Friday 21 June 2013

RAIN! RAIN GO AWAY!

The Monday after Father's Day was beautiful. We've had a lot of rain recently, so the sunshine was more than welcomed!! It was a perfect day for the zoo!!! We have zoo passes, so we've been to the zoo quite a bit.  With a two year old though, we never make it all the way through the zoo, there is just too much to see and explore.  Monday, my friends and I decided to walk past all the animals we normally see and head straight for the end of the zoo we never see then work our way back to the parking lot.  These are the friends I made while in pre natal classes while pregnant with Ryder.  Since there are three 2 year olds and two babies among us, we always bring a wagon big enough to fit all three of the 2 year olds.  They rarely ride in it, but it's nice to have it just incase they get tired of running plus it holds all of our snacks and paraphernalia.  Ryder insisted on pulling the wagon with Asher in it all the way to the other end of the zoo!! It only ran him over once on a downhill stretch...but he got right back up and kept pulling.  At the far end of the zoo, it turns out,there is a train and a carosel! Fun!! We didn't see many animals, but we pooped in the potty at the zoo, and we rode the train alot!! It was a fantastic sunny day!!

 Ryder pulled Asher all the way across the whole zoo!!



 The train at the zoo!!

 These three have known each other since before they were born! Adorable trio!!

Tuesday, it started raining AGAIN!! Well, it wasn't raining when we started out on our adventure, but by the time it was over, the rain was pouring down!!  We joined an outdoor play group that meets at various parks in and around the city. Everyone in the group has at least one two year old in their care.  Tuesday was our first time meeting with the groupWe were meeting at Griffith Woods and we were told to let our little ones bring their bikes.  This was gonna be fun...except, I had my WORST parenting morning ever. This is what potty training has done to me, it's turned me into some kind of evil poop maniac.  
I could tell Ryder had to poop all morning. He kept grabbing at his butt but he REFUSED to sit on the toilet. He REFUSED!!! I tried everything, including pulling the whole, "Fine! Peanut and I are leaving without you then!!" act and I actually walked out of the house, got in the truck with Peanut and fired it up while Ryder lay on the ground just inside the front door screaming!! Ofcorse I was bluffing and once I returned to the house, he still refused to go.  I buckled him into his car seat and drove off giving Ryder an immature silent treatment. I just wanted him to go before we left the house. I just wanted him to poop so he wouldn't be uncomfortable and so it wouldn't be sooo gross out in the woods. We had our first real power struggle and I lost and I was still angry and I couldn't get over it like Ryder did.  God, if he remembers potty training, our relationship will be permanently dammaged.  Don't worry, after a day of reflection, I resolved to care a lot less about him shitting his pants in public. Hell if he wants to, go for it. I have to try to remember that, for me, as long as I catch it before he sits on it, it's actually less gross and less stressful than changing his poopy diaper was. 
Anyway, we get to the parking lot. I insist that he uses the public potty before getting on his bike. He does without a fight, but only pees. I unload his bike and he becomes my adorable, happy, awesome son again!! He strides along on his bike like a little pro, making me soo proud...until he gets uncomfortable because, oh yeah, he has to poop. He refuses to ride his bike now. He wants to hold my hand, he becomes whiney, and needy. His little buddy, Asher keeps saying, "Ryder, get on bike." But Ryder refuses.  The weather is turning fast, we are in the woods, I am wearing Peanut, holding Ryder's hand and carrying a bike.  Awkward. Not all that fun. Bummer. If he'd just ride his bike, he'd have sooo much fun. But, this is what happens when he has to poop. I think he gets kinda scared, because just before he always gets all needy and wants me to carry him.  Thankfully, the group is full of really nice Mom's and Asher's mom is there too, so they all take turns helping me carry Ryder's bike. Finally, I unstrap Peanut, hand her off to Ally (Asher's mom) and take Ryder into the woods to go potty. In my mind, he's gonna poop, but he only pees. Damn, though honestly, I'm not sure exactly how I would have had him sit to poop. He continues to refuse to bike.  Eventually, we arrive at the creek, the destination of the hike. We have a snack, it starts to rain and now Ryder wants to ride his bike...in the creek!!! I hadn't brought any other shoes or pants or rain gear or anything, but I also know that it's unfair to bring a two year old to a body of water and then not let them play in it. So, in he goes, in his shoes and pants on his bike!! Weeeeee!  The rain really begins to fall, the thunder booms and it's time to go!!! Peanut starts crying, now she's hungry! Ryder gets off his bike. Now he wants to walk again!! I try feeding Peanut in the carrier while walking, but Ryder insists on holding my hand, so feeding gets tricky. We take shelter under a large pine tree. I finish feeding Peanut and Ryder and I watch puddles form. Yay, motivation to ride his bike. What two year old can resist puddles???? Yippee!!! Peanut's belly is full, Ryder is on his bike and we head for the parking lot. Now we're making memories. Making memories!! 

