Day 2

I'm back from tutoring (thank you Jamie, for coming over and looking after Lilly) and want to write a quick update on day 2 of potty training. I have to say that I'm so proud of Lilly! When I looked at her today, I kept seeing a little girl. Our little baby is gone, and in her place, we have an almost 2-year-old who can communicate her thoughts and ideas--actually, she communicates pretty much every thought that comes into her head...all day long--but that's beside the point. I started off yesterday morning with no idea how this whole potty training thing would work out, and at the end of the day today, I can confidently say that it's working! Lilly had one accident all morning, and then NONE this afternoon. We even ventured out of the house this afternoon and went for a walk to the grocery store and to return a few things, and she made it--accident free. Granted, it's a little bit more unrelaxing to go out at the moment. Poor Lilly is probably so sick of me asking her whether she has to go to the bathroom...but it's working so I'll keep doing it. We made two bathroom stops while we were out, and luckily for Lilly, as an avid bathroom goer myself, I know where the bathrooms are in pretty much every place we enter. Even though I was dying to take pictures of Lilly in these bathrooms, I've decided that I have to draw the line somewhere, so the bathroom pictures have stopped. They were just a first day thing. But I can tell you that she was extremely proud of herself for using these bathrooms that weren't her own.

I'm so proud of Lilly. I'm thrilled. And sad. All at once. I can't believe she's old enough to be out of diapers. Every day, in a frame on a shelf above her toys, I see one of my favorite pictures--the picture of Lilly and Jim asleep at the hospital on the day she was born, with more spiky hair than I even remember her having--and I can't believe she's the same little girl. Our little girl. She's a little girl who is old enough to realize that her dad is away for the week, and old enough to be a little bit sad about it. When I took her out of the bath tonight, she said, "Daddy, window? Not yet. Friday." She usually gets out of the bath, into her pajamas, and waits at her bedroom window for Jim to come home so we can all have dinner, but when she went to the window last night and tonight, I had to tell her that Jim's away until Friday. She has no idea when Friday is, but she knows that is when she gets to see her dad again. We've talked to Jim a few times, and each time, she says, "Daddy, go home? Window?" That's Lilly's way of telling Jim to come home. It's hard for me to hear, and I know it's even harder for Jim. I can't wait to see their little reunion on Friday. They definitely have a special relationship. So, Jim, if you're reading this, "go home peese."