I promised almost three years ago when I started this web log for Samantha that there would be no postings about dirty diapers or potty training. Well, I guess I lied. But this posting isn't really about potty training -- it's about the fact that, at the age of 2 years and 10 months, Samantha has discovered the concept of privacy.

We were in the living room earlier this evening and she began taking off her clothes (a dress-up princess costume that she'd put on herself). I asked if she needed to use the potty and she told me yes, and that she wanted to use the big potty, which means she wants to use the grownup bathroom. So I took her over to the powder room, got her situated, and waited for her to do what she needed to do.

Now you have to understnad that there's a smoke detector on the ceiling of the foyer outside the powder room, and there's a boxer calendar on the opposite wall, both of which require facing away from the room to see them. Samantha sat for a moment, then looked at me very seriously and said "Daddy, I need to go by myself. In private. You can look at the alarm or the picture of puppies." And that's been her thing for the remainder of the day: "I need to go in private. You can look at [some random faraway object].

Did I mention that sometimes Samantha just cracks me up?