Crabby Pants

Hayden is rarely in a bad mood. He is generally a happy boy. Every once in a while, he has an out of sorts kind of morning. Friday morning he was just grouchy. He had gone to bed so late and woken up before the crack of dawn coughing.

Everything that Thomas and I said to him caused tears or a melt down. We knew if we didn't help him break out of this mood, it would be a rough day for all of us.

I love how Thomas handles Hayden's crankiness. He tries not to yell or scold him as this just intensifies the situation. Instead, Thomas holds him down and "kisses the grumpies away". All the while Hayden is a hollering and yelling for his dad to stop. Hayden starts laughing after a while and when Thomas and I laugh, he may get grouchy for a minute but after about 3 minutes, Hayden is laughing and giggling right along with us.

I love that "kissing the grumpies away" still works and has us all laughing.

It worked! Hayden had a great day at school and came home in a wonderful mood!

Plus, I love these pictures. I love that our unconventional parenting methods sometimes work better than disciplining. And I love the sound of laughter within the walls of our home!