Potty Week Part 3: Let's Party!

Ok, so potty week is technically over, but I have to finish the story. It definitely had it's ups and downs, but was, in the end, a huge success! J is officially "diaper-free." There have been no accidents of any kind since last Thursday. Number one and number two are both flowing freely and with little or no prompting from parents.

I found a great deal on multi packs of Tonka matchbox cars. We used those as a reward for staying dry through sleep times and for poops in the potty. That turned out to be a great motivator. We went from no poops for 2 and a half days to the opposite extreme. Now he likes to run to the potty many times a day, squeeze out whatever little turd he can, look at it and declare, "Now, that deserves a truck!"

We celebrated with a big Potty Party Saturday afternoon. They say you can't force a child to potty train. You have to wait until he wants to do it. My goal, then, was to make him want to do it. So for the past several months, we've been planning the Big Party. Basically anytime he said, "Mommy, wouldn't it be nice if I had X," I'd say, "I bet we could have X at the potty party!" I was willing to promise most anything to get this done. We had his good buddy from church there, Cuddles the Clown, m&m's, chocolate covered strawberries, apple pie, Scrambler, his very own trumpet (Grandma's garage sale find), a pinata, and much more. We even bussed up his cousins from North Carolina to help us celebrate.




Cuddles put on a great show complete with magic, live animals, and balloon animals. The highlight was when the mouse she was about to turn into tootsie rolls made an escape. He hid behind the piano for a bit, then made a dash across the dining room. I made an impressive dive in an attempt to catch him, but missed. I finally shooed him toward Grandma who saved the day and caught the little rascal. Much cheering and clapping from delighted little children was heard throughout the spectacle.


The kids really loved the pinata. And fortunately, none of them got their teeth knocked out with the bat. I must say, it was one of the sturdiest pinatas I've ever seen. I didn't think it was ever going to break open. They did eventually manage to extract all of the goodies, including the toilet candies. Yes, indeed, toilet candies for the potty party! Lovely little plastic toilet containers with plunger-shaped suckers that you dip in the powder filling the bowl. The kids loved them. Fortunately, I think all the guest children ate theirs here without taking them home to show their parents.

We're very proud of J's accomplishment. Although, I must confess, it makes me just the slightest bit sad to see him running around in his undies. He's not such a little boy anymore.