Dawson and Dyl, were both 3+ when the were potty trained, which was fine with me. I am a firm believer in the convenience of diapers. One day, each of the boys just decided it was time to be toilet trained and we've never looked back. There were no tears, no public accidents, no private accidents, no trying to make them pee on Cheerios in the toilet, it was wonderful.

I was shocked when a few months ago, at about 20 months I went looking for Emma and there she was sitting on the toilet, going to the bathroom. She started saying "potty," when she needed to go, and has done quite well.

We are now having a novelty toilet issue. It doesn't matter if she just went to the bathroom, if we are at Smith's, or a restaurant, or she sees the port-o-potty at our new house, all of a sudden she has to go potty. As thrilled as I am about her almost being potty trained, I am not a big fan of public restrooms, or being taken advantage of by a 2 year old. I end up taking her every time, but she only produces results about 10% of the time. I am not sure which is worse, not taking her and risking an accident, or taking 15 minutes during each errand, while she sits on the toilet smiling and exploring her new surroundings, while I try to keep her fast little hands out of the used tampon bin.

I am constantly surprised at how smart she is, and how fast she picks things up. Although I have seen the inside of every public restroom of every store I have been in for the last 5 months, she still melts my heart while she's sitting there kicking her feet and saying, "Love you the most, Mom."