Back by popular demand

A few weeks ago I sent out these pictures of Taylor and her free for all with the red marker. As the story goes... this was the beginning to potty training in our home. The only thing that seemed to work was being naked so she was supposed to be innocently sitting at the table coloring awaiting the "sensation". I was busy in the office down the hall. This is a typical morning in our house. I try to get caught up with any real estate stuff, emails, bills etc. while the girls monkey around in the living room watching Sesame Street. Apparently I had been busy that morning because I didn't notice Taylor go upstairs at some point, come back down and then proceed to color on anything the marker would work on. I really believe her little experiment was just that, let's see what this thing can do! As I sat at the computer, I faintly heard some sort of rubbing or scratching sound. I stopped, listened and heard it again. At this point I got up and proceeded down the hall where I realized Taylor was no longer sitting at the table. Upon rounding the corner, to what did my wondering eyes did appear. . . Taylor frantically trying to clean the marker off the couch with a baby wipe. I seriously almost lost it. I immediately took the wipes from her as she had a pile she had used up. She then preceded to notify me that she needed a wipe to wipe her bottom. When I asked why she informed me she had used the potty upstairs. Having to see this to believe it I headed upstairs and sure enough, for the first time she had gone to the bathroom in the big girl potty! So now what?! She has made this horrific mess but has also accomplished something that we have been working on for for some time. So I opted for the split decision, I praised her for using the potty, we headed back downstairs and promptly threw the markers away, and then she got to go to the toy closet and pick out a new toy. I of coarse spent the rest of the day scrubbing the entire living room. We found marker on the couch, walls, fireplace hearth, fireplace rock, clean folded laundry on the couch, white blanket draping the couch, windowsills, throw rug, wood floor and on just about every inch of Taylor's body with including of coarse all of her finger and toe nails. She even managed a few spots on Jade. So since then we have pretty much mastered the potty training thing, without the assistance of markers. I said that last week and we had a relapse but I think she is doing quite well now. Taylor's best buddy Riley came over last week and used the really big girl potty, (big toilet with little toilet seat) and now she insists on that method, which of coarse is fine with me. So now all of you who saw the pics but never got to hear the story behind them, there you go. All I can say is thank goodness they were washable!