Monkey is a nature buff.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned a rather, uh, “interesting” fixation Monkey has developed.  It all started last summer when we first started potty training seriously.  We went to camp and sometimes we were not near a bathroom when nature called.  I improvised and found Monkey a bush or “tree” to utilize.  This probably sounds strange to many people but it is part of being a little boy and going to camp.  While my parent’s camp isn’t precisely in the middle of nowhere, you can definitely see it from there.  Really, there is just no one to see and the logging companies that own vast tracts of land up there will never know.  So, it’s fine!

Anyway, a couple of times while we were there last summer Monkey utilized trees in emergency situations.  The problem is that Monkey doesn’t see any difference between peeing on a tree in the midst of thousands of trees and very few humans and peeing on, say, the neighbor’s hosta in the midst of thousands of humans and very few trees.  Oops.  Last fall and this summer he would periodically drop his pants in the back yard (you turn your back for ONE second!) and pee on the nearest plantlife.

Over the winter there was just no chance for him to indulge but he did indicate a willingness to experiment indoors.  We’ve always told him to “keep it in the water” when he’s peeing…sometimes he was tempted to try to get a look at what he was doing in such a way that he could have…not exactly lost an eye but…ew.  SO, being a very good generalizer he would sometimes approach OTHER bodies of water with that look in his eye (and, yes, sometimes his pants around his ankles.)  For example, the dogs’ water dish.  NOT acceptable! 

Winter turned to spring and, FINALLY, summer.  Monkey continued his covert trips to the backyard shrubs despite our polite (yeah, right!) requests that he stop.   We took a trip to camp once again and found ourselves in a situation where he  had to be taken on a sanctioned trip to a local bush (6 people, 1 bathroom…it happens!) 

Since we have been home he has not ONCE pee’d on the bushes (or the neighbors’ hosta.)  We’ve been vigilent and made sure that he is escorted straight to the bathroom when he needs to go.   That’s the good news.

The bad news is that he is sneaky…and determined…aaaand able to open the back door that leads onto our second story porch.   He can’t quite reach the bushes from that location, but he sure tried. 

I think I need to apologize to all the neighbors who may have had to witness the event.  *Sigh*  I see some timeouts in his future…which reminds me of another great camp story for tomorrow.