Split! Splat!

So Clara is, for the first time ever really, fixated on a book.  Prior to the past two weeks or so, she went from book to book, and really, the only common thread among them that Julie could discern was that Clara seemed to like books with relatively more intricate illustrations.  The book that she is fixated on is one Julie got in honor of spring called Split!  Splat!  It's about a girl who plays in a rainy, then muddy, then sunny day and includes lots of nonsense words (like "mucha-mucha-chucka-wucka splish splash sploosh!") among the words that take the reader through the rain and mud and sun.  The illustrations look like watercolor paintings, incidentally.  It's pretty, and fun, and the rain is shot through with easy sunshine so you know, the book is quite a bit like Our Girl.

Clara Potty Watch: Day 4

We will soon cease with these daily potty updates.  But we thought Birdie's Brigade, near and far, would like to know that again, today, she was accident-free at school.  Moreover, she kicked this success off at home where she not only pooped, but also peed on the potty.  Perhaps most exciting was this: in the middle of dinner, she announced that she had to use the potty.  Off she went.  Brigade.  Indeed, she did have to use the potty!  She peed.  So this marked the first time that Birdie said she needed to use the potty,  held on to her pee until she reached the potty, and then released it.  She came on out to the space between the dining and living rooms when she was done and did a little dance grinning, and bare-bottomed.

Of Snuggling and Growing

Julie met Sara (also known as Graham and Connor's mommy) out for dinner tonight.  When she got home, she went into the bambini's room.  Clara was asleep, but Joe was still awake--just barely.  He asked if Julie was going to snuggle with him.  Julie said, "Do you want me to?", and Joe said yes and scooted on over.  Then, he was suddenly upright and a beehive activity, finally presenting Julie with Sheepie.  (Everyone needs an animal if it's to be a proper snuggle.)  Joe relayed that he'd heard a llama mama when he went to bed.  At least, that's what it sounded like to Julie who had her good ear pressed practically to Joe's lips--for once, he was whispering.  Finally, she doped out that he'd heard the lawn mower when he went to bed, and as Ted was showering when Julie arrived home, she put two and two together and realized Ted must have mowed the lawn tonight.

Then Joe asked if Julie had gone to dinner with Sara-and-Emily* Sara, or Graham's-mommy Sara.  Julie said Graham's-mommy Sara, and then pattered on about how long she and Sara had been friends--since college!--and Joe quickly broke in and said, "And me, too!" and added, "I like Aunt Sara because she plays hide-n-seek with me."  (He's conflating some things.  But suffice it to say, all the Sara's in his life not only to not spell their names with an H, they are also the bomb.)  And so there Julie was, thinking about how even though she likes her bed and pillows, and Ted is, after all pretty great, she could stay in Joe's "cozy little bed" with Joe, snuggled up like puppies all night, when Joe turned to her and said, "Mommy?  When are you going to go to your bed?"  Julie asked if he wanted her to go to her bed, and he said yes.  Sigh.  He did allow that there could be one more hug.

So Julie padded out to find Ted on the couch and after she'd relayed all of this, Ted said that he'd had a discussion with Joe about the relative merits of school versus work.  Ted said that he didn't get to play outside at work.  Joe, trying to be encouraging, said "You get to have morning snack, and lunch, and afternoon snack."  Ted did admit that this was true.  Then Joe asked if Joe got to paint.  Ted said that he did not get to paint; that there were no arts and crafts at work--just e-mails and meetings, just work.  That' when Joe told Ted "Maybe when you grow down you can maybe go to Ms. Kristin's room."

*Celebrity demi-goddess sitters.

Clara Potty Watch: Day. . .3?

We'll call it Day 3 as today was Birdie's third full day in unnerwear.  When we arrived at KinderCare this evening, Julie grabbed a bag figuring we'd be loading it up with plastic bags of wet clothes to take home and wash.  You can imagine her surprise when, upon sliding Clara's cubby out, she found but one bag of clothes.  The spare pair of shoes was still there, too!  Clara's daily doings report relayed that she'd done great with the potty.  She sat on it every hour, and had no accidents so presumably, she peed when she needed to!  She'd spilled water on her clothes; hence, the bag of wet clothes.  Tonight, when we got home, Clara sat on the potty after Julie, and tinkled.  So still, we've yet to see her realize she needs to pee and get herself to the potty, but all the pee she peed today went into a potty.

Clara poops on ANOTHER potty!!!!!

Despite the fact that Clara clearly--clearly--does not have the timing down for peeing in the potty, she has now pooped on not only the potty at school, but also the potty at home!  And--AND!--she did so after realizing she needed to do it, and getting herself there in time.  Tonight, after bath, she was tearing about like a wild thing.  Ted and Joe headed outside to water the tomatoes and carrot and marigold seeds they planted a few weeks ago and Julie stayed inside to continue ignoring Clara's antics.  No sooner had Julie ostentatiously settled down with the latest issue of the Northwestern alumni magazine than Clara announced "I poop."  Julie said, "You poop?!  Well, let's go!  Let's get in there!"  Birdie was kinda of making to squat all "I gots to go!  I just do it here!"  No.  Birdie got there, sat down, and pooped a healthy amount.  We mention this last so that you know, Readers, this was no toot or dribble.  This was the real deal.  Julie naturally made a big fuss, but Birdie just looked at her with that "I'm pooping" grimace.

Afterward, it was hugs all around, before the indignity and ordeal of the pink eye drops administration.  But then Birdie was carted outside to share her big news with the Boys, and got two high fives from her brother for her number two, in.  The.  Pot-TY!