Project 52: Week 1 - Camryn vs. the potty

A few weeks ago, the thought of a diaper-free world excited me, saddened me, and filled me with dread, all at the same time.  The excitement was for obvious reasons...no more buying diapers, changing diapers, or toting diapers around in my bag.  But the thought of having two full blown kids and no more babies makes me more than a little sad.  I'm a baby person...I can sit and watch babies do baby things all day.  They're amazing.  Trading the coos and cuddles for sass and backtalk has been tough for me, but seeing how much more fun Ryan has with the girls now that they're both a little older certainly helps ease the heartache.  

Now the dread...oh the dread of potty training a strong-willed tyrant of a toddler!  I was expecting a challenge with Camryn, but I don't think I was expecting as many tears as we got.  See Exhibit A:

As well as Exhibit B:

She did NOT want to sit on the potty at first, and had no qualms about screaming that fact in my face.  Rewarding her with M&Ms for successful attempts on the potty was somewhat helpful, but after Brynn ate all of Camryn's prizes, I had to come up with something else, pronto.  I found an old bag of jellybeans in the pantry (from last Easter...unopened, thankfully!), and immediately had flashbacks of giving Brynn the very same type of jellybeans when she was going through potty training.  I can't say I blame them...Starburst jellybeans are quite tasty!  

I have never been above a bribe to get my kids to cooperate, so why should this enormous task be any different?  When Camryn found out she would get one of these jellybeans just for going pee pee on the potty, it was game on.  Once we found our magic bullet (and Camryn realized I wasn't about to quit), she turned a corner and really started making progress.  She's really started filling up that potty chart (or "charch," as Camryn calls it), and is so proud of each little stamp:

What a difference a week makes!  This time last week, I was wondering if we'd ever make it out in public again, but today I took the girls on a city-wide search for a surf calendar to give Ryan for his birthday and Camryn did great.  Phew!

So as I stand here with my self-awarded trophy for achievements in potty training, I'd like to thank two people, without whom this success would not be possible.  The first is Gina Ford, the English author whose methods I used to potty train both of my children.  The second is Ali Smith, the English angel who let me borrow her Gina Ford book the first time around, and has been a rock of support for me during this challenging time.  Thank you Ali...I owe you a lunch at the very least!