La Princesse

Lest anyone think we are delusional about our social status or that we think our child is the greatest invention ever (which she is, but I digress), this Huzzah is going to be about...potties. I can't even believe I'm actually writing this, and I'm sure in twelve years Bean will be beyond horrified that I declared to the known universe her foray into toilet training, but wait until I explain the nature of her training potty. Seriously.

Because of her various delays/disabilities, it struck me that toilet training was going to take a lot longer than normal, and at 28 months, it was probably time to at least introduce the concept of "going like a big girl". There is this Fisher-Price trainer that goes by the appellation "Royal Throne" (I know, I know), and not only does it exert a musical flourish upon sitting, it plays a "royal fanfare" when something, ah, happens. For a kid who can't see what's going on, I'm hoping that this will provide some sort of Pavlovian experience. That and the bag of chocolate chips for rewards. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would tell me this is the worst way possible to toilet train your child, but if I'm going to be tackling this for the next two or three years, I'd rather have something to chuckle at and refreshments.

On an impulse buy (Toys R Us is so good for those) I bought her a
"Henry the Octopus" stuffed figure from the Wiggles paraphenalia. It plays Henry's song that all three of us dig (mostly Gene and I) and has bendable tentacles that are excellent for chewing and gripping. At the moment, Bean and Henry are hopefully on their way to Nod.

Royal Throne potty. Stuffed octopus. We are so weird.

Toddling For Real?

Today was a red letter day in the Hoffman house...Bean got her orthotics, more commonly known as foot braces. She has weak muscle tone in her ankles and her feet fall inwards pretty badly, but she can bear weight on her legs extremely well; getting her into orthotics and thus hopefully standing and maybe even walking sooner rather than later was definitely the only option. And standing and walking with appropriate foot to floor contact is again the only option, at least if we wanted it to be at all effective.

The plaster casting was quick and painless, as well as pretty intriguing to watch...but I had to laugh at how excruitiatingly tiny her feet really are. She is not going to be wearing size 12s as an adult, that's for sure. The orthotics themselves are called DAFOs, or Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthoses, and they are surprisingly cute. I got to pick out colors and Velcro trim designs...ours are pink with blue dinosaurs :). The best news is that she almost immediately felt more stable when I stood her up and I think even she realized that and held her torso and head much more erect and strongly than before. Obviously we have a lot of physical therapy to go through, but the point is, we may just have a "real" toddler eventually...and then I will never get a chance to sit down again. That will be another huge red letter day around here...we may even have to throw a party!

Okay, let's be honest. The best news is that I get to go shoe shopping. For really, really, really cute shoes.

Goats R Us

For those of you who have not yet seen Hacienda Hoffman and its environs, we live UP IN THE HILLS. I recognize that it's probably not as remote as living deep in the heart of the Appalachians or something, but for a city girl, it feels pretty rural. This was brought home the other day as I drove Bean to preschool and passed a large herd of goats that had been brought in to crop the hillside down in preparation for "fire season". This in and of itself is not terribly humorous, I realize, but you have to understand...these goats came packaged in a truck that was labelled "Goats R Us". I'm serious. I howled with laughter the entire way to preschool. I was screaming with laughter on the way home as I saw the goats being coaxed back towards the truck...and one rogue goat broke free and galumphed back up the hill, pursued hotly by not only the goat wranglers, but a number of his peers who had that clear "Freeeeedom!!! Freeeeeedom!!!" lope to their gait.

This was probably funnier in real time, but honestly, for a Monday morning, it was pretty awesome.