Every parent has many moments of joy and laughter with their children. Every toddler does these really sweet things. Yet each child has in stock some magical surprise for his/ her parents. And when you stand there, watching your toddler do that little something that takes your breath away – the joy of parenthood is complete!
Especially in the age (about two years to two and a half years of age – Jonathan's age now) in which toddlers still do not speak perfectly and communication is hard – it is most amazing to see how much they learn – always. Children are like a sponge, so the books say, and it is these special “great moments of learning ” that show us how true that saying is. I experienced three of these with Jonathan today and I am happy to utilize my 101st blog entry by sharing them with you.
The first moment of learning was that when Jonathan got up today, he walked alone to the bathroom, placed his toilet seat on the toilet, removed his diaper and sat himself on the toilet and then did both “big” and “small”. This is not the first time Jonathan uses the toilet, and we are however also very far from the end of his “potty training” and yet this routine like “getting up and going to the toilet first thing” was simply so very cute! He later balanced this perfect record by peeing 4 times in one hour in the living room in the afternoon and totally refusing to go to the toilet in order to pee, but also refusing to put on a diaper again. One of the kindergarten teachers said to me that not only the toddler must be ready for “potty training”, but also the parents. Parents must be ready to face the challenges of cleaning after “mistakes” that may occur any place. After chasing Jonathan off the couch today, I have a more complete understanding what she meant. Yes, potty training is also difficult for the parents not only challenging for the child.
The second great learning moment of the day was that Jonathan insisted on putting in a washing machine. To be more exact, he wanted me to open the cupboard in which the washing soap is. He likes the giant bottle that houses the softener. I explained he needs something to wash in order to use the soap – so he helped me fill in the washing machine. Then he helped me close it and pour in the various soaps - last but not last the softener, and then he turned the machine on.
The third and especially magical moment entails the fact that I found Jonathan this afternoon in the kitchen, standing on a chair near the sink. Then he took the sponge and put soap on it, turned the tap on and was trying to wash the dishes. He did this alone, I was not in the kitchen, and we have never discussed dishes before. This is a totally “self learning” action. Learning by watching mom wash the dishes every day. More is the pity that it did not occur to me to run and get my camera to record my new and oh so cute “dishwasher”.
I asked him what he wants and why is he washing the dishes, Jonathan said he wanted juice to drink. It also looked like he was enjoying playing with the running water. For the reason of saving water (Israel is a hot land, we need every drop) I stopped the dish washing charade (hence no camera...) and explained that water is not a game. Then Jonathan assisted me in preparing his juice – he remained standing on the chair and helped me pour apple syrup into his drinking bottle. And that was the end of today's kitchen performance. It was also the last of the day's magical moments, as I spent the rest of the day cleaning puddles of pee (my husband calling for me in panic every time a “great peeing moment” occurred), rolling up the carpets (despite Jonathan efforts that they remain where they are) and arguing with an obstinate “toilet refusing” little boy.
Yes! If you have not yet guessed – we are on the first trails of the potty training process. But potty training is not all bad, even in the hardest moments, one finds a sense of fun. Both Jonathan and I were laughing when I chased him through the living room in order to clean him up (after he made a big doo doo in his pants) and to prevent his smearing poo on the couch. He got a bit smeared despite my efforts (how fast can a poo chasing mommy move?) but the good news is, the couch fabric is easily cleaned! As we face the challenge of teaching our first born to use the toilet and control his bowels, its nice to know that our furniture is inexpensive and that it cleans easily...
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