HELP! He Won't Potty Train

This is my kid.   ------------------------------------------>

He's awesome.  He's almost three and he rides a tricycle, can run just as fast as his (almost) 5 year old brother, digs for worms like nobody's business and eats better than my older son ever did.

Seriously, he's great!

But he won't potty train.

We've been trying for months.

Here's the thing: he will go pee...if I take him and make him. But he won't do it in public, he won't do it in unfamiliar toilets (even standing up), and he won't do it if anyone is watching.

But he will never poop on the potty.

He will poop in a pull-up, he will poop in his underwear, he will take off his pants/pull-up/underwear and poop on his brother's bedroom floor. But he will not go on the potty or toilet.

I feel like we've tried it all.

We've been ultra encouraging, done rewards (stickers), offered treats (he loved that but it was a bit counterproductive in-that he only would go to the bathroom for candy), sang songs and did potty dances. We schedule potty time and bought cool Angry Birds underwear. We got him his own little potty (that he loves!), taught him to pee standing, never scolded when he wet or soiled his underwear. Despite the desperation in what I'm writing today, we DO NOT pressure him- ever!

And yet- nothing.

And I know, kids learn in their own time. I've been down this road with my first son. The moment my older son was ready, he potty trained.

But in this case, my almost three year old is ready. He meets every single criteria you can find for potty training readiness.

Even more- I am ready.  I need him to go to the bathroom. I need to be done with diapers and wipes and all that comes along with it... yes, it's selfish but it's true. I have spent months working patiently with him, but I am nearing the end of my sweet mommy voice telling him I'm totally not upset that I'm cleaning poop off new underwear or the carpet for the millionth time. Totally not upset!

But not only that, he is missing out on things because he's not potty trained.
He can't go to the amazing preschool his brother went to until he is trained. He can't go to half-day day camp (which he is so desperate to attend with his brother) because he's not potty trained. And I've seen the embarrassed look on his face when he's playing with his friends and realizes that he's forgotten to go to the bathroom and ended up needing to sneak away for me to change him.

So what am I missing?
Is there a secret to potty training I have yet to uncover?
A way to motivate my sweet little one to pee and poop on that darn toilet?
A magic key to unlocking the I'm not going to go in my pants gene?

Help! He just won't potty train!

The Potty Training Diaries- Day 3

aka: How to humiliate your child by writing all about their poops and pees:)

aka: Operation: Use The Freaking Potty 

Day 3
Verdict: Well DONE!

The Method: Bribe. Today he was in love with the idea that I would give him an Oreo cookie when he pooped on the potty. He pooped 3 times...will have to rethink these bribes I'm using:)

The Good: He is using the potty ALONE. Only my butt-wiping skills are necessary as he pulls down his own pants, gets on the toilet, holds his own winky dinky and poops and pees as needed. The thing with Z is that he's all about independence and once he realized he didn't need me around to help him, well the toilet became even more awesome to him! He also wants to sit right on the toilet seat and not use the potty attachment because he can, "see my poops and pees better". Whatever works. 

Z is also really into the shape of poops (again, can't wait til he gets married or becomes a famous athlete. He's gonna DIE). Yesterday he had a poop shaped like a "dinosaur tooth", "a hexagon", "a big fluffy cloud in the sky" and "a small dog". Again, whatever works.

The Bad: He had 2 accidents (if you're following my diary, that's one less accident a day). One was a poop in his pants again that he tried to hide from me.  The pattern I am noticing is that he has his accidents in the morning, when he's still sleepy and the evening, when he's ready for bed. I think I'll endeavour to remind him a little more during those times. I also am not going to use a pull-up unless he is a) sleeping or b)on a long trip away from the house. He seems to treat pull-ups like diapers (and they are, so fair enough) and is more likely to just pee in them.

The Really Unexpected: DRY IN THE MORNING!!!!