A friend of mine, Tammy Gibson, and her family visited us for a few days once while we were living in Idaho. Her oldest was on a mission and her youngest, Anna, was probably 5 or so. Anna was still sucking her thumb and I remember Tammy saying something like, "I just don't worry about things like that anymore. It's not like she is going to be in High School still sucking her thumb." I doubt that she knew she was giving advice at the time but she was and I haven't forgot it. We have had our third child since then and our parenting is different for sure. When I get frustrated with things that the kids are doing, I often find myself remembering what Tammy said 4 or so years ago. Today was one of those days. I was at the computer when I turned around to find this. We would have NEVER let our other kids do this. We would have been so afraid that they would end up pulling on the pillows of the couch so much that it would end up ripping. I just think it is plain cute now. I think it is adorable that he uses the couch in a whole different way than the rest of us in this house! I believe that each child comes down with their own personalities and sometimes what we teach will come out in these personalities and so he could very well be spoiled. He does get away with so much more than Levi and Brigham ever did. But I can't help but feel that we are getting it right. Maybe I'm making excuses for myself but I can't help but feel that I don't worry as much as a parent as I did with the other two. I know for sure that David enjoys this go around much better! You should see the two together! I think that when we first were parents we wanted to be the best parents to Levi so badly that in some ways we were too strict. In some ways, he is more responsible than the others. He listens much better, he always wants to help, and so on but he also worries more than Brigham and Hyrum do. I guess what I'm saying through all of this is that there is no perfect way of parenting. Both being strict and not strict enough can have negative and positive outcomes. I hope that the Lord knew this and that is why He send us Levi first and Hyrum last. I hope that with the little personalities that they came down with that we parented in a way that works well with those personalities.
I like this picture because of his cute little lips. He is saying, "tools" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.