And she's a very smart girl. She knows her colors, numbers, shapes, alphabet. She can say pretty much anything she wants, which has a tendency to surprise us every day. Recently, she's taken to saying "though." As in, "I'm going to jump off this step. I might fall though." You probably have to hear it to understand, but it's hysterical. And her memory is astounding. Nearly 3 months after having Charlotte, Em still exclaims "Your belly's all gone?" I can't believe she remembers me with a big belly. Also, she just learned about opposites and she can name any one you throw at her. Basically, as Aunt Beca would say, she's a genius.
So back to her big news. The same week we brought Charlotte home from the hospital, Em asked if she could use the bathroom. We were shocked. I figured with the "trauma" of a new sister we wouldn't even talk potty training until 2013. Matt helped her on and she did her thing, then didn't mention it again for a few days. We figured it was a fluke. After that we never suggested the potty, but once in a while she'd ask to use it. We were happy with this.
Then I began to get restless. I knew Em could be potty trained. She's definitely smart enough (see evidence above). And the expected trauma of a new sister really hadn't amounted to anything. So I bought some training pants and a book, figuring we would ease into it. Silly, naive me. You can't ease into potty training. Once you begin it, you're in it. Thankfully my intuition was right: Em was totally ready for it.
Since she'd used the potty before, we just had to make the leap to always using it. Early on she had a few accidents, but surprisingly never outside the house. And she's been to the museum, aquarium, zoo, pool, mall, and library without a problem. We've visited many public restrooms, but there seems to be one nearby whenever we need it.
Her incentive the entire time was "painted toes" which Em's been asking about for a w-h-i-l-e. We've always told her that when she's older she can have them (same with chewing gum, wearing earrings, and drinking beer) and she'd been satisfied with this. So when we hit a bit of resistance to using the potty, I mentioned that she could have painted toes once she no longer wore diapers.
She laid out her favorite colors as inspiration that night!
And this past weekend, when Mommy and Daddy felt she was completely trained, we painted her nails. It was magical. Just like her first pair of pigtails!
Here's our big girl, admiring her red toes! We're so proud of you Emily Ann!!!
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