26 Months

The Beaner turned 26 months old yesterday. I celebrated by giving him a haircut and putting him in underpants. He spent all day Saturday in underpants with only one notable accident, and after staying dry in his Pull-Up all day Sunday (when we went on a 3-hour car trip) and Monday, I decided he was ready for daily underpants. As on Saturday we had one notable accident, but other than that it went *really* well. We still have a little work to do before I'm ready to declare him completely toilet trained—he's still wearing, and wetting, a regular diaper at night, for example—but we're on our way, and we're very proud of him for what he's accomplished so far.

The fact that he's telling us when he has to go is HUGE. I still ask him occasionally, and I and the nannies always take him before leaving the house and upon returning whether he's announced he has to go or not, but the fact that, for example, he told me he had to go after about 20 minutes of bedtime snuggling last night was key. He did, in fact, have to go. Tonight he said he had to pee twice after getting out of the tub, and he went both times—once quite a bit, and once just a dribble. The important thing is that he knows what it feels like to have to go.

Anyway, enough of the toilet news. Also big in the Beaner's world right now is The Great Jeep Rescue (also sometimes referred to as The Grate Jeep Rescue). Observe the little black Jeep in the Beaner's left hand in the following video:


About 15 minutes after I shot this video, here's what happened to the Jeep:

jeep down the gratejeep down the grate
The first shot was intended to show the Jeep clearly; the second was intended to show how far down it was.
The second didn't really do its job, so I estimated for Al that it was about 6 feet down.

After taking these photos, sadly we had to abandon the Jeep. The Beaner never stopped talking about it, though. "The Jeep fell down the grate?" he'd ask, and I said, "Yes, honey, I'm sorry. Maybe we'll get another one someday." Al actually ordered him another one online that very night, but he also couldn't stop thinking about it. Two nights later he proposed that we stage a rescue.

We got an extendible pole from the garage, and Al stuck a wad of duct tape on the end of it. We tested it at home to see if it was strong enough to pick up a toy Jeep (it was), and I judged it to be long enough to reach down into the pit under the grate. Al got a heavy duty flashlight, and we headed out with our supplies, the Beaner, and the stroller. When we arrived at the grate, I started videotaping the rescue operation... and ended up capturing much more than I thought I would. A man shouted from across the street, "whatchu got down there? I'll go down there for you!" and, long story short, he did. He jumped six feet down, got the Beaner's Jeep, and hoisted himself back out. I recorded the whole thing, but I've been reluctant to post it in case we broke anything (including any laws).

The video may not be public, but it's been viewed dozens of times already by the Beaner. He asks to see it several times a day, and he's learned how to click the Play button to play it again when it reaches the end. He narrates for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. He anticipates all the dialogue and says the lines before the characters in the video (i.e., me, Al, and the man) do. And he tells the story to everyone he meets. He told it to Jess before I'd had a chance to fill her in, holding up the Jeep and saying, "dis my old Jeep [as opposed to the new one we might get someday to replace the old one, which fell down the grate]. The man got it for you." (He meant "for me," obviously, but "you" and "me" is kind of a hard concept to explain.) Jess, a bit puzzled, replied, "oh, really? That's great!" The Beaner seized on this and, thinking she understood, followed up with, "YEAH! It fell down the grate!"

As far as growth goes, the Beaner's now squarely in size 3T clothes. He's roughly 37" tall and weighs about 35 lbs. by our measurements. I haven't a clue how big his head is, but his winter hat is a size 4-6 (though it's a wee bit too big). I thought over the weekend that he might have gone up a shoe size, too, since he was limping a bit when he walked, but when we arrived at the shoe store, he still measured at 7.5 (his current shoes are an 8). The reason for the occasional limping is still a mystery; at first we thought it was because the eczema on his legs was so bad that his pants hurt. After several days of regular lotioning the eczema has cleared up a bit, however, but the occasional limping continues. He claims nothing hurts, so I guess we'll just have to monitor it.

I think that's about all I haven't covered in previous posts and want to publicly, except to say that he's as cute as ever. Oh, and that he now seems able to take direction when I whip out the camera. He actually posed for these yesterday morning:

the breakthrough session 1 the breakthrough session 2 the breakthrough session 3 the breakthrough session 4 the breakthrough session 5 the breakthrough session 6 the breakthrough session 7

Posted by Lori in parenthood at 12:19 AM on February 1, 2007

Comments (5)

That boy! Is SO handsome. Wow.

What ratphooey said.

Hey, I know! Sell his services as a model! (Wouldn't that be the great life--carting him around for photo shoots at all hours of the day? bleah.) But I'm sure the agencies would be all over him!

TOO CUTE!

And, bwah wah wah... 26 months and daily underpants? I am terribly impressed and, of course, seething with jealousy. I've just had to move up to size six for my thirty-six-month-old. That's right! 3 years old today and absolutely no interest in pooping anywhere other than her pants. Nice.

Lori [TypeKey Profile Page]:

Considering that our boy is busting out of size 6 diapers (and regularly leaks through them at night), we almost had to start toilet training early to avoid Depends. ;)

The Beaner's cousin wasn't ready for toilet training until 3 1/2, but the good news is that it doesn't take nearly as long when they're older. His mom said they sat down, had a talk, and two weeks later they were done.

Happy Birthday to The Bird!!

Oh, everything about this is adorable. Smart kid: toilet trained and knows "backwards" and "forwards!"

Comments

That boy! Is SO handsome. Wow.

Posted by: ratphooey [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 1, 2007 6:08 AM

What ratphooey said.

Hey, I know! Sell his services as a model! (Wouldn't that be the great life--carting him around for photo shoots at all hours of the day? bleah.) But I'm sure the agencies would be all over him!

Posted by: juliloquy [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 1, 2007 11:14 AM

TOO CUTE!

And, bwah wah wah... 26 months and daily underpants? I am terribly impressed and, of course, seething with jealousy. I've just had to move up to size six for my thirty-six-month-old. That's right! 3 years old today and absolutely no interest in pooping anywhere other than her pants. Nice.

Posted by: madge at February 1, 2007 11:21 AM

Considering that our boy is busting out of size 6 diapers (and regularly leaks through them at night), we almost had to start toilet training early to avoid Depends. ;)

The Beaner's cousin wasn't ready for toilet training until 3 1/2, but the good news is that it doesn't take nearly as long when they're older. His mom said they sat down, had a talk, and two weeks later they were done.

Happy Birthday to The Bird!!

Posted by: Lori [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 1, 2007 11:35 AM

Oh, everything about this is adorable. Smart kid: toilet trained and knows "backwards" and "forwards!"

Posted by: Karianna [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 1, 2007 7:34 PM

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