9.28.10

Lilly has been very interested in using the potty for the last few months. It all started with pooping in the bathtub and me needing to whip her out of the tub at the first sign of bubbles in order to avoid the toy-bleaching-and-tub-scrubbing routine. Before long she was wanting to sit on the potty to listen to stories and to hear herself toot with an echo. It is good entertainment.

Everyone tells me "She's ready, get that girl potty trained" but I've been hesitant and mostly for selfish reasons. I'm nervous to give up the freedom of sticking her in a diaper and flying out the door, without having to give a thought about potty breaks in the middle of the grocery store. And then there's the ick factor. It's one thing to put my own rear on a public toilet seat, but my little angel's hiney? And while I balance precariously in a squat in front of her? Blech. Diapers suddenly seem so... sanitary.

But Sunday evening at our small group study, among 10 wild children running throughout the house, she stood at the top of the steps and yelled "aaa poo!" Believing she was saying "apple" I ignored it and tried to focus on the adult conversation. Until Jen, the hostess, looked at me and snickered "She's taking her diaper off-- it's almost all the way off." Sure enough, "aaa poo" meant "I poop" not "apple." I took her into the bathroom, stripped off her pants and diaper and there she sat... and pooped.

And then she did it again Monday night.

And then she did it again at school today.

And then she did it again tonight.

I called my mom with the exciting news, knowing she would crack up, and she ordered me to get to the store for some M&Ms immediately. "Trust me, one M&M will go a long way."

So tonight when I had no M&M's to reward this awesomely consistent pottying, I turned to the gold-foil-wrapped Godiva chocolate bar I've been nibbling on. I sat her on my bed, held it in front of her and told her "This is a very special treat, Lilly!" Peeling back the foil, she could barely sit still! She nibbled off a corner and proclaimed "MMMMmmmmmMMMM!"

And then, "mo?"

I love this girl.