For the longest time, Isaac showed no interest in potty training. He'd used the toilet a couple of times, thought it was mildly fun, then said he just wanted to wear diapers.
However, to be in the Polliwog class at school, he had to at least be in training. I'd wanted to let him initiate the process himself when he was ready, but the start of the school year in early September gave us a deadline.
A playgroup friend mentioned that they'd given her son a potty party when he gave up diapers. It sounded like a fun idea, so I ran it by Isaac. "You can wear diapers as long as you want," I told him, "but when you're done with them, we'll celebrate with a potty party."
"What's a potty party?"
"Well..." I invented as I went along..."You get to pick which friends to invite, and where to eat dinner (or I'll make anything you want), and then we can go get ice cream after that."
Suddenly, Isaac was very interested in potty training.
"Can I have my potty party right now?"
"If you wear underwear for a whole week, then we'll know you're really done with diapers. And then you can have your potty party."
He was ready to start right away. So we went to Target that afternoon, and he picked out some underwear - Thomas, of course. He wanted to put it on right there in the store, so we started as soon as we got home.
Isaac did great for about a day and a half, then had a lapse and wanted to wear diapers again. I thought the underwear had just been a brief phase and he would be back in diapers for a while...but the next day, he wanted to know about his potty party again. "When you haven't worn diapers for a week," I told him again, "we'll have your potty party.
So he wanted to wear underwear again. This time it was for good. The nights were up and down, as we tried underwear and finally ended up in pull-ups, but Isaac has been diaper free all day ever since that first full week.
At the end of the week, he told me who to invite, and I emailed the moms of four of his favorite friends. They all sent back immediate, enthusiastic responses, and everyone was able to make it. I was so touched by the show of support for our little man.
Here's what Isaac wanted: Landon, Zack, Oliver and Jack. Benny's (Mexican) for dinner. Little Man Ice Cream for dessert. We met at 5 on a Tuesday.
The day of, I tried to get pictures of Isaac in his new Thomas underwear. After seeing your baby in diapers all his life, it's crazy to see him run around in underwear like a little man. Isaac looked so cute and lean and strong - like such a 3-yr-old - in his underwear. There wasn't much baby left on that little body.
I got one blurry (thanks, camera) picture inside, and then Isaac was a blur of energy for the rest of the morning. Here are my attempts at pictures. Most are blurry, but that's part of the portrait of our crazy happy boy.
Please Isaac, can I just take one picture? You look so cute!
Giggle...
Giggle, run...
Okay, I tried.
I forgot to take pictures at Benny's, but it was so much fun. We all - five families - sat at a long table together. I couldn't believe it, but several friends came with presents for Isaac. The most creative was a pair of white underwear from Oliver, which Megan had written on in bright marker to commemorate the occasion. Isaac looked a little unsure about it, but we thought it was hilarious.
At Benny's, the kids ate and ran around the table and played, and the adults all got to visit. So many favorites, all in one place. It ended up feeling like a birthday party. I'd even brought little trinket presents for the kids as a thank-you for coming out to celebrate with us on a Tuesday night. I guess it was the birthday party Isaac never had. He loved every minute of it.
Afterward, Jack and Landon and families came with us to get ice cream. Isaac picked chocolate. He ate what he wanted, then ran off to play on the retro metal slide, his favorite part of getting ice cream.
Poor Jonah was too little for ice cream (Mama and Dada say), but he didn't know what he was missing.
It was a great night for Isaac. We felt so lucky to have such good friends, both for us and for our boys. It's a night that Isaac still talks about, two months later.
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