Abracadabra

"Abracadabra, I'm going to turn you into a cat!"

This is a new favorite game. Turning me into a cat (or a dog), then asking me to turn her into a cat (or a dog). In general, she is very into pretending to be someone or something else. Sometimes she is a baby and likes to be carried and rocked and pretends to nurse. Sometimes she is a mommy to her dolls and stuffed animals. And when she's pretending to be a dog, we play "fetch" and she brings the ball back in her mouth. :)

Potty training is going well. I must say, though, that the term "potty training" implies that the parent is doing something to train the child to use the bathroom, as if there is some sort of methodology. As it turns out, just about everything I've read is completely contradictory to that. In fact, the child is actually the one in charge, and any pushing by the parent before the child is ready is bound to be counterproductive. Hana is on her own timetable and process for this one. She's got all the skills and awareness necessary to use the potty, but motivation has been intermittent.

Today, we had a break though, which I attribute to what was probably a lot of healthy peer pressure to use the potty at preschool this week. She ran around the house after her bath for 3 hours naked today, and spontaneously used the potty three times during that period!! Two of those times, she insisted on doing the whole thing completely on her own, and wouldn't even let me in the bathroom. I could hear her going through all the steps - peeing, wiping, dumping it in the big potty, flushing the toilet, putting the lid down, and washing and drying her hands. She was very proud of herself for doing the whole process from start to finish.

Sleeping in the big girl bed, on the other hand, is pretty much on hold. We still have the pack n play, so that's her night time home for now.