Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Potty Training

Just that word makes me cringe. I am not a potty trainer. In fact, in our house, potty training has been more about training ME than them. And they know it. For Josh, we had to finally tell him that we had no more diapers. He search the house and upon finding no diapers, decided maybe he could do this grand thing of taking care of his own bodily functions.

For Ellie, we have exhausted all the tricks. Stickers, treats, and putting the doll on the potty have all been used. The last one failed when she discovered she could outmaneuver us. "I don't have to go, but my dolly does. It's her turn now." Even calling loved ones to share in the joy of a successful deposit has been tried. The phone call continues to be my favorite. I'm sure my husband is glad he has his own office when he needs to field a call from his daughter..."I PEED! IN THE POTTY! BYE!" I can just imagine his voice changing into the cute higher-pitched one he uses when he talks to her, while hoping no one hears him cheering on the latest success. It's priceless.

Currently, we aren't doing half-bad. Ellie has had one full day without an accident and she actually made a large deposit today on her own. She said she had "poops" and, oh boy, she did. After a self-proclaimed "hard time" doing her job, she observed, "Wow, it looks like a hot dog!" She seems pretty proud of herself, although, donut holes are the current winner for motivation.

Maybe I am getting better at this training thing. Maybe by the time it's Owen's turn, I may be able to let him run naked... but there is that the potential for spraying like an out-of-control fire hose. Ahhh, only time will tell.

7 comments:

trevsmom said...

You go Ellie girl...i loved the message on the phone too! Good luck Kris...I love the donut hole motivator! ;-)

Emily Dykstra said...

Girl, this needs to be published. This is really well written and hilarious.

Morgan has had a few setbacks (the house move was a big one) but she is catching on. Know that you have company in your frustrations.

Short Stop said...

AHHHH!! LOL! This post is hilarious, Kris!

I'm currently training Jack. I feel for you in every word of this post. He's somewhat getting it, but I just keep praying that he will FINALLY get it completely.

Erin said...

I gotta say, this is one area where I seriously LUCKED OUT. I take no credit, my kids just did what they were supposed to do. Don't worry, though, they pay me back in many, many ways...

Sittintall said...

Kris, I can only hope that I do as well as you. Go girl with the donut hole thing. I still have to think of a good motivator.

andrea said...

I may have pictures from all over, by your kids' antics and the memories of their "growing up" are absolutely priceless! I'm glad we can share our strangely different life adventures!

Mary@notbefore7 said...

Potty training...ugh! We are hard core trainers in this house and that first week KILLS me! I don't envy you being in the midst of it right now. Good luck!

I love that she'll call her dad to tell him about it.

Just keep your sense of humor - there seems to be plenty of humor in your house :) That helps! These days make the best stories once they are older!