"Oh, there it is!"

Madeline is potty trained.  Just like that.  One evening, she wanted to use the potty and the rest is history.  OK, it wasn't that easy, but pretty much.

I've thought for a while now that Madeline had all the physical knowledge and understanding about using the toilet, but she lacked the desire, so I didn't want to push her.  Believe me, knowing that she could announce when she needed to pee and poop prior to her going was getting rather old, but I had come to the conclusion that we'd wait until this summer.  It had gotten to the point that I'd tell her I needed to change her diaper before we went to run errands and she'd look at me and say, "Ima go wee wee first" (pause) "OK, changa diaper now." Seriously.

A normal evening for Madeline included running around completely naked while Gabe got a bath or we worked on laundry upstairs, and before her bath.  She announced, to Craig, that she needed to pee and, as we did every time a diaper-less Madeline announced she had a bodily function to move, Craig asked if she wanted to use the toilet.  For months, she has emphatically said no.  No way.  Nadda.  Nope.  She wanted a diaper.  We'd put a diaper on her and she'd pee.  But that night, less than two weeks ago, she said yes.  And she was thrilled.  Of course, we acted stupid excited to encourage her, but we were totally unprepared for this and had no PullUps on hand.  But since Madeline was ready, we were ready and diving in.  Craig wanted to put a diaper on her for bed and Madeline wanted to wear underwear.  We knew full well that she'd pee everywhere, but she was a happy little girl that night in her underwear.  And yes, she peed all over herself and Craig put a diaper on her after she'd fallen asleep and slept through peeing and being wet.

It took a little coaxing the next morning to get her to use the potty first thing, but she eventually did and was excited to wear underwear.  I kept asking her if she needed to go, and her response was no.  Eventually, I heard a "Waaaa oh, what happened?" and she was standing in a puddle.  First lesson: underwear isn't the same as a diaper.  I cleaned it up, we changed her, and continued with training.  And she didn't have an accident for the rest of the day.  And every time she'd pee, she'd proclaim, "Oh, there it is!"  And yes, she still says it every time she pees.

I had a business trip the next day and daddy was in charge and things went amok.  I honestly don't know if it was a natural relapse or if Craig was just too busy trying to balance work and tending to not only a Madeline, but a potty training Madeline. Poor Craig.  Lots of clean up, including the first underwear poop.  But I came home and she has only had one accident and that was because we were away from home (at grandparent's).

And here's the kicker.  She doesn't need to be prompted to go to the restroom (I do ask when we are out and about because I'm taking her out in her underwear) and has used public toilets - multiple times.  She does use a PullUp for naps/night, but I'm saying she's trained.  I knew once she got the desire that she'd be easy to train, but I honestly didn't think it would be this easy!

Now I'm wondering if it's just a coincidence that she's dropped her naps now that she's potty trained.  Naps are rare now (she was taking 3-4 hour naps up until she dropped them!).  I'm hoping that the novelty of wearing "sleepy time underwear" will wear off and she'll nap once again.  And since she'll stay in her room for a couple of hours and play, there's a training toilet in her room that she uses during her "nap" is over.  Good girl.