Tag Archives: Mommy’s Baby Steps

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…The Gift of L.O.L’s and Surprises

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On the Seventh Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…The Gift of L.O.L’s and Surprises!

Just about every little girl and some little boys too, can tell you all about L.O.L surprises. They know all of their names, different characters and accessories, and what they can do, you name it! My daughter is no exception. She is an avid collector, and can’t get enough of them.

So when I came across an L.O.L. Surprise advent calendar, I had to get it for her. What made this kit so special was instead of it containing twelve pieces of candy, it has twelve different L.O.L. Surprises ranging from a hair brush to a scrunchie to a key chain, a necklace and even a slap bracelet. Each morning, Quinn excitedly opens up a new window and is delighted by the surprise.

This is such a great way to count down the days to Christmas. I wish there was one for charm bracelets or the Care Bear characters when I was younger. Can’t believe we have less than a week to go.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Reminder that Writing & Receiving Letters is Still Meaningful

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On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Reminder that Writing & Receiving Letters is Still Meaningful…

“Should I ask Santa how he’s doing first,” my daughter asked as she was poised with her pen in her hand ready to share her Christmas wishes. “Definitely! You don’t want to just say what you want. It’s good to ask Santa how he’s doing” I reassured her. When we went to Strasburg railroad for our ride with Santa, one of the activities was a meet and greet with Mrs. Claus and then writing a letter to Santa and mailing it to the North Pole.

My first grader knew the importance of including a greeting and printed nice and neat to make sure Santa oils read her letter with no problem. I was very impressed that she didn’t end the assistance of her father nor me to spell any words like she did last year, and she even decided, without me suggesting, that she would just include her top three items that she wants for Christmas.

I can vividly recall writing a letter to Santa, but I actually never received a letter back, but after Quinn dropped her sealed letter in the special red mailbox, she received back a letter in just a couple of weeks. When In came in the mail, she was so excited and could read it all by herself. What really impressed me was that the letter was personalized and contained her name.

I then thought to myself, writing a letter to Santa and then receiving one back to read is a wonderful way to encourage a child to read and write. Knowing that my six year old eagerly participated in this activity was a proud moment for me.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Feeling of Gratitude for Having a Healthy, Happy Family!

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On the Fifth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Feeling of Gratitude for Having a Healthy, Happy Family!

Last year on this exact date, my little girl was very ill, so ill that she was hospitalized through Christmas Eve. It’s an experience I never want to endure again, so when she said, “I hope I don’t get sick like last year,” it made me think about how grateful I am for family and friends.

This year, over thirty close family members and friends came together for our annual holiday party, and we all had such a wonderful time playing games, eating food and tasty treats and simply enjoying each other’s company. My six year old had a blast as she navigated the room giggling and having big fun with her cousins.

Yes, it’s nice to get and give gifts, but the gift of health and happiness of me and my family and friends far surpasses anything I could ever receive. I truly am grateful that my daughter is well this year. Sometimes, we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, so I’m so glad my family and friends all took time to celebrate the holidays with us.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…Fun Times with Santa on the Christmas Train

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On the Third Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…Fun Times with Santa on the Christmas Train!

If you live near Ronks, PA or are willing to drive, Strasburg Railroad is a must-do attraction for the family. For the past few years, my family has made the hour and a half trek for some memorable holiday moments. Though it it’s a totally different experience than my six year old had riding the regional rail train into the city for the first time last week, it’s definitely something we all look forward to, and this year was no different.

They have train rides with Santa, train rides to select your own Christmas tree and train rides for “The Night Before Christmas” where children are even encouraged to wear their pajamas. We always opt for the train ride where we get greeted Santa as we check out the local sites on the steam locomotive. This year, the weather was perfect: not to warm and not too cold. We were able to dine at then railroad restaurant, went to the shops and did some of the activities before our train departed.

