My Brilliant Kids
Sat the local zoo had a promotion where Dora and Diego from the nickelodeon series were going to be at the zoo. I had been looking for something I could do for them since I missed Big W's birthday earlier this month and without an oven I have been feeling extremely guilty about not being able to make him a cake. So I thought about the zoo, temps were supposed to be around 45 F and though rain was expected it was thought to wait till Sunday, which thankfully it did. But what decided me to finally take them was the Dora promotion.
So I drive the hour to the zoo and we get there around 10. The cafe / gift shop where they were at was PACKED so I figured we would wait on that. Close to lunch I finally mentioned it to Little T, she turned 3 in November, and was REALLY excited. So we head over there and manage to make it through the crowd which was much smaller but still pretty decent, and it is her turn to go and give Dora a hug. So I turn to her and tell her "Its your turn Honey, do you want to give Dora a hug?" She has the strangest look on her face when she tells me "No thank you." Big W is no different, they both just kinda look at this costumed cartoon character with a look I just can't figure out. But hey I'm not going to push them and we head out to see other parts of the zoo.
Oh it must have been about an hour or two, most of the animals are still being kept indoors due to the temperature and so we haven't seen much. Including the elephants which really upset her, she apparently had her heart set on seeing the elephants. I mention that we are going to be heading back by where Dora was and ask if she would like to see her. She turns to me and in the most calm reasonable tone of voice says, "That's not Dora, Mommy."
I am pretty sure at this point I might have looked pretty silly, I look over at Big W and he just kinda nods (I have no idea if this is in response to her comment or if he was just nodding at something else, but his expression was just as serious). So I ask, "what makes you say that Sweety?"
With just dead pan deliverance she responds, "She's too big." What can you say to that. The logic is completely irrefutable. I may have laughed I don't remember, but I agreed. The worst part about this incident is the fact that no one was there to witness it. It was brilliant.
So we had a really good day at the zoo, we stayed until four. And though Big W isn't too the point where he expresses his joy as verbally as Little T, I think he had fun as well. He insisted on pulling the wagon, which had our food and diaper bag and the like in it, for almost half the day. In fact I had the almost fight him to get him to let me pull when it was time to leave. It wasn't easy for him either, half the time, either Little T or I would push the wagon to help him make it up the hills. The man manning the gate when we left just couldn't help grinning at us and telling me he had never seen that before.
The following day we did our weekly shopping. As has become my habit, when we were at Target I stopped by the little kid under wear and showed them to Little T, telling her that when she stopped going potty in her diaper we could get her some. As we were talking about how it would help her be a big girl, a woman came to get a set for her daughter, WHO COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 18 MONTHS. I asked the lady how she had managed it and she said the little girl basically did it herself. I don't think I asked Little T why she couldn't be like that, but I did say something along the lines of, if she can do it, you can do it.
I was about to put the package back up, when Little T insisted we buy them. I told her that if we bought them she would have to start using them. To which she readily agreed. As a result she is now wearing them.
We had an accident last night after putting them on. And I'm told there was an accident this morning after I left. But she did sleep in them and did not wet the bed, and has requested to put a new pair on each time. She has also been understandably disturbed by the wetting incidents. I am hoping this is the turning point in the potty training train, but only time will tell.
Mind you the whole fact that my dad is watching the kids and having to deal with anything that might happen has me in knots. Its not that I don't trust him, but . . . I don't think he'll do as good a job as I would. I am considering taking the next two days off to potty train her, but I know it is not that big a deal, she will figure it out, with or without me.
My kids are brilliant, but I am in need of reassurance that nothing is going to happen to set her back or make her feel poorly. *breathes deeply*
So I drive the hour to the zoo and we get there around 10. The cafe / gift shop where they were at was PACKED so I figured we would wait on that. Close to lunch I finally mentioned it to Little T, she turned 3 in November, and was REALLY excited. So we head over there and manage to make it through the crowd which was much smaller but still pretty decent, and it is her turn to go and give Dora a hug. So I turn to her and tell her "Its your turn Honey, do you want to give Dora a hug?" She has the strangest look on her face when she tells me "No thank you." Big W is no different, they both just kinda look at this costumed cartoon character with a look I just can't figure out. But hey I'm not going to push them and we head out to see other parts of the zoo.
Oh it must have been about an hour or two, most of the animals are still being kept indoors due to the temperature and so we haven't seen much. Including the elephants which really upset her, she apparently had her heart set on seeing the elephants. I mention that we are going to be heading back by where Dora was and ask if she would like to see her. She turns to me and in the most calm reasonable tone of voice says, "That's not Dora, Mommy."
I am pretty sure at this point I might have looked pretty silly, I look over at Big W and he just kinda nods (I have no idea if this is in response to her comment or if he was just nodding at something else, but his expression was just as serious). So I ask, "what makes you say that Sweety?"
With just dead pan deliverance she responds, "She's too big." What can you say to that. The logic is completely irrefutable. I may have laughed I don't remember, but I agreed. The worst part about this incident is the fact that no one was there to witness it. It was brilliant.
So we had a really good day at the zoo, we stayed until four. And though Big W isn't too the point where he expresses his joy as verbally as Little T, I think he had fun as well. He insisted on pulling the wagon, which had our food and diaper bag and the like in it, for almost half the day. In fact I had the almost fight him to get him to let me pull when it was time to leave. It wasn't easy for him either, half the time, either Little T or I would push the wagon to help him make it up the hills. The man manning the gate when we left just couldn't help grinning at us and telling me he had never seen that before.
The following day we did our weekly shopping. As has become my habit, when we were at Target I stopped by the little kid under wear and showed them to Little T, telling her that when she stopped going potty in her diaper we could get her some. As we were talking about how it would help her be a big girl, a woman came to get a set for her daughter, WHO COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 18 MONTHS. I asked the lady how she had managed it and she said the little girl basically did it herself. I don't think I asked Little T why she couldn't be like that, but I did say something along the lines of, if she can do it, you can do it.
I was about to put the package back up, when Little T insisted we buy them. I told her that if we bought them she would have to start using them. To which she readily agreed. As a result she is now wearing them.
We had an accident last night after putting them on. And I'm told there was an accident this morning after I left. But she did sleep in them and did not wet the bed, and has requested to put a new pair on each time. She has also been understandably disturbed by the wetting incidents. I am hoping this is the turning point in the potty training train, but only time will tell.
Mind you the whole fact that my dad is watching the kids and having to deal with anything that might happen has me in knots. Its not that I don't trust him, but . . . I don't think he'll do as good a job as I would. I am considering taking the next two days off to potty train her, but I know it is not that big a deal, she will figure it out, with or without me.
My kids are brilliant, but I am in need of reassurance that nothing is going to happen to set her back or make her feel poorly. *breathes deeply*