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This journal is about raising identical twins.Thirty Second Month
Previous entriesNote: This page contains Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Monday, Mar 6, 2000 (31m)
The twins are 31 months old today.
Tuesday, Mar 7, 2000 (31m+1d)
We received the bad news. The Challenger School sent us a letter informing us that all positions for the Fall term are filled, Joanne and Jasmine were not selected in the lottery and they are put on the waiting list. Mommy was quite upset and called all her friends to find out how other parents dealt with such schooling crisis. She found out from two other moms that their children were able to get a spot in the school after being put on the waiting list. Looks like some parents registered their kids at multiple campuses and made some positions available after they picked their first preference. So there is still hope.Mommy found out from Sunny that Cynthia had already been potty trained sometime ago while her grandma came to visit. She completed her training in just two days. Since Cynthia is younger than our twins are, this news is a wake up call for mommy. "Don't procrastinate! Potty train your kids!" The example (competition) is much more effective than daddy's constant complaints about the late start in the past few months.
Mommy had her reasons for putting off the training:
The list goes on. - the weather is cold, let's wait till it is warmer;
- the almost daily outings do not allow enough time and a good setting for training;
- I'm just too busy and tired to do it;
- two kids are hard to train;
- there are still a few months before the twins go to school;
- some other kids are not trained until three or four years old.
Anyway, potty training started today for the first time. After three accidents, Joanne did her "first pee in the pot" successfully but only followed by another accident just a short while later. Jasmine didn't have any success at all. The twins wetted our entire inventory of pants in just one afternoon. Mommy had to start an unscheduled load of laundry to get ready for tomorrow's training.
When daddy came home, Joanne was enthusiastic to show me her accomplishment (mommy saved the evidence for the show-and-tell.) She kept praising herself "����,�{�{" (got something, good job) and of course she got her well-deserved praise from daddy too. Jasmine on the other hand looked very depressed. Though mommy didn't show any negative reaction to her accidents, Joanne's success put a lot of peer pressure on her. Jasmine was not happy and asked mommy for her diaper.
I heard from the news that some child psychologists warned parents not to start potty training too early. If the training were done before the kids were ready, unnecessary failure would affect their self-esteem later in life. We know we are not supposed to show any negative reaction to their accidents because it is not their fault for not knowing how to use the potty. However, we cannot avoid praising Joanne while Jasmine feels disappointed at herself. I guess we just need to give Jasmine more reassurance.
Wednesday, Mar 8, 2000 (31m+2d)
Joanne did very well on her potty training. She went to the potty almost ten times during the day and she only had couple of minor accidents including one poop in her pants.Jasmine had a different kind of success. She held her pee all day with almost no accident. But she did too well on holding and she couldn't let go even when sitting on the potty. So she had not been successful in peeing in the potty yet. She held until the diaper was put back on her and then she finally relieved herself. She was not very happy about Joanne showing off her "trophy" every time she fills the potty.
Despite mommy's frequent praises on Joanne, I was wondering if she is doing it right. It is true that Joanne pees very well in the potty, but she is not really in good control. She enjoys going to the potty so much that she does not attempt to hold at all. Jasmine is on the opposite extreme, she holds well but cannot pee.
Thursday, Mar 9, 2000 (31m+3d)
The potty training continues. Joanne continues to do well. Jasmine didn't make much progress. She actually refuses to sit on the potty. She holds and waits in agony for her diaper. It is possible that she does not take her failure too well and she just refuses to try. Or perhaps she is mad at mommy, because mommy threatened her that she cannot go to school if she is not potty-trained (�٤������).Daddy borrowed a videotape on potty training from the public library. The twins enjoyed watching the cartoon characters going to the potty. We still have to see if the video would help the process.
Friday, Mar 10, 2000 (31m+4d)
We asked Jasmine in the morning if she wants to continue the potty training. She decisively answered "No!" We don't want to force her and hurt her self-esteem, so we stopped her training. Joanne is so proud of herself that she wants to continue.Mommy took the twins to Kelly Park and Happy Hallow Zoo in San Jose. They went with Melinda and her kid Alan. Debbie and Kendrick did not join them because they all caught flu. The twins had such a great time in the park that they didn't want to leave.
