Toilet Brushes and the Underwear Rule

Toddlers add laughter to life. Don't believe me? If you have a good sense of humor, try parenthood.

I really wanted to get the downstairs toilet clean. There have been pee stains under the seat for a few days now. Tonight, I finally had a few minutes to conquer it. I pulled out the toilet brush and walked toward the bathroom. Oliver caught a glimpse of me and yelled, "Me!" He ran over and impatiently whined while I scrubbed. I let him know he'd have a turn after me. Once I finished, I handed him the toilet brush.

I expected him to just scrub at the toilet as he had before. Instead, he took it and ran upstairs. Whatever. I quickly finished wiping down the toilet and then trotted upstairs. I discovered my husband holding Jo and laughing heartily. At that moment, we heard the sound of the toilet flushing, and Oliver burst out of the bathroom, running full speed to the other bathroom down the hall, waving the toilet brush all the way. That sent Andrew into a deeper fit of laughter. What can I say? Our kid likes to help.

Fast forward an hour or two. I'm upstairs with Oliver, and he asks me to take his shirt off. That is not unusual. Whenever Oliver gets anything on his sleeves (water, lotion, etc.), he asks me to take his shirt off. So, I did. Then, Oliver peeled off his pants, his socks, and his undies. I thought maybe he was going to play bath time. Ever since Joanna had her first bath, Oliver likes to climb into her plastic tub and pretend to bathe in it. Imagine my surprise when my naked toddler hopped into bed and yelled, "Mom, snuggle!" I was both horrified and amused. I knew immediately what spurred this bizarre behavior. After his bath the day before, I'd taken him straight to his bed and put his covers on him and rubbed his body vigorously to keep him warm in the cold air after his warm bath. But I didn't expect Oliver to reenact that! And how do you teach a two-year-old what is and isn't appropriate, anyway?

I did the best I could. I told Oliver that he had to have his undies on to snuggle. I put his underwear back on him and then climbed into bed for snuggles. Cue Andrew's entrance. I had to explain the entire naked-snuggle situation to him, and I finished with, "What could I do? I told him he had to have undies on to snuggle."

I'm telling you, toddlers are observant and have impeccable memories. Oliver can do something once and then remember it months later when the situation arises again. No wonder parents get in trouble with their little kids repeating the things they say. It's simultaneously hilarious and shocking.

So, there you have it: our evening with Oliver. Parenthood at its finest.