Tag Archives: Tanya Harris Franklin

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 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

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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Mother May I? Yes, You May! My Toddler is Ahead of the Game!

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Quinn Using Mommy's iPad after saying, "Mommy, may I use your iPad?"

Quinn Using Mommy’s iPad after saying, “Mommy, may I use your iPad?”

When I was younger, I loved to play the game “Mother May I?” However, today, with the lack of regard for standard English,  I do wonder if it is now called, “Mother Can I?” While I do appreciate the idea of the younger generation and even my generation becoming well-versed with slang, text language and abridged spellings of words, as an English professor and someone who sees the importance of knowing not only slang but standard English, I worry that standard English will be viewed as obsolete by my daughter and that it will impact her ability to thrive in school and the work force. With this in mind, I’ve been making a conscious effort to speak properly around my two and half year old so that she will mimic my speech and apply it when she is in a school or work setting as she gets older.

So far, it appears to be working because I’ve noticed that Quinn will often say, “Mommy, may I have some milk?” “Mommy, may we go to the playground?” or “Mommy, may I use your iPad?”Just hearing her say, “Mommy, may I…” makes me want to honor whatever her request may be with a proud, “Yes you may!” I hope she doesn’t catch on to how excited I am about this and try to use it to get whatever she “may” want.

All the best,

Tanya

Thanks to My Toddler, Our Super Grover Pumpkin Won the Contest!

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Quinn at the Pumpkin Contest with Super Grover

Quinn at the Pumpkin Contest with Super Grover

Last week, I posted entries all about the autumn fun my two year old daughter and I have been having. One of them was about painting and decorating our pumpkin we got from our pumpkin patch excursion to look like Super Grover from Sesame Street. Initially, we just did it as a fun activity and selected Grover as Quinn’s favorite character, but then, my college sent out an advertisement for a pumpkin decorating contest, so I thought it would be wonderful to enter our pumpkin and for Quinn to come up to the school to see the other pumpkins too. I was not sure what to expect, but there were some great pumpkins that certainly gave our Super Grover some competition: a gumboil machine, tin man and cowardly lion and even a pirate ship. Quinn eagerly pointed to all of the different pumpkins and was really fascinated by the one right next to ours which was a huge carved pumpkin that she referred to as the scary one winking at her. Though I was nervous about where would we place in the contest, Quinn was just happy to be there. Actually, we managed to get first place for funnest pumpkin and won a $50 gift card, which was a great surprise. It felt so nice to have our hard work acknowledged. I am already excited about what we may do next year and looking forward to this becoming a tradition for Quinn and me.

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