Colton today playing cars in 3D. 
A few days ago Lydia and Colton picked at each other all day so Lydia got some time away from her brother and got to go on a Daddy Daughter Date. She said she wanted to go to a resaurant and chose Applebee's. She got all dressed up and left the house skipping. She returned with leftovers for Mom and Colton (Although Lydia made certain Colton got the box she had dropped on the ground.) 
This was Halloween. Colton was supposed to be the Cowboy and Lydia had a cute little Indian dress. (This was so appropriate since Colton is always chasing Lydia around the house!) However, Colton didn't want to be anything and Lydia thought Colton's costume was the bees knees. The only thing I could finagle Colton into was this half finished Raggedy Andy costume. Halloween still lives on in our house though. After the holiday we picked up another pumpkin bucket for Colton. If the children are reverent for family prayer, they get an M&M. I ask them "Do you want some candy?" and then they run to sit down and pray. However, since Halloween when I ask this question, Colton runs to find his pumpkin bucket and then sits down for prayer. After prayer he takes his bucket into the kitchen, where he is ready to receive his candy. 1 M&M rolls around in his orange candy receptacle as he walks happily away.
Thanks for the shirts Grandma! They fit great!
1 comment:
Your kids are so cute! I wish we lived closer so that we could have them play together.
To answer your question, we've been lucky in that our kids aren't huge tantrum-ers. Dave, who is practically the perfect parent, has been really good at teaching me how to prevent them. For one thing, if they start throwing a fit about something, they absolutely do not get what they wanted. Sometimes if they calm down and ask in a nice way then we will give it to them. But if they cry again when they get it, we take it right back away. If they are screaming and crying about something at home, that is fine. They can go to their room to cry and whine. When they are ready to be pleasant or talk to Mommy/Daddy nicely then they can come out. When we are going to a store, I usually talk to them about what is expected of them, and what they can expect. Such as, "We're going to the store. How do we act in the store? If you do those things then you can choose a treat at the end." We don't always give treats, but if I'm not going to do it, I let them know ahead of time so they don't freak out. I haven't yet had a major melt-down in the store that I can remember. If they do start whining about something in the store, I usually just strap them in the cart and ignore the crying as best I can. I tell them when they can be stop crying and talk to Mommy nicely then they can get down or unbuckled. If they start freaking out over something at church, I take them out and sit them tight on my lap until they realize that it is much better to be happy in sacrament meeting than screaming on mommy's lap in the foyer.
And now that I've given you advice, my next child will probably give me a run for my money and I'll have to take it all back. Motherhood is such a guessing game!
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