Tough Enough?

Baby has a smile for most of the people she meets, but she especially has one for the children she meets. Her expression is so sincere and so sweet and so hopeful.

On a different subject, I needed to communicate the concept of "no" to my little sweetness more than once today. One issue arose when she started grabbing papers surrounding my desk (I'm on deadline with a book I'm editing) and doing bad things with them. "Nooooooo," I said, with all the sternness I could muster. (And I can usually muster a fair amount.) She paused for the barest of moments and then looked at me with one of her cutest smiles ever, a laugh just around the corner. Would I succumb and smile along with her or, even worse, laugh, possibly throwing a monkey wrench into my ability to parent authoritatively? I fought it off as best I could, but then, yes, we laughed and laughed.