Jack shows you his "Mad-looker" face (with broccoli on his chin), while I share with you the Saga of the Potty...

Jack is nearly three and a half. Jack is terrified of the potty. Screaming, crying, flailing terrified. We started really trying to train him several months ago. Things got so bad and Jack fixated on peeing and pooping so much that he would hold it, even with a diaper on, until he was miserable and we would have to palpate his bladder and give him Milk of Magnesia to help nature along. He would scream for us to change him even though his diaper was clean. Our pediatrician said the next step was to have him catheterized, had he not begun to relax and start going again on his own. It was pretty miserable and scary there for a while, for him and for us. I haven't really shared much about that here a.) because it has been so frustrating for all of us that it would have been easy for me to spend lots of time griping and complaining about it and b.) I believe that bathroom habits really are personal, even for a toddler and c.) he does so much cute, fun stuff that I decided to concentrate on documenting that. I decided to share it now, however, because my BIG BOY has been in nothing but Big Boy Underpants since yesterday afternoon! He has made some serious strides in the past few months and I am so proud! So far, he has made pee-pee in the potty three times and has had only one accident (which I will attribute to the fact that I wasn't watching his signals close enough.)

We began yesterday morning in a pretty hard-core fashion. Jack has been talking about choices at school so we gave him the choice: Either go in the potty and play dinosaurs and watch movies or keep his diaper on and put all his dinos away and turn off the TV. He chose the latter, so that's what we did. It was awfully quiet around here yesterday morning. (Kinda nice, though!) Before long, a certain someone came to me and said, "Mommy I need to pee-pee. In the potty.". So, off we ran, but it was a false alarm. Normally, he begs for a diaper (very attached to them, he is) but this time he asked for Big Boy Underpants. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is the kid who used to scream bloody murder when I tried to put underwear on him! We have put a pull-up on over his underpants for nap time and night time, but Phillip and I woke him up at midnight and three a.m. to sit on the potty. He was dry at midnight and a little damp at three, but made a HUGE pee-pee around 8:30 this morning. Phillip was with him and said he cried big tears and said "I did it! I did it!" the whole time he was going, just like he had won the Heisman!

We have yet to have success with poop, but I am holding out hope that it will happen today. Something has clicked with Jack, I think, and he knows now that he can do it. He is actually asking to sit on the potty, which is just unbelievable. I know we will have accidents - maybe even major setbacks - but to have come so far in just a day is amazing. Phillip even ran to Target this morning as soon as it opened and returned with nine pair of new underpants: Diego, Thomas and Super Friends to go along with the Cars and Buzz Lightyear that we already had. No doubt, Jack will be stylin' as he learns this new skill!

And in case you are wondering, I shot these photos yesterday during lunch. (I can still use manual focus, which is not my forte'.) Jack was really mugging it up for me and I asked him to make his mad face, because it is absolutely hysterical. This is seriously the exact face he makes when he gets angry. This last photo is what he looks like when he is angry and talking through his clenched teeth. He tucks that chin, puffs out those lips, and says something sassy like, "No, Mommy. I'm gonna spank YOUR bottom!" Uh-huh. It is so hard not to absolutely crack up, even though I know I can't. He calls this his "Mad-looker" face and anytime Phillip and I are angry, he will say, "Mommy (or Daddy) you are a mad-looker!!".

Every day is an adventure around here...A crazy, challenging, joyful adventure. I love it!