After the kids took their late afternoon nap, we gathered again with Melinda's family for dinner. I got to meet Alan's father Ben for the first time.
Saturday, Mar 11, 2000 (31m+5d)
Mommy's second uncle and aunt came to visit us. We had lunch together before we parted.We have heard about the grand opening of "Dave and Buster's" in the Great Mall. And we wanted to check out what it is. When we were in there, the twins said "�n��" (too noisy) and covered their ears at all time. We didn't want to torture their sensitive ears and left after taking only a quick look.
We spent the afternoon in the Great Mall instead. Joanne cried for a helium balloon, but we told her that daddy and mommy decides what to buy, her crying would not change our decision. We purchased some temporary tattoo art with Pokemon characters and a sheet of static cling window decoration of Mr. Potato Head at a store.
After dinner, we took out the static cling Potato Head and stuck the pieces of plastic film on the mirrored closet doors. The twins immediately understood the game and started making different faces for Mr. Potato Head. I started to create some abstract faces by moving the eyes, ears, and arms to odd positions. The twins corrected me and didn't let me make mistake. They had a rigid idea of Mr. Potato Head's anatomy. His hair pieces are supposed to be interchangeable with his mustaches, but the twins insisted that the first hair piece that I showed them is the only thing that can be put on Mr. Potato Head's head. For $2, they had a whole evening of fun.
(update) Mr. Potato Head disappeared mysteriously a few days later.We put on some tattoo art on the twins after bath. They liked it so much that they kept asking for more, one on the hand here and one on the foot there.
Sunday, Mar 12, 2000 (31m+6d)
Joanne did her first poop in her potty. She said "�M!�n�j��" (Whoa, what a big piece!") She got praises from daddy and mommy. Jasmine came to take a look at the potty and walked away with a strict face. I think she is jealous, but she does not want to start her training yet. We will ask her again later.Joanne had totally completed her potty training. When we are out of the house, we brought along her potty in the car. Joanne would hold her pee until she got back to the car even though we put a pull-up training diaper on her. She had good control and had no accident at all.
We went to the public library to return the videotapes we borrowed. Joanne enjoyed the trip to the children books section. She pulled books from the shelves and asked me to read to her. Jasmine on the other hand paid no attention to the books but watched other children around her.
We had lunch with Aunt Tina and Cousin Natalie. We went to the park near their house and let the twins played on the slides, swings and the sandbox. Jasmine was not interested in the swings but Joanne wanted to do it several times.
We tried to put the twins in bed early today. We monitored their talking over the baby monitor for almost an hour. Then they decided to climb down their beds and came to our bedroom. They told us that they had done their sleeping, it was time to wake up. When I asked why Jasmine's right cheek was red, she didn't answer me. Joanne led me back to their bedroom and explained to me how Jasmine fell in the dark and bumped her cheek on the bedpost. Though she was not the victim, she told me she was scared of the fall. Jasmine didn't cry and didn't tell. We wouldn't have known if we didn't have Joanne as an informant. We let them each finish a bottle of milk before putting them back in bed.
Monday, Mar 13, 2000 (31m+7d)
Mommy bought an annual family pass to Kelley Park last Friday. The pass is good for admission to 200+ other zoos and aquariums in the US. Debbie, Melinda and mommy decided to take advantage of such great benefit. They all car-pooled to take the kids to San Francisco Zoo. I guess Jasmine was probably not in a good mood, she refused to look at anything. Even the ducks "scared" her and she clung to mommy the whole time. The twins ended up spending their time to play at the zoo playground while Debbie and Melinda took their kids to see the real zoo.I was kind of disappointed because the twins recognize tigers, lions, monkeys and elephants from books, TV and the animal crackers. I was hoping that the visit to the zoo would help them make the connection between the animals in pictures and animals in the real world. Their reluctance to see the animals had reduced an educational zoo visit to a mere long distance trip to the playground. What a waste of gasoline!
