Violet’s Great Toilet Adventure

Lucy has a favorite stuffed animal, which is a dog named Violet. She is programmed to say Lucy’s name and sing songs about her favorite food, color, and animal. Lucy is always in range of her blankey and Violet, and can often be heard shouting “Bi-let!” when she is out of sight. Bottom line, Violet is essential to the security of our 20-month-old, particularly at bedtime.

So a week or so ago I was getting Lucy ready for bed and she announces, “potty,” which means she wants to go sit on the toilet. She doesn’t do anything mind you, except sit there, perhaps grunt, and drop toilet paper in there and call it good. I am generally supportive of this practice and am poised to celebrate profusely if and when she actually manages a single drop of pee. Right now she doesn’t have her own potty chair, so I have to hold her on the big toilet so she doesn’t fall in.

Remember that last line - that’s important.

So we finish with the faux peeing, get clean PJs on, and then I let her play for a couple of minutes while I tend to something in our bedroom. Those couple of minutes go by and she runs in the bedroom with a big smile on her face, and throws her hands up in the air. She looks very proud of herself.

Her hands are wet.

Did I shut the bathroom door when we were done in there?

$#!+.

I started toward the door and she beat me to it, running down the hall and into the bathroom, where she proudly points to Violet, who is laying on the floor next to the toilet.

Also wet.

At which point I say, “Oh no, Lucy, VIOLET!!” which proceeds to freak her out, because now she has gone from being so proud of her peeing stuffed puppy, to thinking that something is wrong with her. She starts to cry.

I gave her calm assurances and hugs, and assessed the situation. I was afraid of total Violet saturation, but obviously Lucy had been holding her over the toilet (just like Mommy does for her), because only one of Violet’s paws and a little bit of her tail were wet. I proceeded to decontaminate the pooch to the best of my ability, then stripped Lucy down, soaped and hosed her off, and put on new PJs.

Of course, Violet was not excused from her nighttime duties just because she was wet. Oh, no. The three of us read books like always, and Violet went to bed with Lucy. Her lullaby-playing paw was activated, and all was right with the world again.


Somehow, though...I have a feeling this will not be the last of Violet's adventures. Or mine, for that matter. :)