Potty Training

To recap, it went something like this:

Day 1:  sat on the potty every 15min., nothing
Day 2:  moved the potty to the Living Room and sat for longer intervals watching TV or iPad - success came with Jonah saying "uh oh!"
Day 3:  Jonah finally connected sitting with going as a positive thing, much enthusiastic dancing to reinforce - toys/books/sweets not working
Day 4:  total frustration of fighting for potty breaks
Day 5:  surprising and repeated success (with a few accidents), time on iPad becomes successful reward currency
Day 6:  SCHOOL - Jonah wears Pull-Ups and sits on the potty, but never uses it
Day 7:  total failure
Day 8:  SCHOOL - repeat
Day 9:  Jonah had a great day, even taking time out from his birthday party!
Day 10:  Feel we've got the rhythm, (as long as Mom or Dad enforce potty breaks at appropriate times)
...
Week 2:  Jonah regularly "makes yellow" almost immediately upon sitting on "little potty" and is proud of his own success (but still asks for iPad afterward), potty moves back to the bathroom
...
Week 4: Jonah sometimes tells us he needs potty... but doesn't make it, still has great success when we ask, helps empty his own potty and flush!
...
Week 6:  Potty Training Euphoria! - Jonah can tell us he needs potty and makes it! (usually with a stop to bring his toy of choice to the bathroom with him!), Mom is much more relaxed not counting the minutes or forcing unwanted potty breaks, using public restrooms is still a challenge but with some success, Jonah still wears Pull-Ups to school and diapers for nap/nighttime

2 Year Update

Now that Jonah is 2, I thought it time to (try) record the things he is doing now:

Language:
Jonah's communication has just exploded, and I long ago stopped trying to track all his new words.  He's up to sentences, such as:

• Mommy and Daddy all done working
• I come, too!
• Mama hold this one ("this one" is a Jonah-ism for "this")

Jonah can sing the ABC song with 90% accuracy and recognize a dozen letters by sight, though he knows them by word association, so "A" is airplane, "D" is Daddy, etc.

Jonah can count to 10, and everything thereafter is 13.  When left on his own, he will keep going instead of stopping when he runs out of items to count.

Sings "ABC", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Old McDonald" and others.

Gross Motor:

Jonah can actually get off the ground when he jumps!  He climbs the playground by himself, but only occasionally does the slide.  (And holds Mommy's hand for the tall twirly slide.)  He loves anything sport, so any objects become bats and balls inside or outside.  He has some success with throwing a ball up and hitting it with a bat.  He can also throw a ball with some accuracy, though catching is still a challenge.  He can shoot a basket on the highest setting, which is just above his reach.  He loves to run, and scoots on his tricycle with his feet or sometimes tries the pedals with assistance.  He's not much of a climber, but has figured out to move the ottoman or stool where he wants so he can reach up high.

Fine Motor:

Jonah has mastered peg / shape puzzles and has them complete in a flash.  Can use a fork, but usually prefers not to.  He tries to use the side of his fork to cut food the way Mommy and Daddy do.  Brushes his own teeth, and likes to unscrew the toothpaste cap on his own.  Has a lot of trouble taking off his clothes or even socks, but we're working on it!  Loves to build with Duplos and make long trains.  Favorite craft involves gluing beads.  Hates to have paint on his hands.

Potty Training:

We have begun in earnest!  Jonah finally associates sitting on the potty with doing his business, which is a huge accomplishment.  As a reward, we sing a very boisterous song and let him play on the iPad.  Gifts of books and toys had no effect and he rejected any sort of candy treat!

Food:

Jonah is a fan of starches.  He devours multiple servings of rice, noodles and breads.  He also eats his meats and veggies, but sometimes as a trade for more of his favorites.  Jonah also loves fruits, cheese, and beans of any color/variety.  Skip the squash and potatoes.  He drinks only milk and water.  We've tried juices and strawberry/chocolate milk, but he doesn't like either.  Tries, then spits out any type of dessert, candy or sweet.

The Enforcer

Any time he sees a ferret accident, Jonah will point his finger, yelling "no, no, no!"  (One might say his attitude towards ferret messes reflects that of his mother.)  Today he even tried to help clean up the mess in the bathroom by grabbing some toilet paper - still attached to the roll - and pulling it across the room to cover the mess.  Then he flushed the toilet.  Just like Mommy does.

I'm a bit concerned that Jonah is going to have reservations about using the potty because of this routine.  At bath time he also points to his dirty diapers yelling "no!" as if he's been a bad boy for soiling them.  I try to encourage him to use the potty after bath, but he inevitably waits until he is off and running around in his birthday suit to find a spot on the floor to pee.  Maybe he is learning more from Starbuck than from Mommy after all!