And Then He Was Three

Yesterday we celebrated Finn's third birthday a few weeks early (his actual birthday is Dec.23 but who's going to come to a party two days before Christmas? Who wants to THROW a party two days before Christmas??). I'll post more about that later, but suffice to say it was wild.

Two was a manic year. Finn would bounce from being sweet and affectionate to unreasonable and a puddle of tears in 2.5 seconds. Some times we could predict the mood swings, but most times we just had to be content to ride the wave of manic-ness until he switched gears... what else could we do? Punish him? Threaten him? Talk him out of it? None of that ever worked - we tried it all. Sometimes being a good parent, or at least the best you can be, is knowing when to back away from your small battles in order to help your kid win the war with himself. I rely alot on the fabulous Parenting Center the public library has. Currently, books on my night stand include:

I Refuse to Raise a Brat: Straightforward Advice on Parenting in the Age of Overindulgence by Marilu Henner

Whining: 3 Steps to Stop it Before the Tears & Tantrums Start by Audrey Ricker

How to Make Your Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Kevin Lehman

Outwitting Toddlers: The Parents' Guide to Getting Your One-to-Four-Year-Old to Do What You Want without Bribes, Threats or Tears by Bill Adler

I highly recommend any of these. I actually read MANY more but they seemed to work for us the best.

I'm a little worried about what Three will bring and how we're going to handle it when the "unpleasantness" rears its head. So far its just been about timing and ungodly amounts of patience from Caleb and I, which is a weak point of mine that I need to work on anyway. If any of you have advice I'd love to hear it.

Until then, I'll just keep a close watch on the new books ccoming through and pray to the gods of Diego that we're doing the right things.