"Uh oh. Boom!" - Anne's world at nearly 20 months, and an update on my at-home retreat

Ok, so I'll get to Anne in a moment. I read day 2 of my 33 Days to Morning Glory retreat, and I have to tell you gentle reader, that I adore this book. I have a difficult time reading what I would call deep theological books. Classic works by the saints, for instance, are obviously so, so crucial in our faith, but I simply don't enjoy reading them cover to cover. I suppose I'm not as mystical as they were. :) I enjoy very practical, slice of life memoirs when I read non-fiction, and thus I have read and enjoyed St. Therese's Story of a Soul. I actually even found St. Frances de Sales Introduction to the Devout Life very approachable and read the whole thing. Although not a memoir, I could easily understand what he was suggesting and apply it to my own life.

So in 33 Days to Morning Glory our author is very much giving us real world anecdotes to drive home the points he is raising about devotion to Jesus via Our Lady. And I love how he divides the retreat into concentrations on 3 great Marian devotees in our faith: St. Louis de Montfort (obviously), St. Maximillian Kolbe, and Bl. Teresa of Calcutta. It all feels very contemporary and reachable. St. Maximillian lived not that long before I was born, and I overlapped with Mother Teresa for quite a while before she died in the late 90's (I remember the day she died vividly). The book is also humorous and light. I'm so glad that I decided to do it. I can even renew this retreat every year if I like, and I will remember the date that I begin since it's the day after my wedding anniversary. Very handy. The consecration date is a week before my birthday, which these days could use a bit of a spiritual boost, let me tell you.

Anyway, I'm very happy with the book and I will continue to post updates as I work my way through the 33 days.

So, Anne. She slept all night but was up for the day at 5:15 am. Why God, why?!?!

When I got downstairs, I found her in sour spirits, unsurprisingly.

"No!"

"Anne, what are you saying 'no' to, I didn't ask you anything?"

"No!"


That chica is so, so sassy. I can't believe how quickly she picks up new words and understands what we say to her. Oh, AND, I think we need to invest in a potty chair; she's showing signs of readiness.

*long suffering sigh*

Oh, the day that the only butt we wipe is our own... *cups palm over eyes, looks far off into the distance*

*silence reigns for a moment in the living room. I bask and then realize that this is not a good sign*

*glances to left*

*Anne is on floor, struggling to remove pants*

"Anne Honey, don't take your pants off."

"Potty!"

"Honey, you hate the toilet. You can go in your diaper. We'll get you your own seat soon."

"Potty!"

"All right, but I know how this is going to end."

*takes Anne into bathroom*

"Potty!"

"Yes, that's the potty. I think you already peed though, Sweetie. But ok, let's take your diaper off."

*pops Anne on top of toilet*

*Anne resists sitting on toilet*

"Down!"

See how that goes?

She obviously knows now when she goes. I don't know that she's telling us BEFORE she goes, it seems to be after the fact. And that's fine, she's still very young. But it's obviously bothering her to have a wet or dirty diaper. And she's AWFUL on the changing table, she hates the process of having her diaper changed. A lot of the time, I notice her grabbing herself (SIGH, *so* much crotch grabbing goes on in our house between the two of them) and she seems distressed. In each instance, her diaper is very wet or dirty. So she didn't tell us that she had to use the potty, and it's almost like she's upset about it. I also notice that her diaper will be dry, and then when she does go, it's suddenly very heavy, so she's able to hold small amounts and then go a bunch at once. In other words, she's showing signs of being ready to train.

One potty chair, coming up.

She's also very into books, both of my children are.

*beams with pride*

Henry now READS IN BED. Isn't that just the most precious thing ever?! As soon as I sit on the couch in *my spot* (next to the end table with lamp where I can put my knitting supplies) Anne rushes to the bookcase to select one of her books and brings it to me. And she has her favorites, clearly. I don't know how many more times I can read We Go to Mass. I'm thrilled that she likes that book so much, but variety is the spice of life.

All right, back to work for me. I just helped a patron on our online chat service find historic weather data for Ithaca, NY.

*fastens Super Librarian cape*