Every morning, she would cry because she wanted to wear something she couldn't... on a freezing cold day, she wanted to wear a sun dress, or on a hot day, she wanted to wear a thick sweater. If her socks didn't match her shirt she would cry. If her shirt didn't match her pants - she would cry. If her underwear didn't match her pants.. yep, you guessed it - she would cry.
I started getting her outfit ready the night before last week. I showed her what I selected and made it seem really neat. She was so excited by the morning to wear what I picked out for her, she didn't cry! I was, and still am, amazed! We have had 4 cry free mornings this week! It is amazing!!!
We also started doing a reward system. She has a "star chart" now. Every single time I see her doing something nice, or she listens to me, or she is sweet to Brayden, she gets a star. If she misbehaves she gets a star taken away. If she gets all 8 stars by the end of the day she gets to stay up late and do a special project with just Mommy and Daddy.
So far, 5 out of the last 7 days, she was able to do a project. I am in shock at how much this is working. She is less whiney, crying less, she is being nicer to Brayden, and she is listening better. It is so nice being able to say, "Leah if you aren't going to listen to Mommy, then I have to take a star away and we wont be able to paint tonight." She almost always straightens up. It is so very nice.
It is so nice to have these little "tools" to help us enjoy each other so much more. I am so proud of Leah. She is such a big girl, and she is growing up so well.
Brayden is hilarious. He is starting to talk more which is totally adorable. He still dances like crazy, and he only rarely has a little temper tantrum (but it's pretty funny when he does). He loves cars, and could play outside all day long. He is so sweet and snuggly, I just love him.
He is starting to sleep really well, which is amazing!!! He still has a couple random nights where I am upstairs 2-4 times at night, but there are also much more frequent nights where he sleeps from 7pm until 5-6am! It is amazing. Now, if I could only get him to sleep in just a tiny bit!!!
The weather has been amazing lately. We went to the beach again today, and the kids had so much fun. Leah actually got brave enough to stick her feet into the freezing cold water. She ran back and forth yelling and laughing the entire time. It was so amazing to see how much fun she was having. I love how much our kids love the outdoors. Brayden was digging and eating sand the entire time.. I sure hope he outgrows that soon!!
Anyway... enjoy the pictures. My camera battery was dead, so I didn't get any of the beach today, which was honestly a little refreshing since I got to run and play with the kids a bit more.
No comments:
Post a Comment