Potty Time!

It's time to wean Eli from the diaper, and no one is quite as excited about that as I am. I hope the excitement holds. We've been going at it in fits and starts. I know that's all wrong... consistency is the key. Just try to be consistent with two perpetual motion machines, and one perpetual eating machine. So, I do my best. Eli is running about pant-less, and it's a bit like having a puppy. He's very cute, and every once in a while he makes a disgusting mess. Then there's the times when he tells me, "Mommy, I have to go potty," but he's already peeing by the time he says 'go'. Of course when he does make it to the potty, it's a major celebration complete with clapping, jumping, and even a little squealing. He really wants to be a big boy, complete with Spiderman undies like Kaj's. Unfortunately, if anything is on his bottom he goes with impunity. I've never seen a kid less concerned with wet pants. I don't remember Kaj being so hard to train. Then again I don't remember how painful childbirth is either, which probably explains why I was willing to do it three times in four years. When I get too tired of cleaning up messes I'll strap a diaper back on his bottom for a while until I can stand it again.

He is actually getting much better about avoiding accidents. It's just unfortunate that anytime we go out, or the entire week we were on vacation we had to put potty training on hold. It has helped somewhat to have older brother as a good example, but also hindered because we can't focus just on Eli. That, I imagine, is the plight of the middle child forever and always. Neither my husband or I would really know, since we are both oldest siblings.

Something funny about having three boys. Everyone asks if we're trying again for a girl. First of all, that's a great way to end up with a starring role in 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'. I really don't think that 'I want a girl' is a good reason to keep having more and more children. I wanted two things when we started our family: healthy, happy children, and more than one child. So far so good. For a while I wanted four children. Now that I have three... well, it's hard to say for certain in the aftermath of birth, because the very idea of getting pregnant again gives me the shudders, but I think three is company, four's a crowd.