We started potty training on Friday which is, like I always feared, a process designed to absolutely tear away all your human adult dignity that you've built up over the years. Friday and Saturday Steve and I basically had our eyes glued to Paul's private parts as they waved merrily in the literal breeze (nothing like seeing your son, atop his swing set, waving and yelling "Hii!!" to some construction guys across the street when he's completely nude from the waist down.) I had read a book about potty training: as of Thursday I knew everything there was to know about it. As of Saturday I was scrabbling in the air like a dog being held above a bathtub. For instance, the book says not to reward your child for using the toilet: by Sunday I had bought two whole bags of M&M's (or as Paul calls them, "lem-a-lems").

But! Even though it's going to be a long road, by last night we already saw some progress. The entire day, despite nothing coming between him and his figurative Calvins, Paul had no accidents, including when we spent several hours at my parents' house for dinner. So my mom decided it was time we pass on the ribbon.

When I was about Paul's age, my mom awarded me with a celebratory ribbon for using the potty. You can tell I was very proud:

Then, it was my brother's turn:

I'm happy to say that both of us have successfully grown into adults that know how to use the toilet, so my mom thought it was time to pass the torch. We rather foolishly showed it to Paul some time after he had gone to the bathroom, so missed the chance to make a big deal about pinning it to him after he'd experienced success, but he didn't really like it that much when we tried to be like "Aaactually, wait, let's put this fun thing away for now and give it to you later!" So he wore it for a large part of the evening before, after, and during his bathroom and other activities:

My mom told us we should take it home, though, and we did, so I'm sure we'll have plenty of other chances for the official Zulkey-Delahoyde "I did it!" photo. And we might as well hold onto it for this next kid, and then maybe someday Paul or his brother can share it with their kids. And then one day some future historian will discover it and muse, "I wonder if this was a ribbon given for peeing and pooping."