Quinn loves getting a seat next to the window to take in the sites during our 45 minute train ride, but all eyes were on Santa as he made his way up the aisle stopping for pictures and giving each child a Strasburg Railroad ornament gift. I too was eager to take our annual train ride photo with Santa. There’s just something so magical about that train ride. I truly do love this tine of year as we enjoy each other’s company.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Second Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Gorgeously Decorated Christmas Tree

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On the Second Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Gorgeously Decorated Christmas Tree…

“Fluffy already looks good, but she’s going to look fabulous once she’s all decorated,” my six year old informed me. Fluffy is not our pet cat or dog but our Christmas tree who got its inspired, allegorical name from my daughter. Every few years, we change the theme or color scheme of our ornaments, but this year, we both decided to keep purple, pink and blue (well more of a turquoise) because it reflects both of our favorite colors.

Though we already had plenty of ornaments we purchased last year, we went to Michael’s and got a few more for our tall tree to make it even better. Once the day came to decorate, I took care of putting in the lights, and Quinn did a good amount of hanging the ornaments with my assistance. She made it clear that she wanted to hang the ones that looked like sweet treats, such as donuts, lollipops and popsicles and that she wanted to hang the different birds and “special” ornaments too. I remember being excited to hang ornaments when I was younger, and I still am because I get to do it with my daughter and create special memories with her.

We’re both pleased with our tree that not only provides happiness but a feeling of accomplishments we admire its gorgeous ornaments.

All the best,

Tanya

On the First Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…a Ginormous Christmas Tree!!!

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On the First Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…a Ginormous Christmas Tree!!!

“You two are out of control! Each year it gets bigger and bigger,” my husband said, as my daughter and I went up and down the aisles looking for the perfect tree. He’s right though. When Quinn was a baby, the tree was maybe six feet. This year, it’s eight feet. “But daddy, it needs to be bigger than last year’s tree so that we can have even more ornaments,” she told him.

Upon getting the tree home, for the first time, carrying it in the house was a two person job with Quinn assisting by holding the door open and directing us towards the tree stand. Once we got it in place, my husband shook his head as the top of the tree scraped the ceiling.  My daughter and I both smiled at our new tree eager to decorate it.

Keeping with tradition, we named our tree as a part of our family. We’ve had BG, short for Big Green, BGJ, short for Big Green junior and BG3, short for Big Green the third. Heavenly Brownie! Last year, she picked Gerald. This year, Quinn names our tree Fluffy to fit its appearance.

Here’s to fond memories with our 2019 Christmas tree: Fluffy!

All the best,

Tanya

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow: Treasuring Time with My Daughter

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“Mommy, I got a new book from the library. Do you think we could do the project from it?” Quinn eagerly asked. “I don’t see why not,” I responded. This special project was how to create a liquid rainbow. Luckily, we only needed to get one of the ingredients since we had all of the others. My six year old and I do activities frequently, and I especially love when she initiates them.

With each activity that we do, Quinn is becoming more and more independent. This time, she read all of the instructions, did all of the measurements and followed all of the steps as I observed as her assistant. Something that fascinated me was how she used trial and error when creating the purple syrup for the bottom layer. At first, it looked more read than purple, so she said, “How about if I add another drop of blue to see if that works?” She did it, and it worked with no problem.

I truly do treasure these moments with my daughter and am grateful to have a colorful child who enjoys learning, is a critical thinker and wants to spend time with me. If you’re looking for an activity to do with your child that’s not too time consuming yet a great learning experience, try out the liquid rainbow.

All the best,

Tanya

Practice Makes “Hairstyles”: Making Ponytails is No Easy Feat!

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She took a deep breath before getting started with a look of concentration her face. Then, she made sure her hands and fingers were positioned properly. This wasn’t a piano lesson nor a valiant try at tying her shoes but another life skill that will certainly come in handy not just for herself but possibly applying it to others as well: making a ponytail.

Just about every Saturday, I restyle my six year old’s hair and then “freshen” it up throughout the course of the week. Oftentimes, I’ll allow her to pick which style she wants from my Pinterest saves. Though I’ve gotten good at recreating styles, sometimes they’re quite involved, and the process may take hours. Before long, Quinn is asking, “About how much longer do you think it’ll be, Mommy?” To which I usually respond, “Hopefully not too much longer. Remember, if you want it to look nice, I need you to be patient.”

