I'm hoping potty training dolls will lead to a potty trained toddler sooner rather than later

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Saturday, I was driving with The Kid to visit friends in Cincinnati. She took a long nap, lasting most of the way from Detroit to Wapakoneta, OH. When she woke up, she informed me that the doll she was playing with, appropriately named Baby, was 'uckie,' which means poo-poo in The Kid speak.

We stopped at the Bob Evans in Wapakoneta so Baby could get cleaned up, The Kid could also get a clean Pull-Up and we could enjoy lunch. At least I assumed The Kid needed a clean up. Why else would she be telling me Baby was uckie, right?

I was wrong. As I gave The Kid a baby wipe to clean Baby with, and Baby's bottom subsequently received a thorough scrubbing, I checked The Kid's diaper. It was clean. I didn't have to change her Pull-Up until we reached our destination.

Tonight, her Hug Me Elmo doll needed to use the potty. Not the Big Potty that Mama and Papa use, but the training potty. The Kid opened the lid to the potty, sat Elmo down and instructed me to sit next to Elmo, presumably so I could read the doll stories. It is the routine we've set for The Kid when she uses the potty after all.

We ended up singing to Elmo, but the doll never did go poo-poo. To make my daughter feel better about this streak of constipation for her beloved doll, I put a Pull-Up on it just in case Elmo has an accident overnight. And, for the record, my beloved daughter didn't need to poo-poo this time either.

I know I told our pediatrician at our last well-baby check that The Kid has a vivid imagination, more vivid than I had expected from a two year-old. Saturday was my confirmation that I was right, and I couldn't help but laugh. Tonight was funny because she was so earnest about making sure we followed her potty routine for Elmo, even if it was not a fruitful trip for him.

As my rear-end was falling asleep sitting on the hard tile floor next to Elmo, trying to read and sing to a doll, I started to wonder if this will lead into The Kid becoming reliably potty trained. She's had a few successes lately, at daycare and at home. Is it too much to hope that as her dolls have success using the potty, she'll start having more too?

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