Life is Nice When You're Happy

I don't know what has happened around our house lately, but Daphne has been in a good mood for like a week solid. Seriously, so strange. No temper tantrums. She and I went shopping the other day and we went to two stores where we were able to get everything on our list, no problem. She was miraculously happy the whole time! She has been a joy to take care of.


















It helps that I recently read the most wonderful parenting book of all time, so it's quite possible that I am just more tolerant. I rented the book from the library, although I will probably just have to buy it because it was so good. It's called Don't Make Me Count to Three: A Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman. Basically, the author encourages reaching into your child's heart with scripture to teach why a certain sin is wrong, and not just focusing on disciplining the outcome of a sin (which you still have to do, of course). For instance, if Daphne is not holding still while I change her diaper, I don't just say "Daphne, I told you to stop moving, so stop moving." I say, "Daphne, God wants you to honor your mama and daddy, so you need to honor me by obeying what I say and stop moving while I change you." Yes, it's a lot of words and seems a little crazy to say to one so small, but I know there is such power in using scripture that I feel God helps Daphne understand. I believe her little mind, which was designed to love God, gets that. Another line used a lot around our house now is "Daphne, God says we need to have self-control, so you need to show self-control by waiting for (insert desire here)" Her whining and fussing have been cut down so much by teaching her about self control, not just asking her to stop fussing. You know? I highly recommend this book. I give it a solid A++++.
































I think Daphne is also happy that we have so many fun activities in our schedule this fall. She likes being social and likes being busy. Between BSF and goat milking and playdates and usual life, she seems to be very happy to go with the busy flow.


















Daphne's doing great walking all over our house. I personally like that she announces where she's going as she walks. I'll be in the kitchen and will hear her in the living room say "walk to chair!" so I will peak in, where sure enough, she's walking to the chair. Then she says "walk to sofa!" and off she goes to the sofa. I'm thrilled that she has the strong potential to make a great tour guide someday.













And of course, it's fall, the most wonderful time of the year, and Daphne has her very own pumpkin patch right in our front yard. Who wouldn't be happy about that?