Potty Success!

In the battle of Will vs. the Potty, I declare Will the victor!

I know some of you might be getting tired of seeing pictures of this potty, but I got nothin' else.  Even I wouldn't make my 2-year-old actually wrestle the potty just to illustrate my point, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Seriously, though, I can't believe my little Moose is completely potty trained.  Except for the standing-up stuff, which is Mike's domain.  The first week was rocky, with a whole bunch of careening through grocery stores or wiping up puddles RIGHT BESIDE the potty.  But, really, after a little over a week of washing Will's clothes around the clock, he's got the hang of it.

Now that I've done the potty training thing with two kids, people ask me all the time what the secret is.  Well, they don't actually.  But they could if they wanted to.  I see all this stuff online and on T.V. about potty training in one day, or potty training one-year-olds, and I don't buy it.  Diapers are easier.  And if you're a mom, wiping your own child's bottom is just not that big a deal.

With both Sarah and Will, they were ready.  They told me, and I provided the potty.  In the grocery store parking lot.  At the park.   I really thought that, as stubborn, willful, and busy as Will is, he wouldn't go on the potty until 3 or 4, and that would have been okay.

Here are the essentials for me during PTBC (Potty Training Boot Camp):

• No Pull-ups 
• Nudity
• Hershey's Kisses
• Enthusiasm (songs, clapping, fist-pumps)
• Portable Potty

Sarah has an abnormally large sweet tooth.  It's more of a tusk, really, and I have no idea where she gets it from (cough).  So, my little manipulator was more than happy to receive her "potty chocolate" after she went potty, too.  Uh-uh.  The rule for her to earn her kiss was to write her name or a word of her choosing.  The more writing, the more rewarding.

This time around, the potty training was trickier because we had the distraction of big sister.  But, we added some new potty songs to our repertoire, like the classic "You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Potty!" or "It's My Potty, and I'll Go If I Want To".  Look for these in a Time Life Classics series soon.

My kids may not sleep until they're 18 months old, but, doggone it, they can POTTY.