Potty training is damn difficult

This is really a note to remind myself what we went through for potty training.  Just a warning, it's super long!!

Potty training is rough. There are lots of ups and downs.  The very first day, there were so many accidents.  I was hoping to use stickers as a reward and not a bribe, and since she didn't even go in her potty once, I couldn't even bring it out.  The second half of the second day was much better.  And also we realized that she thought her training pants were her diapers because it was so thick.  Once we took it off and let her wear just the underwear, she almost got it right away.  The third day was quite good, just two/three accidents.  Ali likes to poop when standing up, so she had a really hard time pooping in the potty.  In fact, she didn't poop until the third day and when she was going, she was literally crying and we all felt so awful watching her go.  Day 4-7 was kind of the same thing.  Sometimes, she would say she wanted to go pee pee, but then nothing comes out.  Sometimes, there were accidents.  Often than not, she would do a little pee dance and became really clingy to me and that's the sign that she needed to go potty.  She doesn't tell us too many times, maybe we pressured her too much?  I do ask her every hour (or half an hour if it gets close to her pee time).  We are letting her use pull-ups when we go out and during sleep times.  We figure we will fight one battle at a time.  

#2 is definitely not going well.  She still hasn't been able to poop in the potty yet.  But #1 is going not too bad.  Sometimes, she would pee a little and took a look at her pee and I asked if she could sit down and go a little bit more and she would be able to pee more.  Anders and I found that incredible.  I mean, it is pretty difficult to pee a little and then hold the rest in, right?  Crazy Ali!!  So, I would say she knows when she has to go, but sometimes unwilling to go because she just doesn't want to.  For her, it is more like a battle of wills.  She is a stubborn little girl and we noticed this trait when she was still a little baby.  *sigh*  Watch out for those teenage years!!!

Ali is back to daycare.  Hubby and I had a discussion as to when to give up.  We are thinking of switching back to diapers the following week if she is not able to tell her daycare she needs to go (they required the little ones to wear pull ups until they know how to tell them they need to go to bathroom).  And when we were driving home one night from grocery shopping, all in a sudden, she asked for her blue potty (I told her I am bringing her blue potty when we go out while we leave the pink potty at home) and when I asked her to go pee pee, she said yes.  So we pulled into a parking lot and off she went in her portable potty!  Seriously, every time we are about to give up, she teases us with a carrot.  At the end of the week, she was able to pee in the toilet at daycare a few times.  When she was at home, there were not too many accidents.  Actually, she is getting a lot better these days.  Even when we were out, she would ask for her blue potty or that she would go if we asked her.  It has been two weeks now and I almost want to say she got it for #1, but still a long way to go for #2.  Ali, mommy and daddy are very proud of you!!

I have been doing some quick research for potty training and every one of them suggested not going out during the potty training week.  Ali and I were getting a bit of cabin fever.  So we took her out to the yard and played with rocks.  Look how happy she is when she is outside.  Poor thing!

Once she got a hang of potty training, we started to bring her out to a nearby park as a treat.  Ali had so much fun with her por-por.

Having a terrific time with por-por.  And thanks Maddie for letting Ali play in your swing set.  Ever since Ali played at Maddie's house, she started to really like the swings!

Checking out the slides, again with her beloved por-por:

"Look mommy!!!  I am on the big-girl slide!!"

Having fun hitting the bells with a tree branch:

"Look what I can do, mommy!!"  Sitting on the chair on by myself!"

In the evenings, we just hung out in the front yard, playing with chalk.

And of course, bubbles!!  Ali loves playing with bubbles, but she is not very good at it.  It just so happened that we saw this bubble gun on sale at Superstore and it is just perfect for her.  No need to blow, just press the button and there are tons of bubbles coming out!!  So cool!!  Ali loves her bubble gun!