Deserving of a Post

Okay, okay, I realize it has been a VERY LONG time since my last post. And I have been harassed by a few people (ahem...mom, Alyssa, Arlys).  Well, this definitely deserves a post.  :)

Today at MOPS, we had a great speaker.  Geoff Safford is the pastor of Westwind Church in Waukee, and he spoke to our group last year too.  Anyway, one of the things he talked about was celebrating the little things from having a good day at school to working hard on a homework assignment to getting a job done, but especially potty-training.  Do you see where this is going?

Emma has been doing a GREAT job going potty.  She's been wearing panties since November/December (I think) when I decided we just needed to jump in with both feet.  She keeps her panties dry MOST of the time, although she tends to do better with this when I'm home than when Scott's here.  I think she's just testing him.  LOL

Going #2, on the other hand, has been more of a challenge to say the least.  I realize this is the case for most kids, but I struggle to get her to even sit on the potty for any length of time.  She's gone poop on the potty, quite often now actually, but it's never intentional and never initiated by her.  Usually, I know she's getting ready, so I put her on the potty and walk out of the bathroom to "get her something".  In other words, to leave her alone and make her sit there until I come back.  That's when she usually goes and then yells for me.

When she does tell us, it's ALWAYS because she's already gone in her panties.  We've now started taking away her princess dolls, hoping that would be her motivator.  Nope.

So when Emma wanted to watch Tangled yesterday, I told her she couldn't watch it until she'd gone poop on the potty.  After a short while, I put her on the potty where she did eventually go and got to watch her movie.

After MOPS today, Emma and I returned our books to the library, and while she picked out her princess and Barbie books, I found a Barbie movie for her.  I told her she could watch it after she went poop on the potty, so she decided she needed to go right then at the library.  But she didn't go.

When we got home, I was checking my e-mail in my room while Emma looked through the library books in the living room.  Typically this would be the time that she'd go in her pants because she's alone.  BUT NOT TODAY!!

She came running into our room and said, "I have go poo poo!" (Usually this means she has already gone.) 

Slightly disappointed, I said, "Did you go in your panties?"

"No, Mommy! My panties are clean!!  I go on potty!!"

And she did!!!!!  Let the celebrating (a.k.a. movie-watching) begin!!  I guess we've found Emma's great-motivation.  :)