We asked Jasmine if she wants to resume toilet training. She still says no. In the past few weeks, Jasmine took almost an hour each time to finish her bottle of milk. She had been making mommy impatient. Jasmine does not seem to care too much about praise and is not motivated to do what we ask her to.
On the contrary, Joanne finishes her milk fast and she praises herself for it too. Joanne is very motivated by our praises. She would praise herself whenever she accomplished something on her own.
Joanne still has a habit of crying and nagging for mommy to stay when we tuck her in bed every night. Jasmine never makes a scene at bedtime.
Friday, Mar 17, 2000 (31m+11d)
Not much changed this week. They still go out with Alan and Kendrick almost everyday. Jasmine still refuses to start her potty training. Joanne continues to save us on the diaper expense. She still wears a diaper at bedtime, but we found her diaper dry every morning.Jasmine seems to be in a good mood these days. She often sang loudly on her own while we were watching TV. When she got our attention, she giggled.
The twins liked the temporary tattoos so much that they ask for one every day. Since the tattoo lasts several days on the skin, we soon ran out of space to put the tattoos without rubbing off the old one. Yesterday, Joanne was awarded an extra tattoo for finishing her milk fast. Since she got extras for doing well on the potty too, her feet, hands and wrists were full of tattoos from previous days. Instead of putting it on some covered part of the body, I put a tiny inconspicuous Pikachu on her cheek. She liked it very much and kept checking it out in the mirror.
Today, Jasmine wanted her daily ration of the tattoo on her cheek too. When I told her I would choose a tiny one for her, she said NO. She insisted on the biggest one among her choices. Now, she is happy with a big Pikachu tattoo that covers half her cheek. Joanne wanted another one on her other cheek. But when I told her it is not cute to have tattoos on both cheeks, she was willing to settle with a Pikachu on her hand over a worn out Snorlax (a sleepy Pokemon) from several days ago.
Saturday, Mar 18, 2000 (31m+12d)
The weather was very nice for over a week and no storm was in sight. We figured that the snow on the mountain was melting and without new snowfall the skiing season was going to end soon. We decided to go up the mountains for the last time this season.In the morning, sometime before 6am, we heard the kids room door opened, hurried footsteps, thump thump ... over to our door. The doorknob turned couple of times and another series of thump thump thump back to the other end of the hallway. Mommy got up and opened the door, she saw Joanne standing inside her room in the dark. As soon as she saw mommy, Joanne rushed over and headed straight for our bathroom. She opened the sliding door and sat down at her potty. We thought about putting the potty in their own room. But since they were very interested in watching us emptying the potty and flushing the toilet, we worry that they would make a mess when we are not watching. So for now, Joanne must make her longer trip to the potty.
We arrived at Boreal at around 11am. The slope was quite crowded because it was weekend. There was a long line of sledders at the long steep run. Fortunately, the short and gentle run was kind of deserted, which was perfect for younger kids like our twins. Jasmine refused to ride on her own, I guess she still remembered the accidents from last time.
After we had several sled runs down the slope, we tried to build a snowman again. Since there was no new snow for the past week, the snow on the ground was kind of icy and hard. Mommy and kids played with an old snowman for awhile before giving up.
After lunch, the twins said they were tired so we drove them around to let them take a nap in the car. We drove to Soda Springs ski area nearby to check out their inner-tubing operation. They have ropes to tow the riders and the tubes uphill, so it would be a lot of fun without the exhausting climbs. Since the minimum age to ride the inner tubes is 3, we are not ready for it yet. We then went to the Donna Lake nearby. Mommy didn't sleep well last night and she was really tired. We parked the car under the shade and all took a nap. When we woke up at 4pm and returned to Boreal, we found that the slopes were closed for the day. We headed downhill at around 4:30pm before the twins woke up. This trip was not as good as the other two. We didn't play on the sleds very long despite the 3+-hour drive each way. It was kind of wasteful for both time and gasoline. But since we were all tired, we could not have done better.
