Potty training complete...at 3 yo!

I am impressed. Amazed. Gobsmacked.

Jordanne went to bed last night, insisting that she did NOT want training pants on.

She has never gone to bed without training pants before, and I was so sure she would wet herself on waking up.

This morning, she woke up and actually played for a bit before announcing that she needed to go to the toilet.

She just turned 3 on 8 Jan.

I remember how we struggled to get Beth potty trained. She was still wetting the bed at 4+.

Isn't it amazing how two children from the same family can turn out so unique?

Potty Talk

CA was recently marveling at how smooth J's transition to no-more-diapers has been.

Over the weekend, we were at a friend's 21st. CA took J to the bathroom, whereupon she barred him from entering and said she was going to do a wee by herself! And she did.

At church this morning, she pushed open the door to the Ladies' (or Big Girls' as she calls it) without asking Mummy to come with her. And proceeded to climb on to the adult toilet and do her thing. I had to send Beth in to help her and J protested at her sister's presence.

It's amazing when you think about it. This tiny 2 y.o. whom everyone still says looks like a doll, climbing on to an adult toilet by herself and doing her business calmly and confidently with no dramas.

We haven't even had a chance to use the blue potty we picked up at the Opp Shop for $3 all those months ago. Guess I'll just donate it back to the OS!

The Good and Bad of School Hols

The school hols are upon me.

Yay to sleep-ins, lazy days with the kids, and no need to worry about what to pack for school lunches.

Nay to having the kids around me all day long, fighting with each other and driving me nuts with their endless need for interaction and entertainment.

This year, we are doing things a little bit differently.

First, we're not going away. That'll take some of the $ pressure off while I build my organics business.

Second, we're setting GOALS. For Beth especially.

My big goal for J is simple: getting her 100% off training pants by June. Shouldn't be too hard as she's already 90% there with her timing accuracy.

With Beth, I'm finding that she needs specific, measurable, achievable etc etc things to aim towards.

She's a bright girl with lots of potential. But we do need to work on her resilience, her attitude and her temperament.

So I've started listing some things for her to focus on in the new year.

Simple things like school awards, Principal's Reading Challenge, VIC Premier's Reading Challenge, knowing her times table by heart up to 12x12, playing through Books 1 to 4 of her Yamaha JMC in different keys...

Next year, she wants to take up gymnastics @ Gym Monkeys, which is run by one of the school mums (Zoe's mum Sue), self-defence and keep up with swim lessons, which she loves. She's doing really well under her swim instructor David who's from China. He is very firm with the frisky kids and very encouraging towards kids who display a positive learning attitude (like Beth and her pal Catherine, also from China).

We've also agreed on breaking up the hols with play dates, day trips and excursions to places that interest Beth, like Melbourne Museum/IMAX, Eureka Tower ... Beth has the list in her brown notebook.

Tomorrow is Bedtime Story Day/Dress-up Day, and Beth is going as Susan the Archer (Chronicles of Narnia). I got her a green T-shirt, green netball skirt, and Mandy kindly lent us a plastic bow and quiver of arrows and a lovely maroon velvet cape that can be tied around the neck. The Grade Ones get an icy pole at lunch as a special treat, and an afternoon snack while they watch a DVD.

CA and I often jest that we pay more school fees ($5k a year) and get less actual study (by Sg standards).

Potty Training Progress

Am very proud of how quickly J is learning.

She now insists on dressing herself after a bath or a trip to the toilet.

Knows to tell me one minute before she REALLY needs to go.

Knows exactly what to do while she is there (lift shirt so it won't get dirty, lean forward so Mummy can clean bottom).

And that look of knowing when Stuff happens while she's on the potty...

I just love watching my little girl grow in wisdom and understanding. :-)

Wees and Poos

I must say I am impressed by how quickly J is picking up on the finer details of potty training.

90% of the time, she is accurate and timely.

When I place her on the potty and she does a pee, we celebrate with a high five.

This evening, she made us all laugh when she suddenly announced that she needed to poo, and as I picked her up, she exclaimed, "You have to run!"

We were too late for the poo (thank goodness she had pull-up pants on) but were in time for the wee, so that was good.

She is making incredible progress for an under-3, and I am looking forward to the savings on diapers.

J's Week of Achievements

J has said and done some incredible things this week.

On Thu morning, she pointed to her diaper as I was trying to dress her for the school run, and said very clearly "Shee. Shee."

It was clear she didn't want to be laid down for a diaper change the usual way.

So I took her cue, brought her to the bathroom, stripped her down and sat her on the bowl, and - she did it! Peed into the bowl like a potty-ready toddler.

And Daddy was there to witness her achievement. :-)

On Fri morning, J decided she wanted to dress herself.

When I tried helping, she got very agitated and pushed my hand away.

So I had to watch impatiently while she struggled to get her pjs down, her Thomas & Friends T-shirt over her head, her long-sleeved T-shirt and Pooh Bear dress on, and her charcoal pants on - backwards.

A good learning lesson for the control freak in me, haha.

At the end of it all, she was very proud of herself - and so was Mummy.

Well done Jordanne!

Potty Training

Dropped J off at daycare this morning (relief!). Her carer stopped story telling long enough to let me know that the staff have been potty training J and she is doing well.

Good girl J! :-)