Well...It's August...

...And I have to say that Operation: "bye bye pull-ups" has been going exceptionally well. On Saturday morning she woke up with her last dry pull-up. She cried, no, sobbed when I took it off, begging me not to take her pull-up off. But I calmly explained that it was August, and time to get rid of all the diapers and pull-ups, and when that didn't calm her down, I plopped her in front of Caillou and she forgot what she was so upset about. Since then, her pee has made it into the potty every single time. The only exception was the first night when she woke up with dry, yet pee smelling sheets. This does not count as an accident, and we didn't even tell her (since she didn't wake up) because I am really asking a lot expecting her to stay dry at night too. But, I don't want to confuse the whole "there are no more diapers or pull-ups" with odd exceptions like, "well, except for when we go to bed." So, out of almost three full days and two nights, she had one wet bed...not bad at all in my book!
The only real problem we had was with the poop. Now, I've read lots of stories of people potty training their children (it's amazing what we find to be interesting reading as parents), and I know that poop is a common problem. The kids just don't seem to want to "let go". But Lexi had pooped many times in the potty, so I was feeling relatively confident that she would be fine...except for the small concern about her recent hiding when she poops...she must always hide either on the stairs or behind her bed to poop. So, Day 1: No poop at all. Day 2: I gave her prunes and crossed my fingers. After lunch I suggested she watch an entire episode of Caillou on the potty, hoping that she would relax and poop...nope. No dice. She did, however, wake up from her nap in a panic, get her clothes off, run around her room a bit, and poop in the corner. That was upsetting to her, though we were happy that she at least got it out! Day 3: Problems began. I could tell that she needed to poop, no three year old paces and cries that much if they do not have to poop, but she refused to try and continued to deny her need to go. After an entire morning and early afternoon of pacing (hers) and worrying (mine) she suggested that using the potty and Gigi and Poppy's would be fun. So, we dashed over there and hung out for about an hour while she and Poppy played on the porch. I don't know exactly what it is that Poppy said to her (or made the dolly say to her) but after almost an hour she agreed to try to poop on the potty if Poppy would come in with her dolly. After ten minutes she came out proudly and said to me, "So Mama, what's the big idea??" I replied, "I don't know. Did you poop?" To which she replied, "Yup" as though she's been doing this for months. I was beyond thrilled. I should have known Poppy was the key to success. Ever since she was an infant Poppy has always seemed to make her poop.
I'm sure the saga will continue, but this is such amazing progress for three days of potty training. I guess it's true what they say - "When they're ready, they're ready!"