Potty time

Patrick and I potty trained Liam during the week of 4th of July while the 4 of us were in Tahoe.  It was a grueling week trying to get him over his fear of the toilet in general (due to the flushing noise it makes), and then of pooping in the toilet.  He was convinced the toilet would suck him down the drain and would really only approach the commode holding an adult's hand at first.  Potty training him to pee in the toilet proved to be fairly easy as all little boys seem to enjoy spraying their pee around like a fireman with a hose.  However, we spent one hideous day of that trip trying to convince him to poop in the toilet and not his undies.  Finally after literally 5 hours of crying and whining, and Patrick and I tag-teaming in and out of the bathroom,  he pooped and announced:  "that was easy!"

Fast forward to today, and Liam pretty much manages his bathroom business himself.  He still needs help to reach the sink to wash his hands, as well as wiping himself.  This week he discovered that he can get his own undies and pants pulled up and down.  That made him really proud!

Well, today I had a meeting for the Village Connection at his preschool.  I had him bring a bunch of trains to play with just outside the conference room in an empty classroom.  It was very quiet outside the room as I chatted with our Associate Pastor, the Director of the Preschool, and the Director of Children's Ministries.  Suddenly the door to our conference room swung open and the first thing I could see was toilet paper.  A big streamer of toilet paper festooned my son's hands, complete with poop marks on it.  I popped up to grab him and realized that his pants were down around his ankles as well.  So to recap, my preschooler entered my business-like meeting (in which I had dressed nicely and put makeup on for) nude from the waist down holding poop-covered toilet paper he had wiped his butt with.  Classy!  Everyone in the meeting was howling with laughter as I picked him up and he announced that he had done a huge log of poop and I really needed to see it.  Fantastic!  Thanks for making me look professional honey!

At least he cleaned himself up and pooped in an actual toilet.  That was a huge accomplishment for a 2 year old, and I am proud even though I re-entered my meeting a little red in the face.  Oh Liam!