Happy New Year AND Adventures in Public Bathrooms

As we ring in 2012, Aaron is becoming a talking machine (well maybe not a machine, but he's getting new words every day), and Mudgie is as entertaining as ever. Aaron has been nodding his head "yes" and "no" for a couple weeks now, as well as saying "no," and it's amazing what a difference the ability to answer yes or no questions makes in terms of communication!

The boys were only at daycare for 2 days this week, and we had some great family time. On Monday, Auntie Lisa came to visit, and we had Christmas #4 (the fun never ends)! Mudgie is really enjoying playing with all the family that has been visiting, and it's so nice to see those relationships blossoming. On Friday we used our new membership to the Discovery Museum in Acton. Both the boys loved the train room, and enjoyed playing in the big train, saying, "all aboard!" Aaron tried to eat all the food in the kitchen, and shared really nicely with all the other kids. He also climbed into the little "infant" area, laid down on a bear blanket in there, and started sucking his thumb, like that was there for him! Mudgie was more in his own little world, but he had a great time as well, and I'm sure we'll be making good use of that membership!

While we've been doing a lot of playing, apparently Mudgie has also been watching too much Lion King. He got the movie for Christmas, and he loves it. However, I'm not sure it's 100% appropriate for him. Why? Because when Dave was putting him down for a nap the other day, he said to him, "Now, let me tell you my little secret. I killed Mommy. Murderer!" Creepy, huh?

Now, onto the "Adventures in Public Bathrooms." While I realize that if you are not a parent of a child under the age of 5, discussions of what happens in the bathroom may not be part of your normal conversation, and I'm sorry if this is not your thing, but to me, this story was too funny not to share. We were out to dinner, and Mudgie kept asking if the restaurant (or "west-a-want" as he pronounces it) had a bathroom. We told him it did, and kept asking if he needed to use it, but he kept saying no. Finally, at the end of the meal, he said he had to go.

I take him into the bathroom, and the handicapped stall is occupied, so we squeeze into a regular stall, but we can't both fit in there and close the door, so I just leave it open. He tells me he has to go poopie, and asks if there is a seat for him to use (meaning a special "small" seat that sits on the big potty like we have at home). When I tell him there isn't, he stares at the toilet, debating what to do. I ask him if he can wait until we get home, but he says no. Then, all of a sudden, he has to go really bad, and he's struggling to get his pants off. As I'm helping him, he's farting up a storm and I'm just hoping he can hold until he gets on the toilet! We get him up onto the seat, and he's supporting himself on the toilet with one hand on either side of the seat (gross, I know, but there weren't a lot of other options). Since his hands are occupied, he asks me to push his pee-pee down so his pee goes in the toilet. Now he's pooping and lets out a big fart. I laugh (like I'm 10 years old), and Mudgie tells me that poopie isn't silly, and that I shouldn't laugh. He also tells me that I don't need to close to door on the stall, because he doesn't need his privacy at the restaurant, only at home.

Finally, he's done and it's time to wash our hands. However, the toilet flushing is loud, and Mudgie really doesn't like it. And there are other people in the bathroom, so he's constantly worried about someone else flushing the toilet. He wants to use his hands to cover his ears, but after all that toilet touching, he really needs to wash them. So as I'm trying to wash his hands, he trying to use his arms to cover his ears. At last, we are done. We get back to the table and Mudgie says, "That was fascinating!" It sure was, Mudgie Man!