1-2-3 PEE!

for several months now we've been successfully sitting on the toilet before bedtime. from what i read, just sitting on the toilet is an accomplishment, so i apply the "successfully" label eagerly (despite the fact that, until recently, nothing actually happens when nissa sits). our patience paid off on saturday when we were rewarded with nissa's first pee in the toilet. no little trickle either! a full 5 seconds or so of full stream; enough time for both of us to realize what was happening, get excited about it, then still have it going some more. finally, i think nissa really gets it. now, when we sit, she'll ask "pee come out?" and i respond, "i don't know, but i hope so!" i know she can't necessarily go on command yet, but i know that she'll try somehow. in the interim, she still looks forward to her daily seating and i'm hoping to introduce more frequent visits to the toilet (but no pressure).

while we sit, nissa and i will read books to pass the time. "time to pee" is the standing favorite, and nissa enjoys pointing out her favorite mice or the kites, or reading the "circles" at the end of the story. super! excellent! we'll read "it's potty time" too, and nissa likes the "yucky" and "big girl" parts of the story. i've tried so many different ways to get the flush noise button to work, but the little noise it does make is still fun for nissa. the most recent addition to the mix is the zoo book, "dear zoo." i found out two nights ago that nissa remembers a lot of the details and helps me read the story. i'll prompt "they sent me a" and she or i will open the door and she'll announce the animal (elephant). then i'll prompt "but it was too" and she'll respond the correct adjective/adverb (big). it's so much fun.

beyond helping me read stories, nissa is still very helpful in the kitchen. i like to have her help cut as often as possible, but it's not always an option. sometimes that means helping me eat the vegetables i'm cutting (like the broccoli "stars" or cross-sections of the stalk), or using an extra sponge when washing pots (she'll get the outside while i'll work on the inside and vice versa), or helping me stir (or turn, as she puts it) all kinds of things. sure, all of her helping usually results in a mess, but she's learning, and that's what's important.

in other news, nissa did not nap the day before (though nap time was held) and the same for the day of halloween, so when it came time to get up and go to hang out with the cousins, nissa had her first full-fledged melt down. early terrible twos? maybe. i'm willing to just chalk it up to lack of sleep. no amount of bribery or consolation or compromise would stop the constant crying, shouts of "no!" and/or throwing/stomping/protest sitting. ugh. so we took off our coats, made a phone call and enjoyed pizza and monsters inc instead. the completed pumpkin dress has yet to be worn.

unfortunately, nissa has been continuing this "no nap" trend and it will not bode well for anyone. it started saturday and i'm hoping it ends soon. she'll go to bed, but just not sleep while she's there. aside from getting up an hour early saturday and going to bed a little more than an hour late saturday night, her schedule has been regular for night sleeping. fingers crossed.