We went to Samurai Japanese Restaurant in Rancho Cordova for dinner. Over the course of dinner, Joanne wanted to go to her potty back in the car twice. She said she wanted to poop, but was not productive. After we arrived home, Joanne off-loaded plenty of poops in the potty.
At home, Joanne is more at ease with the potty. She usually goes to the potty without our help; she will wait for us to wipe her afterwards though. Jasmine still refuses to start potty training. But she envies Joanne's pretty big-girl panties with patterns of Barney the dinosaur.
Sunday, Mar 19, 2000 (31m+13d)
In the morning, I asked Jasmine if she wants to watch the potty training videotape. She watched it over and over again at least 4 times. Joanne became impatient and wanted to watch something else.We had Vietnamese Pho noodle for lunch at Super Bowl Restaurant and then we went to Valley Fair Mall with Aunt Tina and Cousin Natalie. We bumped into Debbie's family and Yvonne's family in the mall. The twins see Debbie and Kendrick almost everyday, so we just said hello and goodbye. However, we have not seen Yvonne for almost a year and a half. We saw her baby girl last time when she was 3 months old. Now, her baby Natalie Helene is big though not as tall compared to ours despite she is a year younger than ours is. Her son Alex is pretty tall now. He was very attractive to our twins because they kept pointing at the Pikachu on his T-shirt.
After we parted with Aunt Tina, we went grocery shopping in Mountain View and paid a visit to CW's family nearby. We brought some takeout food and joined them for dinner. Bonnie's Aunt Christine was there too. It didn't take long before the twins ran around their house and played with Deanna and her toys.
Monday, Mar 20, 2000 (31m+14d)
Debbie and Melinda came over to our place and stayed until dinner. They went out to buy take out food and finished dinner before leaving.With the lure of a pair of panties with Hello Kitty patterns, Jasmine was willing to do without her diaper. Unfortunately, she wetted her pretty panties soon and she was not happy about it.
After we tucked them in bed tonight, we listened to them over the baby monitor as usual. We heard them said they wanted to see mommy. We immediately turned off the TV and lights. We heard them opened the door, came over and talked just outside our door. They said mommy and daddy was sleeping before they went back to their room. They managed to climb back in bed in the dark.
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2000 (31m+15d)
Mommy and twins went to Debbie's place and didn't return until after dinner.
Wednesday, Mar 22, 2000 (31m+16d)
Mommy decided to visit the Oakland Zoo with Debbie and Melinda and their kids. They spent a lot of time on the miniature train rides in the children's area. They were able to see the giraffe at a distance from the train. By the time they wanted to see more animals, the zoo was closed. Again it was another fun trip without the intended educational benefits. They had dinner in Oakland before they parted their own ways.Mommy stopped by Grandma Ling's place. Grandma hasn't seen the twins for almost a month now.
Thursday, Mar 23, 2000 (31m+17d)
Joanne woke up 4am in the morning and came over to look for mommy. When mommy tucked her in again, Jasmine woke up and cried non-stop. Mommy stayed in their beds till morning. Ever since Joanne learned how to open the door, she has newfound freedom and she is abusing it.Jasmine started to have a runny nose in the morning. She might have caught the bug from Oakland zoo yesterday. She cried frequently asking for a wash cloth to wipe her nose. We kept giving her the cloth and she kept misplacing it. She does not like to use Kleenex for some unknown reasons. Her upper lip was red and swollen from too much wiping.
Daddy's company held a party to celebrate the completion of a corporate merger. There were many huge (3 feet diameter) helium balloons left over from the party. I asked if I could take a few home for the kids, I was told they were going to pop them all anyway, so I could take as many as I wanted. The balloons are so big that they do not fit into my car. I had to summon mommy's minivan to pick them up. The twins were ecstatic when they saw the huge balloons.
Jasmine asked to see the potty training video again, but no progress in actual practice. I heard that it is not uncommon for twins to develop such behavior that when one twin does one thing, the other is reluctant to do the same. For example, there are cases that one twin is good at motor skills and the other is good at verbal skills instead. Jasmine currently falls in such mode. She would ask Joanne to open the door for her instead of trying it herself. And she is not too interested in potty training because Joanne is too good at it.
