She's a big girl now!

As you all know, we have had a lot of things going on here. If not, here's a quick recap: moved across the country, unpacked a monster load of stuff (6 people worth!) into a new house, had a baby and started all new schools. So there are a few things that I have been putting off, with no real date of intent. Potty training Lexi is one of them. The other day, as we were walking the kids to school, I watched Lexi run along with her over loaded diaper sagging and bouncing behind her. Thoughts of how ridiculous she looked rolled around in my mind. That's it, I told myself. Lexi is getting potty trained this week. Done, date set, now to stick to it. Ugh! On Monday, we went to Target and loaded up on yummy drinks and snacks to reward Lexi toward clean and dry pants. She was super excited, I was not. Potty training is my least favorite part about child rearing (so far!). We woke up on Tuesday morning, ready to go. We got the kids off to school, threw her last diaper into the trash and got to work. We went into the bathroom and began to demonstrate and then practice the potty process. Lexi is both independent and strong willed, so she took charge right away. And then we waited. Pretty soon, she announced that she had to go pee! What? I was expecting at least several puddles on the floor before this breakthrough. Thrilled, I followed her into the bathroom to witness her achievement. She didn't disappoint. I checked her pants though out the day, and gave her a reward for keeping them dry. She put two and two together and followed me around for the entire day, asking me to check her pants every five seconds so she could have a treat! I guess we'll play that game for about a week, and then I'll mysteriously run out of treats for her!
Day 2 went well also. I decided to run a couple of errands after we dropped Matthew off at preschool. I was a little nervous, but decided to roll the dice. We were in Target, deciding between Dora or princess pull ups for night time when she told me, "I pee in my underwear" I panicked a little, asked her to wait until we got to the potty and dashed off. It felt a little like I was in a race, and didn't hear the gun go off. Now I had to scramble off the blocks and try to catch up. We made it to the bathrooms, discovered she only peed a tiny bit in her underwear and she was able to finish peeing in the toilet. Sigh of relief! She has told me she has also gone poop in the toilet, but I missed the proof, because she had already flushed. Other than the little Target thing, she has kept her underwear dry. Amazing. Who new she would be a 2 and a half year old potty training prodigy?! Just kidding! I am so grateful that she has decided to make this easy on me. If you need any potty training help, I basically used the Toilet Training in Less Than a Day Book. It's labor intensive, and really isn't fun, but the kids tend to be toileting on their own (with out being reminded) within a day or two, and that makes it all worth it! She is so proud to be wearing underwear. I know what you are thinking. The binkie is next on the list. No date has been set. Any thoughts on how to make that one painless? I'd love some ideas.