We got home and....he immediately pooped his pants!




The rain let up after dinner so we wanted to get both Scout and Ryder out of the house. Ryder was happy to ride his bike. He's getting really good on it. It's a stride bike that Uncle Hoser made for him.  He's not striding a whole bunch yet, but he's starting too and he LOVES it! We found this great paved path in the woods near our house. I was pushing Peanut in the stroller, Marty had Scout on leash and Ryder was riding his bike.  Then we came to a hill. A big hill. I was immediately nervous, but Ryder, apparently, was not.  He started down the hill and began gaining speed. With speed came the speed wobble, you know where the handle bars begin wobbling quickly from side to side just before you lose control! And lose control he did and i watched in horror as my two year old rode his bike right over the edge of the ravine. (marty would call it a ditch. I call it a ravine!!!!) I mean he dissapeared. Marty ran after him, picked him up (thank God he didn't hit any trees and he didn't roll too far) dusted off his knees and put him right back on his bike. Ryder wasn't rattled at all. Infact he was calling at Marty to push him up the next hill. I, on the other hand was trembling. I didn't stop shaking until Ryder was back home, safe in bed!! Holy crap, he scared me!  I dont' know how Moms watch their kids do scary things like learn to walk and ride bikes...good grief and this is only the beginning. I am sure I aged 5 years!! 


The rain continued to fall, the wind continued to blow and before we knew it the city of Calgary was declaring a state of emergency!  The whole downtown core flooded! The river just kept rising until it flooded everything!! Several neighbourhoods around downtown were evacuated and roads and highways were closed!! Thankfully, though we do live close to the river, we live on top of a hill, so we have been spared, however the devastation our city is experiencing is upsetting to us all.  Things all over the city remain a state of disaster, however, I am lucky enough to get to tuck my little cuties into their dry, warm beds tonight. I don't know how I got to be so lucky, but I thank God every night, that I am!!



Kiss your babies, count your blessings and stop sweating the small stuff, like pooping pants!!

FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND, 2013

Last weekend was Father's Day weekend. I helped Ryder and Peanut celebrate their Daddy and I quietly celebrated my own!  Now that I have children of my own, I appreciate soooo much more what great parents we had and what a fun Dad my Dad was!! I miss him sooo much and I know he would have loved wrestling with Ryder and snuggling Payton!

Ryder, Peanut and I joined Marty for a hike to Troll Falls.  It was a shortish, family friendly hike that ended with ice cream for Ryder (a treat he earned by pooping in the potty before we left the house.) On the way home from the hike, we met another family at the amusement park where Dad's got in free! It was Ryder's first time on the rides! Soo much fun!!!
The kids were exhausted and once they were tucked safely in bed, Marty and I enjoyed a Father's Day plate of nachos!! Yummmm!

 Daddy wearing Ryder's hat and RJ chillin' at home

 Troll Falls

 Holdin' hands
Peeing on the trail....and on his leg and on his shorts and shoes....
 
 Daddy and his little Peanut
 Little?? LOL
 

I did a whole photo shoot of these two in Daddy's shirts, but my camera cord suddenly won't connect to my computer...those pics are to come....


Kiss your babies, count your blessings and hug your Daddies!!!!

