Toilet Paper, Please

(NOTE: For this posting, Josh was begging for an alternate title: Our Little Whiz Kid. :) We're all about the puns at the Patterson house.)

Mihret's been aware of the potty for quite a while now. We decided we didn't want to put any pressure on her to sit on it, but we've made sure that she knows it's there for the sitting at any time.

She's watched us use the potty plenty of times. She's fixated on the roll of toilet paper that hangs at a fairly low and accessible level for little peanuts. At first, she stood by the roll and handed the potty-ing parent piece after piece. ("Need paper? There you go, Mama!") Now, she favors shoving handfuls into the potty-er's hands and walking out the door, closing it behind her.

For the past month or so we've been taking out her potty seat (one that secures onto the toilet seat) and asking her before bathtime if she'd like to try sitting on the potty. She's been doing that most nights, except for when we've been running behind schedule and she's been overtired, or a few nights following the two times recently when she's been sick to her stomach (we had the unfortunate experience of having to introduce her to "getting her uckies into the potty." We figure having to hang over the potty head-first while doing a frightening thing like vomiting scared her away from it for a bit.)

In her new classroom at day care "school" - she moved up in early February, shortly after she turned two - she's been sitting on the potty about twice a day. Her teachers say she hasn't been initiating the bathroom visits, but when her older friends line up for the potty, she usually follows right along.

Lately at home, her before-bathtime potty time has gotten more and more involved. She's wanted to wipe with square after square of paper ("Toilet paper, please!" she asks, and we oblige in moderation, giving her a piece at a time for conservation's sake). She also started asking for reading material - the magazines we keep in a basket in the bathroom. Truly a child after our own hearts!

So tonight was the big splash (pun intended). I was actually in the computer room checking e-mail, and Josh was helping an enthroned Mihret leaf through a "Parenting" magazine. All of a sudden, I hear Josh saying, "Mihret _went_ potty!"

The funny thing? She was really more into looking at the magazine than she was in getting excited about her tinkle. But she did wipe all by herself and try to flush (Josh had to help; the lever's too heavy for her to push down on at this point.)

We're not going to rush the full-on and intense potty training, but I can't help but wonder how soon her potty time will become productive on a regular basis.

Next step: Checking into the Pull-Ups diapers. (We still use the ones with the tab fasteners.)

-Kara