At three, Connor is a little late in the potty training game for most kids this stage. I like to chalk it up to the fact that he has two younger brothers still in diapers (well pull-ups actually, but only because I got tired of buying all the separate things and now have all the kids in 2-3T pull-ups). It probably also has a little to do with the fact that his mother doesn't have the patience to remind him to potty every hour or the ability to keep two other toddlers off the top of the dining room table while we spend twenty minutes "going potty." But we are making progress, however slowly, despite our issues.
Connor has been going "pee-pee in potty" for a while now, but only recently graduated to going "poo-poo on potty." I'm not sure why one phrase uses "in" and one uses "on," you'll have to get that explanation from him. And more often than not, he simply walks up to me, wrinkles his nose and says "Onnor stinky." I've come to learn that this is code for "I need to go" instead of code for "change my diaper." And most of the time, he does just fine. And I cannot help but laugh as I mention that the child cannot do either, without happily jumping up to flush while waving and saying "Bye-bye potty!"
I do have a sneaking suspicion that my bribery has paid off - we keep an M&M candy dispenser in the bathroom downstairs. While we're going potty, Connor loves to point out everything in the room. "Buster's shower" (the walk-in shower in this bathroom is where we give Buster his bath in the winter), "Onnor's papers" (the toilet paper he's yet to use), "One, two, three doors" (because that's how many there are in the bathroom, and we must count them every time), and last but certainly not least, "Onnor's nandies." This one is mentioned about ten times during the entire potty process, and is apparently the most crucial part of the whole ordeal.
Perhaps he was finally ready to start, or perhaps I finally found the right motivation (his sweet tooth). One down (or at least on the road to), and two more to go . . .
And for those who are interested, our first "potty" investment has proven the most successful. We use a Baby Bjorn seat that fits on the regular potty with a matching Baby Bjorn stool. The talking, singing and really annoying child potty is in the closet (two actually, since we felt the need to outfit an upstairs and downstairs bathroom with our gear).