"I am Going to Run Away"

You know you have arrived as a parent when one of those two sentences is spoken to you:

1.  I hate you.
2.  I am going to run away.

Today, Christian informed me he is going to run away (because I informed him that when we got home, he would be taking a nap because his poor attitude clearly indicated he was in need of a nap).

First I got tears and promises of an improved behavior.  When I didn't budge, he brought out all he had:

"Mommy, I am going to run away."

"Mommy, you don't want to play with me.  You don't think I am handsome, you think I am ugly.  I am going to call Papa and tell him you're being mean to us.  You don't think I am smart.  You don't believe in me."

He did start to say, "I don't like you."   But he stopped before he finished his sentence because a while back, I gave him the "what for" for repeatedly telling me he didn't l me.  He knows better now than to say, I don't like (or love) you

At 6 1/2 years old ... I know this is just the beginning. :)

It is the Little (Stinky) Things That Count ...

Christian is now 6 1/2 and sometimes I still feel like he's potty training because he rarely initiates going to the bathroom, and he goes poop once a day - with Jonathan present and while sitting on the potty seat that goes over our adult toilet.  That potty seat is designed for toddlers learning how to go potty.

But, we have just made a big leap and I am so excited I had to do a blog post about it.

One day last week, we arrived home and he disappeared down the hall for a few minutes.  When he eventually returned to the living room, he was very excited, "Mommy, I went poo poo in the toilet all by myself!!!"

Naturally, I thought the translation was:  "Mommy, I had an accident."  Nope!

He proudly showed me his deposit in the toilet and pointed out that he sat on the toilet without the toddler seat.   I simply could not believe it!

And today it happened again.  We sent him to go potty and he returned after a few minutes, announcing the'd gone poo poo all by himself.  And sure enough, he had!

He has also been announcing that he needs to go potty and runs down the hall.  He is finally initiating bathroom breaks!

And that, dear readers, is a very exciting development in this household!