I am so proud of my little girl. She has taken to potty training like…uh, a fish to water? Something like that, anyway. Between the “Pavlov” effect of the potty monkey, and her growing bladder control, she has gone from having six accidents a day, to having one in three days. And that was in just over a week!
However, we are having some issues with her pooping on the potty. So, all of you veterans parents out there, any suggestion on how to make this more comfortable for her? She only seems to be able to poop standing up (usually in her diaper.) She has tried to poop on the potty, but for some reason, she just can’t. I am starting to worry she is going to get constipated. Because of this concern, yesterday I put a diaper on her after she tried three times to poop on the potty, she pooped with no problem. And today, after trying twice on the potty, she finally gave up and pooped in her underpants. (And, quite honestly I can’t blame her.)
I am just not sure how to cross this physical barrier, so any suggestions would be helpful.
Other than that though, she is doing remarkably well, and barring any setbacks, she should be potty trained by the time we go to Denver in two weeks.
(Disclaimer: I fully anticipate its going to take much longer for her to go overnight, and I am aware that children usually have setbacks of some kind. I am also aware there will be good days and bad days.)
Many moons ago on a planet far far away, I was friends with a humorous fellow named Mike Black. My freshman year of college, we were inseparable. He kept me somewhat sane during a huge transitional part of my life. How, you ask? He kept me laughing. He used to tell he thought I would look so cool if I were fat (I got pretty fat when pregnant with Chloe, and I can tell you I didn’t look that cool). He would tell stories about how when he was younger, he was the menace of the neighborhood and the parents would tell their kids, “we don’t want that Black kid coming over!” And, he nearly got me kicked out of “Playscript analysis,” or whatever it was called, by drawing stick figures getting horribly disfigured.
Well, apparently I am not the only one who thinks he’s funny. He is now earning his living as a stand up comedian, and has been featured on Comedy Central. I gotta say, Mike if you read this, I am REALLY proud of you! Oh, and not at all surprised. I always thought you were freakin’ hilarious!
Chloe had her first movie theater experience today. We took her to Madagascar 2, and it was completely and totally hilarious. And she did as well as can be expected, she certainly did as well as the rest of the kids in the audience. She kept yelling out, “Wook, wook, mommy, brown lion!” At first I tried to shush her, but I quickly gave up. I wanted her to enjoy herself and ALL the kids in the theater were talking. So, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
I highly recommend the movie, even if you don’t bring a child with you. I was enjoying the movie so much, I didn’t realize that at one point she got her arm stuck in between the chairs in front of her. Then she got her hand stuck in the cup holder. Luckily, John was paying closer attention and was able to extract her both times. (shrug) What can I say, it was a really entertaining movie!
Phew. I made it another year. Of what? You ask. Life.
And here is where I am at.
Birthday’s were WAY more exciting when I actually wanted tangible recognition of age. This is no longer the case. Now that I have officially reached so called “adulthood” (as if) it is WAY more exciting for me to enjoy the new experiences of my daughter.
John was able to get FREE tickets through work, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone. But free is free, and Chloe LOVES the Little Einsteins with a fiery passion.
Much to our surprise, there are many OTHER characters in the Playhouse Disney line up. We don’t watch live TV. The only TV show Chloe watches is the Little Einsteins because we record it. She has a couple of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofey, and Tigger stuffed toys. But, other than being at a friend’s house when it was on, has NEVER seen the shows. I think it is possible we saw a Winnie the Pooh show at Mama and Papa’s house, and I am positive she has NO IDEA who Hanny Manny is. So, she was overjoyed to see the Little Einsteins characters, but was a little confused by the rest. When Pooh came on, she said, “Wook, Mommy, a bear!”
All in all, she loved it because it had dancing, pretty lights, and lots and lots of music. But, I am trying to decide how I feel about that fact she didn’t recognize the other characters. Part of me feels a sense of pride because she has latched on to a show that I feel has actual merit. The other part of me, again, worries that she is missing out on a very important level of pop culture.
Seth loves Diego. I think it is safe to say that Chloe has never seen a Diego show. Jacob is infatuated with Mickey Mouse and Goofey. Again, I don’t think that Chloe has ever seen a Mickey Mouse show from start to finish. Julia wants to BE Minnie Mouse, and WAS for Halloween. Chloe decided to be a pirate.
It amazes me, still, how different our children’s lives can be depending on what we choose to show them on television.
I am not going to say Chloe doesn’t watch TV. Because, that would be a bold faced LIE! But, she watches movies. We have an extensive selection of Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar movies. She has probably seen movies that most children her age have never seen! (Cough: Incredibles, one of John and my ALL TIME FAVORITES)
Therefore, she can’t sing the title song to Mickey’s Clubhouse, but she can sing along with Ariel.
And, she was beside herself to see the Einstein’s Live! All the other kids where like: “Look, its MICKEY MOUSE!” Chloe was like, “Wook, Leo! Mommy, Wook ANNIE, Mommy wook QUINCY! Mommy, wook JUNE!” Then Rocket appeared on stage and I flashed back to when I saw Micheal Jackson for the first time. Yeah, it was that dramatic.
So, no. I didn’t celebrate me on my birthday. What I did was WAY better.
Mommy: I can’t find da womote. Where is da wamote?
Daddy: I find it da wamote.
Mommy: Thank you daddy!
Baby: I watch TV?
Mommy: Here ya go, you watching TV.
Daddy: Whatcha doin?
Baby: I watching the TV! Your turn to watching the TV!
Its quite possible I let her watch too much TV. In my defense, though, she WASN’T watching TV when she had this conversation. But her little house has a fake TV sticker. Really. I swear.
——-
PS She seems to have bonded to Potty Monkey. She is consistently getting better with peeing on the potty. Pooing is a completely different, and much more disgusting story. Sigh.
Finally. I am FINALLY proud to call myself an American. Yesterday, we broke through a great barrier and are slowly on the way to making a better world for our children, and our children’s children. This election has renewed my faith in the American people. It gives me hope that as a nation we can change, we can all band together and fight as one to create a place where the only boundaries are those we make for ourselves. Even if you didn’t vote for Obama, you cannot deny the magnitude of our first African American President. I believe that this will send a powerful message to the rest of the world that the American people are ready for change.
In some ways, I feel sorry for Obama. Look at the mess he has to clean up. But, especially after watching his speech, I believe with everything in my being that we have chosen the right person for the job.