SLOWLY BUT SURELY, WE'RE GETTING THERE...

Miss Liv has been using the potty chair here and there for the past few weeks. I say "here and there" as she seems to decide when she feels like going in her pants and when she feels like going on the potty chair. At times she will walk on up to me and say "Mommy, potty" and make her way into the bathroom, drag her potty chair out to the living room, take off her clothes and diaper, plop her little bottom down and go. Just like a pro - like she had been doing this sort of thing forever. Other times she will walk up to me and say "Mommy, potty in diaper" and she will stand there with such a look of concentration on her face as she is literally going to the bathroom in her diaper. Little stinker.

So lately I have been making a little bit bigger than usual deal out of when she decides to use the potty, so as to make her want to ditch the diapers for good.

This morning she was apparently in the mood to use the potty chair, and Ava was in the mood to document the celebration using my camera.

Here my girl is, sitting on the potty, with her "smile Liv" grin on her face.

Soon after this, she hopped up off the potty chair to proudly show us that she had indeed gone.

We clapped, laughed and yelled out lots of celebratory things such as "Yay!!" and "You did it Liv!!!" and "Good job, you are such a big girl!!"

After slipping on her big girl Dora underwear, she decided the celebration was not over. Apparently all of the clapping, and words of encouragement were not enough for my girl. So it all continued on, Ava and I shouting out "Yay! Great job! Wooo-hooo! We are so proud of you Liv!!" We clapped some more and even added some jumping around to the celebration.

We did some hugging,

and some more jumping,

And we ended the whole celebration with a sucker and a little ride on her favorite horse.

All of this before 8am this morning.

Needless to say, Miss Liv was very proud of her accomplishments on the potty chair.

I'm hoping that a few of these types of celebrations will do the trick and get my girl to use that potty chair of hers all of the time. 'Cause doing this too often is simply going to wear this Mama out.

Sing To The Mountains, Sing To The Seas,

Raise your voices, lift your hearts this is the day the Lord has made, let all the earth rejoice!

So for those of you who do not know, this is a fabulously beautiful song I used to hear at church all the time as a little girl. I say "used to" as I am not a frequent church goer these days - alright, I don't go at all. Which is a whole different subject, for a different day, for a different post. But I remember this song very well, and I love, love, love it. It actually sprang to mind this afternoon as I came to the realization that today marked a very special occasion. What occasion you ask?

Anthony being potty trained!!



Yes folks, I find it safe to say that my Anthony Thomas can go out in public with big boy underwear on. No more diapers. Praise the Lord. I never thought this day would come... I will explain.

Anthony has been a bit stubborn on the whole potty training front for the past 6 months. I know, I know, he is only 3, but he has seemed more than ready to be going on the toilet for quite some time now. I know this as over the past said 6 months I have found him making his way to the bathroom on numerous occasions - When I ask him what he is doing he casually says "going potty" or "going poo - poo". And he really does just that. He closes the door, takes care of business, flushes, washes hands, and returns to whatever it was he was playing with before he had to go to the bathroom. Great, right? Well not really, as he only does this when he feels like it. On the days that I am not so lucky, and he leaves a little "treat" in his diaper for me, we have a conversation that goes something like this

Mom: "Anthony, why didn't you go in the toilet?"

Anthony: "Because. I wanted to go in my diaper today."

Very matter of fact. Just like that. Little stinker...

So this is how it has been going down for the past 6 months, some days we use the toilet, some days we use the diaper, and some days we use the carpet (sorry Grandma.)

Until this week - all of a sudden he has been all about using the toilet ALL the time. Monday I did not think much of it - just thought he was feeling especially into the idea of going on the toilet, same thing for Tuesday. When Wednesday rolled around and he was still going strong I started to get excited and hopeful. Then this morning he woke up with a dry diaper - Alleluia!!! But the true test was today when we went to an indoor playpark to play with friends... He stopped what he was doing (which is huge for him when he is busy playing), walked up to me and said he had to go potty. I brought him to the bathroom, and he went. About an hour later he came to me and said he had to go # (ahem) 2. So we made our way to the bathroom and he went. AGAIN!

Now off to Target to buy some Diego, Spiderman, and Star Wars underwear. All per Anthony's request - which is just fine. He can have whatever kind and however many pair of undies his little heart desires. In this case I will spoil him rotten.

"Sing to the mountains, sing to the seas, raise your voices, lift your hearts this is the day Anthony Thomas is officially potty trained, let all the earth rejoice!!"

Again.... Alleluia! Praise the Lord!!



Can you tell how thrilled I am? Sometimes it's the little things....

Adventures in Potty Training

I know, I already did my one post for the day but I had something happen just now that I had to write about. Just had to....I know that one day when my Anthony is older he will really want to hear this story about his potty training woes. Maybe not, but I want to write about it anyway....

We have been trying for quite some time to get Anthony used to going to the bathroom like a "big boy" on the toilet and not in his pants. We have tried regular old potty chairs, potty chairs that make music after you do your business, little seats that go on top of the toilet seat with Diego or some other character on them. You catch my drift - we have pretty much tried everything, and he just has not been all that interested in going anyplace but in his diaper.

I know, I know, he is still young, but I was successful in getting Ava and Lucas potty trained by the time they were 3. Again, I know, you can't push, every child trains at a different age....but he seems more than ready. Actually I think he is playing me (Anthony can be a little stinker like that). I say this because on occasion he will "out of the blue" say he has to go potty, walk into the bathroom, take off his diaper, go, flush and wash his hands. He knows how to do it, he just chooses when he wants to and when he does not want to. So what to do? Little stinker.

I have decided recently to just put clothes on him sans the diaper, thinking that he will feel the need to get to a toilet and go. I thought I was actually successful as it has been working for the past few days, up until just an hour ago, when he went #2 on the rug in the playroom. Here is how it played out...

I was sitting here on my computer returning some emails - Off point, but I have been spending way too much time on this computer, facebooking and blogging to my hearts content. I am thinking I may need to cut back. Back on point.... When Anthony walked up to me and said

Anthony: "Hey Mommy, I pooped on the floor in the playroom."

Mommy: "You did? Where?"

Anthony: "On the rug by the toys."

Mommy: "Why didn't you go on the toilet."

Anthony: "Because." (enlightening, right?)

Mommy: " Show me where so I can clean it up."

Anthony: "Right there Mommy. See, it is just a little bit."

Ugh. The only positive point about this whole story is that he was right, it was just a little bit and more importantly, it was very..... solid. I know, gross, but could you imagine if it would have been - not so solid?? What a mess that would have been.

So he may not end up being potty trained by the time he turns three, and that is alright. I figure sooner or later he will get tired of sitting in his own potty/poo and resort to going on the toilet instead of in the diaper. I hope.

Oh the joys of Motherhood.....