One of these days my daughter is going to hate me for telling you all this.

Natalie has been potty trained for a while. Emphasis on the word potty. When it came to poop however, things never went as well. She would have times that she would go in the toilet, usually by accident. There were even times that I thought we were over the mountain and told people that, only to be proven wrong the first chance Natalie got.
We encouraged. We offered incentives. We gushed over friends kids that went in the bathroom like big girls and boys. But nothing worked. Natalie still wears a pull-up at night (which hopefully will be changing after we get back from vacation and she starts sleeping in her own bed). I would take her to the potty, kiss her goodnight, and not ten minutes later, "Mom, I accidentally pooped." Or she would get up in the morning and stay in the bedroom until she was done. She became a master at not going until nighttime or morning. It was maddening.
Saturday, at the fireworks, I could tell she wasn't feeling great. Finally she told me her tummy hurt and she needed to potty. We went in to the bathroom at the Lot and low and behold, she pooped. She was pretty happy with herself and was thrilled to be able to actually enjoy herself again. Before she would have just waited and felt crappy until we went home.
Since then she hasn't pooped once in a pull-up. She goes into the bathroom like a big girl and handles her business. We still act like she just won the Nobel Peace Prize every time she goes, but I am sure that will decrease in time. I am just so proud of her right now. This was a major hurdle for her to overcome. It was a fear for her and not just a power play. I realized this and that is why I didn't push her. Yes, she is four-years-old and should have been doing this years ago, but every kid is different. Every kid has their own little quirks and issues. Natalie is growing up. She is realizing that, yeah, there are lots of scary things in the world. But she is also realizing that she can overcome them. She can do things she didn't think she could. All she needs is to believe in herself...with a little help and a lot of support from her ever-loving Mama and Daddy.