Friday, Mar 24, 2000 (31m+18d)
Joanne woke up at 3am, 4am and 5am to look for mommy. She didn't want to use the potty; she just wanted mommy, probably spoiled when mommy stayed in their beds last night. Mommy was exhausted in the morning. They stayed home all day today since Jasmine is sick and Joanne also started with a runny nose.We discussed how we should stop such bad behavior at night. Mommy had a long talk with Joanne about letting mommy have a good sleep. We yet have to see if the talk is effective. Judging from Joanne's personality, my bet is that Joanne won't yield; Jasmine, perhaps yes; Joanne, most likely no. We thought about putting a lock on their door, but I worry that it is too dangerous to trap the kids in their room. We are open for any suggestions.
Saturday, Mar 25, 2000 (31m+19d)
To our surprise, the "woman to woman" talk yesterday between mommy and Joanne was extremely successful. Joanne didn't wake up mommy last night. Actually, it was unsure if Joanne had figured out it would be a waste of effort because she watched daddy last night switching their door knob with a lockable one and she also verified that she could not get out after mommy locked the door from outside.We went shopping at a furniture store referred by a friend. It is Scandinavian Concept in San Bruno near the SFO airport. They sell fine quality furniture, mostly imported from Europe and the sale prices are quite reasonable for their quality. We bought some chairs to match the color and wood grain of our dinner table. The twins had a great time running around the store while we were shopping and bargaining.
We were not sure if it was because of the salubrious fresh air and sunshine, the twins runny noses stopped today. And most important of all, they were in very happy mood.
Since we were so close to the airport that we went into one of the terminals to let the twins watch the airplanes landing, taking off and taxiing around. Joanne ran excitedly and tripped on the carpet, her nose hit the floor. When we picked her up, her nose was bleeding; we hugged her and helped her clean up the blood. Her bleeding and crying stopped in less than a minute. The twins enjoyed riding on the moving walkways (conveyor belt) at the airport terminals. We had dinner at Florentine's on the way back home.
Sunday, Mar 26, 2000 (31m+20d)
We delivered one of the big balloons to Kendrick since they don't have a minivan to transport it. We then went to Wal*Mart to let the kids play with the toys. The twins like Pikachu, but they know they have Pikachus at home and they won't get any more. When I asked them what they wanted, Joanne picked a PsyDuck and Jasmine picked a Snorlax Pokemon.Aunt Tina and Cousin Natalie stopped by our house on their way home. We showed them the video footage from our sledding trips.
Monday, Mar 27, 2000 (31m+21d)
Mommy and the twins went to Debbie's place and later went to the shopping mall. The twins enjoyed the mini-train ride in the middle of the mall. They also rode the carousel there. Instead of the sleigh, mommy was able to coerce Joanne to ride a wooden horse for the first time. She tried reluctantly and conquered her fear of the horse. Jasmine initially cried with fear on the horseback. But after some hugging and reassurance from mom, she also realized that the wooden horse wouldn't bite and the bouncing horses are indeed more fun than the stupid stationary sleigh.
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2000 (31m+22d)
Mommy and twins stayed home to wait for the furniture delivery. Mommy left the twins in their room for their afternoon nap. After over an hour of restlessness, mommy was getting impatient and went to the room to force them in bed. When she opened the door, she found the twins both stripped themselves and were horsing around in the buff. (They are ready for their stardom in "The Full Monty, episode II") Yes, the twins can put on their clothes by themselves, but they also know how to take them all off. Mommy also found that the heater was turned on to full strength. It was unclear whether they stripped because the room was getting too hot, or they turned on the heater because they felt cold in their birthday suits.They ended up skipping their afternoon nap because the twins wanted to play with Alan when Melinda arrived in the afternoon. Melinda stayed past dinner before going home. Alan took one of the big balloons home. Joanne dragged a big balloon around the room while it rose and scrapped the ceiling. The acoustic texture on the ceiling punctured the balloon and it collapsed with a loud pop. Now we only have one big balloon left and I hope it would last and float for a long time before the twins pop it.