Sunday 16 June 2013

3 DAY POTTY TRAINING. DAYS 7 THROUGH 12

Yep, here we are, Day 13 of our 3 Day Potty Training Bootcamp. The one that has worked miracles, potty training toddlers everywhere in 3 days or less..HA!!
I am washing sheets everyday it seems. We either have a "wet" night or a "wet" nap. Poop? That continues to happen daily...in his undies. Though, I hesitate to complain too much about that as compared to the horrific experience changing poopy diapers was becoming, this "dump the log" out of his undies and carry on with our day is WAY preferable...not as preferable as doing it on the potty, but....at this point I am clinging to any positives I can find. LOL
Pee? Most of that goes in the potty..MOST OF IT! This 3 day plan is taking a lot longer than the three days it took millions of other kids and mothers. Ha!
I'll admit, I have somewhat abandoned the "use ONLY positive langauge,"rule and I may or may not have cussed a couple of times under my breath, but we are making progress...or so I keep telling myself!
It was a long week of emotional ups and downs for me. Me going from thinking, "we've got this potty thing licked" to, "holy crap, WTHF???"  Not a week of Motherhood I am proud of at all. This was probably me at my worst. To my defense, Marty was gone for three days this week, and we were all exhausted from our camping and days and Grammy's...not an excuse for my short patience but maybe it makes it more understandable?


 I took a potty training leap of faith and headed to the farm to see Dirt. I brought extra undies and shorts just incase!

He did call out, "potty, potty" on the way home and we pulled off the side of the road so he could pee on the tire of the truck! Yay! I don't care where he pees at this stage as long as I don't have to clean it up! 

The rain kept us holed up inside, this also contributed to my grumpy attitude.  For something to do and because Ryder and I love to, we did some baking, however even that ended badly.  I snapped (probably a little harsher than I meant to) at Ryder when he started licking raw egg off the spatula. My tone alarmed him and he began crying, saying, "Scouty, Scouty." That's right, he did not want Mama cuddles, he was ditching my comfort for that of the dog.  I carried him to the landing of the steps where Scout likes to sleep. He crawled up there with her and just cuddled her!  We are so lucky to have her!!
The weather was not really nice enough to be out in just undies and the mosquitos, I'm sure had a feast, but Ryder wanted out and I needed a break. I sent both he and Scout outside so I could quickly have ten minutes to vacume. Yep, that's why my house looks the way it does..I only take 10 mins to vacume! LOL

One rainy evening with nothing left to do and my energy at an all time low (Marty had been gone for three days for work,) Ryder, Peanut and I all climbed onto the couch and watched three episodes of Dora in a row!! The cuddles, all of us together, were really nice. The meltdown afterwards, before tubby time, was NOT!!!

We survived the week though, and have come out of the other side with a poop in the potty!!
 The good days definitely outweigh the bad but I wouldn't be honest if I said every day was awesome, cause some days, just are NOT and this week happened to be full of days that were not!

On a positive note, Peanut continues to be a "dream!" She has been awake a lot more and she's started drawing us all into her warm, chubby cheeked smiles!!







Here's to a brand new week...one that will be filled with more "good" days than "bad" right?!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and recognize that you will miss even the "bad" days and the poop in the undies, once these little cuties are all grown up!

Thursday 13 June 2013

FIRST CAMPING TRIP OF THE SEASON

Last weekend, we headed out on our family's first camping trip as a family of four.  Friday afternoon, we loaded up the 2 year old, the 10 week old, the 4 year old (dog) and the potty ( we were on day 5 of a 3 day potty training bootcamp,) and headed for Gull Lake for a weekend camping adventure with good friends of ours who also have a 2 year old in the throws of potty training.  Asher was born a week after Ryder and his Mom, Ally and I were in the same pre natal class. It is sooo much fun watching our boys grow up together.

The first thing we set up was our potty, but by the end of the weekend, he was peeing on the big potty and only sitting on this one to push the button to make the Lightening McQueen engine noises.

The excitement of camping and having a buddy to play with was too much and we had an accident (pee) that night before bed, but really, we kinda couldn't blame him. Anyone having as much fun as he was would have a heck of a time stopping to potty!
The boys went to bed around 8pm and Peanut hung with us around the fire.
   
Peanut ended up sleeping in this bouncy seat in the trailer both nights. That wasn't plan A, but it worked this time. :)


 After a "dry" night, Ryder was up early, saying, "Asher is calling me." Adorable!! The boys were out ready for pancakes and bike rides first thing in the morning....after a poop in his undies. Damn it! I was hoping by some miracle we'd get that in the potty while camping!! Silly me!! I'll admit it, that pair of undies, we just threw in the nearest dumpster.  Ally had been generous enough to give Ryder an ear of corn Friday night and here that gift was, still giving! Corn poops are nasty, especially while camping!
 
The boys biked and biked and puddle jumped and loved life as 2 year olds!!

