Big Accomplishments

"Mommy, I want to take a shower."
"Mommy, I want to sleep under a sheet."

Mathieu has always had the option to shower or use a sheet, but he's never wanted to. Here's what happened.
  
Patio: To our great delight, we now have a brick patio outside our back door.  Included is an outdoor shower that has made our life of sand, salt, and humidity much easier to contend with.  Like many children, Mathieu likes the control of a hose, and the the outdoor shower gives him that same control because he can turn it on/off very easily.  Now, all three of us exclusively use the outdoor shower for our bathing needs.  It's wonderful!

A partial view of our patio plus shower.  Mathieu and Grandma in the foreground! 

 Sheets: While camping, Mathieu saw first hand how his two beloved older cousins, Jeanne-Marie and David, used sheets.  Clearly that was more influential than his own parent's use of them.

Toilet: The biggest accomplishment thus far has been Mathieu pooping on the toilet! He's been out of daytime diapers since March, he's never had a poop or pee accident, but he would still want to use a diaper when he, "Felt a poop coming." We had tried minor bribes and cajoling with no success.  Then, Wednesday, Daddy told him that we could make a cake if he pooped on the toilet.  Mathieu tried all day with no success.  Thursday came, and 8:40 am ... Success! Now Mommy is baking a cake at 9am, it's only 90 something degrees outside with an oven on inside, but it sure was worth it!  At 11:30am, Mathieu and I brought the chocolate cake over to the dining hall to share with the other staff and celebrate.  One of the dining hall ladies remarked, "I've been to a pool party, but never a poo party before."

Trains: Playing with trains is not new, but Mathieu has taken it to a whole new level with his independence and imagination. For those of you who've helped your small child assemble train tracks, you know that the support pieces to make the elevated tracks are frankly, a big pain in the bottom. Mathieu now has the patience and dexterity to assemble them himself, and when they inevitably fall down and his bridge collapses, he's able to rebuild at least 3 or 4 times before he's truly frustrated. 

Baby news: People always ask me, "Is Mathieu ready for the baby?" I have a hard time answering that question because the question itself always sounds a bit negative.  Is anyone, adult or child, really ready for a new baby?
Now that I'm clearly very visibly pregnant with my big belly, Mathieu is much more aware of the new baby.  He kisses my stomach and talks to my belly button and says things like, "Hi baby, I have a bike helmet," or, "Hi baby, you can watch we swim," or sometimes, "Baby, I love you."    Mathieu knows that his grandparents are coming around the time of the new baby's birth, so he'll answer an adult's question of his readiness by saying, "I'll be busy playing trains with Pepere," or, "I won't be available because I play a lot of camping with Grandma."

Dave says many wonderful things to me about my pregnancy and the upcoming birth.  One such statement is, "We're so lucky to have Mathieu, and we love him so much. I'm sure we will love the new baby just as much, which will mean we will have double the love."