I was sitting at my desk today when the phone rang. I’d barely said “hello” before I heard Ava’s sweet little voice say, “Hi! I went poop in the potty!”
So, this is huge. We’ve put almost no effort into getting Ava to use the toilet. After an initial (failed) push (sorry) when we first bought her training seat, we totally backed off and let her do her own thing at her own pace. Some days she’d use the potty; most days she wouldn’t. Number 1 was easy, but it was like she was almost scared to do the deuce. Lately, though, there’s been a change. I suspect it’s probably because there are other kids her age showing up to daycare wearing “big girl underpants,” and Ava loves wearing big girl underpants. Who doesn’t? She’s finally starting to understand that the path to constant wearing of big girl underpants is to use the potty. It’s fascinating to watch her go through this process, to modify her behavior to get something she wants.
The highlight of my week, then, was listening to my two-year-old tell me all about poop. Well, one of the highlights, I guess. We got a sitter for Ava last night so we could go to dinner with friends. We were running around getting ready to leave, prepping Ava for bed, and giving instructions to the sitter, when Ava looked up at Leah and said, “I have to take a dump.”
Now, Ava learned this from me. I don’t say it all the time, only when I know it’ll rile Leah (which is every time I say it). I typically add a little emphasis for Leah’s benefit, but Ava’s proclamation was so dry and matter of fact, it was hilarious. She just thought that was a totally normal and acceptable way to relay her feelings (and, hey, shouldn’t it be?). It was definitely one of those times when you know you shouldn’t reinforce your child’s behavior by laughing at what she’s done, so I had to duck into another room and bury my face in a pillow.