Well, I think I've almost done the impossible. Joshua, for the most part, is now potty trained.
One day, after feeling a certain amount of frustration over our $140 grocery bill (for one week!), Jon Mark and I decided that something just had to be done. Buying diapers for two kids was rediculously expensive! So, kind of on a whim, I told Jon Mark that I would potty train Joshua and that I would do it in three days.
On Monday, I showed Joshua this really cheesy video about "potty power", and we put away all of his diapers. I bought Skittles as a reward (note: he was totally unmotivated by Skittles, so I went to the dollar store and got some little toys to put in my treasure chest... this worked so much better. And, by the way, Skittles are really messy. I would suggest Smarties instead.). And, we went bare bottom--ALL DAY LONG!!!! I thought I'd go insane from watching his every move. He had about twenty accidents that day... one of which was at Texas Roadhouse (and it was number 2--he didn't go bare bottom there, but was still in underwear instead of diapers). My super kind mother inlaw helped me out on that one--NASTY! I was in such a bad mood by the time bedtime rolled around for the little ones.
I told Jon Mark that if I had another day like that one, then we were going to go back to diapers. That's when he made a very good point; if I've already invested this much time, why not follow it through til it's done. Well, I just didn't think I could. I know it sounds rather ridiculous, but I actually prayed for help. I knew I needed divine help with patience if I was going to get through it. It totally worked! The next day was soooo much better. Joshua had virtually no accidents and on the third day he actually started to tell me when he needed to go. Today he has had a few accidents, but he uses the potty more often than not. He hasn't been telling me when he needs to go today, but we're working on it.
My thanks goes out to grandma's and aunts and uncles who showed so much support to him (and me) by singing him songs, giving him praise, and for giving him special rewards. It's working out... knock on wood!
Mercedes is such a sweet girl! She always has her thumb in her mouth sucking away. I think it's so cute. Everyone says I'll regret it later, because unlike a pacifer, you can't take her thumb away. It's still cute. She'll coo, laugh, and smile for you without much effort on your part. I wish I was as easily ammused as my children are. Life would be a bliss. I can certainly learn a lot from them in so many ways. P.S. I can't take credit for the pictures, they were from that photosession I wrote about in my last blog. Michelle does a wonderful job. You should check out some of her work. http://picsbymichelle.blogspot.com/
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