Tag Archives: Mommy’s Baby Steps

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…Nostalgia Taking a Photo with đźŽ…

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36A47DAD-54A8-4C33-89A3-7900A352743BOn the sixth day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…nostalgia taking a photo with Santa. Even though my daughter and I were able to see Santa on the Paradise train ride and even at Sesame Place, our main location for taking the annual picture with Santa since she was a baby has been Willow Grove Mall. I love the tradition because I get to see her face light up with excitement. She even gets a little nervous as I did as a child and will ask me if I can join her when it’s her turn to meet Santa. Little does she know, I look forward to seeing him and am glad when she wants me to join her. This year, Mrs. Claus joined him and was such a special treat.

When we started decorating for Christmas and put out photos over the years with Santa, Quinn, herself, reminisced. “This is when I was a baby meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus,” she remarked. I’ve always had a soft spot for Santa, and not just because he brought gifts but because he cared about me and was always so jolly.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…The Importance of Spending Time With Family

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On the fifth day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…the importance of spending time with family. For the past few days, my five year old hasn’t been feeling well. Her cough and runny nose has been accompanied by a fever. It all started on last Thursday when she was sent home from school due to a fever and becoming ill during lunch. On Saturday, she had no fever and was starting to feel better, so we kept with our scheduled plan and had a blast at Sesame Place. Unfortunately, late on Sunday, her fever came back with a punch, and over night it spiked to 104.2, so my husband and I decided to take her to the emergency room. (Where we are right now)

While this is an unsettling experience for us all, and it is upsetting to see my little girl so listless and ill, she still constantly reminds me of the importance of family togetherness, especially during this time of the year. For almost ten years, I’ve thrown a Christmas party and invited my extended family and some of my dear friends.

Since Quinn was born, it’s become even more special. She’s always excited to spend time with family and will ask me who’s coming to the party. In life, it seems like everybody is so busy. There seems to be a limited amount of time to simply enjoy life. I am grateful to have a daughter like Quinn. She helps me to not get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and to just appreciate my family. I truly am grateful for the experiences I have with them and love them all dearly.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…Family Fun Time on a Christmas Train Ride

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On the third day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…family fun time on a Christmas train ride. Last year, my daughter, husband, mother and I had such a fun time on the train ride with Santa at Strasburg Railroad, so it was on the top of our list for fun activities this year. On December 1st, we traveled to Ronks, PA, a little over an hour commute from our home, to board Santa’s Paradise Express to Paradise, PA and back. There was a bit of a chill in the air, so we were bundled up and ready to enjoy ourselves.

Before boarding the train, we were able to have a tasty lunch at the restaurant located at the station. Then we headed down to the boarding platform. “Here it comes, Mommy!” My five year old shouted as the train came down the track for us to board. I quickly snapped a picture of my family, and we eagerly hopped aboard and claimed our plush seats. The ride is 45 minutes, and within that time we met Santa, who gave Quinn a special wooden Strasburg Railroad ornament for our tree, enjoyed people caroling and playing instruments and just taking in the sights along the way.

The fun didn’t stop after our train ride. We were able to do some of the fun activities, such as meeting Mrs. Claus, writing a letter to Santa, and doing some of the riding activities. Luckily, we were able to squeeze in everything because it started to rain in the later part of the afternoon.

“I can’t wait to go on the train ride with Santa again next year,” Quinn told me. Actually, I can’t wait either!

All the best,

Tanya

Baking Up Memories with My Little Girl

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“I’m so excited, Mommy! I want to do everything from start to finish!” my five year old informed me as we prepared to bake chocolate chip cookies for Thanksgiving. Though it can be time-consuming, and it’s difficult to always carve out time to do it, I love baking. I especially love baking with my daughter. Now that she’s in kindergarten, she’s starting to read, is understanding the concept of measuring more and more and really was able to do just about everything from start to finish, with the exclusion of putting and taking the cookies out of the oven.

