Friday, July 18, 2008

Beliefs and a Strong-Willed Child

Lily napping today. She started out in the HipPanda, but ended up on the couch.
When she woke up, she rolled over and saw her bear sitting on the coach. It was actually Nana Claire's bear that was passed on to Lily. She immediately gave it hugs and kisses. She is always very happy when she wakes up from a good 2-hour naptime.

Tonight we went out with old friends. Now, I don't mean old as in age. But, when we stopped to think about the times we used to hang out together- we realized it was 15 years ago. Isn't it amazing how those "old" friends are the best friends ever as you get older? It doesn't matter how much time has passed, they are still those friends who accept everything about you- no matter what. So, thanks for hanging out with us again, Lita and Todd- it was a really great night!
We sat there tonight talking about being parents. It is extremely challenging being a parent, even after we've had all this time to watch our friends become parents. We thought we had talked about everything, and we were ready for anything.
Well....we weren't ready for Lily's tantrums. They started about 6 days ago. The first one was a doozie- it was one of those lay-down-in-the-floor with hands and feet kicking the ground tantrum. You know- one of those we aren't supposed to see until she is at least 2. Right? Apparently, we were wrong. Of course, I am sure you want to know what we did to provoke this horrible display of anger. We took away her sippy cup. She laid in the floor, kicking and screaming for at least 5 minutes. But, let me tell you- it seemed much longer.
So, we have been doing some research on these toddler tantrums, and it turns out that they could possibly be another reason why God made Lily just for us. The experts out there in tantrumland seem to think that Lily will be a strong-minded individual with very strong beliefs because these tantrums have started so young. I don't know if I necessarily believe that, but I like the way it sounds.
She has had a few more tantrums since Saturday. They have occured when she is awakened early from a nap or really, really tired. They don't last long at all anymore. "The Experts" said for us to simply let them happen and ignore her completely. So, that is what we have done.
All I know is that God put her with two unbelievably strong-willed, determined parents with very strong beliefs in God, faith, honesty, and living a clean life. For example, we don't see rated-R movies anymore. We believe that when you put garbage in your soul- at some point that garbage is going to come out. Most of our friends say that it is just a movie. But, that is where those strong beliefs come into play. We absolutely don't believe that way.
So, I am wondering if these experts are correct. I am praying that is the case. After waiting for 11 years for this Asian princess to come into our lives, we believe with everything in our hearts that God made her specifically for us.
So, we hope you keep logging on, and we will let you know how our strong-willed child continues to test our parenting skills.

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