It's been a year... potty time!

On the one-year anniversary of Gavin becoming fully potty trained, I have a small collection of "potty" tidbits to document for posterity, seeing how this is our family journal and all. This post might be a little TMI for some... but I'm sure that one day, Gavin will look back at these memories fondly (or at least get a kick out of them!). For the record, we don't really ever use the terms, "potty" or "poop." It's strictly "number 1" & "number 2" around here! I mainly attribute that to my own upbringing. We like euphemisms.

History first.

• Gavin stopped wearing diapers on September 1, 2009. We put him in Pull-Ups overnight for the first week, and they were always dry, so we stopped using them. He has never had an accident in his bed.
• His last "number 2" accident was on September 15, 2009, coincidentally his first day of preschool in Las Vegas. The previous 2 weeks before Preschool started, we were always there to help him get on the toilet, etc. In hindsight (ha ha! no pun intended), we should have been less "helpful" at home... Because that day, he found himself all alone in the bathroom, ill-prepared for the task at hand. The accident happened right at the end of class, so when we arrived to pick him up, his teachers directed us to the bathroom. Poor guy... it was a little traumatic, but I also think that it was his "a-ha" moment. After that, he got it! Luckily at the time, we were keeping a spare pair of underwear and shorts in the car... just in case.

Whew! Now for some comic relief.

• "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down..." Kinda catchy. This was actually on a poster advertising a Stake Preparedness Fair in Las Vegas this last spring (there was more to it, but we'll leave it at that). Gavin wholeheartedly embraces this mantra, although I don't think it's intentional--he's just got better things to do. He's pretty good at flushing number 2 right away, "to get rid of the smell," but number one, not so much. And when he does flush, he always covers his ears and runs away from the toilet because "it's too loud."
• A few weeks ago, we were at Target, passing through the mens section, when Gavin spotted a gigantic pair of Superman briefs--actually, there were a whole bunch of them, on hangers, hanging on the wall. He chuckled, "Why would big people need underwear?" Not wanting to get into a big discussion right then & there, I said, "They just do..." Not satisfied, Gavin asked, "But why?" Still trying to skirt around the issue, I offered, "The same reason you do!"  "Ohhhhhhh," (the lightbulb had gone off in his head), "So they don't get number 2 on their pants!"
• Gavin often comments on the size/shape/color of his number two. Sometimes it resembles things... most recently, he said, "Hey, that looks like Idaho!" And it actually kinda did!
• A couple weeks ago, Gavin had diarrhea for the first time in his memory. He was very intrigued by it all. It lasted a few days, and we finally got him some children's Pepto Bismol tablets. He loved them. He craved them... like candy (they are bubble gum flavored, after all). When he was regular again, he said, "I should have diarrhea again so I can have more of that Pepto BUSINESS!"
• Graciously, this was going to be a no-picture post, but I've decided to include a couple very tasteful "potty shots," courtesy of Ellie. Can't leave her out of this post entirely! These were taken when Ben & Becky were here visiting. Nice handiwork.