Potty Time

Erin is doing remarkably well with her potty training. She has been wearing "unna-wea" all week, with only one accident. (Of course, that occurred less than five minutes before Beth's bus was due to arrive down the street.) She loves being a big girl like her sisters. Even though it's going quite smoothly, it's still an adventure, requiring patience from both me and Brian.

She is far from independent. Each time she needs to go, I am required to drop whatever I'm doing and race to the bathroom with her. Today, I was in the middle of a diaper change with Brian, so I asked her to wait a minute.

She didn't wait. I was just finishing the diaper when I heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the bathroom.

"Get me out! Get me out of here!!!" I heard, in a hysterical voice.

I ran as quickly as possible, with Brian swinging from my left arm. When I arrived, I discovered a sobbing Erin. She had fallen completely into the toilet, and was unable to climb back out. She was so shaken by the experience that it took a full hour for her to work up her courage enough to "get back on the horse again". We now have a rule, requiring an adult supervising in the bathroom at all times, to prevent another frightening fall!

This afternoon she sat on the potty while I paced around the room with Brian. I wasn't watching too carefully, until her little voice piped up, letting me know that there was no toilet paper left. I grabbed another roll, but as I was putting it on, I noticed that the trash can under the toilet paper was completely filled with...toilet paper. It appeared that an entire roll was sitting in the wastebasket. So I asked Erin about this.

"Well, I pulled. And I pulled. But I couldn't break any off. I kept pulling until there wasn't anymore left."

Yet another rule. Mommy or Daddy breaks off the toilet paper. Toilet paper doesn't grow on trees, you know.

Yes, it truly is an adventure. But I couldn't be prouder of Erin's efforts. Way to go, big girl!!