Everybody Pees

Tonight seemed like the typical weekday routine. Dana has her late, late class on Wednesdays this semester, so on those nights it's just me and Alex from the time I leave work at about 5:30pm 'til he goes to bed around 9:30 or 10pm. Usually I try to liven things up with a stop at Target or whatever errand I need to tackle during the week. Alex is a good shopper.

So tonight after Ryanne dropped Alex off at work, we cruised over to the new Babies'R'Us across the street. I had in mind buying a new car seat for Alex. His old car seat is getting worn out, and with 3 regular chauffeurs for Alex, it would be very handy to not have to swap car seats a few times each week. But all of the car seats Geoffrey had were either geared towards 3 years and older (cheap), or the huge, over-featured beheamoths geared towards 0-2 year olds (crazy expensive). So forget that. Instead we made the rounds of the toy aisles. Alex tried out a tricycle. I tried showing him how to pedal it, by hunching over him and helping to push on the tops of his feet. He didn't seem to get it, or maybe he was just massively distracted by the dozens of other enticing vehicles stacked up in the aisle around him. They had battery-powered Jeeps, ATVs, tractors, Barbie cars... wow. Who buys these things for their kids? I remember when they first came out, when I was a little kid, and they just seemed like something movie stars would have. Do people really buy those? Do kids not get bored with them after 8 days just like every other toy out there, and end up playing with the cardboard box as much as the actual toy?

After that we rode the big mechanical dump truck in the lobby, then headed for home. Since he asked nicely, I let Alex watch the "car movie" (Cars) on my iPhone on the way home. The little Civic is kind of noisy on the highway, and Alex is hard enough to understand when he's talking to you in a quiet room, so sometimes it's easier to just distract him for part or all of a car trip. Nothing works better than Cars. Thank you Pixar.

When we got home, I had my usual complete paralysis in the kitchen trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. I'm not a bad cook, I just have no imagination whatsoever when it comes to preparing food. Fortunately, the good people over at Bertoulli had a stroke of genius and came out with frozen pasta in a bag. You dump it in a cold skillet, place covered skillet on stove for 10 minutes, stirring once, then shovel into mouth. It almost couldn't be easier (except maybe when Dana does it for me). At $6-$7 a bag for 2 servings, it's a little pricey, but some days it's all that stands between me and Shredded Wheat.

So, dinner accomplished. Alex ate about 6 bites of pasta and sausage, and even (after much debate) tried a bite of the red bell peppers. He had a couple of half sippy cups of milk, and about 1/3 of a banana, and pronounced that he was "aah dehn" (all done). ASL has been a godsend for us, because even if his mouth is full and he wants to say something, we can usually pick up on the hand signals. In the case of "all done," you wave both hands in the air (like you just don't care?)

This was a big dinner for Alex in comparison to the last several days. He's been eating like a bird. He seems to go through these phases about every 2 months when he isn't very interested in food. Then all of a sudden his appetite will return in a flash and he's eating handfuls of whatever he can get ahold of.

After dinner I convinced Alex to finish watching Cars while I tidyed up the kitchen. Lately I've really been trying to focus on cleaning up the house. I have gotten a bit sloppy in the last few years, and it's wearing on me.

Ok, to make a long story short, after cleaning up and indulging in a bowl of ice cream, which I had to sneak while Alex wasn't paying attention (otherwise he would demand some of his own and turn into a crazy maniac for an hour or two), it was bath time.

For about the last 3 months, after he strips and before he's dipped in the big clawfoot tub, I've been inviting Alex to try sitting on one of his two training potties. He almost always obliges, sitting down gingerly on the foreign, hard plastic surface. I usually hold his hand, and he sits there for about a 2-mississippi count, then stands up again. Often I can get him to repeat this performance 2 or 3 times, but he always comes up dry.

But tonight I got the shock of my life. I sat him down. He stood up, then I invited him to sit on the other potty. He sat down. Then he stood up. Again, I invited him to sit on the other potty, figuring this would wrap up our potty-sitting-practice session and we could move on to the bath. But when he stood up the last time, there was... how shall I say it? A yellow surprise!

Well, I had to restrain myself from hopping up and down and cheering. This signals nothing short of the beginning of the end of the first Diaper Era. Our enslavement to the Huggies corporation is nearly over! Woo hoo!

Ok, maybe we have a long ways to go, and at least one more critter that'll be starting out in Size 1's in 6 months. But it's a small victory.

I promised Alex he could have a cookie (or a portion of a cookie) any time he uses the potty for its intended purpose. Thus...

Alex enjoys his first potty cookie