Nature Calls

Big news here -- Reni is finally potty trained!

The upside: well, he's wearing underwear and having zero accidents, including night time, and it's been a few weeks now so I think I can stop holding my breath. He is SUPER proud and we are proud of him, too. Also, what is cuter than a little boy in his superhero briefs, I ask you?

The downside: he's somehow forgetting to wipe and flush.

The other downside: he dropped his pants the other day in the middle of Great-Grandma's lawn and watered her grass. She was having a family gathering and, oh, I'd say about 30 people peered out the window and put their hands over their mouths and raised their eyebrows and guffawed.

The additional downside: this was not an isolated party trick. Yesterday he was mad at me because I was trying to help him make a super hero mask, or I'd cut up his apple the wrong way, or we didn't have doughnuts for lunch, or the sky was blue. I let him storm outside to cool off, and when I went in search of him a few minutes later, there he was standing at the end of the driveway, pants around his ankles, making a puddle next to the mailbox.

Several thoughts running through my head, like, is this a phase, like when he used to take off his diaper and hide under tables at birthday parties, and hmm while it's kind of embarrassing maybe this is preferable to wet clothes or pee all over the toilet, and ohmygod this is going to happen at the school playground and at the park and in the parking lot at the mall and probably in front of all the old ladies at church!

We had a nice discussion about how your body is private and going to the bathroom is a solitary thing and should be done in the proper facilities, unless you're camping or stranded on a desert island or have to go badly and there are no restrooms available and you can duck behind a car or a tree or the like.

I should have known he wasn't listening, because when this kid is paying attention he is processing every word you say and asking a kazillion questions that you either don't have the answer to or don't want him to know. Instead, he just nodded his head and laughed. Because, mom, peeing outside is fun!

Since yesterday, it's toilet 2, lawn 5.

Oh, Reni. Just when I think I have a parenting win, you bring me back to reality. Thanks, buddy.