let me introduce you to my little friend

toddlers are curious creatures. they ask a lot of questions. they like to poke and prod.

now for toddler boys, around the age of 3, they become particularly intrigued with body functions. probably because of the whole potty training process and the parts involved.

so of course, aidan has suddenly become very aware of his penis.

we try to use the anatomically correct term and try to refrain from using euphemisms like "peepee" or "weewee" and such. he pronounces it "pe-nus."

for the past several weeks aidan has been putting his hand down the front or back of his pants. i like to ask him," what are you doing, aidan? is your penis still there? good, now take your hands out of your pants." in the shower, sometimes he slaps at it. now, i thought that was a sensitive area, guys! i mean, what's with all the drama when some dude is dealt a blow in the 'nads? it looks like it hurts to high heaven!

paul says when it's your own penis, it doesn't hurt. really?

aidan has offered up a couple of great lines regarding the ol' "pe-nus:"

[after a bath] aidan says, "look mama! my penus is big! like daddy's! "

(no comment. this is a family blog after all.)

[in the morning] aidan has said, "look mama! my penus is up. because it slept all night!"

bombs away and target practice

two weeks ago, aidan started  wearing "big boy" character briefs. we have been lazy in the potty training department. we don't want to push and we know that aidan knows the steps to "the process." he just doesn't care to put all those steps together. 

so, we were surprised when his teacher encouraged us to put him in underwear, saying she'd be happy to help him out and clean him up. 

the first two days were, in a word, gross. pee-wet thin cotton is one thing. thin cotton coated with poop is quite another. paul has been the lucky recipient of the poopy pants.

after those two treacherous days, the rest of the week was great. he stays dry for most of the day and we (as in the parents) have trained ourselves to take him to the potty every 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

as a grown-up, you don't have to think about these things; you just... go. but toddlers haven't learned to listen to that little alarm that goes off in their brains when their bladder/gut is full. it's more fun to keep playing with your lightning mcqueen cars and thomas trains than to stop, drop trou and sit on the potty. think about it-- for the majority of their lives, they've become accustomed to steeping in their goo until the parentals changed their diapers. it's another transition that is going to take some time. and patience. and more underpants-- otherwise, i'm going to be doing laundry every day. 

paul has come up with two ways to get aidan excited about going potty. so far, so good.

target practice:  it's exactly what you think. aim and shoot at the targets floating in the toilet. so far, we've had cheerios (a traditional favorite); mini marshmallows and, in a pinch, little rolled up balls of toilet paper. aidan loves target practice and proudly announces he hit the targets every time.

bombs away.  this is relatively new and is a work in progress. no bombs yet, but we've been able to get aidan to sit at least for a minute. 

yet one more milestone to work towards.