potty training

I believe the first attempt to potty training Colby started sometime in January.  I went into it with little research and being completely naive to how hard this process was actually going to be.  I guess my thought process was along the lines of if you stick to it, your child will learn to potty train in a week, and after the first day he'll start to figure out what was happening.  I guess I was thinking I had a miracle child that would figure it out fast.  He didn't.  We tried for a week straight, i went straight to underwear so that he would feel he was wet, not like it, and soon start going in the potty so he wouldn't get wet.  Well, I spent that entire first week cleaning up mess after mess after mess after mess.  It was awful.  I gave up after a week.  I tried again a few weeks later, and had about the same sucess as before, so again, i gave up.  I tried again and this time I went to pull-ups so I wouldn't have to keep chasing him around with a towel to clean up his messes.  It was FOREVER before he started to understand.  I want to say it was a few weeks, and he finally started to go on the toilet all by himself, but would still have a few accidents.  Then, we went on vacation. oh goodness.  it was all out the window, i even brought his little potty on vacation with us, so he would go every now and then, but was having messes for the most part (we were at the pool/ocean most the day, so accidents just happened). So after a week on vacation we basically started over.  LUCKILY he picked it up faster this time around and didn't take months to accomplish it.  I don't know if I can even say he is fully potty trained (it's been about 5 months of trying by  now).  He will pee in the toilet, but pooping is hit or miss.  If he is outside, forget it, he wont come in to go.  His naps he stays dry, but not nighttime.  It's a work in progress.  I take him on quick trips with his big boy undies. we go to the park and the grocery store without having accidents (he even told me at walmart that he had to use the potty - which he didn't, i guess he just thought it would be fun to sit on the store toilets. gross). I cannot believe we are finally near the end of this potty training process with him!  it's such a huge relief. Of course next comes teaching him to stand up instead of sit, and to actually use the big boy potty instead of his little one, but he's too small to get up on it by himself, so it'll just be a work in progress...and then the night time wetting. goodness now that i realize this list still to do, is there an end to potty training?? well, at least we are down to having one kid in diapers. that's a relief!