Underwear, Day 2

No accidents today. Jonah still needs to work on his aim, but no accidents.

I'm not sure if this will be self-sustaining yet. Michele and I reminded him frequently, but I don't think any of his trips to the potty were at our prompting. He seems to have a good sense for when he needs to go -- but now he acts on it.

We'll see how things go tomorrow, when he and Michele are home without me.

Underwear, Day 1

After about nine months of potty training teasers, we took the plunge this morning and put Jonah in underwear. He'd been in pull-ups for a couple of months, using the potty once or twice a day and dry all night every night. (For those of you new to the terminology, "pull-ups" are absorbent like diapers but they pull up like underwear. That way, the child can easily take them off and put them back on while learning to use the toilet.)

Today Jonah did really well. One accident. Otherwise, in the toilet or on the front porch (The latter after stripping to run through the sprinklers. Maybe not the best judgement on his part, since his clothes were in the line of fire). When he had his accident this afternoon, sitting on his bedroom floor, he quickly sounded the alarm and changed as fast as he could. A good sign, I think, that he is learning. Plus, it gave me what I needed before he went to bed: "Remember your accident earlier? What would happen if you had an accident while in bed?" Without my even suggesting it he went to the potty again, asking me to help him pee standing up.

I'm a total amateur at potty-training psychology, and I have pangs of parental guilt. I truly believe that he has to want it for him to be successful, and wearing pull-ups or diapers doesn't provide much incentive. I suspect that about 95% of the time he is aware enough now to choose the toilet over his pants. I'm hoping that the discomfort of wet Lightning McQueen underwear, plus loving parental support as he makes mistakes and pees on the carpet, will do the trick.

Early Career Planning

Yes, we do still exist. I apologize for the posting hiatus. It won't happen again. :)

Jonah is a mailman today. He and his mom told me this during dinner. He delivers mail on the street that runs perpendicular to ours, and his stuffed lamb, Baby Hoof, delivers mail on a street a couple of blocks away. Hoof ran out of mail today and had to go home.

I'm not sure when Jonah grew out of his childhood, but I think he skipped being a little boy entirely. We have another baby due in a few months, and despite the fact that we've been reading I'm Going to Be a Big Brother, he insists that he is not going to be a big brother. He is going to be a garbage truck driver, or an astronaut, or a construction worker, or a fireman (pictured here), depending on the day.

This may have started when he first became interested in vehicles. There is usually a truck involved, although he will opt for other vehicles as appropriate.

His choice in roles influences both his storytelling and mine. Each night, I read a story and tell a story at bedtime. When I ask what the story I tell should be about, it is always "Jonah the x". Sometimes he'll give me a lot more to go on, like "Jonah the tree trimmer and his tree trimming truck." This pretty much entitles me to tell a story about anything I feel like because Jonah, regardless of his role, is really a jack of all trades. The other night, for example, I told him about Jonah the truck driver and the mermaid. All truck drivers should have the scuba diving and shark chasing skills that Jonah has.