Natali is pretty easy. I’ve been around a few kids. I know we have it easy.
She loves Elmo…currently….I might hip her to something different soon.
On her Ipad (yeah our 21 month old has an Ipad….remember we are raising a geek!) she has several Elmo videos along with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos.
One of her favorite videos is Elmo’s Potty Time.
Kelli has more experience with potty training Natali than me…it just happened that way.
Over the last week Natali has watched that Elmo’s Potty Time at least 4 times. She knows “Pee Pee and Poo Poo”. She even knows what the words mean.
This week is Father and Daughter week as I have the whole week off. It’s the Daddy and Daughter game everyday…no daycare this week!
Several times a day while home she has said “Pee Pee, Poo Poo , Potty” and pointed toward the restroom. Off we go, I plop her down on the her potty and she then says , “Daddy Pee Pee!” and points to the toilet. Fine…down I sit.
Up until tonight we both just sit there. Tonight AFTER her bath I was drying her off when she pointed to her potty and again said, “Daddy Pee Pee Potty”. Ok I put her down…she directed me to go as well.
Natali sat there for a moment and I could tell she was trying to go. She squirmed a bit. Sure enough out came the pee. She waited a few more moments and waved her hands “all done.” Nice.
So far we’ve only had #1′s no #2s. Not bad for a a kid basically training herself through Elmo videos. I am somewhat confident she will be trained by age 2. Small baby steps.
Also of note today…no nap. They are slowly going away. I’m going to miss them.
Being a parent means experiencing millions of tiny moments. Moments of happiness. Moments of terror. Moments of disgust. Millions of moments.
Most of the moments occur between parent and child and are rarely ever shared.
I was really unsure if I would like being a parent. I knew I was a pretty good husband. I enjoyed being a husband. But could I be a parent? Would I enjoy being a parent? Could I be a…dare I say it… a dad?
Natali is quickly approaching 2 years old. It’s crazy to think how fast time has gone by. This blog is approaching 5 years old. Those who’ve read this for a while know the difference in age is due to a few bumps on the road to becoming parents.
Anyways back to the moments. I enjoy them all. The happy ones just as much as the disgusting ones. Okay that’s not true the happy ones are a little better.
Tonight a happy moment occurred….just between Natali and myself….but it filled me with such joy I felt the need to share it with you.
I put Natali to bed and she was restless as normal. I watched her toss and turn on the camera for about 20 minutes. I decided to go pick her up and rest in the recliner in her room. The room was dark and cool. Just the sound of the white noise machine in the background.
As she laid on my shoulder she gently patted my shoulder then rubbed it….the same way I sometimes pat her back and then rub it in a circular motion. Natali then raised her head and just looked into my eyes. After a few seconds she laid back down and patted my shoulder again. I couldn’t help but smile. Another moment of happiness.
Natali REALLY likes the iPad we passed down to her. She has quickly learned how to use it for entertainment and learning. In addition to playing her Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos she plays a few educational games. Normally she is 5 out of 5 on getting the right animal on this game (main app is Phone 4 Kids) She did make one error this time.
