Once Upon a Time I used to write posts that had nothing to do with cancer

My Ella has been quite the stinker lately. Literally.

A couple months ago I boasted about her finally being potty trained. Well, I spoke way too soon. Although she is Pee trained, (which has been WONDERFUL) she is not Poop trained. I don't know why not. She's pooped in the toilet before, but now she has decided that unless we "catch" her in the act and put her on the toilet, she is completely content to just poop in her underwear.

Yesterday morning she went "missing" for about 10 minutes. Once I noticed she wasn't watching TV like I thought, I found her walking down the stairs with a big smile on her face. "Ella, what were you doing?" I asked hesitantly. "I clean potty," she tells me. Oh no, I thought, what in the world did she do? While inspecting the bathroom, I noticed dirty water all over the toilet seat, but I couldn't quite figure out what she had done. But then I smelled it, and then I saw it. She had poop smeared down her leg. After inspecting her room, I discovered her pull-up that she wears at night, filled with poop, just sitting on her bed. She had gone through the trouble of taking it off, then going in her drawer and getting a new one to put on. In the process of changing herself, she made quite a stinky trail.

But just pooping wasn't enough trouble for Ella to cause apparently. Lately she has been horrible at dinnertime. She refuses to eat, she doesn't want to sit down, or she insists on sitting on someones lap. Melvin is really good about being consistent with her. He makes her sit down and eat, but if she chooses not to, he puts her up in her room. She'll cry and throw a fit, but after several trips up and down the steps to her room, she eventually ends up sitting at the table eating. Last night she was pulling her usual dinnertime shenanigans, but when Melvin brought her up to her room, she started coughing and choking on a piece of broccoli. She wouldn't stop coughing so I ran up the stairs, just in time to see her vomit all over my husband.

I had to hold back my laugh, because the look on my husband's face as he stood there dripping in with puke was priceless. And all I could think of was what Ella must have been thinking, "Ha ha daddy. I just showed you. Send me to my room again why don't you! Poetic justice baby. Poetic justice."