Potty Training: Take Two

We're potty training again. I wasn't really planning it but it seems like God engineered the timing. We had an exhausting weekend last week so we stayed home a lot at the beginning of the week to recover (normally we're out and about every day). Since we were here, I decided to put her in underwear and see what happened. She did pretty well so I got bold and took her out in underwear on Thursday-a 40 min drive each way to lunch with my dad and sister and grandmother-and she did great! NO ACCIDENTS! The last two days she's been in underwear all day and had one accident each day (neither were when we were out thankfully!). So, I think it's really going to happen this time! She gets an MnM each time she goes in the potty which is highly motivating for her. The only thing that makes me concerned about whether this will last is that she has NEVER told us she has to go to the bathroom. I just ask her 100 times a day and she says yes 3 or 4 times. So, I'm not sure that she REALLY understands what it feels like to need to go or exactly how to "hold it" (she grabbed her underwear the first time I told her to "hold it"-makes sense!). But, it's looking very promising. It feels very different from the first time we tried. I've been dreading it since she turned two but it's not nearly as painful as a expected to remind her to go all the time or to carry a change of clothes. I think next time around (with another kid and future milestones with Ella) I'll be more willing to wait and resist any pressure for kids to do things early or even "on time." These things really do happen in their own time and it's much less painful when they're really ready. So, if she stays in a crib 'til she's four, I'm ok with that :-)