Things to be Thankful for.

Thanksgiving morning, Greg had just gotten up to start prepping while the girls and I- having been awake for hours- were painting on the art table. And then I looked up and noticed that Juliette was standing stock still, and she had that look on her face; that look of internal concentration. I moved very quickly, picking her up- carrying her under her arm pits just to keep myself safe from any... torpedos. We ran to the bathroom, pulled down her pants, and then sat- her on the toilet, me on the floor next to her. And we sat, and sat, and sat. Juliette cried a little, protested a lot, and tried to get down a few times. After about 20 minutes she started crying out "Mommy I need to get down now! I need to put on my underwear!"

"Why?" I queried. "So you can go poopies in them?"
She nodded.
"But Juliette, you have to go poopies in the potty!"

Knowing this was a sign that success was immenent, I rubbed her back, cajoled her, offered bribes, and blocked her ability to move away from the toilet. And then... finally... the thing we thought would never happen...

Juliette went poopy on the potty!

Well! There was joy, pride, and excitement at the Raising Mommy household. You would have thought that Thanksgiving was scheduled for this day so that we could specifically celebrate Juliette's successful BM. Word got around, as it tends to do, and everone who came had some treat or gift for Juliette. Cosette got some too so as not to feel left out, but Juliette was the girl of the day. And all was good.

The next day- not so much.

Nor the next.

Not the next either.

In fact, it took another 5 days for us to catch it again. This time, Juliette did not protest at all- she sat down when I carried her to the toilet and immediately went.

We have definitely had a breakthrough. She may not know the "feeling" yet, but at least when I am observant and get her to the potty in time, she is not afraid to go anymore.

And now, for the first time, I feel a glimmer of hope.

The day will come when Juliette will be one hundred percent potty trained, and my poopy wars will be over.

That is, until Round 2: Cosette.