It’s official, Raine is POTTY TRAINED!!!

Honestly, I had put off potty training because we are constantly on the go and I didn’t think I could fully commit to it. I was afraid that if I didn’t give it 100% then she would be turned-off to going on the potty and stay in diapers until she started kindergarten — rational, irrational, I don’t know, but moms sure have all sorts of dramatic concerns when it comes to stuff like this.

In the past, I had talked about potty training over spring break so I could let Raine run around outside naked and not have to worry about accidents on the floor or furniture, but I hadn’t fully committed to it so it wasn’t going to happen. Then, the first Sunday of spring break, Rashae asked me when I was going to potty train. Rashae’s daughter Elyse is Raine’s best friend and just turned three last Sunday. Rashae tried potty training in the past but Elyse is very strong-willed (to say the least) and refuses to go on the potty. With baby #3 on the way, and Elyse being the oldest, Rashae REALLY needs to get her out of diapers. She thought that maybe if Elyse saw Raine doing it, then she would want to do it too. So I decided to give it a try.

Monday morning I took Raine to Target to pick out a little potty, underpants, stickers, and treats. I also picked up Elmo’s Potty Time DVD because I had heard it is a must-have and some training pants because I wanted something a little more absorbent than the Hello Kitty panties that Raine picked. Grand total: $60! Who knew you could spend two months worth of diapers just to get your kid out of diapers? I guess I should have looked at the price tags before giving Raine free-reign of the underwear aisle. I’ll tell you what though, spending that much certainly made me a lot more determined to make this work the first time. I had no excuses for failure — “oh, well if only I would have gotten the Elmo movie like everyone told me, THEN she would have been successful.” Nope, if I failed I couldn’t blame it on a lack of supplies.

When we got home, Raine was soooo excited! She wanted me to open the potty as soon as we got it unloaded so she could sit on it. I pulled it out, set it on the kitchen floor and she sat down and peed. The potty played a little tune, she received a treat, I hurried to make a potty chart so she could stick a sticker on it, and Raine put on a pair of pull-ups.

It went a lot faster and a lot easier than I thought it would. I talked to people who said stuff like, “my four-year-old still only goes at home and only when I ask him” or “my kid was in pull-ups for about a year” or “my daughter is still scared of toilets with water in them” or “my son still won’t poop in the potty.” So I expected that even once we got Raine using her little potty regularly, it would be at least a couple months before she was doing everything. Well, imagine my surprise when after a week-and-a-half she had mastered all of the following:
* Peeing in the big potty
* Pooping in the big potty
* Telling me when she has to go so I don’t even ask any more
* Keeping her underpants dry all the time, even overnight
* Going potty at school when I’m not around.

The only thing we haven’t worked on yet is going in a public restroom. Last Friday we were at a restaurant and Raine said she needed to go potty. I took her to the ladies room and she looked at that great big potty with this look that said, “what the h%*# is that.” I told her that I would hold her and she could just sit on the edge, but there was no way she was getting anywhere near that thing. Then, right on cue, the toilet in the stall behind her flushed as loud and scary as any toilet has ever flushed before. Raine couldn’t get out of that bathroom fast enough! And since I didn’t want to traumatize her — resulting in diapers until kindergarten — I got her out of there as fast as I could. But that was our only attempt and she wasn’t even using the big potty at home at that point. So we’ll see how she does.

UPDATE: When we went out tonight, Raine needed to go potty so I took her to the restroom. Luckily, it was just a one-holer (no stalls) and since we were at a Mexican restaurant, it was very brightly painted and fun looking. Raine didn’t hesitate at all. She sat up there and did her business. When we got back to the table she announced in her proudest, loudest voice to DJ and all the other diners around us, “I went pee-pee on the potty!” The ladies at the table behind us started laughing and told Raine good job. And so, that completes the final step of our potty training.

P.S. I regret to inform you that Elyse still refuses to use the potty. She came over that first Wednesday with her potty in tow. They watched Elmo together while sitting on their potties, the whole nine-yards, Raine even went twice while Elyse was here and received treats and stickers, but it didn’t help . . . sorry Rashae.

P.P.S. Here is a little bit of advice for any other first-time potty trainers. When you buy treats to reward your little one for using the potty, think small. Why? Because they pee A LOT! I didn’t realize that Raine would be “earning” as many as 12 treats a day. We quickly downgraded from Reese’s miniatures to Reese’s pieces once I realized the error that I had made. I think it is going to take another two weeks to get her off this sugar high.