As we stood in the kitchen together, we bonded and talked about how excited we were to share our cookies with the family for Thanksgiving. Quinn even said, “I really love baking with you mommy. We ought to do it more often!” I agreed. It is such a wonderful feeling to see her applying what I’ve taught her over the years. I did not have to remind her how to sift the ingredients. Using the Kitchen Aid mixer is a no brainer for her. Without me suggesting, she said, “I’m going to start the mixer on the lowest setting firs so that the flour doesn’t go everywhere. Then I’ll flick the switch so it can mix the cookie dough faster. She was able to use the cookie scoop with ease, and even knew the importance of not putting the cookies too close to one another of the baking sheet.

This experience made me think of an analogy with my little girl. Before she was born, she was “baking” in my stomach until it was time for her to come out. Now, I often observe her “baking up” some ideas and searching for life “ingredients.”  She’s on her way to becoming a master chef, and it comforts me to know that I’m playing a role in sharing my recipes for heartfelt moments that she will be able to use to cook up a wonderful life for herself.

All the best,

Tanya

Say Word?! Learning Can Be Fun! Lessons with My Little Girl

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She paused for a few second and looked up to the ceiling with her head slanted. Then she said with certainty, “Word!” I proudly said, “You got another word right, sweetheart!” Even though my daughter already knew some words here and there, since she started kindergarten, we’ve been making a conscious effort to reinforce what she is learning in school and to even enhance that experience. Last week, in my blog entry, I wrote about the reward system I created to demonstrate positive reinforcement for my five year old’s eagerness to learn. Doing basic flash cards is one of the lessons we do together.

I purchased sight word cards with pictures and some without, and either way Quinn is able to recognize several words after a few sessions. I am impressed that she immediately distinguishes the differences between words with similar spellings such as then and than considering that some adults still mix these two up. Often when I ask her what reading activity she would like to do, if it is not leafing through one of her books, it is doing flash cards.

Yes, technology is wonderful, and we use some of those resources as well. But good old-fashion flash cards are still perfect for helping a child learn how to read. They are a cheap resource that you can purchase at the local dollar store, or you can even create them yourself. Give them a try if you don’t already use them with your child.

All the best,

Tanya

Autumn “Leaves” Fun Chores for My Little Girl!

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“This is the best chore of the day, Mommy,” my five year old excitedly told me. It’s that time of the year where autumn is in full swing. Trees display beautiful leaves in hues of red, yellow and orange that we all gaze at and admire. Unfortunately, those very leaves eventually fall to the ground leaving behind that dreaded chore for many adults to continuously rake them all up for the next month or longer, depending on how many of these beautiful trees surround their homes.

I actually don’t mind it so much because I often daydream about when I was younger jumping in the leaves or just making that crunchy sound as I walked down the street stepping on leaves. My daughter has the same love for nature that I have. This morning, after getting home from my kickboxing workout, the sun was shining, and the leaves covered most of our grass and portions of our sidewalk, so I figured that I’d get a little more exercise by raking the leaves.

Automatically, Quinn said, “I want to help too, Mommy! I love raking the leaves!” My sweet girl has been helping since she was just one years old, and each year, she gets better and better. We made it a family activity along with her dad and spent about an hour outside clearing the colorful leaves. She even wanted to hold onto some of the leaves so that she could identify what trees they came from.

I love how we can have fun doing chores and truly enjoy each other’s company. These are the colorful moments we share together, and I will always cherish them.

All the best,

Tanya

What Do You Call a Fairy & and Mermaid? Mommy and Daughter Halloween Fun!

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Carousel Fun and the Please Touch Museum’s Monster Mash

Halloween is such a fun time of year not just for my daughter but for me too. What makes it extra fun is the strengthening of our mommy/daughter bond. Since she was two, she began picking out a costume not just for herself but for me too. She’s been Doc McStuffins, and I’ve been Lambie. When she was three, she was an astronaut, and I was her rocket. Last year, she was Snow White, and I was the Evil Queen. This year, she decided to be a fairy and asked me to be a mermaid with a similar color scheme: purple as her favorite color and blue as my favorite color. I thought to myself, what a great idea! She’s already thinking about next year wanting to be a princess so that I can be her unicorn, and I love it!

