A TWO Red Letter Day

First Red Letter:
With every major developmental milestone (rolling over, standing up), people have said, "The party's over now!"

I've breezed by that statement. The Boy is pretty groovy about boundaries and no-boy zones.

But tonight, I think the party is, indeed, over. The old party, that is.

Tonight we had our first I Can Do It Myself.

You know that silence that rings after someone says, "You said you had the tickets," or "Will you accept a collect call from Thurston County jail?"

Yeah, it was like that.

Second Red Letter:
The I Can Do It Myself was prompted by the new potty chair.

There's been a lot of potty talk around the house lately. We've been talking about the day when diapers will no longer be necessary. The Boy seems interested in the concept.

So today I thought I'd see how he felt about the execution.

The ICDIM came from The Boy's dawning realization that he now has a reason to pull down his pants. There was a lot of pant readjustment, sitting and standing.

Oh, my genius boy, I thought to myself. He's going to be trained in a week and all will be self-sufficiency and pride.

You have to give me my flights of fancy.

It was a great ten minutes until he figured out the potty can be disassembled. Yes, that's right. It's a bowl, a toilet seat insert and a step stool. This was way better than some thing to sit on.

A list of Rules burst from my mouth:
The pot stays in the seat (it does not go on your head).
Nothing goes in the pot, through the seat or into the base that isn't poop, pee or paper.
It is not a truck.
It is not a tractor.
It is not a boat.

What finally got through: The potty is a tool just like the lawnmower and the chainsaw. You use it for only one thing.

So the party may be over.

But I think a new one has begun.