Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the squeal-inducing feedback!
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Hope you enjoy!
Family Briefing (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"We want to thank you all again for coming," Steve said to the assembled group sitting on the deck. He and Catherine had arranged the area like a conference room and now Joseph, Elizabeth, Esther, Danny, Grace, Jenna, and Cody sat around the long table looking at Steve and Catherine who stood at the head. "We all know why we're here."
"Please tell me you are not going to run this like a mission briefing," Danny cut in.
"What's wrong with that?" Steve asked.
"Indeed," Joseph agreed. "What's wrong with that?"
Danny held his hands up in surrender. "You know what, it's fine. You do you, as the kids say."
Grace rolled her eyes, chuckling at her father's attempt at slang.
"We wanted to get everyone who spends a significant amount of time with Angie together so we're all on the same page regarding her potty training," Catherine said, bringing the focus back to the matter at hand.
Steve nodded. "We also recognize that there is a lot of combined experience with this particular topic here at the table so we wanted to take advantage of that."
Jenna raised a hand. "I did promise not to name any names when discussing my kids' experiences," she said, glancing at Cody. "I just wanted to … put that out there right away."
"Dylan's idea," Cody said, when the others looked at him with varying degrees of grins on their faces.
"Understood," Steve said with a nod to Jenna, fighting his smile. He looked around the table. "Okay, let's get started. Point one: as most of you know, Angie started displaying some early signs of being ready for potty training a couple months ago, but it quickly became clear she wasn't quite there yet."
"She definitely knows when she needs to go," Esther said. "She still goes behind a couch or chair more often than not."
Catherine nodded. "True, and that's what made us think maybe she was ready. But then she didn't really show a lot of interest in using the toilet."
"Aside from flushing everything in sight," Danny quipped.
"Thankfully that seems to have passed," Steve said.
Danny snorted. "For now. Just wait'll you start potty training in earnest. She'll be right back into flushing whatever she can get her little hands on. Grace sure did."
"Um, I think I want to jump on board with the Allens' idea not to name names," Grace said, looking at her father pleadingly.
He grinned. "A little tougher, monkey. There are five Allens, but only one you," he said, tapping her nose.
She sighed, and he relented.
"I'll only share the least embarrassing stories," he promised.
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
His grin returned. "Although your idea of embarrassing and my idea of embarrassing may not be quite the same …"
"Danno!" she groaned.
"What?" he said. "Thanks to Nonna, you all know plenty of embarrassing potty training stories about me."
"You mean like how you used to go outside to–" Cody started
"Yeah, I think we all remember that particular story," Danny interrupted to chuckles around the table. He looked back at Steve. "I thought this was supposed to be a mission briefing. Can we get back on track?"
"I'm actually good with this particular tangent," Steve said, folding his arms and smirking.
"I'm sure you are, but I'd much rather talk about my adorable goddaughter who at this moment is probably up to her adorable neck in shave ice."
Esther grinned. "If she hasn't convinced Kamekona to take her to the cupcake truck, you mean."
"I fully anticipate that she'll have had both by the time they get back," Catherine said with a smile. She looked around the table. "Okay, back to the matter at hand."
Steve nodded. "We've noted several other signs Angie might be ready."
"She stays dry for about two hours at a time," Catherine said. "And her bowel movements are very regular."
Grace pressed her lips together tightly, trying not to smile.
"She's gotten really good at pulling her shorts or pants or skirts down and back up herself before and after diaper changes," Steve continued.
Elizabeth nodded. "I've noticed that. And she really likes to do it herself."
"She does," Catherine agreed. "And like Esther said, she recognizes when she has to go and even tells us sometimes."
"She definitely lets you know when she wants to be changed," Grace said.
"For sure," Cody agreed.
"So she doesn't like being in a dirty diaper," Grace continued.
"Who does?" Danny quipped.
Jenna flashed him an amused smile before nodding to Steve and Catherine. "Those are all good signs," she said. "And there's another that often pops up at this age. I know it's a little personal but … we're all family here. Is she getting curious about Mommy and Daddy and the potty?"
"Oh yes," Catherine said immediately, and Steve winced a little nodding.
"Totally natural," Jenna said.
"Absolutely," Danny agreed.
"Danno!" Grace said.
"What? I didn't say anything, I just agreed!"
She buried her face in her hands.
"What do you need us to do?" Joseph asked to ease her embarrassment and get the discussion back to Angie.
"Well, like Catherine said, we want to get everyone on the same page about what we plan to do so you'll know how to approach it when Angie is with you," Steve said. "Consistency is crucial."
"What happened to the three day method?" Danny asked with a knowing grin.
"Nothing happened, we're just not doing it," Steve said.
Danny smirked. "It was the naked thing, wasn't it?"
"It wasn't the naked thing," Steve insisted.
Catherine cleared her throat meaningfully.
"It wasn't just the naked thing," Steve amended with a quick glance in her direction.
She smiled in amusement before letting him off the hook by continuing herself. "With our schedules, it was always going to be difficult to guarantee three straight days without a case breaking or some other emergency." Elizabeth started to speak but Catherine smiled at her mother, forestalling her offer. "And we know you all would have been willing to help, but that just wasn't something we wanted to throw at you." She glanced at Steve. "And all three of us, in particular, need to be completely comfortable with every aspect of the plan or we're just setting ourselves up for problems."
Joseph nodded. "Understandable."
"We picked up several board books at the library on using the potty and we've started incorporating them into the rotation of books we read with Angie," Catherine continued.
"Oh excellent," Esther said. "I can read them to her, too."
"Good," Steve said. "We don't know what kind of potty chair she's going to be comfortable using yet, so we have a couple different models for her to try." He motioned to the three different chairs on the deck behind him.