I feel like dressing up together, going to parties, special events and trick or treating brings out the best in us both and brings us closer together. Sometimes, life just gets so hectic, and work even gets stressful, so I thank my daughter for allowing me to just have fun and enjoy life as different characters. Here’s to a happy fun-filled Halloween. Time with my daughter is the ultimate treat!

My Little Girl Has Character Strengths! How About You?

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“Hmmm,” my daughter said as she closed her eyes and thought deeply  prior to answering the question, “What are your character strengths?” As her eyes widened a smile came on her face, she said, “Kindness, creativity, aaaaannd, bravery, I guess!” I smiled back at her and said, “Those are wonderful strengths, Quinn! You truly are creative, kind and brave.”

Last week, one of the assignments for her kindergarten class was to discuss the importance of character strengths and to help Quinn identify three of her own strengths. This was a fun and thought-provoking activity because it made me think about my own strengths as well. It also made me think about how I must help my daughter to not only recognize her many strengths but to help her see why they are strengths and how they will benefit her and others throughout the course of her life.

As she matures, I hope she will continue to be creative, kind and brave. I also hope that I can be a shining example of a creative, kind and brave mother, family member, friend and person in her life and the lives o those with whom I come in contact.

What are your character strengths?

All the best,

Tanya

Teaching My Daughter the Ropes to Jumping

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“I did it! I did it,” my five year old screamed out with a big smile on her face.  Last week, we started working on her learning to jump rope. The first few times she pouted as her legs got caught up in the rope or the rope caught on to her ponytails as she whipped it around her head, but with a little encouragement, she kept on trying.

As I watched her continue to try, I was taken back to years ago when I first learned how to jump rope and remembered that a big part of it was developing a rhythm and being prepared to jump a second or two right before the rope got to my feet. I showed Quinn the technique I used; she watched intently and got it! While she’s not quite jumping rope like a pro, she’s so excited to jump over the rope two or three times in a row.

With her rope in her hand, she smiled and said, “Mommy, if I keep practicing, I’ll get better and better. I’ll be jumping rope like you before I know it!” Showing my little girl how to jump rope makes me think about teaching her the “ropes of life.” Sometimes it’s difficult, and the sting of the rope might hurt her legs, or her legs might get caught up in the rope causing her to trip and fall. Other times, she might have a good rhythm going, and be able to jump or skip rope like a master. Either way, I’ll be right there with my rope in hand ready to model how to jump and will show her that sometimes the rope gets tangled up on my legs too, but I can always start over again and keep jumping.

All the best,

Tanya

Kindergarten Here “We” Come! Well, Here “She” Comes!

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For the past week, I’ve been a combination of nervous and excited. I’ve had sleepless nights, reoccurring dreams and a bit of anxiety. Tomorrow is the big day: the first day of school, kindergarten that is! On Friday, my daughter’s preschool teachers thoughtfully gave her a sweet letter with several treats. She was concerned about when she can eat the candy, and I was concerned about how I’m going to hold it together on Monday. On Saturday, Quinn received a lovely kindergarten card in the mail from my sister, nephew and niece wishing her a terrific first day. Then later on, my husband came home and surprised Quinn with a cake wishing her “Good Luck” in kindergarten.

How can I not get emotional? My blog is called Mommy’s Baby Steps, and this truly is one of the steps I am struggling to take. It’s a new school, all new children, all new teachers, a major milestone in her life. I’m so anxious and have to remind myself that it’s really “we” but a “she” is going to kindergarten. Thank goodness her school allows parents to come into the classroom for the first hour tomorrow and even has a kiss and cry for parents who need a little support in parting ways with their children.

While I am confident she’ll be just fine, knowing that I’ll have to dash off to the college for my first day of teaching (a day on which I still get butterflies) immediately after the “kiss and cry” has my stomach in knots. Wish me luck, and send “strong mommy vibes” my way please. I want to be brave for my little girl and focus on how great this milestone is and how wonderful of a year it’ll be!

All the best,

Tanya