Pride Cometh Before a Fall

I've been so excited by Youngest girl's achievements on the potty that perhaps I'm going overboard on the praise...just a bit. It's been more than a week and perhaps she is not needing all the joyous shouts, high-fives, and proclamations of "what a big girl!" we've been doling out. But, I find I can't help it because I really am that excited. (Pathetic? Yes. But we are a diaper free house! How cool is that?)

This praise overkill was highlighted by a recent interaction I had with Youngest girl a few nights ago. I was sitting on the couch and she was standing nearby looking adorable and just so huggable. So, I held my arms out wide and said to her "can I have a big hug?!"

My only real motivation was to give her a hug and get one in return. Because, ya know, that's one of the joys of having a two-year-old in the house. All that free love.

But, it seems as though she was anticipating yet another round of praise for how well she's been doing on the potty. Being the card that she is, she came over and gave me a huge hug and said in a very motherly sort of way "I'm soooo proud of you!"

And then she started to giggle.

She was mocking me. Seriously!

My two-year-old has learned the fine art of mockery.

What next? Sarcasm? Irony? Light-hearted banter?

I couldn't help but laugh and then asked her why she was so proud of me.

"Cuz you do your job...!"

There was a brief pause during which I had high hopes that I was being praised for my efforts as a mother. But I didn't have long for it to go to my head or anything before she finished her thought: "...since you are a big dirl wike me!"

Oh. That job.

Yes, folks. I can use the potty! Aren't you soooo proud of me, too?

Booty Camp Complete...on to Summer Camp!

Youngest girl is doing her job quite well this last week! She still occasionally needs to be reminded that a trip to the potty would be in everyone's best interest, but she has not had any accidents since I last posted. She's even dry through the night so we've gotten rid of the pull-ups as well. I'm still in awe of just how quickly it all happened. I think she was the easiest to train of all. And I'm thrilled that I can stop carrying a diaper bag and won't need swim diapers in the pool anymore.

In other exciting news, the two older girls started camp today. Middle girl seemed apprehensive last night about going but this morning all was well and she happily climbed aboard the bus. I was afraid I'd have one or both in tears this morning (since Eldest girl seems to have more anxiety issues at times) but it went very well. There was a slight snafu at the bus, however. The bus driver was a substitute and the camp counselor was a newbie - so neither of them knew exactly what was what. But, thankfully there was a veteran camp mom who knew the ropes. There should have been a bus monitor (possibly by the name of Chris) who was supposed to have clipboard in hand to check in the campers and get them loaded on the bus by 8:05am. By 8:15am it was obvious that something was amiss. The veteran mom said that they are usually right on schedule and yet there was no sign of the monitor. She called the YMCA to find out if they knew anything. We finally did get the kids signed in on a makeshift list (created on the back of a High School tardy slip provided by one of the dads) and sent the kids off on the bus with explicit instructions to the sub and the newbie not to let the kids get off the bus without a parent present at the end of the day. I would have been much more concerned about this lack of organization if it were not for the the fact that the veteran mom was there and reassured me that this was not a common occurrence. Let's hope tomorrow bus drop-off is a bit more routine.

While were waiting for the no-show bus monitor to possibly show up and get the show on the road we chatted with some of the other kids and parents. One 8-year-old girl was a familiar face to me, if not to Eldest girl. And her younger sister was familiar to both me and Middle girl. The 8-year-old (L) had gone to preschool with Eldest girl but they didn't remember each other and Middle girl just finished a year of preschool with her sister. I'm hoping that Eldest girl and L will get reacquainted at camp and have fun together. I was also able to introduce Eldest girl to another 8-year-old who was the daughter of the veteran mom. She seemed quite camp savvy, having gone to this camp for the last three years. Eldest girl often has a difficult time meeting new people so I was happy to be able to send her off with two girls who might be able to help her acclimate and learn the ropes. There were no 5-year-olds to introduce Middle girl to but I'm sure she'll make friends in no time.

The girls won't be back from camp until 5:25, which is when the bus arrives back here in town. I'm sure they will be tired but hopefully also happy from a long, fun day at camp! I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the girls in their 4th of July parade costumes.

