22 months: Tinkle, Tinkle Little Star!

Today Daniel is 22 months old.  This past month has seen a dramatic expansion of his vocabulary and verbal skills.  Literally, he probably says at least one new word a day.  And he's starting to use more and more phrases too, including "Bye-bye Mama," "one more thing," "Mimi blanket," "Daddy reach it," and, as of the other day, "peepee potty."  (More on that one in a minute.)  It's amazing and exciting to watch him learn so much and communicate so well.

The other day Daniel was playing with his Scout toy and it was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  Daniel began to sing along, "Tinkle tinkle, star."  It was the first time we'd ever heard him sing, and it was so cute!

Then, Sunday night, he brought new meaning to tinkle tinkle.  Lately he's been saying "peepee" and "poopoo" a lot, and takes great interest in watching us use the potty (to be the parent of a toddler is to have no toilet privacy).  So I bought him a little training potty and that night we let him try it out.  The plan was just to "offer" it, giving him a chance to see and sit on it but not pressuring.  At first he needed help to position himself properly on the seat but within a few minutes he was confidently sitting on the seat positioned properly behind the splash guard.  Then, as we were applauding that achievement, we heard the telltale sign that he was actually using the potty.  Needless to say, that got even more cheers.  He was so proud of himself, clapping his hands, smiling, and saying "yaaaay!"  Tinkle tinkle little star, indeed.

With that, potty training has officially commenced in our house!  As I was shopping for the potty I thought, "wow are we really here already?"  Yes, yes we are.  Wow, my baby is already potty training.

Today we offered the potty morning and night. He sat on it both times but didn't produce. No worries, right now it's just about acclimating him and giving him the option.  Given that he will only be staying with Grandma during the day for a little longer, we aren't going to bother trying to integrate potty training into his day there.  But, once he starts school, his school will help with potty training, so I expect him to make great strides then.  Hopefully, getting used to the idea at home will help him respond better to it at school.

The other day Daniel fell asleep on the way home from Grandma's house.  I realized he had been quiet for awhile and then heard gentle snoring coming from the back seat.  I drove around a few extra minutes to give him more sleep time and expected him to wake once we pulled into the garage.  But he was still sound asleep, snoozing away, despite my efforts to wake him.  So instead, I pulled out my phone and recorded him for awhile.  As you can see, even after I woke him up he still tried to go back to sleep.  Tired boy!