Noah has been interested in the potty for quite some time now.  Elmo's Potty Time   was a frequently requested DVD until we had to take it back to the library and it was never seen or heard from again- mysteriously. ;)

We bought him a little IKEA potty, but his interest in it has been limited to pretending to rinse it out and dump it, and getting a piece of TP, putting it in his little potty and then in the big potty, where it is time to FLUSH  and FLUSH  and FLUSH! 

He even peed once, a little, on the potty, but because he is so young we really haven't made toilet training a big deal.  We have gotten him boxer briefs that he sometimes wears with his diaper just to get used to the concept (and he looks dang cute in boxers) However, since Noah's main interest is in the big potty and the little one, I think, is more of a toy, we decided to get him a potty insert so that he can sit on it.  Yesterday we picked up this one at Target the other day and have had it in the bathroom and had him sit on it a few times.

When Da got home from work last night I asked Noah, "Do you want to show Da your new Potty?"  And he rather sweetly walked over to Jim to take hold of him and push him into the bathroom to see the new contraption, which he proudly picked up from where it was sitting on the seat of our toilet. 

Then, today Noah had already had a BM in his diaper (sorry people for whom this is too much information) without my knowing it-- which is a good thing since he tends to be realllly constipated and everyone within eyesight and earshot know when he is trying to go-- and opened the lid to the toilet, picked up his new potty seat and placed it on the toilet. 

"Do you want to sit on the potty with your diaper off?"

"Pease," he said in his little gruff baby voice, signing with both hands.  I took off his diaper and while I wished he had told me before he had gone, I couldn't be prouder that he is making these steps of knowing what the potty is for, connecting it to his body's activities and wanting to use the toilet for himself.

He was also happy to get to use toilet paper instead of the dreaded chilly-wet wipes.  When he is being cleaned, sometimes I will soothe him with, "I know this is no fun.  When you are ready and go poopy on the potty we can use toilet paper and be all done with this."  I ask him if he would like to go on the potty and he nods seriously.   I think today he knew that I would have to put him on the changing table on his back and strip and clean him, and the potty sounded like a far better option in his little toddler logic.  I couldn't agree more.  Keep up your hatred of wipes, Big Boy!