no advice from me!! I let Addy see me go to the poddy in the mornings thinking she might become interested... So, after several weeks I put her on it and she screamed.

I have advice! :D It's been almost a year since we potty trained Katie. Here's the story on my LJ: http://nicoledanielle.livejournal.com/261578.html

(Sorry for everyone else who can't see my post. My LJ is private but Suzanne has access.)

In the words of Cogsworth (Beauty and the Beast) try "flowers, chocolates, [and] promises you don't intend to keep."

Just kidding of course!

Well, sort of.

Hi! Hope your potty training goes welll Potty training my oldest was by far one of the most stressful aspects of parenting. I thought she'd be going to college in diapers!! Hint: Don't use "pull-ups" unless you're going to the store. Go strait to underpants and brace yourself for lots of accidents. But once you put your foot down that they will no-way no-how go back to wearing diapers it works from there pretty much by itself. My mom gave my little brother an one of those sweet tarts candies after he went on the potty every time, others say it worked for them. Not for me! I also read that if you hype-up the underware, let them pick out their own, yadda yadda yadda, that helps. Not for me!
A couple friends have said the most effective way to potty-train is to make them really experience the discomfort of being wet or stinky.(Like, have them clean up their own mess)
I'd just encourage you to remember that your little guys will be potty trained sooner or later and not to worry about it too much. It's stressful when their peers begin to shed their diapers one by one. But it won't affect their character so it's not that big of a deal.
This time around (with my nearly three year old) I've tried to be really laid back about potty training. She sits on the potty before bathtime and she has a potty that she can use. I told her that after he birthday party she would only wear panties during the day. Hopefully she'll get the hang of it quickly!

No advice here! I'm in this season of life, myself, so I am stealing all the advice given on your comments.

I was just reading a post on this throught the "Works for me wednesday tips" - you might like it, too....raisingfive.blogspot.com

It's been a while since I had to potty train, but I do seem to remember it took my boy A LOT longer than my girl. Lots and lots of patience, too. :)

I'll be at this stage again soon - so I'm going to be stealing your advice, too.

Believe it or not, there's a book called "Potty training in a day" or something along those lines. I don't agree with half of what they say in that book, especially the tone and words used to admonish an accident. BUT, we used a loose adaptation of their method for our last two boys who've "been trained" and it worked. Both went from complete diapers to dry all day (one dry all night) in less than three days!

I say - wait until they are three, or close to it. It can happen in just a few days (really!) if they are old enough. I preferred this over the months and months of trial and error frustration that son #1 and I went through.

Most importantly, pray, Pray, PRAY for wisdom and gentleness. God will direct your steps!

Forgot to mention - with the last two while we had the "whole potty seat" we only used the toilet insert. The book I mentioned recommends having the kid learn to empty it. NO THANK YOU! But, they learned very quickly to place the insert over the toilet seat and it eliminated one step in mom's duties.

I consider complete independence achieved when they are able to effectively wipe. My four-year old still calls, "I'm done, Mama!" It's not as much as an inconvenience as cleaning up wiping messes from the bathroom.

Potty training stinks! I hated it and so did Reagan, but we finally got it and she's doing great now for almost 9 months now! Just keep at it. They'll begin to like it!

GOOD LUCK!