable and flushable gDiapers). She’s very good about telling us when she needs to poop, and is even starting to tell us when she only needs to pee. She has even used the potty sign successfully at daycare, much to the amazement of Susan, who runs the daycare.
Some people have asked us if elimination communication (EC) is worth the extra time and trouble. Strangely enough, we don’t see it as being any more trouble than conventional diapering. In fact, we much prefer taking her to the potty than having to deal with the mess of a poopy diaper. You should see the firedrill that ensues when I (Penn) have to actually deal with a poopy diaper. Does it take extra time? Yes, I suppose so, but potty time usually involves a lot of talking, signing, and reading with Arden, so it ends up being time well spent.
We really didn’t start trying EC with a goal of early potty training (although we certainly hoped for that as a nice side effect). Our real goal was nuturing early communication with Arden and helping her learn how to control her body, both of which can be very empowering for an infant or toddler.
Anyway, the bottom line is that EC is not the hassle you might expect it to be and I can guarantee that a trip to the potty beats a diaper blowout any day. 
Arden meets Emmy
8:45 pm
Last weekend, Arden got to meet a golden-globe-carrying goddess in the form of a real Emmy!
Arden’s grandfather, John Bayless, won the coveted award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special for his work on the HBO miniseries, John Adams (which if you haven’t seen yet, you should).
Arden seemed a little nervous in Emmy’s sparkling presence, but interested nonetheless.
Congratulations Grandpa John!
That’s right, it’s a bird!
September 10, 2008 6:52 pmArden scoffs at L.A. traffic and has a blast at Disneyland
September 3, 2008 7:09 pm
We joined the Galants over Labor Day weekend to cheer on Grandpa Daniel in the Disney half-marathon and visit with Grandma PJ. Arden, Gilly and Penn set out on Friday morning for a biodiesel-powered road trip to Anaheim. Things were fine until we came down the grapevine and hit 3 hours of L.A. traffic! Arden was an angel and handled the miserable stop-and-go traffic much better than the adults in the car!
We stayed at the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, which was beautiful and had convenient direct access to Disney’s California Adventure park. Arden loved playing in the lobby with Auntie Kayla and spending lots of quality time sleeping in the stroller with Grandma PJ while we snuck onto a few grown-up rides.
We didn’t run into The Mouse but we did get some one-on-one with Mary Poppins and Grandma got to buy Arden her first pair of ears.
Arden really enjoyed the hotel pools and was finally motivated to start taking some official steps on her own. HALLELUJAH! We’ll try to post some video of her walking if we can catch her in the act. It was extra special that Grandma, Grandpa and Kayla were there to see it.
The road trip home was filled with lots of Elizabeth Mitchell music and a few rest stops, but fun was definitely had by all.
Thanks to the Galants for making the trip possible!
**Check out some Disney photos under the Arden by Month – September 2008 section in the gallery.
