Stickers, stickers everywhere!

I just picked yet another sticker up off the floor. As I unstuck it from itself I couldn't help but smile.
Lately I have been pulling stickers off the bottoms of my socks, peeling them off the rug, scraping them off the side of various pieces of furniture, and I believe I removed one from the fluffy cat’s tail. Each time I find one of these once loved but quickly forgotten about mementos my heart melts a little more. I smile, sigh, and find a place to display the little reminder of how much my little boy has learned and grown in the past year.
I imagine that in most homes stickers are forbidden for anyone under the age of five for the reasons I mentioned above. I also imagine you are waiting for me to explain why I so much enjoy finding them all over my house.
Samuel LOVES stickers. We discovered this some time ago and after a few tries he learned not to eat them. He loved them so much that I thought it best to put them away and use them as a reward sometime in the future. As most of you know we recently bought Samuel a potty and began the attempt of potty training early (for those that don't know, we started a few weeks ago, around 11 months). After his first success I decided he needed something special.... A STICKER! He loved it. He stuck it on his leg, held it between his fingers, talked to it, and brought it to lunch. Unfortunately that particular sticker didn't survive lunch. I was bummed that I couldn't save it as a reminder that he actually used the potty but I figured he earned it and could do with it what he wanted (except eat it) and in the years to come there would be plenty of opportunities to hand out stickers. I never thought I would have so many opportunities in the next few weeks.
Since then he has earned at least a dozen stickers for making pee-pees in the potty. I am so proud of him and that is why I smile when I see these stickers, even if they are plastered to my laminate flooring and need a warm compress to remove. I even had to pull one out of the pee filled potty but I did it with pride. My little boy, at 12 months old can now use the potty regularly at least once a day!
A side note; I hesitated blogging about this. I know some will read it and make snide remarks. I have heard it all before regarding my choice to cloth diaper, make my own baby food, and breast feed until he self weans. After more thought I figured those people should stop reading my blog because I plan on there being many more posts bragging about his accomplishments.