Category Archives: Mommy Approved

Terrific Toy Tuesday: Memory

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Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory
Playing Minion Memory & Collecting Matching Cards
Playing Minion Memory & Collecting Matching Cards

One of my favorite childhood games to pass the day away either by myself, with my siblings and mom or friends was “Memory.” Now, it is one of my favorite games to play with my two and a half year old daughter, and it’s becoming one of her favorite games too. Though the game is for ages three and up, she quickly grasped the concept, and after dinner she’ll ask, “Can we play the Minions Memory game please?”

When I played it as a youngster, I did not think about the cognitive aspects of the game, like sharpening my memory and the critical thinking and strategizing associated with the game. I was just focused on winning and finding the most matches. That seems to be Quinn’s focus too as she sometimes sneakily and sometimes unabashedly turns over multiple cards hoping to find a match. But it pleases me to know that this is a wonderful game for her cognitive development and for us to have some mother/daughter bonding.

Playing games with children, especially with my young daughter is tricky because I am not only teaching her the game but want to help her develop confidence in playing it. Since there are nearly fifty cards, we usually do half so that the game is not too long and to ensure that finding matches is not too daunting of a task for her. Then, I hold back and allow her to win. When she does collect more matching cards than I do, her little face lights up, her hands start waving as she holds on to some of the cards, and she dances around cheering, “I won, Mommy! I won! Guess what, Daddy! I beat Mommy at the Minion Memory game! I must admit, however, that Quinn is getting better and better, and I have a feeling that she will be beating me at memory in no time without me “helping” her to win.

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday!: I Can Do It Reward Chart

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I Can Do It Chart!: Just Two More To Go for the Day!
I Can Do It Chart! Just Two More To Go for the Day!

Regardless of age, we all occasionally need some type of incentive or positive reinforcement to keep us motivated and on track with our goals. This is certainly the case with most two and a half year olds, including my little girl, who are testing the boundaries while trying to find their way as individuals. Sometimes, it’s a struggle to get them to listen, follow routines and put those “temper tantrums” aside, but there are many resources out there to help establish those boundaries and to promote positive behavior.

A few months ago, I purchased the, “I Can Do It Reward Chart” for my daughter from Amazon. Of course, I could have made up a chart myself, but having something already constructed with actual reusable stars and pre-made labels made the process easy for getting started. I did, however, add a nice border and frame to display it. I know some people are against star charts, and that is fine because everything is not for everybody. But my husband and I love this chart, and my daughter loves it too and will remind us if we do not review her behavior/tasks at the end of the day. Some of the labels we have chosen to use are no whining, clean up your mess, no yelling, eat your veggies and fruits and a few others. Something I do, however, is use more positive phrasing. For instance, instead of focusing on “no yelling,” I’ll ask her did she use an indoor voice? Each task has a picture along with the words, so Quinn is able to point to them as will say what she is supposed to do, “I cleaned up my mess today, Mommy!” she excitedly informs me.

This chart does a wonderful job at holding her accountable as long as we are consistent with going over what stars she has earned and where she may need to do better the next day. Every once in a while, she may be in a bad mood or may struggle to control her emotions, which is a struggle adults even have. Since we started using the chart, when she doesn’t earn a star, My husband and I will let her know that sometimes we all have rough days. She then informs us, “I can start over again tomorrow, and I will have a better day.” Yes, I would be kidding myself if I didn’t think that she is partially on her best behavior and completing tasks all day in hopes of earning a star and then getting a special reward, but I also believe that the chart helps to develop good habits and behaviors, and that she also does the tasks and behaves as she should because she knows what is right. What would we do without this chart!

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: Play Dough Crazy Cuts

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Quinn making crazy hair
Quinn making crazy hair

When I was younger, I loved sculpting, molding and building what I believed were masterpieces out of play dough. I was consumed for hours, and my two and a half year old daughter is no different, so Santa brought her a new play dough set, “Crazy Cuts,” for Christmas.  Just about everyday she will ask, “Can I do some play dough hair cuts today with the barber chair, Mommy?”

