Picture Day Again.

Today was another picture day for Oliver. It went very well, and I was surprised. We woke him up twice last night to give Jared rides to and from school. He didn't get his nap in before we left. We skipped our morning Sesame Street ritual. I made him wear strange dress clothes. We rushed out the door and I didn't take the time to let him push elevator buttons and try to buckle himself in. On top of that, he's never really had his pictures taken in a studio before.

I was expecting a meltdown, but it never came.

He wore his ridiculous outfit. He was more or less open to the photographer's pose suggestions. He smiled, he danced, he played. There were many good pictures to choose from.

While pictures were being edited, we let him run around in the mall. Typically after being cut loose, he won't go back into his stroller. But today? No problems at all. He even took a tiny nap while we shopped. He woke up and ate part of a chili dog with me. We shopped a bit more and we left the mall, no tantrums to speak of.

So my question is this: Was I being negative when I assumed he would throw tantrums today? Or was I merely being a realistic parent to a toddler?

I don't want to go into things gritting my teeth and expecting the worst, but I don't want to be stupid & naive, either. On the whole, Oliver is a very agreeable little boy. He's friendly. He's outgoing. If you're willing to slow things down to his pace, he is very helpful. For being 14 months old, he's a fun guy to be around.

I want to try really hard to remember that when we set out to do things, because I just can't shake this guilty feeling I have. I feel like I was dismissing him before I even gave him a chance to be happy.  I know I've said this before, but I don't ever want my negative thoughts to pull him down. What reason has he got to be cheerful if I'm always expecting him to be grumpy?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he proved me wrong, but I would have deserved it if he hadn't.

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(Some of you asked about his squeaky shoes. This is what I meant.)