Thing 3
That was the question I asked after this exchange. We were in the bathroom and Thing 3, who is finally, it appears, ready to use the potty for good.
The scene: sitting on the potty, he’s a little frustrated because he can’t go.
Thing 3, in a concerned, whining voice: Daddy, my penis is smooshed. I want a new one.
Thing 3 definitely marches to his own beat. Every 3 year old pretty much does that, except Thing 3 takes it to a new level. This kid has a unique way of expressing himself which provides endless amusement for us.
I took Thing 3 to his allergist appointment late this afternoon. Doctor appointments are an adventure with him. And by adventure, I mean they are usually filled with screaming and tantrums. He was actually quite good today and even let the nurse weigh and measure him. Still, it had been a long day with Thing 2 home sick and Thing 4 sent home early with pink eye. This was the exchange we had when we got into the car to head home.
Me: Let’s go home. I’m ready to drink some wine. Should we do that?
Thing 3: Daddy, we don’t whine. No whining.
I guess all the times we’ve been telling him to stop whining have sunk in. Sort of.
Thing 3 (to Thing 2): You are NOT my brother anymore. You’re a duck.
Most people would not take this as a compliment. But to Thing 3, ducks are sacred. He likes to feed them, touch them, run after them, and read books about ducks.
Every night he sleeps with two duck stuffed animals and each day he takes them with him to preschool.
If Thing 3 could be a duck, he would. So calling his brother a duck I can only assume is a high compliment.
Parenting is full of potentially life-altering, important decisions. Today I am faced with one of those crucial, everything rides on it, can’t take the pressure I need a drink kind of decisions.
Thing 3 needs new shoes. His current ones, Spiderman sneakers that light up, are worn and have holes in the front. People are going to start thinking we don’t care about the well being of his feet. Or that times are tough and we can’t afford new ones.
No, we are just avoiding the inevitable struggle that happens when we get him a new anything. Thing 3 is not exactly easygoing when it comes to change. He refuses to drink milk out of any cup but a blue one with an orange top. And this weekend he watched the same DVD a dozen times in a row. So you can imagine what getting new shoes is like.
I know what you are thinking. Get him the same exact shoes he has now. Duh. Well, a trip to Target didn’t find them in stock anymore. And not surprisingly he didn’t find anything else to his liking. Although, he wasn’t so polite in his refusal. It was more like “Nooooooooooooo!” followed by a face down in the middle of the store episode.
On to Plan B – order them online. Surely some store must have Spiderman light up sneakers in toddler size 9? Not so lucky. The only ones I can find are in size 7.
Now I’m left with one of those life altering decisions. Do I get a different Spiderman sneaker that doesn’t light up? Do I go with similar light up sneakers but with a different character? If so, which one? I found a Batman shoe that looks a lot like the Spiderman one but I don’t know how he’ll react to Batman. What about Toy Story 3 sneakers that light up? Sure, he loves, loves, loves Buzz Lightyear but for some reason refuses to wear a Buzz shirt. Lightning McQueen? Touchy subject around here.
What to do? What to do?
A simple picture can tell you a lot. With just a little bit of context, this picture gives a lot of information. It was taken last Sunday late in the afternoon when he had just had a bath. Yes, Thing 3 is crying, but it wasn’t because he was hurt.? I can’t remember exactly why.? It was probably because I had given him the “wrong” color towel.
Ok, knowing this, what else can you tell from this picture?? Scroll down to find out.
1. Thing 3 skipped his nap today.
2. He’s going to have an early bedtime tonight.
3. Forget about trying to sit down for dinner tonight.? It’ll be chips and salsa until after 8pm when they are hopefully all in bed.
4. Happy hour starts now for SuburbanDaddy and Mommy
Crawling is an exciting milestone and Thing 4 is getting close. These pictures show how close.
But these pictures also hint at trouble on the way. Sure, crawling means she will start getting into stuff around the house so we need to watch her at all times. But the trouble that’s coming isn’t for me. We’ve got the baby proofing pretty well down by now.
No, the trouble that is coming is for Thing 3. His world is about to get turned upside down. Until now, he has been the one getting into his brothers’ stuff. And as the youngest he generally gets his way.? That’s about to change.
Do you see in the pictures what is motivating Thing 4 to crawl?? She is trying to get one of Thing 3’s toys.? Until now he didn’t care much what she was doing. ? But as soon as she takes one of his toys he will NOT be happy. And that will be Trouble with a capital T.? Thing 4 is going to be one tough little girl.
Six year olds have a way of cutting right to the point and asking whatever comes across their mind. While I was battling with Thing 3 one morning to change his Pull-Up and get dressed for preschool (a daily occurrence that I can count on as sure as the sun coming up), Thing 1 asked me “When will Thing 3 be potty trained?”
Ah, yes, when indeed. We have been engaged in potty training Thing 3 since the bootcamp back in July. We’re now well into October and while there has been definite progress since then, we are very far from declaring mission accomplished.
How much progress? He generally will go potty 3-4 times a day now at preschool. Except when he decides he doesn’t want to for whatever reason. What reasons could he have for wanting to be in a wet Pull-Up when he knows how to use the potty? This is Thing 3, remember. It might be the wrong day of the week, or he could be wearing the wrong color shirt, or he might not like how the teacher asked him, or he may have heard a sound he doesn’t like. At home, he still wants no part of the potty except the last few nights he has gone just before bed like his brothers. Oh yeah, he still has yet to poop in a potty, preferring to do his business in the Pull-Ups.
It’s one step forward, two steps back.? Sometimes I think Thing 4 may be potty trained before her brother even with the nearly 3 year head start.
Disclosure: I get paid as a Pull-Ups Potty Training Partner.