Turning The Corner?

What a great day!! Eli slept until 9:30 because of the lack of sleep he got this weekend. Maddux and I hung out for a while in her room before we went to rouse him. We had a pool date at 10:30, and given that the pool season is coming to an end, I figured it was a good idea to not skip this one, even for sleep! We met Tyler and a few other friends at Ty's pool, but the water had been drained and a large lock was on the gate. Luckily, Tyler's mom knows a nearby neighbor (in another hood) well enough to ask permission for us to hold our pool party there. Eli was all set to jump and swim with his newly flotation-reduced turtle back and goggles. He did so well when we removed one float from his contraption, but after a few swims he seemed to realize that he had to work harder. He still keeps his head up and refuses any help offered to him, but to the untrained eye, he appears to be drowning. It's always a good time when I take him to the pool now as he causes everyone watching to jump out of their seats when they see my child jump in and barely lift his head out of the water as he treads water to the steps. Lots of laughs!

Our pool hosts came to join us, which made Eli's day. The two girls attend our church and Eli adores them. They entertained him (or he entertained them) the entire time we were there. They jumped in and then he jumped in. They swam and then he swam. And when Eli asked to use the restroom, the girls watched Maddux for me. I honestly felt guilty that I wasn't paying them for the great service they provided! But back to the restroom request. Eli asked to go twice before I told him he needed to (basically) 'put up or shut up'. He has a tendency to go to the bathroom, but then try for less than a second. When I'm at the pool with both kids, this is not an ideal situation as I usually do not have helpers to watch Maddux for me. I just reminded him that he either needed to stay on the toilet and 'be patient' with his body, or we'd have to go home. Wouldn't you know, a few seconds later he went! And not just the liquid variety! This was huge cause for celebration. Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cathie just sent him a shirt and card congratulating him on his progress, so when we got home he was able to open the card (it plays music...Queen, which is his favorite these days) and wear the shirt. The shirt says "Potty Like A Rock Star". I told him when he went, he'd be able to don the shirt and have a drum and/or guitar concert. He got totally into it. Today was a great day!!