Life is always exciting with a walking, talking toddler around. There is no end to the off-the-wall things that come out of her mouth. It really makes me see life differently — from the perspective of someone three-feet tall who knows virtually nothing about social norms except what she learns from watching people around her, particularly me and DJ.

I always try to remember her one-liners, but by the time I get around to writing them down, most of them are gone (lately my memory has rivaled that of a fruit fly). However, I have managed to document a few of them over the past couple months (the dates are when they were recorded, not necessarily the day they happened).

Sunday, January 9, 2011

I was sweeping up the crumbs under the table while Raine was sitting on a chair, out of the blue she says, “your’re a good helper, mommy!”

*****
DJ: “Raine, you’re a nut!”
R: “Daddy, you’re a sprinkled doughnut nut!”

*****
R: “Daddy, I got a poopy nugget. Change my stinky bum.”

*****
R: “Mommy, you have a big bum.”
Me: “Oh, really?”
R: “Yes, and Daddy has a big bum. And I have a big bum. But Carter has a little bum.”

*****
Raine said her prayers all by herself for the first time. Most of it was incoherent, but I did hear, “Please bless the food, and the doughnuts, and the sprinkled doughnuts. And bless mommy, and Carter, and Daddy.” (She always prays for everyone she can think of, usually multiple times each.) “Gama and Gampa and Aunt Sara and Carson and Logan and Gama and Gampa and Uncle Dallin and Aunt Sarah . . . “

Tuesday, February 1, 2011
After my RS presidency meeting, Rashae and I were still sitting at the table talking. Raine was sitting on my lap writing on my agenda with a pen (all of my notes have “Raine scratch” all over them, some to the extent that I can’t even read what I originally wrote). All of a sudden, as I was talking, I noticed that Raine had her pen poised above the paper, looking right at Rashae with her best “grown-up serious business” face, nodding her head in agreement. Rashae and I couldn’t stop laughing. Sometimes I think this girl is two going on twenty!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I was in the restroom while Raine and Carter were playing on the bed when the following dialog took place.
R: “Ewe, gross.”
Me: “What are you doing, Raine? What’s wrong?”
R: “Carter has a snotty nose.”
Me: “Can you wipe it for him?”
R: “Yes, I can.”
** A few seconds pass. **
R: “That’s disgusting, Buddy. That’s disgusting.”
** A few more seconds pass. **
R: “You need another tissue. I will get you another tissue.”
Me: (worried that she is either wiping his face to the point of suffocation or allowing him to eat the tissues) “Raine, did you get it wiped?”
R: (coming into the bathroom with her best “grown-up serious business” face) “Yes, I did wipe his slobbery face.”

*****
“My bum is hanging out.” This is heard all the time because Raine refuses to wear pants so her diaper slides up her cheeks as she climbs around.

Friday, February 11, 2011

R: “Mommy I hurt my bum.” Sticking her back-side out toward me, “Kiss it.”

Friday, February 25, 2011

After spending a couple hours preparing food for a funeral luncheon and then delivering it clear up to Keller, I got a call that I needed to do a food order on my way home. Not wanting to make Raine crabby by dragging her to yet another RS duty I decided to play to her LOVE of meetings.
Me: “Raine, I need to go to a meeting, do you want to come and help me at the meeting?”
R: (Thinking for a second and then lighting up with a HUGE excited smile.) “We get pens!”
In her little mind, going to a meeting means that you get to write with a pen, and she loves writing with any sort of contraband. The rest of the drive to the appointment she talked about getting a pen and how she would use the black one and I would get the blue one.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

R: “I’m sharing!” Said as she takes Carter’s puffs or cheerios and eats them. But don’t worry, she gives him some too.

What you don’t see in this photo is the burp-cloth that she has next to her so she can wipe his slobber off her fingers every time she feeds him.

Raine and Carter had their passport photos taken yesterday — let’s just say that it’s a good thing these passports expire before they will be old enough to care what their photos look like!

This past week, Raine and Carter’s only living great-grandparent was here for a visit.

Great-grandma Anderson came last Thursday and left last night. As with anyone that comes to our house, Raine thought that Nana’s sole purpose in being here was to play with her. So every waking moment Raine was right there by Nana’s side, doing puzzles, singing songs, sticking stickers, reading books . . .

. . . and teasing (“boop”-ing as Raine calls it)!

Wednesday we took Nana to the zoo.

This big guy was very active. He put on quite a show as we sat in front of his enclosure eating lunch — roaring, climbing, jumping, and posing for photo-ops.

The parakeet enclosure was finally open again so Raine was able to feed the birds. This is her favorite part of the zoo!

We loved having Nana here — I just hope we didn’t wear her out too much!

. . . you make bath time so much fun!