Potty Time!

Since Amanda was showing us how totally ready she was to re-learn the whole potty thing, I decided to bite the bullet and go with it. She kinda sorta not really learned in the orphanage. We have pictures of her and her room buddies half naked. But, with all that was tramatic in all of our lives, we decided to skip adding a "go to the potty" thing. Her indication that she was ready to begin again? Strip down into nothing every time she peed in her diaper. One day, she was awake in her crib for around 10-15 minutes while I finished up some things I needed to do. I walk into her room (equipped with crib tent) and (insert whistle sound here) there she is au natural. Happy as a lark. My usual way of potty training is to just put them in the thick underwear and deal with the accidents. I just. couldn't. do. it. again. There are two things that make me cringe right now in life. Teaching a child to read and potty training. So, needless to say, I'm trying pull ups and continuing to support the economy in the diaper area. You can thank us anytime.

Now, I always thought training a girl would be easier since you don't have the extra equipment to malfunction. Yup - it's easier. A girl just sits down and that's all there is to it. A boy has extra steps you have to remind him of every single time. But the main reason I'm posting about all this is that I always know when she's done her deed. She'll be sitting there with an expressionless face when all of a sudden BIG SMILE. She's done it. It's hilarious. She basically is working for cookies right now, but hey- cookies are a lot cheaper than diapers. As an extra added bonus, I have two helper boys who will also get whatever treat Amanda has earned if they help and encourage her. I'm all about the bribe.