"I Can't See My Bum!" And Other Tales of a Two Year Old

Peeking in the kindergarten bathroom, I saw Jonathan standing at the kid-size sink washing his hands.  Beaming with pride, I shut the door to let him finish on his own while I chatted with my friend Lisa.  After awhile, I heard the undeniable sound of my son crying.  I quickly opened the door, and one little German boy promptly reported that Jonathan had made a mess  of the toilet paper.  I peeked inside the stall and saw a heap of toilet paper on the ground next to the mini potty.  At the same time I noticed that Jonathan had seen a man about more than just a horse.  While I was happy he used the potty, I was worried that he didn't wipe his bottom, and I hadn't seen any teachers in the bathroom helping him.

I brought him over to the stall and asked him if he had made the mess while checking his pants. In the most pitiful sounding voice, he wailed out, "I can't see my bum!"  The voice, the tears, the face--it was too cute to for me to get upset.  His one little sentence said it all: I couldn't wipe because I couldn't see what to do; I made a mess because I was  trying to wipe my bum, but I got sidetracked; don't be mad at me!

I reassured him that it was okay, and cleaned up the mess with a smile on my face.

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We are trying to teach Jonathan to use a nice voice when asking for things instead of a whiny or demanding one.  I'll often say, for example, "Ask me for a glass of milk in a nice voice."  He then replies in a very pleasing-sounding voice, "Nice voice."

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I used to be the secretary in the Baumholder Primay.  It would sometimes be necessary for me to go into nursery during church.  The nursery leader, Alisa Hatch, told me that Jonathan likes to tell the other kids what they should or should not be doing.  (Some call this being bossy while others call it leadership).  I didn't quite get the full picture of what she meant until one Sunday when I went in there to help out.  The children were supposed to be sitting on the chairs for the lesson, but some had other ideas, like climbing on the table or playing with toys.  Jonathan called out to the stray sheep with big wave of his arm, "Come on guys!"