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

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2015-12-14 08.10.27The Christmas season is full of wonderful activities to promote family togetherness that involve my two and a half year old. Yesterday, I posted an entry about her selecting our Christmas tree, so of course I need to post on the actual decorating of the Christmas tree. Last year, Quinn was more of an observer who occasionally tried to take an ornament or two off of the tree until I convinced her that it would hurt our tall, green friend. This year, she actually helped to put many of the ornaments on the tree while Christmas music played in the background. Though she had the tendency to put most of them in the same section, leaving parts of the tree bare, I beamed with excitement as Quinn bopped her head to the music while concentrating on putting the ornaments on the tree. “Look, Mommy! I put a blue one on the tree!” she eagerly informed me. The tree has been up for about two weeks now, and she enjoys stopping by to look at her handy work. “We decorated the tree and did a nice job. Right, mommy!” she says. “We sure did, Quinn!”  What a terrific way to celebrate the holiday with my little girl.

All the best,

Tanya

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

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2015-11-27 11.40.16Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, but a few years ago the feeling of sugar plums dancing in my head began to fade. Then my daughter was born, causing me to think about my own childhood memories.  Just the other day she said, “I wish it was Christmas everyday, Mommy! I love Christmas!” A big smile came over my face as the child within me was brought back to life through her words. One of my favorite activities is selecting the Christmas tree, and this was the first year Quinn was able to pick out the one she wanted. The day after Thanksgiving, we went to select our tree.

As soon as we started looking, my little two and a half year old automatically went to the one she knew would be ours.  “I want this tree, Mommy! Can we get this tree, Daddy?” Though this is a simple activity, it is one I appreciate just as much as Quinn. It is more than just selecting a tree; it is about family togetherness and working together as team to pick what we believe is the “best” tree for our home. Also, it gives Quinn an opportunity to feel empowered by picking the tree for the family as she gets our approval. I’m looking forward to this being an annual tradition for our family.

All the best,

Tanya

My Little Girl: The Student (Part 5)

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2015-09-25 12.59.47

Quinn with Her Classmates

“What’s that, Mommy?” is one of my daughter’s favorite inquiries these days. She wants to know everything and wants to know it now! On occasion, after I tell her what something is for the second or third time, she’ll ask again just to be sure then say, “Okay, Mommy!” While my two and half year old may not be in school as yet, she is my little student and is just absorbing everything at such a rapid pace. Like a model student, she is so enthusiastic about learning and wants to impress me by showing me what she’s learned every chance she gets. “Look, Mommy! I’m dancing!” or “Watch me count, Mommy!” Then, there are times when she has yet to learn a skill but believes she is fully capable of doing it without my help and refuses my help causing an ongoing battle. This can be frustrating at times for us both, but it pleases be that she is such a “go-getter,” takes the initiative to learn new tasks on her own and is willing to take chances even when she is unsure of what to do. When the time comes for Quinn to be enrolled in school, I hope she holds on to these attributes. Interestingly, there are times when I feel like Quinn is the teacher, and I am the student because she has taught me so much. Here’s to my little girl the artist, doctor, zoologist and gymnast. May you always be  willing to be a student until you are ready to master all of your many talents.

All the best,

Tanya

My Little Girl: The Gymnast (Part 4)

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2015-11-11 10.37.03

Quinn Executing the Perfect Landing

For the third or fourth time, my little girl admonishes me for hovering over her, “No, Mommy! Don’t hold me! I can do it by myself!” Though she only mastered walking about a year and eight months ago, this two and a half year old walks across the balance beam, which is a little over two feet off the floor, with poise and no fear. I’ve been taking Quinn to The Little Gym since she was nine months old, and though she has been shy at times when it comes to interacting with other children and adults, she rarely shies away from doing any of the skills of the day. Every Wednesday, she is eager to go so that she can run, jump, do some log rolls and forward rolls, walk across the balance beam, do some flips on the bars or swing on the rings. She often tells me that she loves to exercise and wants to practice at home, which can make me a little anxious at times as she decides to execute her “landing” from the sofa, her bed or off the stairs.

