Potty Training...

The biggest negative to having a smart/stubborn child...potty training! I see it with all of my friends who have 'above-average' children. The only thing that you can't force a child to do is pee! I used to hear that girls were so easy to potty train, but everyone I see is having a difficult time with their little smarty-pants kids! Addison knows she has to pee, she will tell you she has to pee, but instead of going, she will hold it. And hold it. And hold it. They say that if your child wakes up from a nap and is dry, that is one sign of them being ready to potty train. So, what happens when your child can hold it on their own while playing, running around, coloring, etc, for hours on end? I am not just talking two hours, but up to five hours, maybe even more!!!

Stamps, stickers, suckers...it doesn't matter. She sees right through the bribes and doesn't fall for them. Today, I finally said that no matter how much she cried, I would not give in. She went a little tiny bit on the potty, so of course I made a big deal out of it. A little later she said she had to pee. When I put her on the potty she kept telling me to give her a 'huggy', which of course means she is going to 'koala bear' onto me and escape from the potty. Instead of giving her a hug, I kind of put my arm around her and rubbed her back. Well, she could hold it no longer. As she was going she was screaming and crying, "I'm peeing! I'm peeing!" I swear it was practically a half gallon of pee, shooting out faster than anything I've ever seen. I know, TMI! Was I grossed out about the spray that was coming out of her little potty getting on my leg? Nope. I grabbed the Nemo wipes, cleaned her off, we dumped the pee, flushed the toilet, gave her a million Hello Kitty stamps on her arms, put another stamp on her chart, and she was as happy as can be.

Thankfully, she has about 30 pairs of underwear, because she wants a new pair every time she pees in the potty. As a matter of fact, that's her favorite saying right now...

"It's okay, we'll get a new one!"

Uh oh, who did she learn that from????