We have a kid's book called "Hip, hip, Hooray for Annie McRae" by Brad Wilcox. I rarely buy things new, but this is a classic to me. Annie has great days because her family and teachers cheer for her when she does good things. Then one day, they are all too busy. She has a really sad day. It is sad. But THEN, the next day, she cheers for herself! It ends with "'What? What's that you say?' 'Nothing, Grandma. How was YOUR day?'" So then she cheers for other people. Get it? It is really cute and an upper for me.
Kate has been having potty training problems, like most pre-school aged kids. She learned how to do it, then we stopped cheering and giving treats, and her interest waned (seriously). I tried cheering for her again when her pants were dry "WOW! Your pants are dry!" And it worked. But as soon as she got back into good dry-pants habits I started neglecting my cheerleader duties. She still keeps her pants dry, but has been trying to get me to come with her by pretending she can't pull her pants down or is scared.
So the other day she hollered from the bathroom- "I went potty!" and I said half-heartedly "Yay for you." And from the bathroom I heard "Hip, hip, hooray for Katie today!"
She has done it a few times since then. She is great at turning a frown upside down- this is a natural talent she has that I need to emulate. She is my sunshine!
