Becoming Three

Delphine is going through changes: she's gradually transforming from an obstinate and contrary two to a considerate and obedient three. She no longer says "No!" automatically. She wants to please: when she is misbehaving and Blake or I am annoyed she asks "Are you happy?"; the two-year-old sometimes wins out, though: "Are you happy?" "No, Delphine, I'm not happy." "Yes! You're happy!"

On Thursday she suddenly started asking "Why?", and it's a favourite conversational gambit now. It makes a pleasant change from "No".

She makes me laugh all the time. The other day as I was getting dressed I put a couple of breast pads on the bed. Delphine seized them and trotted away, saying "I need pads because my boobies are dripping", and clutched them to her little proto-boobs.

Sometimes she doesn't like being laughed at, especially when she's angry. So she says "Don't laugh!", except it comes out "Don' yaff!" Which of course makes me yaff all the more. Poor thing.

We haven't got anywhere with potty training; I was going to put her in big girl pants this weekend because Blake's got some time off, but I haven't yet. It just seems like a lot of work. News at 11! Parenting hard! I have to get on with it, though, because Delphine's totally ready. She spends ages making her Little People go to the bathroom in her new Little People house. All they seem to do is take turns peeing, complete with pulling down of pants, and wiping with toilet paper and washing hands. She declares "I have to pee" often. The only thing she doesn't do is actually use the toilet, and I figure that's only because so far she hasn't had to. A couple of accidents might convince her to figure it out.

Tomorrow. I swear we will start tomorrow.