 Peanut spent time in the Pea Pod just being a great sport while the boys played in puddles by the lake.


Sunday morning involved lots more biking and then we had to pack up. Marty had meetings up in Edmonton, so Ryder, Peanut and I decided we'd ride into the city with him to spend a couple days at Mom's while Marty was on business.


 Peeing on the truck tire, a favorite place to go! :)
Thanks Grammy for taking care of us for two days and for putting up with some potty accidents and successess!!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and remember, poop in the potty, counts as a blessing!!!

Friday 7 June 2013

BOOTCAMP

 So, Monday we started Bootcamp...potty training bootcamp. We followed a three day Bootcamp that a few of the other ladies from our Pre Natal Class were gonna try.  I had never thought that an intensive bootcamp was the way I would choose to go. I believed in waiting until Ryder showed interest. I wanted him to decide he was a big boy. I wanted him to want to pee in the potty...then he started kicking and screaming during diaper changes. He started flailing so violently that when his kicks connected with my body, they hurt. Every diaper change was a fight. I started having anxiety anytime I smelled a full diaper. I'm sure my own anxiety didn't help, but it really sucked fighting with Ryder every day, several times a day over something sooo ridiculous. I decided it was time to ditch the diapers for good!
I studied the 3 day potty training bootcamp and come Monday morning, I was armed with 18 pairs of undies, a potty seat on our big toilet upstairs and a little Lightening McQueen potty downstairs, plenty of wipes and some M&Ms for bribery (not recommended in the program.)  The whole theory was that you had to follow your child around, like be within inches of them all day, learning their "signs" so that if and when an accident started happening, you would be there to whisk them off to the potty, saying, "remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee." The belief is that you don't ask if they have to use the potty, you don't put them on the potty when you think they have to go, you just keep following them around all day saying, "Remember to tell Mommy if you have to use the potty." And theoretically they will start telling you......

Day 1, Monday
Ryder woke up and we took off his diaper, put his big boy undies on and made a big deal of having him "throw away" all of his diapers. We didn't really throw them away, I am not going to waste perfectly good diapers, plus maybe Peanut will need them one day. 
He was pumped to be a "big boy" and I had a hug smile plastered all over my face, ready to be nothing but positive, saying, "Remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop." Negativity and saying "no" were forbidden by the program. 
Ryder, Peanut and I came downstairs. I put my super patient, sleepy Peanut on her tummy time mat (on her back, she hates tummy time) and I proceeded to focus on Ryder with an intensity that I could tell was going to be exhausting and impossible to keep up for the next 72 hours!  
  




  



I felt like a broken record repeating at 3-5 minute intervals, "Remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop. Remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop.  Remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop."  His first "accident" was a poop. I missed it.  I missed him pooping, the smell was something you couldn't miss! I whisked him off to the potty, saying, "next time remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop."  Sooo, poop is gross. Poop in undies is gross, mostly because I can't just throw them out like I could diapers (though, truth be told, if I ever came across something totally disgusting, I was fully prepared to toss the undies.)  We were both a little grossed out, though I pretended, as best I could, not to be. I pulled his undies off, he freaked out and got poo on his leg which rattled him even more.  I remained calm, explaining that if he would go in the potty this wouldn't happen....remember to tell Mommy if you have to pee or poop. After that I tried to be more focused, nothing seemed to be happening. I  took that opportunity to text my friend, who was also potty training, while I was explaining to her how  I was watching Ryder like a "hawk" he peed. I could hear him saying, "Mommy, I need a diaper!"  Ooops! Damn it! I need to be better on guard!  Again, I reminded him, "next time tell Mommy if you need to pee."
He went through a stage of saying, "pee, Mommy" then we'd make a big production, run to the bathroom. Once we'd get there he'd say, "no pee!" and laugh and laugh....I was hoping this was all part of the process.  Meanwhile we played trucks, did puzzles, played more trucks and tried to find things to do IN the house. The program strongly advises against going outside as it's too hard for kids to stop playing outside to remember to tell you if they have to pee.  I was going batty. I hate being inside all day. I hate not leaving my house all day and I am not used to playing with Ryder all day. Even he was getting tired of my hovering. He is used to playing independently, something he does very well, this intensity was getting to both of us!
Every time he started peeing on the floor, I'd grab him, rush to the potty, get him to sit and he'd stop peeing.  We'd leave the bathroom, with clean undies on and he'd promptly finish peeing as soon as we got back to the livingroom!!  We both climbed into our own beds at naptime, happy for the alone time and a chance to relax!!  His nap was dry!! Yay, Ryder! One of our only big successes!
The rest of the day, was a lot more of the same as the morning. Trying to find things to do inside, while staring at Ryder's crotch, trying to convince him to remind me when he had to pee...unsuccessfully.  The program did say to expect LOTS of accidents, it was all part of the learning....by the time he was in bed, we'd been through 11 pairs of undies (2 poops) and we'd made it to the potty 4 times. I was exhausted. He was exhausted. WE all slept like babies, except the baby, who had been pretty much ignored all day....she chose night to get some attention. :)

