Fancy Nancy

Well, Isabella is no longer Isabella. As of about a week ago, she insists that she is not Isabella and that we are to call her Fancy Nancy at all times. It's cute, but we aren't perfect...so we do forget and accidentally call her Isabella from time to time. Of course, we get corrected very promptly. Isabella has been struggling majorly for several weeks with the transistions in her life. New baby brother, new house, new room, new big girl bed. Instead of making gradual transitions, we had to go through them all at once. That's just how the cookie crumbled this time. Of course all parenting books say not to do this to your child. Isabella, I hope we haven' t ruined you for life! (I think you'll be just fine, kiddo.) Anyway, she's had a hard time with the big girl bed....climbing out to get books, toys, shoes, etc. So we made an incentive chart, and she gets one sticker for each nap or bedtime that she successfully lays there quietly and goes to sleep. She started out not getting stickers often....but then she got the hang of it. Ten stickers meant she could buy a pair of Fancy Nancy shoes at Target. (I wanted her to have them anyway, but I thought that this incentive would be a great way to help her with her problem and to help her appreciate a gift since they are usually just given everything.) Well, she got her 10 stickers...and would you believe that Target was sold out of Fancy Nancy shoes? So we had to buy the dress instead ($25 rather than the $10 for the shoes!). That's a nice reward for sleeping well 10 times if you ask me. I'll gladly go to sleep quietly 10 times for $25.

Now that she has the dress, she is Fancy Nancy. She has practically lived in that dress. It's so sweet. And guess what we're doing now? Ten more stickers....another Target run....and this time I pray they'll have the shoes. Otherwise, we're calling all the local stores to find a pair. This kid deserves them! I never knew that a book she loved would evolve into this major obsession! I love this age....isn't 3 awesome?