I needed some luck today.

Noah started potty training today. 

I thought he might end up going to kindergarten in diapers at the rate things were going, so today was a bit of a victory.  He has shown signs for months that he's 'ready,' but when your kid regularly says, "Mom. I am never, never, never, NEVER, going to do big stinkies on the potty!" he means it.  He's held it for 5 days in protest, he's screamed like I didn't know he could...it's just been super hard on all of us.  So I just quit pressuring him.  Every once in a while I'd ask if he wanted to go on the potty as he'd sneak off to his room to do his business, but that was about it.

Surprisingly, one day last week when I asked he said, "Sure Mom!" and ran into the bathroom.  And, oh boy, did we celebrate and do happy dances like you wouldn't believe after that big stinky was done.  It was almost bedtime so when I asked him what his reward should be he chose making brownies (recipe here) with me in the morning. 

I had no complaints about making brownies at breakfast time.

And Noah is just so cute.  "Mom, can I put in the ingredients?" and "Can you tell me what the recipe says?" were two of my favorites.

Later that day he told me he had to go again and did.  In the past we've tried just about any incentive we could think of to persuade Noah to cooperate.  It clearly was NOT about the stuff.  It was about control.  But now that he was going, he put that amazing memory to work and named off one of those promises.

So off we went for "ice cream with 'nem n nems' and chocolate sauce," as he had been enticed with like two months ago.

I don't know how a typical first day of potty training goes, but I'd say it was pretty successful.  Noah was happy, compliant and so proud of himself.  By the end of the day he was telling me that he had to go instead of me just taking him.  I guess that's good, right?  There were a few accidents, but he told me every time and added in the sweetest apology.

He's excited to fill up his McQueen potty chart, because that means that we get to go have lunch with Daddy at work.  I love how stickers are like magic to little kids. And he's already decided that the next chart he fills up will be rewarded with a ride on the carousel at the mall.  I'm trying to keep the potty chart rewards as something we DO instead of something we BUY, which will make it more fun for all of us, I think.

Here's to hoping day two is successful, and that I don't go crazy staying home for a second day!