I usually don't split my blog entries into two topics, but these are the two things on my mind this week, so there you have it. Paul lost his first tooth on Monday, and it kind of jarred me. It was an outward sign that my middle boy is growing up.
Somehow, Paul's "middleness" has managed to make this fact escape my attention from time to time. It's easy to look and Ben and think, wow, he's 9 already, and look how tall he's gotten, how much he's learned. It's much the same with my youngest: my baby is getting so big! I don't seem to have those realizations as often with Paul.
But then something will arise, the biggies like starting kindergarten, or losing his first tooth, and I think, how did that happen so soon? It doesn't have to be a momentous occasion, though, come to think of it. It can be simple as watching Paul run from the car when I drop him off at school. Or the other day, I got to school early to pick up the boys, and I caught sight of Paul walking back to his classroom with his class, and it undid me a little bit, how far he's come. He's such a great, big-hearted kid. I was sick last night, and he told me that since I didn't feel well, I could use his new Jump Rope for Heart cup. (Of course I politely declined. Who wants sick germs on their new Jump Rope for Heart cup?) Did I mention that I love him so?
The sweet part leads me to the bitter: potty training. We began the process in earnest shortly after Gus turned 3, and in classic Gus fashion, it's been a bumpy ride ever since. (The picture above has nothing to do with potty training, just wacky Gus running around in his big boy underwear and Batman costume.) The potty part came fairly easily. The problem part is twofold, however: poop and an unwillingness on his part to actually tell me when he needs to go to the bathroom. Yes, he'll go on schedule when I set the timer, but getting a child fully trained is impossible until he recognizes on his own when it's time to go. He's incredibly stubborn and fights me almost every time potty break arrives. Like Ben was when I trained him, Gus is a focused player who doesn't want to stop for something so inconvenient as emptying his bladder.
I'm at my wits' end with the poop part because aside from a few isolated incidents of success, we seem to be hopelessly stalled. I've been through enough experiences like these to know that it seems really difficult right now, but it will come eventually. Yet I can't keep out of my mind that preschool starts in less than seven months, so we do have something of a deadline looming. Perhaps I've been a little lazy about watching him for signs that it's time to, you know. I guess maybe I need to buckle down and become a keen poop sign observer. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?
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