What makes this set so great is that it helps with her dexterity and pincer skills because it comes with little plastic scissors, and plastic razor, hairstyle molds and little people to do the hairstyles with, and she has to turn the crank so that the little people can grow hair. It has even enhanced her vocabulary as she refers to the barber tools by name and will ask for specific colors to create her hair masterpieces.

One of the drawbacks is that when Quinn is ready to give one of the little people a “haircut,” little play dough pieces have a tendency of going everywhere, but I easily remedied this by putting a mat under her desk to catch any loose play dough “hairs.” Then we can collect them with minimal fuss. If you are looking for a fun toy not just for your child but maybe even from your own childhood memories, consider the play dough barber chair. It only cost Santa $11.99.

 

All the best,

Tanya

Mommy’s “Must Have” Monday (Spanish for Kids)

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2015-11-09 08.54.58

Quinn Watching the Spanish DVD

As a parent, I want the best for my daughter. I want her to be well-rounded and to have fun learning. I also want her to embrace diversity and be versatile as an adult. English is my first language, so I was looking for a resource to assist me with teaching my daughter Spanish when she was just about a year old, I purchased a Spanish for Kids: Early Language Learning System through Amazon. Though some people may scoff at the hefty price of $64.99, it comes with four DVD’s, a music CD, a book, flashcards, games and apps. When I first opened the package, I was expecting it to have a better presentation for the money, but once I got beyond judging it by its cover and began playing the DVD’s and following up with the flashcards with my little girl, we both were hooked. The DVD’s are entirely in Spanish, but Quinn knows what is going on from the context clues.

File Feb 01, 7 42 18 PM

Quinn Showing off Her Spanish Skills

Now, it is a year and a half later, and I am very impressed with my daughter’s Spanish vocabulary. While she does not always pronounce the words correctly, she can identify several animals, body parts, household items, colors and numbers and loves singing along with some of the songs, especially “Caminemos de puntitas.” I actually think this would be an excellent resource for a teenager or even an adult who wants to learn Spanish. This is definitely one of mommy’s must-haves!

All the best,

Tanya

Here’s a little video of Quinn displaying her skills:

 

Bounce with Me Big Girl!

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Two weeks ago, I posted a blog entry about how much fun my little girl has jumping on the bed. She’s full of energy, giggly, and whenever she’s in a “I’m two and a half and I’ll whine if I want to mood,” jumping around always puts a smile on her face. I ended the post saying, “One of the ways to counter a tough day or to get rid of some negative energy is to kick off our shoes, jump around, be silly and laugh.” Yesterday, we were able to do just that at my niece’s first birthday party at Bounce U.

Admittedly, I was just as excited if not more excited than Quinn as we bounced around together, climbed through obstacle courses, up ladders and slid down the huge sliding boards. I got a good sweat going, had a heart rate of 164 at one point, according to my Fitbit, which was actually a plus for me. I got to have fun with my daughter while working out. Now that’s an idea: a facility that has parent and child trampoline and bouncing workouts, not just for birthday parties. I’d love it if my little girl and I could do something like this once, twice or even three times a week. I think she would love it too because it was tough getting her to “bounce” on out of there when it was time to go home.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas My Toddler Gave to Me…Christmas Fun with My Little One

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2015-12-23 16.44.36

Quinn with Her North Pole Message Machine

 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my toddler gave to me joy selecting a Christmas tree,  memorable moments decorating, festive and fun goofing around, partying all night, excitement while visiting Santa Claus, counting down the days, happiness at Sesame Place, bonding time making our own tree, befriending Santa’s elf on the shelf, creating a chocolate cookie candy train and receiving messages from the North Pole!

When I was younger, I was not only fascinated with Santa Claus but the North Pole as well. What I wouldn’t give to be granted a special trip to Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole. Though the likelihood of this happening is slim for me, especially as an adult, there is still a glimmer of hope for my daughter. While she is only two and a half and still learning about Christmas, Santa, where he lives and how he knows if she’s been naughty or nice, she does look forward to the communication she receives from her North Pole Message Machine.

