Cecil: 4.5 months

Cecil has been learning so many things lately! The biggest one is sitting. He can sit for minutes at a time without support. The only thing is, is that after a while he'll fall over. I try to lay him on his back before he gets to that point, though.

Levi sitting @ almost 5 months

One thing that I feel has helped him learn to sit so soon is sitting in this activity center. And he has really liked it! He has gotten really good at grabbing the different toys on the center and can put some of them in his mouth. Of course he also likes looking at them. After about a month and a half of using it, I think he's ready for new toys.

He has a strong grip and strong arms. He's recently started making it very difficult to feed him because he'll grab my shirt and pull him to me when he's hungry. Except his arms get in the way...

Cecil has also learned how to roll on to his stomach. After about a minute (or even a few seconds) of this, he starts to cry.

He now wears size 9-12 month clothes and weighed in at 20 lbs last time I weighed him! Here's a comparison pic of Levi wearing the same onesie at about 16-17 months (almost 1.5 years)

Cecil also laughs a lot and enjoys spending time with Levi.

Cecil got to meet his Nanner! How fun.

He also got to meet Great-Grandma Izzy and Great-Granddad JC.

And he's just plain adorable. Look at those sweet eyes!

Playful Parenting: my review

This review is for the book Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen.

I really enjoyed reading and learning from this book. The only thing that really bothered me about it was that the author seemed to think that his way was the only good and proper way to raise children. Considering that my favorite parenting advice is, "read lots of parenting books, take what you like from them, and discard the rest," it's understandable that I don't agree with his disdain of other parenting methods. I think it's valuable to take concepts from several different parenting techniques and use what works best for your family. Going along with that, his section about discipline was a bit confusing. He said don't be harsh but also set limits for the kids. Maybe it's because I'm still new to the whole "playful parenting" thing, but using his methods for setting limits backfired for me, and it was like I hadn't set limits.

Now on to the good stuff! And there's a lot of good stuff.

The playful approach really does minimize or eliminate many conflicts. Here are some examples:

• We were reading scriptures together one night and Levi didn't want to read his verse. I got some of his toys to play out the situation and then he "helped" one of his toys to read the verse.
• Bedtime has been difficult some nights--he's been really clingy on those nights and doesn't want us to leave. Playing using the methods in this book during the day make bedtime easier at night.
• Levi is more affectionate and is more accepting of me comforting him when he's sad.

It has also helped me. One day I woke up with a headache and was just generally cranky all day. I wanted to yell and I only had enough patience for one kid at a time. Levi asked me to play with him, and I had one of the toys be grumpy like me. It was really therapeutic to let my feelings out, and playing them using these techniques was a good way to release those feelings without scaring Levi.

Using the strategies taught in the book has also made playing with Levi more fun than before. I think we both enjoy our time together more.

I really liked how the author focused on connection with children. I agree that a connected child is a happier and better-adjusted child. I also feel that a parent has better odds for passing on their values when they are connected to their children.

He focuses on children's need to be loved, and recognizes it as a very real thing. He also explains that they need to be told in many ways that they are loved.

I also really liked his focus on fathers being involved with their children and specific techniques to help fathers play effectively with their children, so that all can enjoy the play time.

He also encouraged parents to foster compassion in boys and independence in girls, with specific strategies for doing so.

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I highly recommend this book! 4.5 stars.