Storytime Reading of #BabyLove: My Toddler Life

I love this video of a child reading my book. It is very sweet!

Mother's Day Thankfulness

Every year as my daughter gets older, I appreciate and love Mother's Day more and more.  This year feels very special as my daughter is beginning to understand the day too. 

A few days ago I picked up my daughter from preschool.  As I waited in the carpool line I saw her exit the school with a beaming smile.  We waved at each other as she skipped and hopped toward the car.  Once inside she handed me a rolled up purple paper with a string wrapped around it. 

So grateful to be this little girl's mom!

"For you Mommy, open it up.  Open it up!"  She shouted.  "Okay," I said as I pulled away to strap her into her car seat.  Once safely parked, I opened her door and she greeted me with the biggest hug.  "Here Mommy for you.  Happy Love Day!"  She said as she gave me her purple paper.

I opened up her sweet card made with her little hand prints- I loved it!  These special moments with my daughter are the most important and memorable for me.  Truly the best. 

Handmade cards are the best!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Favorite Book Right Now

My daughter can not get enough of the book, You Don't Want a Unicorn!  by Ame Dyckman and Liz Climo.  Here she is reading it to her furry friends. 

Stuffed animals favorite book

It is such a cute and fun read.  The illustrations are colorful and lively. And even though my daughter has read the book a million times already- she still wants a unicorn.  The pink one.

Have a fun time reading this book- we highly recommend it.

"My Daddy" from a Toddler's Point of View

Tonight my husband and daughter returned from Dad's Night at her preschool with the picture below.  She was very proud of her drawing of Daddy. 

I loved her simplistic description of him- it was perfect.

In the mornings she often asks us "Why does Daddy have to go to work?"   And Daddy simply replies, "I have to make some money for us." 

I think it's time we should explain more about what Daddy does for a living. 

My Dad

A Toddler's Priceless Sincerity

This morning my daughter woke up in her usual bright-eyed and cheery way.    As I opened her door, I heard “I awake Mommy.”

“I see that.  Good morning sweetie.” I replied.   Then, picked her up and hugged her smiley face.  She quickly indicated with kicks and wiggles that she wanted down.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she started talking. “Mommy, I am two and a half.  Mommy, I have to go potty.  Mommy, I wear my pink dress.  Mommy, I wash my hand..." and so on.

After a slight pause, she continued with some questions.  “Mommy, I go to school today?  Mommy, I stay home with you?  Mommy, can I have a Popsicle?”  I could barely answer her before she moved onto the next topic. 

Daddy and me eating donuts

“Mommy where is Daddy?”

“He is in our bedroom,” I said.

“Okay, I go see him.”  She said as she ran down the hall shouting, “Daddy, I awake.  Daddy, where are you?”

“In here (our bedroom),”  he replied.

“Daddy, I want a bow in my hair.  Can you put a bow in my hair?”  she asked.

“Mommy will put a bow in your hair,”  he replied.

“Okay.  Mommy put a bow in your hair too, Daddy?”

“No, I don’t need a bow.  I don’t even have hair.”  He said laughingly.

“Mommy, Daddy doesn’t have hair,” she said with an inquisitive tone.

 “I know sweetie.  Daddy doesn’t have hair.  He is bald,”  I replied with a smile.

She replied with a question, “Why?”

 “It fell out a long time ago, but that is okay.  We love Daddy with his bald head.”

 “Mommy, can we go to the store today?” 

“Maybe.   Why do you want to go to the store?" I asked.

“We go to Target and buy Daddy hair, okay?”

I loved her sincerity. 

We had a quick giggle and long conversation.

Flying with a Toddler at the Holidays

The thought of flying with a toddler at any time of year can induce anxiety and force a family to rethink the entire idea.  The long lines, security check, and the constrained seating requires a lot of patience for an adult never mind a small child. So flying with a toddler during the holiday season- well I have no words. 

Photo by Poike/iStock / Getty Images

In regards to our upcoming flight, I hope for the best, expect the worst, and would be ecstatic if the situation ended up being somewhere in between. 

The last time my husband and I took our toddler on a flight, she sat peacefully next to me dosing off as we prepared for take-off.  Just as I exhaled in relief, the ding, ding sound of the bell occurred. The pilot told the flight attendants to take their seats - we were next in line for takeoff.  Then, my child woke up.  She looked at me with a perplexed face and grunted.  She didn't need to tell me what was happening but proudly shouted, "I pooping!" with a glee in her voice.

My internal voice shouted "No, no not now - fall asleep, fall asleep."  My external voice said, "Okay, sweetie."  She continued to announce the play by play activity to the rest of the silent cabin.  And joyfully exclaimed, "I did it!"  when she was finished.   (A silent, sarcastic "Hooray!" swirled in my head.)

I responded with a "Good job!"  She then demanded a diaper change.  However, we were ascending.  The fasten seat bell sign was illuminated and the flight attendants were still seated.  Trying to explain the situation to a two year old was a moo point.   However, I thought it would sound better than nothing to my fellow passengers that heard her crying demands, "Diaper Change, Diaper Change!"

As soon as it was safe, I handed her and all of the diaper changing necessities over to my husband who was sitting in the aisle seat with a "Good luck" and a smile.  "Phew!" - better him than me I thought.

This time, like the times before I am surely packing my patience and a lot of toddler distractions for the flight (videos and more videos).  Again, I will sit in the middle seat and leave my husband in the aisle.

As I keep calm and breathe,  I am thankful this holiday season and looking forward to spending the holidays with our family in Idaho. 

Happy Holiday's and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Btw, would love to hear your toddler travel stories...please share!