The Candy-Dispensing Toilet

We have been potty training Ethan for the past couple of weeks. By that, of course, we mean we tried a couple of weeks ago, he did pretty good for a couple of days, and then suddenly decided he wanted nothing to do with the potty. In fact, the mere mention of the "p" word would be answered with a resounding, "NO WAAAAAANT!!!!" (Picture a mouth opened very wide while screaming inches from your face.) So, we decided to not push the issue at all. One thing we've learned with potty training, you cannot force it. It's on their time or not at all.

So recently we decided to give it another go. We decided the time was right. Well, actually, we totally ran out of pull-ups. That realization was a horrifying moment; we pictured our house flooded in urine, because that was how it had been for a couple of days during the "NO WAAAAAANT!!!!" period. Lots of pee. Lots of cleaning. Lots of soaked Transformers and Superheros (not even cool underwear was free of his urinating wrath).

When we realized that we were without pull-ups, we had no choice but to clad his loins in Superheros (hoping they would intervene with their super powers, of course). Four soaked-Superheros later Sherrie had the stroke of genius--inspiration really--to offer him candy simply to sit on the potty (not much, but enough to peak his interest). We normally would not condone giving candy without first producing, well, pee, but we were desperate. And Ethan loved it! He caught on very quickly that sitting on the potty equals candy-dispenser (eww!!! our toilet is a candy-dispenser!), which he loved.

The second time we bribed him to the candy-dispensing toilet, a miracle happened: Ethan peed while on the candy-dispenser (er, toilet)! Of course, we made a big fuss and gave him a big piece of candy. He was so proud of himself! Since then he's had a couple of accidents (we're still working on the poop, which is so much grosser than cleaning pee, but doesn't leave his underwear and get all over the couch, floor, chairs, his bed, or everything else--thank goodness, by the way, for our Bissel Green Machine!), but he has been really good about using the candy-dispenser toilet to go pee.

Now, rather than us saying, "Ethan, do you want to go potty?" and being answered with the "NO WAAAAAANT!!!!" he tells us without any prompting, "Need potty!" Those might possibly be the two greatest words ever uttered! Of course, Jay was so happy to hear them approximately 312 times within 10 minutes, all for the sake of getting more candy from the candy-dispenser. But on the 313th time, GOLDEN (literally, you know, yellow pee and all).

So, we are very excited!