Tales From The Toybox

Believe it or not, we have actually made quite a lot of progress on the potty! I had decided to give up until I am off work this summer and pick up the stressful potty training process again at that time, but Olivia has really started to show an interest. On one of our weekly trips to the bookstore I picked up a copy of “Potty Training for Dummies”. The book suggested not using the smaller potty seats that snap on to the larger potty…like we were doing. Instead, the book says you should purchase your child his/her own little potty chair that sits on the floor next to the big one. Apparently some kids are afraid of the big potty. Maybe that explains why my older kids manage to pee on the walls and all over the seat. Anyway…

We took Olivia out a few weeks ago and let her help choose a brand new potty. We made a big deal of the trip and went to 3 different stores before we found the perfect little chair. Who the heck knew there were 5 billion different kinds of chairs?? You can find anything from the basic bowl chair…

To a Princess Potty in several selections (and notice the kid in the picture is still wearing diapers! lol)..

They have potty’s that look like a school bus (isn’t that what every young kid needs…to learn to pee on the bus???)

For your little boys they have Peter Potty’s Flushing Urinal!

And best of all, there are even toilets that Blast a toddler rendition of Pomp and Circumstance complete with bells and sirens the second a drop of liquid hits the bowl…This is a sure way to scare the crap, literally, out of any kid!

After hours of searching, we settled on a simple, white and green potty…Olivia got to put the green frog sticker on the front…

We brought the potty home and within minutes had it all assembled and ready for business. We placed it in the center of the living room, placed Olivia on it and we all gathered around her in a circle. This probably was not the best technique. Although she didn’t seem the least bit embarassed, the pressure from 12 eyeballs staring her down in anticipation was too much. Thinking I’d completely blown it, I moved potty into a more private space (although it doesn’t seem to be so private when I’m in there)…my bathroom. The second Olivia’s little tush hit that soft, squishy seat she began pee’ing like a little pro!!! Wow! How easy was that!!??

OK, so I’m sure you can imagine that it wasn’t quite as easy as that after all. As much as I would have liked to believe that Olivia was now completely potty trained, we have spent the last few weeks cleaning puddles, soaking up sofa cushions, and washing big-girl panties. BUT, we are making progress. Yesterday Olivia went all day with only one accident and even managed to make it through a nap and woke up dry.

Here she is this morning getting ready for her morning wee-wee…

One day she’ll love that I was there capturing every moment…

Sometimes, like this morning, things don’t happen as quickly as she would like and she loves to tell me, “It’s not working!!” so I’ll let her off the potty…

A quick peek tells her it still hasn’t worked…

The waiting can be excruitiating when you’re only 2…

“Mom! Enough with the pictures!”…

“Wait a sec…I think it may be working…”

“It IS working!!”…

And what pee would be complete without inviting your little brother to check it out?…