Potty Regression

Enjoying some lipgloss she received from her Ninang Glenda that I had been hiding until she is a little older because I feared exactly this situation. Of course, my little detective found it and went to town spreading it all over her face, neck, shirt, hair, and even her bug bites for good measure.

Grace had a potty regression today and it's completely my fault. Last night after our guests went home, Mike called me to the bathroom when he found Grace washing her hands. In the toilet. I found it amusing, but before I could grab the camera, she put her wet hands to her face and started to 'wash' it. Yes, with toilet water. That's when I started yelling, "Stop! Stop! Stoooooop!" Of course, it was too late and I didn't accomplish anything but scaring the poor child.

Then this morning, I stood in shock when Grace went to flush the toilet and innocently watched the water swirl around the bowl before sticking her finger in the swirling water and blessed herself with it, complete with an "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

At the entrance of our church, there is a fountain of holy water where you can dip your fingers in and bless yourself by doing the sign of the cross. Doing this is Grace's second favorite thing to do in church, next to praying to Baby Jesus.

In all fairness to the child, the swirling toilet water DOES resemble the swirling water in the holy water fountain, so I see where she would make the connection.

When I finally came out of my shock, I shrieked, "Oh my G*d! Don't DO that!!" (Yes, I realize it's ironic that I'm taking the Lord's name in vain as my child is doing the sign of the cross. I am truly sorry, but it was the first thing out of my mouth.)

Again, all I did was startle the poor child. And scared her so much that she started crying and apologizing, "I'm sorry, Mama! I'm sorry!" Geez, talk about feeling incredibly guilty. After reassuring her that it was okay and doing some apologizing of my own for overreacting, I thought we were all good again.

But from that point on, she would have accidents in her underwear instead of using the potty. After the fourth straight 'accident' and her reluctance to use the potty when she has been doing so perfectly the past week, it finally dawned on me that I was probably the one to blame. Who wouldn't be a little traumatized when a crazy lady shrieks at you while you're just being naturally curious?

So after her nap, I resolved to make the bathroom a happy place once again. I bribed her in there with a reminder of treats- M&M's and lollipops- she could earn if she used the potty again. And when she finally went, I did the potty song and dance for her like I used to do.

Thankfully, it worked because we are back on track. Now I just have to consciously remind myself to keep calm about these kinds of things. It's just water after all. And instances like these are what baths and antibacterial soap is for.

We spent a good 2 hours playing with play dough this afternoon. Her favorite game we played was "Ice Cream Showers". Basically I roll up the dough into balls and stick them onto popsicle sticks so it looks like an ice cream cone. I admire her ice cream cone by saying, "Mmmmmmm, ice cream tower!" Then she drops it on the floor while I yell out, "Ooops! Ice cream shower!" She thinks it's hilarious.