Lego Vehicle by Nathan

It must have been McNutt or maybe Swiper

Grammie introduced Nathan and Bea to a character (from a book, I think) named McNutt. He seems to be a friendly imaginary guy who can be blamed for ... almost anything- moving things, making a mess, cleaning things up, making mysterious and otherwise unexplained noises. McNutt has been very helpful in our house. I really have enjoyed this imaginary guy. In the past, I had been doing a lot more reassuring in situations that seemed worrisome to N and B or explaining of why I had meddled with their stuff. Now, whenever there's something new or changed that might have made my slightly particular children worried or annoyed they tell me it was just "McNuckt" before I even think of what to say. A few weeks ago, Swiper was added to the characters who can make mischief in our house. It took me a while to realize that this was a character in the Dora cartoons who tries to swipe things away. So, now instead of being upset when the lego sculpture has been moved or the juice cup that was still half full is gone, we play an imaginary game together about 2 endearing and meddling characters.

Soundbites

N: in reference to a juicy pear "It's so drippy that I don't bite it, I slip it." (sip it)

B: "Way Da Min-it! I have 'dult fork!" (Katie takes away the adult fork and replaces it with a small one) "Nooowwww I have kid fork."

N: "Mom, can I be nak-ed now?"
B: jumping up and down "Nak-ed! Nak-ed! Now!"
N: "I really want to be naked now."

B: while playing with play doh "Cupcake come out! It's ready!"
K: "Can I have one?"
B: "No!"
K: "Oh, are we waiting? When can we have it then?"
B: with very serious frown... "Yesterday."

B: "I makin' popsicle. Big one."
K: "Can I have a bite?"
B: with very angry look "No! Only bunnies."

N: "I have a big family. McNuck, Swiper, the ladybugs..." in reference to the small family of lady bugs living on our enclosed front porch

N: "Never, never, never!" in response to a variety of requests and topics ranging from putting clothes on to scooting a chair a few inches

N: while talking to himself... "Man, if Bea doesn't listen to me, I'll just pipe her! If daddy doesn't listen to me, I'll just pipe him. If mommy doesn't listen to me, I'll just pipe her!" Hummm... what is piping? Should I be nervous?

B: multiple times a week, this happens... while covering one eye "You can't see it. Eye going potty. Psss Psss Psss." covers other eye "Other eye going potty."

Singers

"Clink, clink, clink, on a pleasant day! ... clink, clink, clink, on a pleasant day!..." This line was sung over and over this morning in loud and soft, silly and serious voices. I think Nathan and Bea were inspired by a morning of building with their new Crystal Climbers that happen to make a nice clinking noise when they hit the floor. First Nathan burst out in this song and soon Bea joined in from the other room. Soon there was marching, dancing, and lots of giggling.

Still Designing Shooters...

I thought this was a pretty nice design. We have still not gotten Nathan a real toy gun... except for a happy meal one. About once every 2 weeks there is another home-made model. This one is a dismantled golf club tied to a piece of a dismantled soccer net, filled with foam dice for the ammo. I know he will play with guns (and already is), but he's only 3. So... can I keep letting him invent his own for a year or so or am I denying him a vital tool for play? Any thoughts?

Potty Highlights

Bea continues to develop potty skills and in the process I've noted her incredible flexibility with which potty she uses. I remember Nathan used his little white potty for months (we brought it with us everywhere) and was slower to warm up to the strange big potties in restaurants and parks. But Bea started yelling, "No, big potty!" from the beginning and has always preferred that to the little one (probably because she sees her brother use the big one now). So here are some potty highlights:

Bea's All-time Potty Highlights/ The big toilets

• Minneapolis airport (first big potty)
• Restaurants... you name it
• Public Park Restroom

Nathan's All-time Potty Highlights/ Best locations for the little potty

• Yosemite Nat'l Park foodcourt
• On the sidewalk in front of Bennison's Bakery
• In the airplane restroom (on top of the closed toilet lid)

Adventures in Pottytime

Bea has started the potty adventure. You can stop reading here if you don't have any interest in poop and pee talk. This topic shifted from gross to completely fascinating when I had kids of my own. Without the personal experience of changing stinky diapers and the motivation to one day live in a home without a diaper pail... I wouldn't have had much interest in the subject. So, if you keep reading... I'm going to talk about gross things. Turn back now if you need to. You have been forewarned!

The Preparation:
Bea has been doing morning poops on her little potty for several months now. I started putting her on her potty while she eats breakfast and that developed into a pretty regular routine. I had noticed that she usually pooped after or while eating and breakfast was a motivation for her to be still for long enough to sit on a potty. During this time she also started noticing when she would pee into the potty too.

A few months ago, I tried a stint of no diaper to see what would happen. She didn't catch on to the whole thing very fast, so I decided to go back to diapers and try again later. But, one thing that came of that time was her ability to stop her pee.

Recently she had also been very proud of the fact that she can pull on her pants by herself. She practiced for about a month and really had to work at figuring out how to reach behind her and pull her pants up over her bottom. It was quite amusing to watch her tug with all her might, determined to do it on her own. Whenever anyone would offer to help her she would yell, "No. By sef!"

With good language skills, an awareness of poop and pee and some experience controlling her poop and pee, and the ability to pull up her pants, I thought she was ready for another try at no diaper.

My goals were:
1. Not to make a big deal about it. Be comfortable with where she is in her learning.
2. Make a clear distinction that there are no diapers while awake so that she can truly learn the potty skills she needs whenever the urge arises!
3. Be willing to work with her, dropping other tasks to help her get to the potty quickly.

After a month of experimenting, I think Bea has done great. She knows how to tell us when she needs to pee and if we encourage her to do her morning poop, she is usually fine for the rest of the day. There have been some moments... but all in all, Bea is on her way and mom prefers a few wet clothes to constant diaper changes.