Day 2: Tuesday
Dry night!! Yippee!! The sun was shining, but ofcorse we couldn't go outside! UGH!!  WE peed as soon as he got out of bed..in the potty but only because I told him he had to!
I knew he'd have a poop in the morning, he always does..but I missed him actually pooping. I caught him just after, so we ran to bathroom and I set him on the potty. We took off his undies, he hated seeing the poopy ginch, it grossed him out. I then proceeded to clean everything up with wipes, which I threw into the toilet...guess what happened when I flushed?? Yep, major overflow. Wipes, arn't flushable.  Oooops. Now he was really freaked out!! Damn it!
I managed to get him refocused on his trucks, who he decided had to poop. We spent an hour running back and forth to the potty to let the trucks poop....Finally, I caught him peeing in time to race him to the potty.He sat up there, peed and tooted. When I lifted him off, we were both surprised to find that he had actually pooped...on the toilet. Literally, ON the toilet. I had him sitting so far back on the seat (he has trouble actually peeing IN the potty. It usually goes everywhere but IN, so even if we make it to the potty, I'm cleaning pee of the floor.) His poop was all over the back of the seat and his butt..another gross experience for both of us. But I cleaned it all up, putting the wipes in the trash can, with a giant FAKE smile plastered all over my face. Yay, you pooped on the potty!! On the potty!! Yipee!!!! Remember to tell me if you have to pee or poop!!
We have one rug on the main floor, by the front door. Where do you think Ryder wanted to play? At the front door ofcorse!! I hovered hoping to catch things before they ended up all over the rug...ofcorse I missed it!! Damn it...big smile, "Remember to tell Mommy next time before you have to pee...." For lack of things to do and because the program insists you feed them as much liquid and fibre as possible to up the learning opportunities, we made popsicles out of juice and mini bran muffins.  
We played with water, washing trucks, having tea parties, anything to promote "learning opportunies." He peed, on the floor, on the kitchen chair, on the front door rug, in the kitchen, living room and entry way. He peed a lot of places, rarely on the potty. He never told me first, I kept reminding him with, I'll admit a fading fake smile, to "tell Mommy if yo have to pee...."
Eventually, he got tired of me dragging him to the potty. He started refusing to even sit. He'd arch his back, yell, scream and be miserable. He would never finish peeing until he was in clean undies, back playing. Finally out of desperation, I asked him if he wanted to go outside and pee on the rocks.  I told him he could stand up and just let 'er rip!! He did! He peed standing up and he was pumped. Out of ideas to get him back to the potty. I put some cheerios in it and told him he could pee standing up and try to hit them. It worked...once! Then I started to panic. What if he did like that better? How would I ever get him to sit to poop?? Ahhh!! I needen't have worried, he only did it ONCE!

 


I'll admit I couldn't wait for him to go to bed so I could relax and stop stalking him!!!
After he was tucked into bed, I turned on the video baby monitor and to my horror, I could see that he was drinking water! Ooops!! Rookie mistake on my part leaving it there!  I ran back upstairs to remove the cup from his room and to see if he had to pee one more time. Ofcorse he did not.  Ofcorse at 4:30am I woke to this: Mommy, I peed in mine bed!!" So, "wet night."
I had an epiphany though. All this time, I'd been saying, "Tell Mommy if you have to pee" but I never actually gave him the words to say.. I needed to make this clear tomorrow. 

