CootieGirl has had a big bug bite on her leg over the past week. It got to a point where today after dinner she was walking with a limp and the red mark was quite large. She made it obvious that it really hurt, so we bit the bullet and pinned her down so that we could drain it of the infection. And there was a lot of it. And the poor girl screamed bloody murder, and I’m not exaggerating. I’m actually surprised the cops haven’t showed up about a complaint call from the upstairs neighbor. Her screams were that horrible. When it was over we gave her hugs and kisses and swore to her that it would feel better. We put a medical wash on it to make it that much more clean and covered it with a bandaid. I pray that tomorrow when she wakes up it feels significantly better.

This is the second time she’s had a bug bite in that location. I don’t know why the bugs like the backs of her knees so much, but after the first time we had an issue a few months ago she hates to have the back of her knees touched, and this isn’t going to help.

I mean to post a follow-up to the last post about CootieGirl’s potty-training. The morning after her trial run with no pull-up at night was a success – she had a dry bed in the morning and was very proud of herself. She even asked for a tattoo since she knew it was a momentous occasion (she now has a pretty bird on one arm).

However, last night as I was putting her to bed she asked to wear a pull-up, so I slipped one on her to avoid an argument (she’s very argumentative these days – trying to be independent and make her own decisions).

One of the best things about coming to SC has been CootieGirl’s willingness to potty-train. The transformation has been wonderful and she’s at a point now where she only wears pull-ups at night and wears regular underwear all day, and tonight we’re living on the edge and having her wear panties to see if she can go all night. She went to the bathroom just before going to bed so we’re hoping she stays dry. I’ll go in closer to my own bedtime and see if she has wet the bed and change her and the sheets if she has, but with any luck she’ll stay dry all night, which she does do periodically.

I predict no more diapers for Cootiepie within the next couple of weeks!!!

Haven’t posted a good picture in the past month since we’ve been so hectic with the move AND haven’t had internet access. Here’s one from our visit to the zoo a couple of weeks ago…

I think I have the girliest girl on the planet. When we moved out of NoNJ and CootieGirl got her own room, I promised she could pick out the bedset that she wanted in her room. Well, at Target yesterday she picked out the pinkest most girly bedset they had. And a big fluffy pink heart pillow to boot. Her room looks like a bottle of Pepto Bismol threw up. The sheets and pillowcases even have the word “princess” on them.

It’s a dark picture, but here she is lounging on her newly decked out bed:

CootieGirl is adjusting well to her new life in South Carolina. She has her own bedroom now, which she loves. Once we get into The Bigger House (as she calls it) I plan on taking her shopping so she can pick out the bedding she wants for her new room. She uses a double bed now and has a blast jumping on it.

She enjoys going in the pool – we’ve gone in almost every other day since we arrived (she’s developing quite the little suntan). She is not as water-friendly as CootieBoy since she fell in the pool that first day. But she’s still okay about going in as long as someone is always holding her. She LOVES the toddler pool, though.

She loves her new babysitter, Lauren, who has already been a help to us on two occasions since we moved here. Lauren is the roommate of the niece of a friend of mine from college. A few days ago CootieGirl added Lauren to her nightly prayers, which was sweet. She also occasionally asks, “Where is Lauren? At her home?” for no reason other than curiosity.

But the most notable thing was a couple days ago she came to the decision that she doesn’t want diapers anymore. So we’ve been potty-training a LOT over the past several days and she’s doing GREAT. We’ve only had three accidents – two on the first day and one yesterday. She’s getting really good about saying, “I have to go potty,” and running into the bathroom. Only when she’s REALLY involved with playing does she forget. I’m so proud of her – I think within a week she’ll be completely out of diapers during the day. Her new daycare has said they will take her to the potty every thirty minutes for the first few days and then every hour after that until she is completely trained.

Her new favorite movie is “The Prince of Egypt” and always says, “I want to see Moses!”

So that’s what is up in the life of CootieGirl the Cootiepie.