Potty talk

I can't believe that "potty" has become such a common word in my vocabulary so quickly. Anya has lately been very interested in everything related to going to the bathroom. I guess somewhere along the way I started calling it "going to the potty," but I don't ever remember deciding to do that. But now she knows the word and also knows pretty much exactly what it involves. She points to the toilet and says "potty," she hands me toilet paper and would probably help me use it if I let her, she knows you open and close the lid, and how to flush. She has even occasionally waved into the toilet and said, "bye!"

The other thing that has helped her awareness of bodily functions is that we taught her the sign for diaper change a while ago. We actually got the suggestion from a friend to use the sign for toilet (instead of diaper change) and use it every time you change their diaper or see that they are working on pooping and to also do it when they see you going to the bathroom so that they associate all those actions together. She has used the sign on her own for several months now, but probably doesn't always do it at the right time. Sometimes I think she just wants her diaper changed because she wants someone to pay attention to her. But just recently we realized that she was doing it before she actually needed her diaper changed.

All of this made us realize that maybe we needed to take this moldable moment a step further and go buy Anya a little potty of her own. We picked one up on Saturday and she of course loved it because she loves sitting on anything that is her height. It didn't take much explaining for her to understand that it was a potty for her to use. And on Saturday afternoon she actually sat down and peed in it! We were pretty shocked. She continued to do it twice on Sunday and so far once today. It seems to help when I am also going to the bathroom at the same time. (Steve said he is glad it's me and not him.)

At this point we're just trying to keep it fun for her and not pressure her to use it. We're only asking her if she wants to go "potty" every now and then and just let her decide if she wants to. She seems really proud of herself when it happens, so we'll just keep it low key for now.