"Once it becomes clear what her preference is," Elizabeth began, "send us the link so we can have one at the condo as well."
"Perfect," Catherine said. "She has sat on them all and so far she seems to like the standalone chair, but she hasn't actually been willing to go potty on any of them so we're going to keep them all for the time being."
Steve nodded. "Once she starts showing more interest we plan to have her sit on the chair without a diaper for a few minutes every two hours to get her used to the process."
"Also when she wakes up in the morning and after naps," Catherine added.
Esther nodded, jotting down notes on the little yellow legal pad she'd brought with her.
"That's a good idea," Jenna said. "We used to set a timer for–"
Cody cleared his throat loudly before she could say the name.
She grinned at him. "Oops, almost forgot. We used to set the oven timer for one of the kids and when it went off he'd yell 'Potty time' and go sit on the toilet no matter whether he had to go or not."
Grace mouthed "Jacob?" to Cody who tried to look innocent.
"What?" Jenna said. "I didn't say his name."
"But you did say 'he,' " Cody pointed out.
"Well, I have three 'he's,' so that only narrows it down a little."
Looking back at Steve and Catherine, Joseph nodded. "I like the idea of a schedule. Creates an expectation."
"Right," Catherine said. "And we want to give her lots of positive feedback, even for just sitting on the potty."
"Oh!" Esther said suddenly, reaching down into her purse on the bench beside her. "I found these train stickers I thought Angie would like."
"Perfect," Catherine said, taking the offered package of stickers. "Oh, she'll definitely love these."
Danny chuckled. "First it was 'Choo choo boo boo,' pretty soon it's gonna be 'Choo choo poo poo.' "
Cody snorted.
"Danno," Grace groaned at the joke.
"Hey, if it gets her using the potty," he protested.
"That's absolutely true," Elizabeth agreed.
"Actually," Grace relented, shuffling the computer printouts in front of her. "That sort of leads into this … I did a little research," she said, glancing around the table. Steve and Catherine both smiled encouragingly. "I read that it's important not to act grossed out by, you know, poop and pee. Also, it's important that everyone be consistent in calling it that, since that's what Angie knows."
"That's right," Steve said, proud at his niece's diligence.
"And it's really important to stay calm and not make her feel bad if she has an accident," Grace continued.
"Right," Catherine agreed. "Accidents are going to happen, of course, but we know everyone here will stay positive and help Angie stay positive, too."
"Definitely," Joseph said.
"We also plan to dress her consistently in loose, easy to remove clothing," Catherine went on with a pointed look at Elizabeth.
Her mother grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."
"If she does have any anxiety about using the potty," Jenna said, "you could do a little playacting with stuffed animals. That's what we did with–" She stopped herself in time. "Anyway, that helped make he– um … make them more comfortable," she finished, exchanging a smile with Cody.
Grace mouthed "Kaitlyn" to him, more sure this time, and he smiled back, ducking his head to hide his expression.
"So," Joseph said, placing both hands on the table. "What's the timetable?"
"We're going to start having her sit on the potty chair regularly now, and unless she resists, continue with that schedule going forward. Once she makes it two weeks successfully using the potty and staying dry, we'll start using training pants."
"That sounds like a good plan," Joseph said.
"And we're hoping that having Joan here next week for spring break will encourage her," Catherine said.
"Oh, that's true," Grace said. "Angie loves imitating whatever Joan does."
Catherine nodded. "So that might be the jump start she needs."
"If we keep to the schedule and everyone encourages her throughout the process, we think that Angie will be using the potty in no time," Steve said.
"But," Catherine said, putting a hand on his arm, "we've also agreed that if she doesn't want to right now, we're not going to pressure her."
"Right," he agreed. "We'll all do everything we can to help her, but ultimately we know she's the one who has to be ready."
"Well, I think I can speak for everyone when I say we're all in to help," Elizabeth said to nods and echoes of agreement around the table.
Cammie, who had been lounging in her casa, jumped up and headed for the backdoor, tail wagging as she waited. A moment later the door opened and Kamekona appeared with Angie in one arm.
"Hiii!" she announced, excited at seeing so many of her favorite people in one place.
"Hi, sweetheart," Elizabeth said.
"Ama! Bee moa num!"
"Looks like I was right," Danny said with a grin. "Someone definitely got into some shave ice."
"Num!" Angie responded, smiling broadly.
Kamekona grinned, glancing at Angie whose mouth was ringed in the telltale blue and red syrup. "You know it, my friend. Best on the island."
"You could've at least wiped her mouth off," Danny said as Steve took Angie from Kamekona.
"She wouldn't let me," he protested. He looked at Steve. "Your kaikamahine is stubborn."
"Takes after her mother," Steve quipped, kissing Angie's head.
Catherine rolled her eyes as she joined them with a wet cloth from the outdoor sink. "Right. That's all me." She smiled at Angie. "Hey, baby girl, did you have fun with Kamekona?" she asked as she scrubbed at the syrup stain.
"No no!" Angie yelled as she squirmed, turning her head every which way to avoid the cloth.
"There, all done," Catherine said, tickling her tummy.
Angie giggled. Spotting the potty chairs on the deck, she pointed. "Pah-tee!"
"That's right, those are your potty chairs," Steve said. "Do you want to show everyone how you sit on your chair?"
Angie wiggled to get down and went directly to the standalone chair when Steve set her on the deck. She maneuvered herself onto the seat and then looked at the gathered group expectantly.
"You did it!" Esther said, clapping.
"Good job, honey," Joseph added.
Angie beamed at the praise, adding a clap of her own. "Yay!"
Grace smiled broadly. "I think this mission is a go."
Hope you enjoyed!
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