SUCCESS!!!

Today I was getting ready to walk out the door with the girls for Lexi's dance class when Abby came trotting into the kitchen with her pants around her ankles and her diaper halfway torn off. I tried to remedy the situation by fixing the diaper but she ran toward the bathroom. Seizing the opportunity, I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty. "Potty, potty!" she replied emphatically with a huge smile. I took off the diaper which was only somewhat damp and sat her on the potty. Unlike previous attempts when she'd hop right off she actually sat there. So, Lexi and I sat in the bathroom with Abby at the center of attention. The clock was ticking and we were going to be late...but I didn't care. After about a minute, I asked Abby if she wanted to get off and she shook her head no. So we sat...and waited...and waited some more. I turned the faucet on to a mere trickle to assist the attempt. Finally, she tinkled! Just a little bit but she did it. Lexi and I cheered for her and she basked in the glory.

I didn't want to get my hopes up. This was probably just a fluke after all. That's what I thought until we returned home and she repeated pulling down her pants and heading to the bathroom. This time there was no tinkling action, but she was dry and she sat there for a good while before giving up.

I will continue to allow her to call the shots on this process. I will not force her to sit on the potty unless she decides to because she isn't even 2 yet and I decided that I would start pushing the issue in about 4-6 months. If she can do this on her own before then, that will just be a bonus for me!