noah and the potty

two or three weeks after caleb's school let out for the summer, i buckled down with noah about the potty training. we'd used the potty now and then before but it was never approached as a real change in behavior. and just like i did with caleb, i pretty much just put him in those gerber thick underpants (so super cute) and declared diapers to be a thing of the past.

and it has gone really well.  we still have accidents ( usually in the evening when he's getting tired) but i've only had to scrub out 2 pairs of pants since we started, and he'll actually tell me now when he needs to go and goes whenever i tell him to.  i knew he was more than capable of grasping the concept and managing the physical control aspects of it, i just had to get him to work on communication, timing, and procedural  basics.

yep. still got a wrinkle or two to iron out.

at first it was hilarious to see him announce in the family room that he had to go potty, push his pants down to his knees, and then waddle his way all the way to the potty seat. and then (heck, still) i have to remind him to pull his pants back up or actually put them back on when he's done. it's not going to play well at school for him to come back from the bathroom and start doing his classwork naked from the waist down.

but the part that has been most surprising, and really the only reason to even post about it, is the colorful insights he has into the process. the boy loves to talk about his poop.

here is a sample of quotes i've heard about his deposits.

"(GASP). DID YOU HEAR DAT? DAT'S MY POOP!"

"LOOKA DAT! IT'S BROWN!"

"ONE, TWO, THREE POOPS!"

"awww, so tiny!"

"WOAH, LOOKA DAT! IT'S LIKE A SNAKE! Awwww, so cute!" (at which point i was terrified he would try to pick it up and snuggle it, like every other 'cute' thing he sees)

"LOOKA DAT MOMMA! DERE'S NUTS IN DA BROWN!"

(upon seeing it break up in the water) "WOAH! IT CRACKED OPEN! LIKE A BUTTERFLY MOMMA!" (we had caterpillars and kept them till they turned into butterflies. totally the same thing.)

"IT SMELLS MOMMA! SMELLS DEEEEEE-LICIOUS !" (oh, the horror. he thinks everything smells delicious, apparently. or delicious is the only word he knows he can apply to smells. he has also told me that tires smell delicious. at any rate, i suppose i can't take it as a compliment to my cooking anymore.)

and yes, i caps locked it all cause he yells almost everything he's excited about, and in a very animated fashion. now if i can get him to wash his hands with the same enthusiasm, and leave the lid down when he flushes instead of sticking his face in the bowl for a close up view of the fantastic swirling action... we'll be set!