Conventional wisdom

Conventional wisdom has it that little girls are way more independent than little boys. As Jane is now 23 months old (!), I can report that the c.w. is spot-on.

She not only puts her own shoes on in the morning (whereas her brother would almost certainly go outside Greystoke-style if we didn't remind/cajole/eventually shoe him), but recently she decided to potty train herself.

I should explain: In the last week or two, Jane has been consistently telling us when she has peed in her diaper and needs to be changed. The exchange is usually direct and to-the-point. "Diaper. Pee. Change. Please."

So we thought it was worth introducing her to the potty. We did. She saw. She sat. She peed.

But wait, there's more. While it took months of trying and a system of bribery worthy of Casablanca to get Samson to "commit" to the potty, Jane has already, um, used it fully. Our girl is not shy.

This is not to say there haven't been some glitches. [First cream cheese, then the potty (at least it was clean); Jane Victoria is essentially hazing that baby.]


And she's still working on the whole exit strategy part of it. As in, "oh, now I can get up?" So if you're visiting our house, try not to leave any important documents anywhere in the vicinity of the potty. But all in all, it's pretty amazing.

So here's to conventional wisdom. And little girls. And, of course, you, Sweet Jane.