Last Monday I realized time was getting short and the girls still needed something to wear for the little parade we have every year around the town common. The kids are invited to wear costumes or decorate their bikes and sometimes a family might get ambitious and put together an actual float for the parade (show offs). Sometimes a small band leads the crowd playing patriotic songs and in years past we have also had some mounted police to join our little ragtag parade. After the parade someone reads a portion of the Declaration of Independence and the kids all get prizes for participation. Then folks gather on the common for foot races and other games, as well as free lemonade and watermelon.

For this year's parade the girls wanted to wear costume instead of decorating their bikes and wagon like they did last year. After a brief discussion Eldest girl decided on being an Indian girl (everyone at the parade asked if she was Pocahontas and she was so annoyed because she was just an indian! - the kid needs to lighten up a bit). Middle girl decided to be a 'nature fairy' and although her costume did not end up looking the way I imagined a nature fairy would look she was pleased which is really all that mattered. When we went on our shopping trip to get fabric and patterns we had been unable to decide just what to have Youngest girl wear. In the end we found some simple pieces to put together and made her a hula girl costume. She liked the grass skirt very much, however, it appeared that the concept of 'hula girl' was lost on her. She walked around picking up the grass pieces and letting them fall while chanting "snowing! snowing! snowing!" Ah well - she still looked pretty cute.

In fact they all looked cute, if I do say so myself.

Day Three of Booty Camp!

Updated!

I continue to marvel at the fact that a mere change in phraseology can make such a huge difference. We now commonly refer to the potty as Youngest girl's "job" and it has made all the difference. I guess because it gives her complete ownership of what is going on with her body or something. She is still not very excited by the whole deal and I still get a bit of whining about it. The most common response is "I'll do it tomorrow."

Ha. Yes, indeed you will. And the day after that, and the day after that. Etcetera, etcetera, and so forth...

But, you will also do it TODAY. [insert evil cackling sound here]


Even with all the whining she is still doing quite well. I'd say we are luckier in the morning than we are when it is the afternoon and she is getting tired and has not had a nap. That is when the accidents are most likely to happen - and they do happen. But, I've been down this road more than once and know that we are making good progress overall.

Today she made really crappy progress (literally). She pooped on the potty for the first time ever! Woohoo!!!!! At first, she did just what she has done the last two days when it came time to poop - she freaked out. She started asking for a diaper or a pull-up and was crying and carrying on. I told her it was just time to do her job. No big deal. So, we went into the bathroom (all four of us, since the older two are fascinated by this process and like to join in) and she did pull down her pants and sit on the little potty. She seemed nervous but then I pulled a trick out of my Booty Camp dufflebag - bribery! This morning at Target we bought some special chocolate chip granola bars and she wanted to try one but I told her she had to wait until snack time. However, I decided to let her have one IF she could go poop. I also told her to just pretend that the diaper was still on. I'm not sure which tactic was the most successful but all of a sudden she had that look of intense concentration on her face and she had poopy success! We were all very proud of her and gave her high fives and hugs (however, not proud enough to actually take a picture for posterity and share it on the blog...don't think it didn't cross my mind for a millisecond but I figured I'd spare you all the intimate details. You're welcome.).

Oh, and how could I forget? She also made nighttime progress last night! She stayed dry overnight and didn't pee in the pull-up once she woke up! I don't know what time she woke up but I got back from my walk at 7:30 and she was sitting on the couch looking at books. I told her it was time for her job and she fussed a bit but when I got her to the bathroom I realized she was completely dry! She proceeded, in short order, to make quite a puddle in the potty.

I'm dangerously close to celebrating that diaper-free household that I so desire!!

Just had to finish off this post with a bit of an update. Youngest one had a completely dry day!! Woohoo! She did need some encouragement to do her "job" but she managed to stay dry all day (even during a 2.5 span of time when she was wearing a pull-up and we went out for a bunch of errands!). I just put her to bed (in a pull-up, just in case) but she is excited that tomorrow she gets to wear some new big girl underwear that we bought at Target (two sets: Ariel and Mickey & Minnie Mouse).

Thank you, Meri

A number of years ago our good friend Meri (or as the kids know her, "Auntie Meri" - which is to differentiate her from "Cousin Meri") bought us a lovely and handy gift - an electric ice cream maker. We have admittedly not used it as often as we would like. Last summer we had every intention of making ice cream and somehow the day-to-day of life got in the way and it never happened. But, we have our dear Meri to thank for the ability to make ice cream on a whim (as long as we have the salt, cream, ice and sugar on hand). And so, yesterday we turned that whim into reality. I sent Rick on an errand to get salt and cream - we already had plenty of sugar and ice and even fresh, sweet strawberries from the farm.

