Recently The Badoo's independent, cheeky streak has come in very, very handy.
She was in the baby room (the Joeys) at her daycare and she wanted to move up to the big kid room (the Possums). The Possums is for 3 - 4 year olds, but The Badoo doesn't believe in age appropriateness. She wanted out of the baby room and in with those Possums.
For a while now we've had the potty in the lounge room - proudly being referred to as the 'place where big girls who don't wear nappies go'. The Badoo was glancing over at the potty with a 'yeah, whatever' shrug for a week or so.
Then one Saturday she grabbed me by the hand and took me over to the potty. Proudly she gestured to the wee in the bowl. She beamed her Badoo smile and said "I'm a big girl, I need undies". We were beyond proud. Especially when she didn't miss a beat the entire weekend without nappies. Numbers 1 and 2 were dutifully deposited into the potty without any reminder (to be honest it all happened so suddenly that LOML and I kept forgetting that she was in the middle of toilet training). It was like magic.
So, Monday she fronts up to daycare and announces that she'll be going into the Possums room thank you very much. "Look!" she said to the Possum teacher, lifting up her skirt. "No nappies! I'm ready to be a Possum." The Possum teacher must have hesitated slightly. "The toilets are in the Possum room," The Badoo said pointedly. "I need to be a Possum."
What can you say to that? The Badoo is now proudly mixing it up with the Possums and flashing her undies at every opportunity. Ah, that Badoo. She's a little bit mental, she's a little bit grumpy but she's a whole lotta clever.
Have your children ever surprised you beyond words with their ability to adapt and conquer? Are you afraid, very afraid?