3 Years (the second time around)

So our Quinnita is a little girl now. No more baby talk, no more boob juice, no more naps (at least that seems to be what she wants). The last thing on the list, which she's fighting hard against, is no more diapers! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuuuhhhhhhhhh (the great sigh). Yes, the moment parents always look forward to, an aspect of child-rearing that vanishes without regret. It's one part of babydom that I will not miss. The only problem is that it doesn't seem to be an issue that is quite as important to Quinn.

As we all know, Quinn has come to us with a powerful mind. She is a determined little tyke when she wants to be and when it comes to diapers, she is not willing to budge just yet. Since three seems to be the marking post for potty training, Christina and I have looked forward to this day with a sense of relief but as each day passed and Quinn's birthday grew nearer, nothing was changing. Even after all of the completely useless comments from those who came before that informed us how much easier it was with girls. Ha! There was no seismic shift occurring in our little girl. So we decided to play hardball with her and lay the law down with an iron fist. Uhhhmmm, that was a mistake.

I have never seen someone fight so hard and with such determination over a potty. That girl decided that she was not going to use the potty and there was nothing that we were going to do about it. We even got to the point where we were able to hold her on it (taking both adults to one three-year-old) but I was amazed at Quinn's stamina. The energy she was expanding out to stop us from making her sit on the potty was incredible. We finally just gave up, both of us exhausted, and sat back to think about our next move. Turns out that neither one of us wanted to go through something like that ever again with either her or Lucas.

So Quinn is not going to potty train until she is good and ready, which I guess was what she wanted in the first place if we had just listened to her. I know that it is going to be an interesting journey with her. We've had our moments with Lucas but he's just more agreeable when it comes to our program. He moans and groans and yells at us sometimes but he'll eventually drop his head and fake his way through it at least. It appears that Quinn is going to be an entirely different kid altogether. That means that we have to get creative with helping her grow accustomed to our brilliant outlook on parenting...er, life. I do not want to be in one of those scenes when she's fourteen and we're trying to force her to do something against her will. Even if it's something good for her, it won't be a pretty picture.

I simply don't want to have that type of relationship with her, anyway, and I know Christina isn't up for it. I can hardly imagine the two of them going head-to-head. It's going to be an interesting ride for sure. One based on intelligence and reason over physical or psychological pressure. It's going to have to come from our hearts so that she will understand that we are only interested in her well-being. It's a message that somehow must pierce straight into her heart because when she's thoughtful and aware, she's truly a remarkable little being. In a way, I'm looking forward to it, even though I know that it's bound to tire me at times, but I have hope that the process will become a nurturing and respectful genesis of love that will remind us why we ever decided to become parents in the first place.

Happy Birthday, Quinnie!