Potty-training advice, please

+Last week Madeline announced that she was, at that very second, "going pee-pee in my diaper". That coupled with the fact that she's been waking up with a dry diaper made me think that I should get on the training bandwagon again. We've had some good days, and some not so good days with it so far.

I decided to put her "Dora" panties on her and let her roam around the house in them. She's been very good about telling me that the "pee-pee is coming" and we race off to the potty. She's had 1.5 accidents. Not bad really. And don't worry I've clorox-wiped our kitchen chairs!!

She went once on the potty at about 1pm after a morning of "mommy the pee pee is coming!". That girl can hold her urine. We immediately rushed to Walmart to buy a Hotwheels scooter (R & L, how much do you want for that one at your house, since Hotwheels appears to not make them anymore?) and a Barbie. She was very happy with her baby barbie and all the miniature toys that came with it... luckily. After all she had been chanting for 2 days on the potty "Push it out! Push it out! WAAY out! I want my scooter, so I'll push it out!" (And yes, I made up all the lame songs she sings to herself on the potty.) The next day she went twice on the potty with no fears and not too much stalling.

However, Sunday night we were having company, she needed to have a bath and as soon as she'd get in there she'd panic and say "mommy the pee pee is coming". So we'd take her out and put her on the potty, but she wouldn't go. We'd put her in the tub, but within seconds she'd say she needed her potty. Finally, she started asking for her diaper (and eventually crying for it). We kept saying, but you're on the potty, that's where you're supposed to pee pee. But after a lot of tears and a very irritated mom and dad, we quickly washed all the dirt out of her hair in the bath and threw on a diaper and sent her to bed.

I just don't know how traumatic this training thing is supposed to be. How much should we push her to pee. At some point we feel that we're being cruel for letting her sit on the potty for an hour, and for the last 20 minutes she's crying about the fact that she needs her pull-up or her diaper. Any thoughts (from those of you who have potty-trained... those of you who have no kids, don't know. You may think you do, but you don't).

However, Madeline's been quite entertaining on the potty.
- For example, she gave her own rousing rendition of The Little Engine That Could's classic "I think I can't!".
- I've learned that she doesn't understand what "why" means:
M - "Mommy, I'm scared of the potty."
D - "You don't need to be scared. Why are you scared?"
M - "Because I'm scared of the potty."
D - "Why are you scared of the potty?"
M - "Because I'm scared."
D - "Why are you scared?"
M - "Because I'm scared of the potty."
D - "Why are you scared of the potty?"
M - "Because I'm scared." ...
- That conversation is the same as the one where she asks for her diaper, and when we ask why, it's because she needs her diaper...
- In fact the picture above was taken of my mom coaching her on the phone, and I think the majority of the words out of Madeline's mouth were "well, I need my diaper", "because I need my diaper", "well, I just need my diaper".
- Mom could also tell that I'd been coaching her a bit too much on the potty when Madeline was babbling to herself in the backseat of my mom's car say "When Andrew and Ben (her cousins) go potty, they just relax and let it come..."

She's doing not bad. She announces every time she pees, which is definitely a step, and sometimes even asks if she's allowed to go in her diaper. So, we'll just take it one step at a time.