Potty training by the numbers

Potty training is plugging along here. Danny still has accidents, but he's doing really well. It seems we have a good week with very few accidents followed by a bad week with an accident almost every day. The accidents are exasperating.

One day this week, I just asked him point blank why he peed his pants. I didn't think he'd actually answer me.

But he did, with wide-eyes and a straight-face, "Eight."

"Eight?" I repeated.

"Uh uh," he said, nodding.

You know, that may just be the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Thanks for clearing that up, kid.

On a somewhat unrelated note, Danny knows a lot of his numbers. Oddly enough, he never says them in the generally accepted order. He has his own order that often sounds like this "2, 3, 8, 7, 6, 11, 14, 18." He sounds like a quarterback calling plays. Other numbers get a lot of play, too, but he has a strange aversion to the numbers 4 and 5. He never says them. When I ask him about 4 and 5, he shakes his head vigorously and says, "Uh uh." He is, however, in love with the concept of 3 dollars. He'll look at me every once in a while, nod his head in approval and say "3 dollars."

"What's 3 dollars, Danny?" I ask.

Answers I've gotten include light bulbs, cups, Nana's house, lunch, crackers and french fries.

Back to potty training ... Lately, he's wanted us to close the door when he goes potty. I figured he was either developing a sense of modesty or wanted a little privacy to perform heinous bathroom crimes such as splashing in the toilet or unraveling the toilet paper or pulling up the vent cover. Turns out, he may have just been trying to learn something without being watched (a good lesson for me ... sometimes small children need a parent who trusts them and a little privacy to learn new things). Until tonight, he hadn't peed standing up. Jim has showed him maybe twice, once while he was outside.

Jim found the bathroom door closed and checked on him. What he found was Danny, standing on his little stool (made by Uncle Tom!), peeing in the potty while softly singing this song: "Penis in the hand. Penis in the hand."

That kid is so twisted.