Oliver update

Joe and I went to our first Parent-Teacher interview on Saturday. Apparently Oliver is truly potty-trained at school. He goes to the toilet by himself, wipes, washes his hands, puts his pants back on. The whole thing! And he can put on his own shoes. Take off his tshirt. Feed himself soup. All sorts of things that at home he says "Mommy help me! I can't do it.". The visit was quite the eye-opener.

He's also a quick learner (which we knew), and usually answers first in class (taking after Mommy, Auntie Lana and Auntie Paulina). He knows several songs in Chinese. He can follow directions in Chinese and will answer in Chinese, only using an English word if he doesn't know the Chinese word.

But tonight was exciting. Well, for us, as we live sad lives. No, it's not a sad life, it's the life of a parent. Those with older children will remember their first time. Those with younger children won't understand the big deal, and those who are toilet training will say "Way to go Oliver!".

I didn't see the incident, as I was up with Martin, but I was told that Oliver told Basil he wanted to poop in the potty. And he did!!! Way to go Oliver!

I told Oliver we would have to call Grandma and Grandpa to tell them, and for the rest of the night he talked about going upstairs (where the computer is for video calls) to call Grandma and Grandpa. He also said that when he gets bigger, he will get a phone, and he will call Grandma and Grandpa.

Stupid time difference. If it hadn't been 6am in Winnipeg, we would have called right then. But I'm pretty sure Dad doesn't want to hear about poop first thing in the morning. He's probably already had enough poop talk reading this blog. Now I can't stop saying poop. Poop. Poop. Poop. Now I'll spell it backwards. Poop.

All about the Night Safari

PT (potty training) Update - only once in the potty, but he told me he had to go. It was the one before bath time. Isn't convinced that poops should go in the potty - they should go in the diaper according to Oliver.

Oliver funny - "I don't like spiders, I like crocodiles. I don't like snakes, I like bunnies."

Onto tonight's blog. We went to the Night Safari last night. It was EXCELLENT. It was pretty expensive, but that was because we couldn't stay that long, due to Oliver. If we had a Singapore child that stayed up until 10:00 every night (the kids here stay up very late for North American standards), then it would be even better.

When you come in, they have fire dancers entertaining those who are eating dinner. We went immediately to the tram ride. It is a 45 minute tram ride around the park. The Night Safari is right beside the Singapore Zoo, so I thought they were the same park. Not so. The Night Safari is it's own park.

The tram ride was excellent, they have a guide talking throughout. You see mainly deer, but we did see lions (they were sleeping then too!), hyenas, elephants and tigers. It's really kind of spooky how dark the forest is at night, and that an elephant could basically be hidden from site until you walk right into it!

They also have walking trails, we did a short one to see the tiger. He was sitting there looking at us. They have very big heads, and frankly, if you saw one in the wild, you'd wet your pants!! Or at least I would.

There is a "Creatures of the Night" show which is supposed to be excellent, but that would be too late for Oliver.

I have no pictures as there is no flash photos, but I did take video. But you all know how long it takes me to get around to editing the video.

All about Potty Training

And so it begins. We found the potty last weekend. Every night before bathtime I've had Oliver sit on it. The first night he went right up and went pee in it. Since then it's been a bit hit and miss, but he's tried sitting on it.

Tonight, when we got home from dinner, Oliver said, "I need to pee", so we went running upstairs, and he peed on the potty! Yay for Oliver!! We are going to start in earnest tomorrow, having him go every two hours. But I'm not brave enough to go without a diaper.

In addition, we got a note from school saying they are going to start potty training this next week. They go without diapers, and take him to the toilet every time they change activities.

Now, the books say not to start when there is a big change - but frankly, this year - when is it not a big change? Plus, I think he's ready. He tells us everytime he goes in his diaper, asks to be changed right away, and certainly seems quite interested.

I'm quite prepared for some regression when the baby comes (remind me of this post when I complain).

Wish us luck!!

Book Review: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

This book is obviously about potty training. I haven't read any of her other books.

The main messages are:
- keep calm
- don't turn it into a stressful event
- nighttime training can't happen until the body is ready for it (i.e. bladder is big enough)
- consistency is the key
- tell, don't ask, that it's time to go to potty

Honestly, save your money (especially if your children are already potty trained!).

Still have yet to find the potty.....