Potty Training is Hard But it is Working!

Don't go poopoo on the floor, nooo! she says. She is repeating what I say. "Don't go pee in my panties! Nooo." says Kara. Or, she also sees me about to step in the shower, she is telling ME, "Don't go pee in the shower, momma...Nooo." I tell her, "Don't worry, I am already potty trained, and I won't go pee in the shower."

But she is really getting it. She knows where NOT to go potty and to wear her panties with out going pee in them. So far today, Kara has gone pee two times in the potty and stayed dry til 11am this morning. She started to pee in the panties but we were close to the potty she finished up in the potty. I got her cleaned up and new panties to put on.

 Today we have been playing music that I found on the Huggies website. A Potty dance song in different versions. We now have the songs downloaded on our computer desktop, to play all day. Today is dedicated to all potty theme, potty training. We're going knock this out and get it going, this is one determined momma!

Her preschool will also continue the potty training with her wearing the panties! They are on board too! At preschool they will help her learn tomorrow on her school day. I am glad they are there to help with Potty training. If we had to switch tomorrow to the pull-ups, for preschool to use, then it is like taking steps backwards and loosing all the hard work of today. Plus she has some classmates also using the panties and potty training. This will encourage each other and see one another use the potty. All together being potty trained and maybe have it sink in more.

She is also making the connection on her own. She is confirming with me this thought process she has, in her little toddler mind... "Momma goes potty, Dadda goes potty...Ellie (one of her friends) goes potty..." and I tell her "Yes, we are all potty trained! Now it is your turn, Kara to get potty trained! Let's learn how to go potty and try our best not to pee or poo in the panties!" Then Kara says, (in her cute toddler voice) "OK! let's do it!" To have this little conversation and hear that she is ready and we are doing it...this was one of the best moments for me as a mom!

Yay! she just went potty for the third time this morning! She going pee. It is 11:41am and we have the whole rest of the day to go; so far just the one minor pee accident in the 1st pair of panties. Kara is doing so good! And I, being the mom, am her potty cheerleader! I am overacting the happy/excitement, making a big deal that she just peed in the potty! GOOD JOB KARA! YOU DID IT! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! YOU CAN DO IT!!! clapping our hands. Then we go to the computer and play the potty songs again and dance around.

So far so good. I am back to the blog, and it is 1:12pm. We had lunch and she's still dry on her panties! We are doing so well with this potty training day. I am still anticipating the poo moment. She hasn't done a poo yet today...normally by now. I KNOW, this is T.M.I. especially if you are just reading this blog and NOT a parent of a toddler, this blog is not very exciting. But I am really writing this for myself to look back on years from now, and document the day of triumphs! Also I write this particular blog for my other parents out there in the same boat.

Trying to potty train a toddler is SO HARD to do. We (the adults) just have to stick with it. Truly an experience as a parent and an experience as the toddler! We are both learning. I just have to stick with it and keep being the cheerleader and encourage the potty times. Even when Kara just sits on the potty and doesn't actually "go", I still tell her, "Thanks for trying, you did a good job!" Keep it positive.

Christmas 2011

This year Christmas was small and just celebrated by the three of us. I decorated our tree with Kara. She is a toddler, so all the ornaments she hung up, were in the same section of the tree, at her eye level...So I would coach her in where to put the next ornament; and how these all look better, when spread out along the tree. She had so much fun hanging each one up. Later as the weeks progressed we would get an ornament here and there from people. She made a few ornaments at preschool and I made one at my work and she made another at our church. First thing Kara would do after coming home, with a new ornament, was go directly to the tree and want to hang it up. Photos are shown to see her ornaments.

 I made the candy-cane ornament at my work, and Kara hung it on the tree.

 The sparkly peach ornament Kara made in Preschool! So pretty.

 The little snowman ornament, Karas preschool teacher, Ms. Lauren made for everyone.

 Kara made the green ornament with stickers that says, "Peace" at our church.

As a fun little detail to Santa stuffing the stockings, I left out Santa's hat by the fire place (shown in photo), as if he left it behind. I told her, "Look! Santa left us presents in our   stockings. Oh and look! He forgot his hat!" Something that I did forget this year was to put out cookies and eggnog! If I would have remembered to do that, then I would also need carrots for the Reindeer...but we were out of carrots anyway.



Kara made a present for us, at her preschool! It was so sweet to have our first gift from our daughter as something that she made at school. She is 2 1/2 and this will be the first of many school crafts to come for many years through out her school years. Those are the special gifts that I look forward to as a parent. This crafty present she made was a snowman with buttons and a little snow-hat. The Snowman was made from an old sock! Haha!