Clementine, one of Santa’s head elves, Mrs. Claus, a few other characters and even Santa himself share little facts about what goes on in the North Pole from December 1st through December 25th. At this point, my eight year old niece, who has been spending some time with us for the past few days, does appreciate the North Pole messages a bit more than Quinn. But my daughter already has been able to make the distinction between the voice of one of the male elf’s and Santa. When I think she is not paying attention to the message, she perks up when Santa’s voice comes on and says, “That’s Santa talking from the North Pole! Hi, Santa!”  As Quinn gets older, I have a feeling that she will look forward to the messages more and more. I may be an adult, but I enjoy listening to them as they have added to the Christmas spirit and give us something special to look forward to after breakfast.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Tenth Day of Christmas My Toddler Gave to Me…Christmas Fun with My Little One

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2015-12-22 12.07.29

Quinn and Her Big Cousin Decorating Their Train

On the tenth day of Christmas, my toddler gave to me joy selecting a Christmas tree,  memorable moments decorating, festive and fun goofing around, partying all night, excitement while visiting Santa Claus, counting down the days, happiness at Sesame Place, bonding time making our own tree, befriending Santa’s elf on the shelf, and creating a chocolate cookie candy train!

When I was younger, I loved making gingerbread houses out of frosting and candy with my siblings. Today, I still enjoy this activity, but I had the opportunity to do it with my daughter and my niece, who Quinn admires and looks up to as though she is her big sister. Now, there are so many constructions and sizes from which to choose. Initially my two and a half year old selected the Hello Kitty gingerbread figure. Then she chose a house, but after she locked eyes with the chocolate cookie train kit, her mind was set; that was the one she wanted.

This is an activity where I’m glad my niece was able to join us because Quinn is still developing her pincer skills, and she tends to take her big cousin’s lead on activities rather than having me, her mommy, direct her every move. While this was a fun activity, I must admit that it was difficult at times for me not to step in with my “type A” personality and say how “we” should design the train, but I held back and was able to simply appreciate the togetherness and bonding of cousins. I’m sure they both appreciated it as well. What’s funny is that I while I was deciding on an area where we could display the train, they both were thinking about what piece of candy or frosting they were going to eat first. They were, however, kind enough to design a caboose just for me, and Quinn eagerly offered a piece of candy from her train to her daddy. But if I want one for display next time just for Christmas, I guess I better get one for them and one for me.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Ninth Day of Christmas My Toddler Gave to Me…Christmas Fun with My Little One

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2015-12-09 20.09.29

Quinn with Elf on the Shelf Friend

On the ninth day of Christmas, my toddler gave to me joy selecting a Christmas tree,  memorable moments decorating, festive and fun goofing around, partying all night, excitement while visiting Santa Claus, counting down the days, happiness at Sesame Place, bonding time making our own tree and befriending Santa’s elf on the shelf!

At two an a half years old, this is the first Christmas where my daughter truly knows who Santa is and was very excited to see him. Initially, she associated the red and white suit with Santa, so when I purchased the Elf on the Shelf for her, she thought the elf was Santa. When I explained that the Elf was coming to our home to help out Santa and to make sure she was behaving while he was busy preparing for Christmas, Quinn somewhat got the idea. Really, I just think she likes having a friend in the house who knows Santa. She even asked if her elf friend could come to her room to spend the night. I know this is not exactly how the elf is to be used, according to the story, but since Quinn is still young, I am going with the flow. Since she is an only child and is not in school, I occasionally hear her telling her elf friend, “Can you tell Santa I want Lambie for Christmas? I’m going to be good and listen to Mommy and Daddy.” My hope is that she will look forward to having her Elf on the Shelf friend watch over her on Santa’s behalf in the years to come.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Sixth Day of Christmas My Toddler Gave to Me…Christmas Fun with My Little One

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The tree’s up, the decorations are festive and fun, we partied, and paid a visit to Santa. Now, with just a week to go until Christmas, the feelings of excitement and anticipation are beginning to build for my little girl as well as me. Back in early November, I stumbled upon a Melissa and Doug count-down Christmas tree at Home Goods and just knew it would be perfect for the holiday on multiple levels. Initially, my two and a half year old wanted to put all of the ornaments on the wooden tree, but once I explained to her that we would be counting down the days until Christmas and adding an ornament to the tree once a day, she understood. Now, she eagerly reminds me every day that we need to put an ornament on the tree. I really love this educational Christmas tree because it reinforces the importance of counting, well actually counting down instead of up, which is a skill Quinn is doing quite well with. She is able to count down from ten to zero. It also helps Quinn to understand basic math. Though the days of the week are not present on the tree, she sometimes refers to it as her Christmas tree calendar, which I think is great. I wish I had something like this when I was younger because I was always so excited for Christmas to arrive. Actually, even as an adult, I am still excited for Christmas to arrive and am eager to see the joy on Quinn’s face when she sees the gifts Santa has left her under the “real” Christmas tree.