Mixing the ingredients.



Dad explaining the process.


Getting the ice cream maker put together.


Fast forward a few hours later and we had some fabulous homemade dessert.


Thumbs up from Eldest girl!


Middle girls gives it an "almost" thumbs up. This ice cream connoisseur states that the ice cream tasted good but was a "bit too grainy" for her tastes. (We are not exactly sure what made the ice cream a bit 'icy' but we are guessing it was the water content of the very ripe, juicy strawberries...?)


Another positive review from Youngest girl who seemed to think it was good to the very last drop.



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Speaking of Youngest Girl - I was looking at her picture from the trip to the farm and realizing that she could use a bit of a trim. I figured she'd also enjoy having her hair a bit shorter in the heat and humidity. After her bath this morning I took my scissors to her fine, straight locks and this was the result....



It's mostly even - and I didn't even have to use a bowl on her head as a guide.

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In other news on Youngest girl, she has been wearing big girl underwear the last two days. With a modicum of success, I might add. We have had a couple of small accidents and a few tears about not being a "big girl" yet. But, I took my cue from a Today Show segment on a woman who has become known as the Potty Whisperer for her Booty Camp successes (and the fact that she has potty trained her own six kids). The basic concept behind her Booty Camp is to make it the child's responsibility to go on the potty when his/her body says it is time to go. So, I don't ask her if she needs to go, I just give her that "job" to do and make it her responsibility to know when to go. Amazingly enough it seems to be working! (And part of the reason it is working so well is because she really is "ready" on so many levels...she's just been stubborn and I haven't wanted to deal with a fight. This new perspective on potty training removes me as the enforcer which is why I think it works so well for her at this stage of the game.)

Last night she did not even want to change to a diaper at bedtime (great!) but we did wake up in the middle of the night to clean up an accident (not so great, but all part of the process). I think she had been resisting the potty use too much yesterday and thus had the overnight accident and then I put her in a diaper for the rest of the night. Under normal circumstances she has lately been waking up with a dry diaper in the morning but refusing all requests to try using the potty. So, my hope is that once we get the daytime potty use down pat the nighttime use will follow suit pretty quickly. This morning she initially resisted the underwear again. I just reminded her about her new "job" and did not really give her a choice in whether or not to wear underwear. But I did give her a choice of which ones to wear. So, she picked out the pair she wanted and even showed them off to dad once she had them on. I've been giving her plenty of fluids today and she has actually held her pee for quite a long time. I made a couple of references to her 'job' but she has refused all suggestions until recently. After two big cups of milk and one of juice I think it was finally wearing her down. She decided to give it a try and actually peed right away. So far it's been an accident-free day and we are well into the afternoon hours! I might be able to celebrate a diaper-free home soon!

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Or perhaps I'm being too optimistic. As I was writing this post my dearest little one was...ahem...busy in the other room. Just now she walked into the living room with a new pair of underwear in hand and said "I want this pair of underwear." Since she had just peed on the potty a few minutes before I asked for clarification.

"Are you wet?", I asked.

No response.

And then evasion tactic, "I want this pair of underwear."

So, I asked again, this time more clearly "Are you wet? Did you pee in your underwear?"

"No. I have a poop," she answered.

Lovely.

So, we cleaned up her poop and we went over the rules of her new job again. This time making it very clear that proper placement of both pee AND poop fall within her job description.

I have to point out that she actually told me she had a poop. This is a step in the right direction. She never tells me when she poops in her diaper - to the point of outright lying about it when it is quite clear to the entire room, and perhaps the entire house, that there is toxic waste somewhere in the vicinity. She also did not hold it in which seemed like it might become an issue yesterday when it seemed she needed to poop and she was having a bit of a freak-out about the potty. She did not, in fact, poop yesterday aside from a few small pellets. So, she was overdue and I am thankful she is not a 'holder' which can lead to all kinds of bathroom neuroses that I'd like to avoid, thank you very much.

I'm attempting to remain positive here. Work with me people.