potty, potty, and more potty

Note: Photo was edited...that's a cartoon flower in the potty. Daddy wanted to make sure Mommy didn't miss out on anything while she was gone and he made sure to capture every detail :)

I'm going to stop apologizing for posting about the potty all the time since approximately 80% of my waking hours are spent thinking about it (I do OK with the potty...it's the two little ones I'm concerned with).

Last weekend we started talking a little more about going potty with Ella. We tried to keep her in underwear when we were home but we weren't trying too hard (I would rather try to get the kid to connect the sensation of having to go with actually going than ask them every 20 minutes...too exhausting for them and me). I could tell she was definitely getting ready though because she has a lot of words for the potty process and loves everything about it - including the toilet paper, flushing, and hand washing. We had a success or two but what was more notable was the fact that she absolutely freaked out if she had an accident. We're talking snot-flying, blubbery, sobbing - it took quite a few hugs to calm her down. Anyway, she had her last accident Monday night and she's been in undies or Pull-Ups ever since completely accident free including nap time and a few outings in public (she's still sleeping at night in a Pull-Up). The big test was still out there though because she hadn't done #2 on her own, but tonight while I was gone Matt said she just said she had to go, walked over to the potty, and went. Just like that.

Now I'm not sharing all of this to make you jealous (I have been on the other side of that and while I'm smiling and happy for you on the outside, on the inside I'm thinking "why can't my kid do that??"...and I really am happy for you :) ) Most of you know that we have had a terrible time getting Dylan trained. Poor guy. We started a year ago when he was 3 1/2 and we're still not all the way there. I was a little concerned about starting to train Ella now because I didn't want Dylan to feel bad if she could do it before him. On Sunday night when Matt was tucking him in, Dylan said, "Daddy, I'm sorry my poop is so hard." That makes me feel really bad and I'm trying to be conscious about not comparing them or saying anything that will make Dylan feel worse. On the other hand, it's been helpful now that Ella is interested because all of a sudden the potty is cool again to Dylan. I've always joked that they would be trained about the same time, and I guess I could be right. I did talk to our doctor again today and she's going to look into some more ideas for us to try with Dylan (the egg-free diet hasn't led to any big breakthroughs besides less tummy aches). She told me at the end of our conversation that what we're going through isn't normal and that she thinks I'm right to be pushing it which was very good for me to hear.

Legend has it (according to my mom) that I potty trained myself when I was two years old. Just walked over to my mom, told her I was done with diapers, and that was it. She took all my diapers over the neighbors, put me in underwear, and the rest is history. If Ella could follow in this proud tradition, we would be thrilled.

Now before you get too jealous about the self-training child, I will leave you with this little story. On Tuesday, Dylan had his third accident of the year at preschool. As a parent, I will tell you it's terribly embarrassing. It gets better though. His teacher was telling me about it as I was picking Dylan up and here's what happened: she saw something on the carpet that kind of looked like a little piece of poop. As she's processing it in her mind to decide if it is or isn't, Dylan announces to her that he's had an accident. As she's processing that, a kid on paper plate skis skies over it. Flattens it. So awesome. Not feeling so jealous now, are you?

Anyway, we love both our kids no matter what...Dylan will get there eventually and someday...someday we won't have to spend $50 million on diapers each month [exaggeration mine].