All the best,

Tanya

Halloween Fun with Mother and Daughter Doc McStuffins and Lambie Costumes

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Doc McStuffins and Lambie/Mother and Daughter Costumes

Doc McStuffins and Lambie/Mother and Daughter Costumes

Mommy and Quinn Lambie and DocI truly do enjoy having a child; one reason is because we have formed such a special bond in such a short duration of time. Another is that she brings out the child in me. While some people stick up their noses at the idea of parent and child dressing alike or think it’s corny, I’m one of those mothers who loves having coordinating outfits with my daughter. They usually are not identical, but there is a color theme or character theme uniting them.

Halloween is an excellent opportunity to display that mother/daughter bond. Last year, Quinn and I were super heroes to get the most out of the costumes from her first birthday party with a super hero theme; she was Super Quinn, and I was Super Mom. This year, Quinn wanted to be Doc McStuffins, so I, of course, had to be Lambie, Doc McStuffins’ helpful stuffed toy lamb and friend. Yesterday, Quinn and I went to The Please Touch Museum’s Halloween Monster Mash Bash donning our costumes. Though we spotted two other Doc McStuffins, we were the only Doc and Lambie duo and received several compliments on our costumes; there were even a few people who asked if they could take a picture of us.

While I was able to find and purchase Quinn’s Doc McStuffins costume at a local Halloween store, with a 20 percent off coupon of course, mine was not as easy. I did an online search for a lamb and even a sheep costume but only found costumes for young children. Then it occurred to me, I’m crafty and love special projects; why not create my own costume? Since I received so many compliments on my Lambie costume, I figured I share what I did to create it if you are in a similar situation.

Firstly, I purposely selected clothing items that I could potentially use in the future so that I could justify spending money beyond what I anticipated to make the costume.

Target was actually my “go-to” store for most of my outfit. I purchased my knitted hat for $14. The lamb faux fur vest, which was the most costly item at $34.99, a long sleeve white shirt for $8 and pink tutu socks for $2. (Though the total is $59, I had a $5 gift card and saved $3 more by using my Target debit card for a total of $51)

Amazon was my other “go-to.” I ordered my white fleece tights for $11.99 through them and a pair of white yoga pants for $14.95 as a back-up since we have a few outings lined up, and know I will wear them in the future. Though I liked the fit of the yoga pants better because of my height, (I am about 5′ 11”) I opted to wear the tights, which are for a woman of average height, to the Please Touch Museum because they went better with the tutu socks and were fitted around the ankle instead of loose. I also ordered my pink tutu through Amazon, which was far cheaper than getting it from one of the Halloween or party stores for just $10.

To pull the rest of the costume together, I ordered the lamb ears and tail through an Etsy business, TechnicandyLand for $14. They were good quality and had clips so that I could easily attach them onto my beanie hat or even clip them to my hair if I wished. I used elastic crotchet hair bands from AC Moore for just $1.50 for my wrists (Initially, I intended on doing this for my ankles too but just did not have enough time, so I purchased the socks) and didn’t have to purchase tulle because I had plenty left over from previous projects to make the tutu sleeves along with the signature pink bow Lambie wears, but the cost is usually around $3 or $4 or even cheaper if you have a 50 percent off coupon, which I usually have for AC Moore or Michaels.

In regard to making up my face, I used make-up that I already had available rather than buying a face paint kit.

In adding up the total cost, it’s a little over $100, which certainly is more than I would be willing to pay for a costume at a Halloween store, but when I minus out the clothing I will still wear after Halloween or without it being a special event, the total remaining is about $20. I actually purchased a faux vest for my daughter to wear on one of our coordinated “theme” dressing days. Also, the fun I got from putting together this costume and getting input from Quinn made it all worth it.

All the best,

Tanya