I need to get some good video of Baby Girl STANDING ON HER OWN. It is quite phenomenal. She still doesn't crawl, but she does stick her bummy in the air and scoot around on her head. I hope that doesn't rub all the hair off the top...or cause her head to be deformed...

More on the list of things she can do:

1. Pull herself to standing.
2. Walk holding on with only 1 hand.
3. Squish bananas between her fingers.
4. Rub peas in her eyes.
5. Put her mouth around the thing in the bathtub that you pull to stop the drain.
6. Sleep through the night (I KNOW, I was going to wait to post, but she has suddenly decided this week that she can go 8-10 hours at night! I'm thrilled, but a part of me misses cuddling and nursing her in the middle of the night!!)
7. Throw a humongous temper-tantrum

Due to item #7, I've been thinking more about parenting, and I checked out a bunch of books from the library (including Love and Logic and Raising an Optimistic Child: depression proofing young children for life). I always read self-help books with a grain of salt, because I remember an apostle saying that the studying of the Gospel will correct behavior better than the study of behavior will correct behavior (anyone know what I'm talking about and have a reference?) But I figure I should benefit from what other people have learned, and implement specific strategies. It is insightful to read the entire Book of Mormon looking for positive parenting ideas. Look at Lehi and how he pled with Laman and Lemuel...or Alma counseling his sons. Or you can use a broader scope and look at God's dealings with His children. Jacob 5, for example, is all about the Savior doing everything he could to save his people. :) That included cutting off branches, digging about, scattering the branches of Israel. You can draw your own conclusions, but like I said, it's insightful.

I came across

Tophat

's blog today about not spanking. I have a couple of goals as a parent. One of those goals is to not yell. You might think that's impossible. Probably. But I'm still going to set it as a goal, and repent if/when I mess up. My other goal is to never spank, smack, or hit my kids. Most of us probably grew up getting spanked. I just don't want to do it. Now I'm even more committed because I have publicly admitted my goals. Funny how sometimes, even with a baby, I get frustrated and feel the urge to spank. What will I do when she does even more frustrating things? Maybe I need to change my perspective, and also realize that children don't do things to make parents angry. I don't know. But I'd love to hear anyone else thoughts on anything! :)