Yes I am weird enough to post this picture on the blog -- hey there are grandparents out there reading this! We have to recognize Sophia's big milestone, after all -- her first day of potty training. Not too bad really -- we located a suitable potty chair and pulled out one of her Christmas gifts early ("Once Upon a Potty" - thanks to Aunt Mary) and five minutes after we got home she had had her first (and regrettably, only) success of the day. Some challenges of this process are going to be our mobile, pedestrian lifestyle, and the high cost of pull ups (twice as much as diapers), not to mention the dire condition of most public restrooms, but on the plus side -- its not my carpeting and toddlers are running around in spilt pants peeing on the sidewalk anyway (see previous posts on split pants -- hey maybe I'll get some!) And she does seem somewhat ready -- verbal, dry for long periods and naps, convinced she is a big girl, etc. The Chinese do this very young-- beginning really in the first year when the caregiver learns to read the baby's signals and position them accordingly. So by 18 months they are done and pretty self sufficient. Sophia is big for a 2 year old here and the oldest child in China still wearing diapers, and she is right at the upper edge of the largest size -- so the die is cast! Helen's tutor was completely entranced by "Once Upon a Potty" with its cute, yet graphic illustrations of the process and to quote-- "we would never have this book!"
This is all part of my master plan to wheedle Sophia's way into the nursery school on campus a few mornings a week next semester. She misses the birthday cut-off by 3 weeks, but if I can just get her toilet trained I think they would maybe work around that. I am itching to enroll in a more intensive Chinese course, but would surely need more time to do it than Michael can really spare, so we'll see what unfolds.
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