Ruby, Meet the Potty.

I could be wrong, but I'm not so sure she gets the concept yet. Especially since moments later I found tiny poopy footprints across the kitchen floor, which trailed back to a fair-sized turd in the corner. But at least she's cute!

Ruby is 14 months old, and I'm torn as to what approach to potty training I should take with her.

You see, we are still struggling with potty training Rae. She will be 3 in February, and while I can take her out in public in big girl underwear, I'm hesitant to do so. At home she does a pretty good job of using the toilet all by herself, usually with no announcement. But that's the problem - there's never an announcement. She never tells me when she has to go. If I remind her or make her stop what she's doing, she'll use the toilet. But if she's engrossed in play and I haven't reminded her, she may or may not stop what she's doing to relieve herself.

We started the potty training process with Rae when she was about 17 months old. I think that for her (I stress this, because every child is different), this was too early, and she ended up getting frustrated. She became very resistant to using the potty. Here we are, almost a year and a half later, and she does well at home and only o.k. when out and about.

For a long time, I was really distressed about Rae's progress (or lack thereof), but I realized that those feelings were selfish. They had more to do with me and my internal competition to have her potty trained by such-and-such date than with her as a developing person. I've decided to let go of my time lines and just keep working with her patiently and with encouragement.

But now comes the big question -- what should I do with Ruby? Should I try to start her early and hope she takes cues from watching Rae use the potty? Or should I wait until she's older to even attempt it? I've seen many people start potty training as early as 15 months, but I don't want it to backfire like it seems to have with Rae.

Today I let Ruby sit on the potty without a diaper, and she thought it was fun. Maybe I'll just do very little and let her give me cues as to when she wants to start trying.

I'm not looking for tips or advice or constructive criticism anymore. I don't want to know everyone's opinions on what I am doing right and wrong. I've read all the books, articles, and pamphlets. I'm done striving, and now I'm just going to go with the flow. No pun intended!

But I would appreciate your prayers!

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In other news, Ruby's vocabulary is growing. Here are some words she is saying at 14 months, although truth be told, I'm probably the only one who can recognize and understand them.

Nevertheless, she can say please, thank you, all done, Dada, Mama, Uh-huh, dog, juice, fish and moo.

My babies are growing up!