Canal wheeing

The canal opened this week for skating. It's quite warm right now (+1C) but we decided to chance it with low expectations, just taking Quinn walking around on the slushy ice if necessary. It turned out to be a lot of fun! Quinn was in the chariot. We skated probably 4 km. It had good patches where you could actually skate and others where you just tried to stay upright. But it was better than we expected and we stopped for a Beavertail, so it was all good.

After Beavertails, Quinn walked up and down the stairs (nice new stairs this year by the way - I guess they figured they'd replace the 40 year old sets this year). He got a glint in his eye and tried to run like mad on the asphalt pathway at the top of the stair, with Bec in hot pursuit in her skates. Luckily she caught him in time. Then Bec and I took turns skating around with Quinn suspended, sliding between our legs. Back and forth, circles, arcing side to side. Quinn had a great big grin on the whole time.

Then we skated back and played in the snow at Green's Creek for awhile before heading home. A good outing all around.

A little naked boop, here for a bath

"It's *bathtime*! Do you want to walk to the tub on your own?"

(ThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThump GiggleGiggle.) He plunges down the hallway with a wild grin on his face, feet pumping, arms waving.

"That's not the bathroom. Come out of the office and let's go to the bathtub."

(ThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThump GiggleGiggle) A little naked bum careens down the hall.

"That's not the bathroom. Come out of mommy and daddy's bedroom and let's go to the bathtub." (I hope he doesn't pee)

(ThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThump GiggleGiggle)

"Got you, ok it's bathtime"

There's no purer joy than a little naked boop on the lam in the hallway.

First Potty Foray

Quinn saw me peeing just before his bath tonight. He then wanted to sit on the potty himself. Bec started to strip him down to do so, but upon encountering poopiness had to abort and retreat to the changetable. After that was taken care of Quinn came back into the bathroom and *still* wanted back on the potty, but this time the big potty. I started to say no and steer him toward the little potty, not wanting him to get freaked out by the prospect of falling into the big potty. But Bec plunked him right on the big potty and he seemed totally at home up there (with Bec holding him the whole time of course). We praised him and told him how high up he was. He sat there for a couple minutes, and when Bec picked him up there was evidence he'd actually peed!

I have to say I don't find diapers so bad in general. The whole potty learning phase sounds like it has more potential disgustingness but the books say we're at the right age to start it (too young - not ready; too old - ingrained in a pattern; now = the right time). When you break it down, it's a difficult thing to teach, really - the idea of a "full feeling", and particularly sensing that feeling in advance of the event. He seems to get it, and he seems keen. Hopefully it'll be a natural transition. Wish us luck!

Gaining altitude, taking flight

Quinn can climb onto the dining room chairs now. And the computer desk chair. And the back of the rocking chair. He can push a chair out of the dining room to the entertainment unit and climb up to see what's on top. He's a good little monkey, but always very curious. (Wherever will I hang my yellow hat??) We're running out of safety zones for stuff he shouldn't have. The upside is he can do some stuff on his own (including draw in his book at the table - yay he's drawing now!). The down side is he can do some stuff on his own now.

And so we enter a new stage of independence. I suppose we should embrace it with education and encouragement and we'll do our best at that. He's always been quite good about listening, and about staying away from things he shouldn't have. We try to only say 'no' when it's important but when you do that a thousand times a day 'no' sometimes becomes unfortunately habitual. It's difficult to let go though, given how small and vulnerable he is. It just takes one incident. I suppose that will be a repeating refrain for the next, oh, 30 years. The fledging continues.

There's no 'h' in 'sitting'

Bec's playing hockey tonight. I was quarterbacking bedtime. Quinn was very good, carrying his milk and walking upstairs all by himself. Everything when swimmingly and he got in the bath. Due to past events with gravity and, uh, 'fiber processing', we have instituted a 'no standing' rule in the tub. Tonight I let my guard down and neglected to say anything while he squatted with a train locomotive at the end of the tub. After a minute or so I noticed the 'floaties'. Uh oh. I whipped Quinn out of the tub. Salty The Train, Blue Whale and Theodore Too were removed, destined for the dishwasher. The rest would have to wait til after bedtime.

I got Quinn dried off while we chatted about how poop goes in diapers and potties but not in tubs. He seemed to get it but only time will tell I suppose. Since bathtime was short, we had a long read, which Quinn loves. The whole time I was dreading the cleanup that awaited me. Quinn, perhaps sensing the situation, went down like a dream. The cleanup went not too bad either, although I must say I noted that my guck-tolerance has increased a lot in the last two years.

It's only the third time that's happened in two years so I guess we're fortunate, although it took a little time before I was able to even consider that phrase tonight. We haven't started full-blown potty training but we're starting to think about it and lay some groundwork, so maybe this will be useful in the long run. Until then, only 'sitting' in the tub.