Accomplishments of the pottying sort

Big news around here... potty accomplishments!!

LYNAE has been in panties at the house for several weeks now, and aside from a need for frequent reminders, she is really doing GREAT picking up toilet training! WOO HOO!  She still doesn't care so much if she wets, so there's still some ways to go.  But, progress is there and the puddles are minimal ;)

JAMES, though not near toilet trained, has his own accomplishment of being able to pull down his pants and pull-up and sit down on his little toilet by himself! This is a great 'independent step' since he could now effectively go in and go on his own when he figures out the urge to go. He also can take his pants and wet diaper completely OFF while sitting on the toilet (intentionally, not just 'playing' and kicking) as long as he doesn't have shoes on.  And, once a pull up is 'stretched' out for him, he can usually put it on and pull it up himself!  He's also putting his own shorts on too!  These may seem like random 'easy' things... and in fact they're easy for most kids.  But for James, they've been a struggle and we're so proud of his accomplishments!  We've been working HARD for this one!  Next is potty training... ;).  We've also been working on putting his own shoes on, which he still lacks the concentration for, but very soon I expect that when we loosen up his sandals that he'll be able to get his feet in to them on his own :)

EMMA, though also unaware for the most part that the toilet is a regular place she should go, is now holding her bladder throughout the night many nights, and going IN THE TOILET in the morning!  Just today, she took her shorts down, diaper off, and CLIMBED UP on the regular sized toilet independently!  Twice!  Of course it takes verbal prompting through each step, and if I'm in there she constantly tries to get me to do it... but... hey, I now know she CAN!  She also got herself off the toilet independently when I wasn't here on Friday, so today I tested the waters and just called her out of the bathroom.  Guess what?? She came!  Emma can put on a pull-up independently, however she generally leaks in them so wears regular diapers a majority of the time so still needs help.  She can take her shorts completely off (of her feet also), and put them on by herself as well.  She is learning to put her socks on but we're not quite there yet...  This week we've also been working on taking off her shoes and orthotics, which can be a little tricky.  She's been somewhat successful and most of all, she wants to continue trying, which is great :).

On a non-potty celebration, I brought cardboard boxes outside earlier and had Aleksa carry some as well.  Then we went inside and closed the door.  I asked her to bring another box outside and put it by the dumpster as well (yes, we have a dumpster... and a port-o-potty... for construction) and just said 'go'.  I had no idea what she'd do, but she opened the front door, walked out, put the box where the others were, and ran back in proud as can be!  Aleksa also helped me by emptying the dirty hamper in to the washing machine.  She did it well and picked up the pieces she dropped and put them in as well.  She put the laundry in unsupervised!  Unfortunately, when I asked her to go help me move it to the dryer, I discovered that she'd put a wet diaper in to the washer (unintentionally... it wasn't one of hers and she wouldn't know not to put it in), so we moved the clothes to the dryer while we searched for the culprit and emptied the 'goo' from the washer, then we moved it all back to the washer to re-run on sanitize cycle.  Now she is likely very confused as to how the laundry works :D