Princess Ponies Pee Standing Up

Today my daughter went to the bathroom by herself, washed her hands and put on clean underwear. Without any help whatsoever. Because, as she puts it, she is a "grownup princess."

Which is much better than a year ago when we started potty traing. At 2, my daughter was a pony. Not a girl. A pony. If you said anything to her that contained the word "girl" you would get a cross correction.

"C'mon little girl, let's go."

Very crossly, with a pursed little lip and frowning eyebrows, "I'm not a little girl. I'm a pony." And if you pushed the issue, which my mother tended to do, you would get it louder, with emphasis. "I'M (pause) A (pause) PONY!!!"

All she wanted was to BE a pony. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A pony. A PINK pony."

So, when we started potty training, my darling, ever so helpful son informed my pony that ponies pee standing up. I didn't know that he had done this, but learned soon after. He had watched a Animal Planet show with my husband, and, of course, the horses peed standing up. And my son told me daughter that if she was, in fact, a pony, then she would have to pee standing up.

So, the next time in the bathroom, my daughter, after pulling off her leggings, stood straddling the portable child's potty.

"What are you doing?" I'm thinking that she is a little confused after watching her brother pee standing up.

"I'm peeing."

"Why are you standing up?"

"Ponies pee standing up. Cole said." (At this point, I'm a little grateful that my son didn't tell her to poop standing up.)

Trying to manage the situation without scarring her emotionally and screwing up potty training, while at the same time needing to properly train my daughter before daycare thinks that I'm completely nuts, I cleverly say, "Well ponies pee outside. Should we go outside?" This is a good response, since my daughter is a bit more private than my son. My son LOVES to pee outside.

With her tiny pursed little, and a very cross expression, I get her explanation. "Mama, princess ponies do NOT pee outside."