Poop

If this title offends you...read no further.

With a 3.5 year-old and a 1.5 year-old in the house, poop is an often visited topic. In fact, over the past week, feces has been the single-most attention-grabbing, party-throwing piece of waste in the room. And I mean this with all seriousness.

For the past 14 months our little Songbird has been totally potty-trained...when it comes to pee. She has always had an amazing ability to hold her bladder. In fact, after weeks of her waking up dry every morning, we decided that maybe she didn't even need to wear her diaper at night anymore? And that was all the transition it took. Not a single night-time or nap-time accident - it was almost too easy.

Then came the kicker. Songbird has been extremely sensitive - from birth - and there was something so terrifying to her about pushing her poop out into an open bowl. Give the girl a diaper and let her hide behind a tree or door - no problem at all. But tell her to sit over an open hole and it was like there was a scary man with a weed-eater hiding in the bottom of the toilet or something.

We have been praying with her that the Lord would take away her fear of pooping on the potty for about 14 months, and have tried almost every suggestion that has come our way. Even though the first several successful poops in the potty occurred through a strategically cut hole in her diaper, I think it was nothing more than sheer decision on the part of a strong-willed 3.5 year-old. One day she finally decided - hey, I can poop on the potty. We threw a big party, prayed many prayers of thanksgiving, took a special trip to Target to look for a new pink leotard, and now, a few days later, she is putting all her poop directly in the potty - as if it's no big deal.

Needless to say, it is quite a big deal to us, and we want to be mindful of giving God the glory for answered prayers, and sharing our thankful hearts.