train ride

While we were visiting my parents, my dad arranged for us to take a short train ride with some friends of mine. The kids had such a good time, it made the experience one of the highlights of our trip for me!

 

Here are a few photos of our adventure. Waiting at the station...

 

 

 

 

The train came into the station so fast, I think we all scrambled to grab a child in fear that they would somehow fall onto the tracks! Then we rushed to get on. I stopped to take this picture and barely made it on before the doors closed.

 

Once on the train, there were lots of things to see out the window: playgrounds, houses, cars, etc. Good thing my son brought his binoculars.

We made a quick stop for pastries, then got back on the train and headed home. This is what the kids looked like for nearly the whole trip: the oldest smiling and having a blast, the other two just taking it all in. So much fun! 

grandparents

My son is blessed to have two loving sets of grandparents who enjoy spending time with him. While we were visiting my parents a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching them together, and it really warmed my heart. I'm so glad they have formed such a strong bond.

 

My son and Bumpa played outside with construction equipment.

 

Props to my dad for actually climbing inside this log!

My mom had a long, lovely play session with my son and niece.

She also chased my son around the aforementioned log. I love their expressions in this one! Pure joy.

 

 

And of course, my dad made sure to spend some time listening to music with my son while we were there.



 

 



 

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for such a wonderful visit!

a toddler's guide to etiquette

Toddlers really know how to handle social situations. I often think I should apply some of his social responses to my own life. Here are some helpful tips I've gleaned from observing my son.

At Work
Boss tells you to do something you don't want to? Fall down on the floor and throw a big tantrum.

At Work (Part 2)
Boss won't let you help on that awesome new project? Crying usually helps. If that is not immediately effective, proceed to pouting, throwing things, and hitting, preferably in that order.

If You Don't Like Someone
Tell them. No need to be delicate about it. A simple "I don't like you" gets the point across. Screaming and running from them every time they come near adds emphasis.

If You Love Someone
Tell them. Whenever the thought crosses your mind.

In the Grocery Store
Like the music playing in Whole Foods? Announce loudly that you love this song, and then break out your best elbow-pumping, booty-shaking moves right there in the aisle.

When Socializing with Others
You're at a social event, and your acquaintance is annoying you? Simply announce that you're ready to go to the grocery store. You don't even have to say goodbye.

While Eating
Love your dinner? Go ahead, eat with your fingers and smear it on your face. And the clothes of the person sitting next to you, if you can reach them.

While Eating (Part 2) Hate your dinner? Feel free to grimace, gag, shudder, and tell the cook you don't like the food. Then deposit the offensive and partially chewed food on your plate, the table, or, preferably, into someone's hand.

Mr. Etiquette


camping might be ok

The title of this post was going to be "Tent for Sale, Only Used Once." At least, that's the post I was composing in my head at 12:30 am as our campground neighbors continued their noisy, raucous, and completely-inappropriate-for-young-ears discussion. I've done quite a bit of camping, but camping with a toddler ranked up there as one of my most challenging camping experiences. Don't get me wrong, he was great: enthusiastic, helpful, and, for the most part, well-behaved. Camping with a toddler was just a little different experience: the dirtiness and work involved were taken up a notch. And the sleep deprivation. Oh, the sleep deprivation.

But after getting home, having a glorious nap, and downloading our photos, our first camping trip with our son is seeming like a great idea after all. There was lots of great father-son time.

LOTS of digging in the dirt.

Lots of monkeying around.

Lots of eating.

Lots of bubbles.

And lots of sweet, made-up bedtime stories.

So in the end, I guess I won't be selling our tent. Not yet, anyway.

don't panic

My son and I went on vacation together for the first time! We flew to my parents' house. On our flight there, we had free internet, and we were able to read books and watch Thomas the Train on my tablet. In spite of my pre-flight anxiety, it was a breeze. I'd even go so far as to call it an enjoyable experience. Now that my son is almost three, he's able to sit for long periods of time (3 hours on our flight) and listens well (except for one escape to look at the planes out the window, he was careful to stay close to me in the airport). So we played, did some travel activities, and looked at everything through our plane window. Piece of cake.

On the flight home, I wasn't quite as prepared. I was counting on having internet again and being able to access Netflix, neither of which really worked out. I tried troubleshooting after troubleshooting, with no luck. The airline's internet troubleshooting page said, "Don't worry, we'll get you online in no time!" Don't worry?? Did they have parents in mind when they wrote that? Because I was in major panic mode. My son was waiting as patiently as anyone could expect a tired toddler to wait, but in that kind of situation, there's no telling how long you have before the poor child has a complete meltdown. I don't know how many times he told me it was "taking a long long time."

Finally, I told him to lie down and close his eyes, and that I'd have something ready for him when he woke up. After protesting for a short time, he did just that. And slept until we landed.

Lesson Learned #1: Be prepared. Count on nothing.
Lesson Learned #2: Just chill. It will be ok.

i love this book: Thomas the Tank Engine's BIG Lift-and-Look Book

My son received Thomas the Tank Engine's BIG Lift-and-Look Book (Owain Bell) when he was about one. It's been one of his favorite books for the past two years.

When he first started reading it, the appeal was lifting the flaps to find what was inside. This book has over 60 flaps to lift, so that kept him busy and interested for quite a while.

Each page in the book also has an educational theme to it, such as colors, counting, and comparing big and small. Now that my son is older, we talk about these themes when we read the book.

He has also recently become very interested in trains, so that adds another dimension of interest for him.
 

Overall, this has been a book with staying power for us. I highly recommend it.

Suggested age range: 2-3 years per Amazon (although my son enjoyed lifting the flaps at age 1)

Author's Note: The opinions in this book review are solely my own. I received no incentive or compensation for writing this review.

sand, glorious sand

I so love my husband right now. When my son and I returned from our week-long trip to see my family, he had cleaned the house. The kitchen was clean! He bleached the sink! Scrubbed the toilets! He even made the beds, just because he knows I like that.

To top it off, he had spent all week working on some backyard improvements, including a fantastic sand play area for our son. Check it out.

There is a spot for tool storage, a sitting bench, and lots and lots of sand! My son and I have been in heaven. Even though the temperatures have been over 100 every day this week, we've been playing in the sand most evenings after dinner. Adding water to the sand keeps it cooler and makes it even more fun to play with.

 

 

Thanks, Daddy!!

i love this book: Where the Wild Things Are

My son has been sick a lot lately, and we've been reading a ton of books. It has given me the opportunity to pull out some of the books we've had for a while and appreciate how great they are.

One of my favorites is Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak). The story is delightfully fantastic, and the illustrations pull you into Max's world, but my favorite part of this book is the prose. The book contains only a few sentences, but they are written so perfectly that they flow off my tongue like lazy summer waves. I love how Max sailed off "through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year...", and how, in the end, he just "wanted to be where someone loved him best of all." Beautiful.

Your turn: What book do you enjoy no matter how many times you read it?

Suggested age range: 4-8 years per Amazon (although it works with my almost-three-year-old)

Author's Note: The opinions in this book review are solely my own. I received no incentive or compensation for writing this review.