eureka!

elise did great today! the only accident today was a small one in the high chair. i believe we discussed this yesterday ;). she still needs a diaper to sleep in, and a pull up at nap time, but she is doing wonderful!

i even walked into the hallway at one point in time to catch her going into the bathroom to go all by herself! can't ask for much more than that!

big sister and big brother have been a big help, too! shelby has been quite the cheerleader and encouragement for elise. she even has her own sticker chart on the wall so she can get stickers when she uses the potty like elise does. how funny is that! nathan will occasionally sit and read and sing to her when she is tired of looking at and cooperating with mommy.

a recurring principle in my life is expectations. when i have realistic expectations, i can handle just about anything. so, here are a few things that i have had to continue resetting for myself this last weekend:

• she is working through more than i am
• i am multi-tasking at the brink of sanity, but i can do that. she is learning to recognize feelings in her body that is instinctual for the rest of us, trying to control those urges, and wanting to feel successful in accomplishing what needs to be done before she has an accident, and wanting to "do it self!"
• it will be okay!
• elise will be potty trained sooner or later. if she's not ready right now, we'll try again when she shows additional interest.
• take it a step at a time and it will be a memory to laugh about (tomorrow)
• maybe it was an accident that i had to clean up (or two at the same time), changing a third barely wet diaper, getting through daily chores while being constrained to the bathroom, feeling like we're starting our bedtime routine over again because she wants to completely undress to potty only after i've put them to bed, etc.