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Quinn is Ready to Swing in the Rings

It pleases me that Quinn is an active child and wants to go to the gym. It has now been well over a year and a half since we first started going, and she’s truly blossomed and blows me away each time we go. Even with the skills she hasn’t mastered, I am impressed that she does not give up and keeps on trying. Once she has it, she always looks to me with her hand outstretched to give me a high five saying, “I did it, Mommy! Did you see me?” My little girl does so much to put a smile on my face and wonderment in my mind of what she will become. Whether it be an artist, doctor, zoologist or gymnast, I will definitely be her biggest cheerleader!

All the best,

Tanya

My Little Girl: The Zoologist (Part 3)

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2015-06-06 09.07.11One of my daughter’s favorite outings is going to the zoo. She loves seeing the monkeys, lions, tigers, tortoises, zebras…well just about every animal at the zoo. One of our regular stops since Quinn was just a year old is to the petting area with the goats and sheep. While some children and even adults become uneasy with the goats and sheep invading their space, she welcomes them. One time, about four or five of them surrounded her, and instead of being nervous, my little girl said, “Look at all these goats, Mommy! I have to be gentle.” My little girl is at that inquisitive age of two and a half and wants to know everything about the animals, especially the big cat falls exhibits with the lions, tigers, pumas, leopards and jaguars. At first, she referred to all of them as tigers, but now, my little zoologist looks at the big cat intently and will inform me, “That one is not a tiger mommy; it’s a puma!” I love watching her fascination with animals as she becomes entranced by their movements. Though she most certainly is my little artist and doctor, I  can imagine my little girl being a zoologist too!

All the best,

Tanya

My Little Girl: The Doctor (Part 2)

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2015-10-24 17.48.59

Doctor  Quinn is in!

Some people believe children shouldn’t watch television and that it’s bad for them. While I do agree that too much TV, especially for young children, is not productive, I do love some of the shows that have inspired my little girl to explore different interests and to even confront some of her fears head on. One of these shows is Doc McStuffins. Quinn wanted to be her for Halloween and will often ask if she can wear her Doc McStuffins outfit and give me a check-up. I’m impressed that she is familiar with a stethoscope and otoscope and knows how to use them both properly.

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Doctor  Quinn is in!

“Mommy, I need to check your heart!” she exclaims  with the ear pieces in her ears and holding up the chest piece to my chest. “Let’s check your ears, Mommy!” Quinn eagerly says with the otoscope in her hand. As a result of her newfound interest in doctors, Quinn is not as nervous or fearful about going to the doctor. She actually says, “The doctor has to give me a check-up and has a stethoscope just like me!” Of course, my little one will develop many interests over the years, and her father and I will be their to support her, but if she decides to become Dr. Quinn, with an avocation as an artist, there will be no complaints from me!

 

All the best,

Tanya

My Little Girl: The Artist (Part 1)

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2015-11-09 12.02.03

Quinn Painting Her Masterpiece “Orange Leaves”

A few weeks ago, my mother asked me what are my hopes for my little girl. After giving it some thought, I said, “I hope Quinn will be successful at whatever she does and have a happy life.” But then, I began pondering over the many areas in which she displays interests, imagining what she will become. While I do not want to be a pushy, overbearing mom possibly living my dreams and aspirations through Quinn, I want to ensure that I am providing her with the proper resources to determine what she enjoys and in what areas she is gifted.

Most children love painting, and though my daughter is still developing her pincer skills and dexterity, I observe how serious and intentional she is while painting. She knows what colors she wants to use where and even asked to use red and yellow for our autumn tree project because she said, “Red and yellow make orange!” Like a true artist, she demanded that I not take her picture while she’s painting and told me, “Mommy, it’s my masterpiece; no pictures please!” OF course, I had to sneak one.

It may be messy at times, but I am happy that Quinn enjoys expressing herself through painting and hope she will continue to display this interest into adulthood.

