Potty in the USA...

I've never thought I would ever care about the bathroom business of another living creature. Now that we have a baby in our lives it seems that potty talk is commonly at the forefront of our conversations. When Luna was first born it was sort of a gamble on what you were going to find in her diaper. That's something they don't tell you in the "So you're changing your lives for ever and having a kid" manual. Newborn poop is a scatological secret agent. It can sneak up on you without any sign but a grunty face and the occasional smile. No smell, just a subtle grunt. I would often find myself playing Poop roulette and crossing my fingers when change time came. After a while you become a poop face expert and you can just look at the baby's expressions and you know that the next few moments of your life are going to be gross. I usually would keep tabs on when I last changed a poop diaper. When a bomb dropped and it was not my turn to deal with the fecal explosion I would pass the baby over to Mercy like she was a football and I'd run to the other room and do a secret end zone victory dance.

Now a new parent milestone is happening and I am weirdly excited by it. Luna's godmother, Johanna bought her a tiny potty (which looks sort of like a toilet that you would find Frodo using in the shire) and we have begun potty training. The cool thing about having a small toilet is that it is totally portable. Why answer nature's call in the hot, stuffy bathroom when you can take it to the comfort of your living room and watch some Sesame Street. Babies have no idea how easy they have it. Yesterday Luna actually used her potty. It was a monumental moment...for the grown ups, mostly. I clapped and cheered which really made Luna think she was some kind of celebrity. After the clean up she strutted around the house saying "YAAAY POOP!" Johanna demanded photographic evidence of the deed, so I found myself taking a picture on my phone. Some people (my wife, Nina Johanna and Nino Gerry) enjoyed the photo. Others (Abuelita Cathy, Grandpa Russell-No relation-) thought the mere idea of photographing poo is disgusting and an afront to photographers everywhere. I should mention to my dad that I am getting him a poop of the month photo calander for Christmas.

The event was topped off by Luna's first movie theater experience, Madagascar 3 at the $3 theater in Pasadena. We spare no expense for the potty princess! She loved the movie, so did the fourteen year old who sang to the katy perry soundtrack...and sang...and sang...and sang some more. So the great potty experiment has begun...now if Mercy can just train me to use the litter box we will be all set.
Next up: Nerd alert: Is the Avengers Assemble comic worth your money?