Potty Training: Somewhere within Round 2

Round 2 of Potty Training began after we returned from vacation and had unpacked and rested up a bit. It turns out, our vacation did nothing to either advance or halt potty training so we were, indeed, able to pick up where we left off.

Whereas last week, Kalina was more or less happy to sit on the toilet and impress us with her pottying prowess, at least until toward the end of the day, I realized after yesterday that she'd need a bit more motivation. What's more, she needed some de-motivation from simply using her underwear--accidents bothered her at first, but she soon got over it.

A timer did nothing to convince Kalina it was time to use the toilet, nor did the reminder of "you'll get a sticker!" We upgraded to mini marshmallows, and Kalina has been all sunshine since, except for the time she was frustrated because she couldn't use the toilet within 1 minute of having previously used it. I explained that drinking water would help her situation and after quite a tantrum, she settled down nicely with her sippy cup.

For de-motivation, we decided to put pants on Kalina over her underwear. Cotton pants. Pants that get soggy and yucky when she has an accident (they help keep the accident off the floor, too!). They were put to the test, and kind of work.

My problem now is figuring out how to get Kalina to tell me she needs to go instead of telling me she just went. She clearly understands the process, she just needs to put two and two together. Our conversations:

"Kalina, where does potty belong?"
"In the toilet!" (With a huge grin)
"Where does potty not belong?"
"In underwear." (Somberly, with a frown)
"What happens when we put potty in the toilet?"
"Treat!!!" (Can barely speak for dancing around jubilantly)
"And what happens when we put potty in underwear?"
"Wet." (A somber frown again)
"What do you do if you have to go potty?"
"Toilet!" Triumphantly

And yet, accidents still happen.

Also on the agenda: lengthening the amount of time between potty trips (she ranges from upwards of 2 hours to a mere 15 minutes), and venturing out of the house.

My other problem is that eventually, even marshmallows will get old. Will she be potty trained before she's receiving a pony on each trip to the bathroom?

I'm still not sure whether to keep slogging through this or not. How long is it supposed to take? Is she really, really ready?

Factors in our favor:
1. I think she's poop trained. And she's approached me (mostly by just looking up at me, rather distressed) for the last two days when she needs to poop. Yay, Kalina!
2. Marshmallows are working.
3. Accidents at least make her stop what she's doing for a minute.
4. She prefers underwear over diapers.
5. She's very proud when she does go potty.

Factors against us:
1. She generally won't tell us when she needs to go potty.
2. She sometimes can hold it for a long time, sometimes not.
3. She doesn't strive for independence. Really at all, in almost anything except pulling our big wagon up hills.

Would you keep going?

Still to come: The Odegaard Beach Vacation post