The twins went to bed extra early right after dinner and they were so tired that they slept soundly till next morning.
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2000 (21m+23d)
Mommy and twins went to Melinda's place after canceling their shopping trip to Los Gatos. Melinda felt quite a lot of activities in her womb, though she still has two more months before her due day, she decided it is safer at home. Debbie and Kendrick joined them and the kids spent an afternoon drawing and painting.
Thursday, Mar 30, 2000 (21m+24d)
We never force Jasmine to use the potty, we just ask with no pressure if she wants to try again. Joanne has been off her diaper for the past three weeks. She got to wear a pair of pretty panties everyday. Barney is her favorite pattern. She likes Hello Kitty too. Jasmine is envy of her, and she wants to watch every time Joanne goes to the potty. She obviously wants to do it, but she just can't for some reason. We encourage her by using the pretty panties as an incentive.Jasmine put on her Hello Kitty panties in the morning. She sat down at the potty for over ten times probably because she was quite full and really needed to go. However, nothing came out despite her numerous trips to the potty. When the TV distracted her, she leaked a little on her panties. We immediately led her to the potty to finish it off, but she still could not let go. She got so frustrated that she cried for her diaper. Once the diaper was on, she off-loaded into it immediately. She held too tight without the diaper that she couldn't pee into the potty.
Mommy and the twins went to the Ardenwood Historic Farm with Melinda and Alan. Debbie and Kendrick didn't go because she had to wait at home for the house-cleaning maids every other Thursday. The original plan was to ride the horse-drawn railroad and wagon in the farm. They found out that the railroad has not opened for the season yet. They spent some time watching the farm animals instead.
Jasmine said she was scared of the animals and didn't like to watch; Joanne did just fine. Jasmine had been more adventurous and more fearless than Joanne until now. Recently, the situation had switched. Joanne is much more confident in all aspects. I believe her success in potty training leapfrogged her confidence level well past Jasmine's. In comparison, Jasmine seems to have lost her courage because of her inability to use the potty. I hope Jasmine gets past this phase quickly before leaving any psychological scars.
Friday, Mar 31, 2000 (31m+25d)
It was a sunny day; mommy took the twins to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. They went with Debbie and Melinda and kids as usual. They planned to take the boat ride on Stow Lake; however, the powered boats were all locked up because of high wind. The pedal boats were available, but mommy decided not to ride it for safety reason. The PacBell Stadium in San Francisco is open for its first game of baseball today. I wonder they would get stuck in traffic because of the major grand opening.
Saturday, Apr 1, 2000 (31m+26d)
Jasmine successfully completed her potty training today.
Got you! April Fool!
Mommy went shopping in San Francisco with Aunt Tina and Aunt Jun. Daddy and twins stayed at Grandma Ling's for an afternoon nap. We went to a nearby park before dinner. The twins had a great time on the slide. The only problem was that the slide was made of plastic, the twins showed a puzzling face every time they got off it. They must have felt the static electricity building up in them; even the ends of their hair stood up. They must be puzzling why they had such strange tingling feeling on the skin.
During the day, Jasmine made numerous trips to the potty. None was successful.
Sunday, Apr 2, 2000 (31m+27d)
Joanne tried to grab the milk bottle from Jasmine in the morning. Jasmine didn't let her. Joanne hit Jasmine on the head a few times. I saw the whole incidence and immediately stopped the violence. I told her she could not hit anyone like this and demanded her to say sorry to Jasmine. Joanne resisted. Instead, Jasmine thought it was a game and she said sorry.I put Joanne in her room and told her that she was not going to lunch with us if she refused to apologize. I repeated my demand many times over the course of half an hour. She resisted each time only to renew her crying. The disciplinary exercise was getting nowhere and it actually delayed our lunch plan. Finally, instead of having her to say sorry, I asked her if she knew she was wrong and if she would hit again. I had to yield after she gave the satisfactory answers because she could been starved us to death if I didn't back down. We get a very tough baby here. Her aggression and resistance is perfect for military, but a headache for parents.
