I have a dream...

That one day, I will go to the grocery store and my toddler won't throw a tantrum.

Okay, that's a bit dramatic. 99 out of 100 times she is perfectly behaved while shopping. It just seems that when she isn't, it really gets to me.

I guess my real dream, or goal, whatever, is to appreciate Miss H more. To take note of the 99 times she is behaving nicely in the grocery store, or says "excuse me" to get my attention instead of screaming, or uses gentle hands even though she's clearly upset, etc.

Her big things lately is jumping. I have been making a conscious effort to tell her "Thank you for jumping on the floor" or "You have great listening skills and I appreciate that you're jumping on the floor like Mommy said" as opposed to waiting for her to jump on furniture and then saying, "Miss H, where do we jump? Are we supposed to jump on the furniture?" I'm trying very, very hard to focus on the good behaviour, and not necessarily ignore the "bad" behaviour, (I really hate the word "bad:, I need to find something that doesn't make my skin crawl), but to at least not focus on it very much.

Really, Miss H is such a good girl. I want her to know that, each and every day. I want her to never doubt how proud I am of her, and to know without a doubt, that even if she is behaving in a manner that doesn't make me want to praise her, I love her. Unconditionally. She is my child.

And even if she is tantruming in the middle of the grocery store, I'll still proudly claim her. Because let's face it, she throws a pretty damn good tantrum, too!