Potty Training for Zeke

On June 23rd - Just a few weeks shy of his second birthday {which I will have to blog about later} Ezekiel decided he's ready to potty train.  I wasn't home, but here's the story as Manny tells it.

It was bath time so Manny stripped him naked and started filling up the tub.  Zeke went over to the toilet and motioned to it. Manny asked him if he wanted to go.  Zeke said yes, aka "ah-hey".  Manny lifted him up and there he went.  Just like that.

The next day I got out his little potty seat and let him sit on it first thing in the morning. He went without a problem at all. Then I gave him one smartie candy as reward.  I sat him on it probably 15 times that day and nearly every time he went. I can tell he's controlling it because he goes on demand. Every time he got a smartie.  We've been doing this as often as possible, but I'm not home with them all the time. But a few days later with some close attention, he didn't have an accident in his pants that whole day.

A few days after that Manny had sat him down to have him pee and walked away to get something.  When he returned Zeke had gone poo in the potty, then got up and decided to sit on the bathroom floor with a dirty bottom.  Gross, but an accomplishment!  So we made a huge deal of it and gave him 2 smarties.   Another time we had been outside playing in the rain {because we went over a month with no rain and temps over 100 degrees, so it was definitely something to celebrate.} so I stripped the boys down before we went inside.  Zeke bent over and kind of did the grunt thing so I swooped him up before he could go on the deck and put his little butt on the toilet and he went.  He's gone poo on the potty I think 3 times now. And it seems to me that each time he has done it on purpose.  There have also been many times when we're either outside or swimming when he's not in a diaper that he'll deliberately walk to the grass or a plant and pee on it.  The other day he even got out of the pool, took his swim diaper off and peed on the grass next to the patio. 

So I think he's really "getting it".  I'm so surprised that he seems ready at this young age.  I didn't expect him to be ready this summer.  The only major issue I'm having is that since he doesn't speak {English, anyway} he can't really communicate with us that he needs to go.  If I pay close attention to his body language I can usually tell when he has to so I ask and he's always willing to at least give it a try.  This comes as a total contrast to the way Elijah potty trained... under duress, with fits, tantrums, bribery, many arguments, and the loss of my sanity.  I've always said my boys are polar opposites so I guess this is one way with Zeke that I am glad about.