All the best,

 

Tanya

She’s Gets it from her Mommy!

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2015-11-26 17.37.39

Quinn and Me on Thanksgiving 2015

Shortly after my little girl was born two and a half years ago, the unsolicited comments and votes began pouring in. “She looks just like her daddy!” “Well, she’s kind of a mix of the both of you, but I see her dad more than you.” “Sorry, Tanya. Quinn is her daddy’s twin!” Though I must agree with the consensus, now that my daughter is getting older and expressing herself more, I am beginning to notice some of my personality traits along with my facial expressions in Quinn. On Thanksgiving, my sister confirmed that I am not the only one who has noticed this. She took a picture of Quinn and me, and as I looked at it, I noticed that we both had the same facial expressions. Though it is a funny grimace that I often had as a child (It took me years to learn how to smile properly in photos.), it melted my heart to see a little bit of me in her. I am so thankful for our mother and daughter bond and hope that I continue to see some more of my positive attributes within Quinn.

All the best,

Tanya

Time for a check-up! My Daughter’s first visit to the dentist

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2015-11-16 09.41.19

Quinn showing the dentist how to brush the dinosaur’s teeth

Though it is not uncommon for children and even adults to fear the dentist, I’ve always looked forward to my appointments, especially when I was younger and received a prize for doing a good job brushing my teeth. However, since my daughter turned one and had almost all of her teeth except the back molars, I prolonged the inevitable: her first dental appointment. As a result of her experiences with doctor’s visits which usually involved vaccinations, Quinn would often become quite distraught when she would see the doctor headed her way, regardless of how friendly he was. Now that my little one’s back molars came in months ago, I knew I had to make an appointment and just endure the crying and fearful look on her face.

Actually our appointment was last week went extremely well. She followed all of the instructions by the dentist and opened her mouth wide, said “ah,” smiled, displaying all of her teeth and even showed her how to brush teeth. I was very impressed. Apparently, I was more fearful than Quinn was because after her appointment she told me, “Mommy, I love going to the Dentist! Can we come back tomorrow?” Every day, Quinn manages to surprise me. She really is growing up so quickly. I am hopeful that she will continue to love going to the dentist.

Al the best,

Tanya

Halloween’s Over: Now, the “trick” is figuring out what to do with all of those treats!

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2015-11-13 16.17.35Though my daughter is only two and a half, she fully understands the concept of Halloween and was eager to go trick or treating this year. We actually had a few different outings, Boo at the Zoo, Please Touch Museum’s monster mash and actual trick or treating throughout the neighborhood. She could barely contain her excitement saying, “Oh yeah, I love Halloween! Look at all this candy!” In that moment, I was torn because as much as I enjoyed seeing that smile on her face and hearing that joy in her voice, I just knew we were going to have a problem. Either she was going to want to eat it all in one sitting, or she would be throwing major fits if I did not permit her to eat “her” candy.

As a parent and health conscious person, I always offer Quinn healthy, yummy fruits and rarely let her eat candy, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting it and asking for a lollipop in her sweetest voice with those big brown eyes, hoping to persuade me. Interestingly, Quinn has not been all that interested in eating the candy as much as she has been in sorting and counting it. Everyday since Halloween, she has asked, “Mommy, can I sort my candy please?” She especially likes sorting and counting how many lollipops or how many bags of Skittles she has (She’s never even had Skittles). With a handful of lollipops in her hand, she will ask, “Can you guess how many lollipops I have, Mommy?” Transferring them from one hand to the other, she proudly says, “I have, one, two, three, four, five, six lollipops!” I’ve even observed her sorting based on the colors of the candy wrappers. What a fun way to learn!

While I tend to not eat candy, this time of the year does bring out the “junk food junkie” in me, and as much as I try to resist, I do find myself taking a piece of candy here and there from Quinn’s bowl. With all of her counting and sorting, I have a feeling that she will eventually realize that some specific candies are missing. When she does, I will definitely have to fess up and let my candy accountant know that she’s caught me.

All the best,

Tanya

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