meet eli...

Eli is the result of a bribe. (I'm not ashamed to admit it.)

However, she is also the result of Seth's good work!

We've attempted (probably half-heartedly) potty training a couple of different times over the last several months, but none of the attempts met with lasting results (obviously). Early last week, we started another round, and Seth actually seemed okay to go along with things. He earned a couple of stickers for using his potty chart...but we were coming and going and busy and it's just too hard when there's no consistency. Seth had surgery again last week, so I knew that even though he had done fairly well early in the week, there was no way he would be using the potty chair Thursday or Friday, so we stopped. I knew that Monday would be the beginning...AGAIN...of the potty training era.

Our schedule for this week was pretty free, so it was be the perfect time to try again. Seth did AMAZINGLY well on Monday. He earned FIVE stickers on Monday - yes, you know what that means - FIVE times this little guy used his potty. And FIVE stickers just happens to be the going rate for little plastic elephants. So, after Meagan's piano lessons today, we headed to Target to buy the little elephant he's been wanting for a couple of weeks. He was thrilled with it -- and he's sleeping with it right now. :o)

He's used the potty about 20 times today -- he's so funny, he'll run in to the bathroom, dribble a little bit in the potty chair, wash up and ask for another sticker. I'm hoping once the newness wears off, he'll be able to wait more than 10 minutes between bathroom visits, but for now, I'm ecstatic about his fondness for the potty.


His next prize is a balloon. Yes, he wants a balloon -- and he also wants one for each of his siblings. Sweet kid, huh? We haven't specified a number of stickers required for the balloon...but at this rate, he'll have his entire chart filled up with 100 stickers before the end of the week. (And when I made the chart, I figured that he'd be completely potty trained by the time he had 100 stickers...I may have to rethink that one.) Anyway, that's how Eli came to live with us - and that's probably more than anyone ever wanted to know about our potty training experiences.


So, here's to hoping for a dry night and good times tomorrow...and maybe even a balloon or two!