Spiderman + Toilet + Ice Cream = ?

Two days before we left for our trip to Utah on July 10th, my sweet neighbor Karen stopped by with a present for Camden. When he opened his present he found two pairs of spider man underwear. I have been having a hard time convincing Camden that he needs to go potty in the toilet for the last several months (even with bribes) and having no luck. The kid can ride a scooter and swim, he should be able to go potty, right? Well Karen decided it was time to get started since she has been hearing my concerns of getting him trained before preschool in less than a month. So, she explained to Camden that it is very important to NOT get spider man dirty and that he was a big boy who doesn't need diapers anymore and that potty should go in the toilet. (Which I have told him several times myself.)

She also told him that every time he goes poopy in the toilet that he should call her and she will come down immediately to see and take him for ice cream that second. Well, it wasn't more than two hours when Camden comes running into the kitchen with nothing on yelling, "I went poopy in the toilet! I did it! I did it! I call Karen!" I couldn't believe it, but he did and on his own. So we called Karen, she came down, jumped up and down with Camden in excitement and took off to Baskin Robins for the promised ice cream.

While they were having their celebratory ice cream, she talked again to Camden that it is easy to go potty in the toilet and that he is a big boy and he can do it again. She promised him again another ice cream if he went poopy in the toilet. He wanted another "spicey hot ice cream with peanuts" aka pistachio almond ice cream. When they got back, Camden did great for the rest of the day. He went pee pee in the toilet without being asked and came running to me with nothing on jumping up and down that yelling, "I did it, Mommy! I went potty in the toilet!" Sure enough, he did it again several more times until bed time. The following day after he woke up, I took his diaper off and put the spider man underwear on and let him go. I was pretty sure there was going to be an accident and was not looking forward to the clean up, especially since I was trying to pack for a trip. About an hour later both Sydney and Camden came running in and yelled, "Poopy in the toilet!" He did it on his own and wanted to call Karen for his ice cream. She came down again and off they went for ice cream. Since she started something I wasn't too confident about and I was concerned about the accidents to come with traveling and our vacation, I asked her to talk to him about keeping spider man clean. Karen told me they they had a pretty good talk about potty stuff during their ice cream time and he knew not to have an accident. The rest of the day went accident free. I was amazed!!!

I toyed with the idea of putting Camden in a pull-up the morning of our trip since we had to drive to the airport and fly a couple of hours, but he DID NOT want too. He was a big boy. He said, "Karen told me their are toilets at the airport, in the airplane, in "Newtah" and at grandma's house." He was ready to go! Once we got to the airport and in line to check our luggage, Camden said in a high pitched voice, "I got to go potty! I got to go potty!" Of course Anson and I panicked and Anson scooped up Camden and runs to the closest restroom and returns accident free. I was thrilled! Believe it or not, I could make this story longer, but I won't, but I have to get in all the amusing and amazing parts of the story, so hang in there. We boarded the plane, took off and half way in our flight when Camden told us he needed to go potty. Anson led the way to the back of the plane. The restroom was occupied so they had to wait in line. Well, when Anson turned around, he found Camden with his shorts and underwear at his ankles waiting his turn. We both had to laugh!

Once we were on the ground and walking down the terminal, Camden started saying, "There are toilets here in the airport and in "Newtah". He was saying it pretty loud so we got a few smiles from the strangers that were walking by. After we got through security, Camden and Sydney spotted grandma to great her with a BIG hug. Very quickly after the hug, Camden stepped back, dropped his shorts and told grandma, "I am a big boy. I went potty in the toilet and I wear underwears!" for all to see. He was so proud of himself and didn't seem to mind that everyone was watching him in the airport. He also asked grandma, "Do you have toilets at your house?" My mom told him that they have two. He repeated to me, "Mommy, grandma has two toilets are her house." while holding up two fingers and with his excited but serious voice. At some point at our visit, Camden explained to several of us the following:

"Going peepee on a bus is no, no, no!" while waving his finger back and forth.

"Going peepee on a the roof is no, no, no!"

"Going peepee on the grass is no, no, no!"

"Going peepee on the road is no, no, no!"

"Going peepee on the wall is no, no, no!"

"Going peepee on the light is no, no, no!"

"Going peepee on the window is no, no no!"

It was like he was reciting a Dr. Sues book, but it seemed like he was catching onto the idea so I let him tell me all of the places you shouldn't go peepee. He did really well and has only had two peepee accidents since we started. We are very proud of our little Camden and extremely relieved he figured this out before preschool began.

One last story. While we were in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for our delayed plane to return back home, my kids became friends with Amy, a BYU graduate. She entertained them for an hour and a half and they were all truly sad to go when her plane was ready to board. But half way during their play date, I turned away to look at our tickets and turned back and Camden again, had his short to his ankles showing off his "underwears" and explaining to Amy that he was a big boy. Everyone in the terminal got a show. Since we have been home, we have had a few more shows, but they have all been with people we know, but we are working on only showing our "underwears" in the bathroom.

Before I end this post, I just want to send a BIG thank you to Karen for helping us get started and giving Camden confidence and motivation to become diaper free! You are the "Potty Training Whisperer." We will never forget you!