 

Day 3:
AFter the 4:30am sheet change, he woke up dry.
By now I knew he was going to poop in the morning, so I was on edge waiting...just waiting for his face to distort that little bit, for him to pause in his playing, for him to look up at me, for anything....it happened but it was too fast for me! We raced to the potty, but his undies were already full. By now I was getting used to this. Poop, I've decided is gonna take a while...
I explained to him that if he had to go pee, he should say, "potty potty." I explained that if he started peeing in his undies, he should try to stop and say, "potty potty." Then we spent hours, I'm not exaggerating, hours, playing with two small stuffies. A horse and a lion.  These two animals hung on Peanut's tummy time mat and I had given the lion a voice, talking to Peanut. For some reason, Ryder really took to this and always wanted to "tell Lion something." So I capitalized on this. I started having Lion say, "potty potty!" and we'd make a big production running him to the potty. We'd have him sit on the potty, I'd have him say, "Ryder can you please turn on the fan, I think I have to poop." I'd make farting and grunting noises worthy of an academy award and I'd have Ryder "wipe" Lion's butt. They'd high five, and Ryder would give him one of the bribery cookies.  Eventually, Ryder got the horse into it and before I knew it, one of the stuffies had to "potty potty" every 3 minutes. This was great practice, I hoped!!! Sometimes I'd have Lion ask if Ryder wanted to try too, but he rarely did.  Even when we played trucks or watched Dora on TV, I'd have Lion call out "potty potty" to interrupt things to show Ryder that we will stop whatever we are doing to go pee!!  He bought in and we did this all day long.
Ryder it turns out seems to be a bit of a camel, rarely having to pee. This made me nervous all day, just waiting and waiting for him to have to go. I was going batty. I had decided not to push sooo many liquids, it was just too intense and I think his belly was getting upset. So I fed him regular amounts of food and liquid and he just never seemed to have to pee. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I tried to insist that he "try" this is advised against in the program, but I couldn't take the suspense anymore. Big mistake! Ryder refused, he cried, he wailed, he rolled on the floor, I couldn't get him to stop and I didn't want to send him to his room (our usual "time out" practice as I was scared he'd pee all over his carpet.) So I let him roll around out of control, naked on the floor (he refused to put his undies back on.) I told him I wasn't going to play with him again until he stopped yelling at me. I went upstairs, put some laundry away, brought Peanut up to her crib. Came down to see if he was done yelling, he wasn't "go away Mommy." I went back upstairs, took the opportunity to pee myself, then went back down. Ryder took one look at me, stood up, stark naked, turned off the tears and said, "Potty potty!" I couldn't effing believe it!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't hesitate though, I grabbed his hand, ran with him to the potty and he peed! He peed!! It was glorious!! I was sooo excited!!! I couldnt' wait for him to have to go again, to see if he would tell me!! We had a big potty party and I called Marty and asked him to bring home ice cream for this huge acheivement!! I stalked him the rest of the day, waiting and waiting for a pee. Nothing! Eventually, I turned on Dora so I could make supper. I was on the phone with my sister when Ryder stood up from his show, walked over to me, opened his eyes wide and I said, "potty?" he nodded. We ran!!! Successish! Right? I mean he never actually said Potty, but he was communicating with me!  After that Marty came home, he had ice cream and didn't have to pee again until right before his tubby, but we always make him pee before that.  We also always make him pee before bed, so he never had another chance to tell me.





Through all of this, Peanut has been a PATIENT, sweet angel, just waiting for her turn to get some love!
 

Day 4:
Dry night! Yippee!! He peed when he woke up cause that's what we make him do. He pooped after breakfast, but I kinda caught it and he finished in the potty...well either he finished or some poop fell out of his butt crack, either way, SOME poop was in the potty, so I call that successish.  He did not have to pee bad enough to say anything again all day. I made him pee at nap, and again before he could watch Dora and again before tubby and bed. Otherwise, I let him go outside (we were both sooo ready for sunshine) and I let him play independently without me stalking him too badly.  No accidents, besides the poop, which I am ok with as it is wayyyyy better than changing his poopy diaper while he kicks the crap out of me, but still no "potty potty."
I have no idea if it has clicked yet or not!
At the end of 4 days, here is what I do know:
He can hold his pee
He knows he shouldn't just pee on the floor or in his undies, otherwise why would he hold it?
He knows he's supposed to say, Potty potty
He still isn't quite ready to poop on potty though we are getting closer.

Friday is Day 5, we will be going camping with our friends who are potty training. This could be a very messy camping trip...or it could be a life changing one!!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and delight in the cuteness of toddlers in tighty whities!!!