We went shopping at Costco after lunch, then spent the rest of the day home.
Monday, Apr 3, 2000 (31m+28d)
Mommy and twins went out with Debbie, Melinda and kids again. They enjoyed the mini-train and carousel rides at the shopping Mall.Mommy forgot Joanne's potty at Debbie's house. We had to convince them that they were no longer Joanne's vs. Jasmine's potty, but "potty on the road" vs. "potty at home". Joanne switched to use the other potty with no problem.
The twins are quite protective of their own turf. For example, Jasmine claimed the colorful potty over six month ago. So even though Joanne started her training early, she had to settle with the white one. They would always go back to their own potty if both were put side by side. They would use the other one only if one is missing. They do the same with their clothes. Once they picked a color or pattern, they won't let us switch their clothes. They always stick to the same bed and car seat. The other day, when mommy bought them each a hat, Joanne insisted to get a different color from Jasmine's. When given a choice, they always want their own individuality.
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2000 (31m+29d)
Today is a scary day on Wall Street. The NASDAQ composite index dipped 500 points to the 3600s before bouncing back. For a moment, I thought the college fund for the twins vaporized. Fortunately, it recovered in the same day.Jasmine wetted her pants in the morning. She had lingered the potty all morning with no output, then she stood up and leaked. She was too up tight when sitting on the potty and could not let it out.
The twins joined daddy for lunch in a restaurant. Jasmine wanted to go to the potty in the middle of lunch. Mommy didn't put the potty in the car because one was still at Debbie's house, so I decided to take Jasmine to the restroom and lifted her up over the toilet, needless to say she could not do it in such awkward position either.
After lunch, they went to Melinda's place, where they rendezvoused with Debbie and potty. Mommy asked Jasmine to sit on the potty until something comes out. At first Jasmine had a team of cheerleaders on her side, but after awhile Kendrick and Alan were bored and they went off to play with Joanne instead. Melinda and mommy attempted different tricks to help Jasmine with her potty training. They gave her iced water believing that the chill would relax her. They dripped lukewarm water over Jasmine's butt trying to give her the peeing sensation. Nothing worked. Nevertheless, Jasmine made great efforts in trying. She sat on the potty and fell asleep. She woke up with a dry potty and a red ring pressed onto her butt. It took great patience and determination to sit for two hours.
In the evening, daddy praised Jasmine for her efforts after hearing about her story. She continued to sit on the potty when she watched TV. Daddy sat on the floor next to her to give her support. She managed to pee in the potty for the first time. It was a big load too. Everyone celebrated. Even Joanne came over and kissed Jasmine on her cheek.
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2000 (31m+30d)
We noticed Joanne have her lower right second molar.Jasmine still visited the potty frequently and diligently, but not every trip was productive. At one time, mommy put a kitchen timer in front of her and asked her to pee before the timer went "ding!" The deadline seemed to help. She peed successfully under time pressure. She had another success later in the afternoon without the timer.
The kitchen timer is a tool that we use to rush the kids when they have their milk bottles. The twins really took their time when they had their milk. They held on to the bottles when they played or watched TV. It usually took them almost one hour to finish an eight-ounce portion. Mommy is getting very tired of asking them to hurry up. So I suggested that we use a timer to set them a deadline. We asked them to watch how the needle moves, when it reaches the zero mark, time is up. We told them that we would take away their milk if they could not finish before the timer went "ding!" The twins, especially Joanne, hate the loud "Ding" from the timer. She uses both hands to cup over her ears when the timer is about to go off. With a timer, they can finish their milk in about 15 minutes. It was an impressive 4X improvement though I heard that Kendrick usually finishes his 8 oz. in 5 minutes. We cannot tell if the loud "Ding" or the threat of losing their milk did the trick, but it worked.
Jenny got a new job in the South Bay recently and she moved to Sunnyvale this week. We welcomed her by taking her out to dinner in her new neighborhood.
Thursday, Apr 6, 2000 (32m)
The twins are 32 month old today.
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started on Apr 11, 2000