Within the past year and a half, Quinn has taken an interest in having her dolls’ hair styled, so I find myself styling two and sometimes three heads. But lately, during her screen time, she’s been watching videos on how to style her doll’s head and tries her best  do it without asking for help. Though I’ve sat down with her before and given her some advice, today, after seeing her frustration, I did a step by step process with her. I never realized how complicated putting in a simple ponytail could get!

After about four tries, she finally got the ponytail into Luciana’s hair. I’m pretty sure braiding the hair is next, which can be tricky too, considering that I still can’t do a fishtail braid even after watching videos myself. Who knows, maybe one day Quinn will teach me  how to do that technique.

All the best,

Tanya

My Wish Has Been Granted! Another Year of Halloween Costume Fun with My Daughter: Aladdin Style!

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For the past five years, my daughter and I’ve been dressing up for Halloween in “matching” costumes. When Quinn was two, she was Doc McStuffins, and I was Lambie. At three, she was an astronaut, and I was her rocket. At four, she was Snow White, and I was the Evil Queen. Just last year, she was a magical fairy princess, and I was a magical princess mermaid.

This year, we decided on two costumes. The first one, that we wore at Sesame Place and Boot at the Zoo, was dressing up like her American Girl doll, Luciana, which was a lot of fun. Our second set of costumes were inspired by the Aladdin movie. Quinn dressed as Princess Jasmine donning a beautiful fuchsia outfit we purchased at Target in the kids clothing section back in May, not the Halloween costume section, along with a long flowing ponytail with gold clips that we got from Amazon for $19.99. For her footwear, she already had a pair of gold sneakers for comfort.

At first I was going to be Princess Jasmine’s mother, but then Quinn suggested that I dress up as the genie, which I thought was a fantastic idea. Though it was tricky finding the costume, since the genie is a male character, I was able to locate one from Amazon that I really liked. It looked good on me, but was very thin.

So I decided to use my creativity and piece together my own costume. I ordered royal blue harem pants from Amazon for $15.99. They are actually good quality and have a comfortable fit. The light blue wrap shirt also came from Amazon for $15.99 as well, and it is nice enough to wear regular, not just for a costume. Since it is a little thin for this time of the year, I paired it with a royal blue tank top I already had to wear underneath. For the gold wrist cuffs and red satin sash, I actually purchase fabric from Joanne Fabrics and got to work using my sewing machine. Believe or not, it took my less than a half hour to do both. Then, I topped it off with a dark blue ponytail wig I also purchased from Amazon for $22.99 since I figured it would be a bit too much to paint my face and body blue. I actually like the way it looks and find it to be good quality and not like the wigs one might find at a local Halloween or party shop. I can see myself using it for other events in the future.

Having “matching” costumes with my daughter is something we both look forward to and makes one of my wishes come true. It strengthens our mother/daughter bond and puts smiles on both of our faces as we have a great time together. Though Halloween won’t be here for a few days, we’re already looking forward to what we’ll be for next year.

All the best,

Tanya

 

Shake a Tail Feather: Thankful with the Thanksgiving Turkey

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“When are we going to bring out the Thanksgiving turkey?” my six year old eagerly asked. I was pleasantly surprised that she recalled when I purchased it on sale after last year’s Thanksgiving. No it’s not a real turkey for eating, but it is meant to satiate one’s appetite for expressing gratitude.

The turkey comes with a book with a great story explaining why it’s important to be thankful. There’s also cardstock feathers to family members to dress it with why they are thankful.

We set this cute bird at our dinner table last week, and Quinn was so excited to write down why she’s thankful. As she placed a feather on the turkey, she said, “I wish we had tons of feathers because I can think of a hundred reasons why I’m thankful!” She then proceeded to rattle off a few. One was being able to have food to eat. Another was being able to read. This was music to my ears because sometimes we’re all guilty of taking things for granted and may not express gratitude.

I truly am thankful to have a daughter who has so much for which to be thankful.

All the best,

Tanya