Since when does my almost 4.5 year old decide she doesn’t want anything to do with veggies?
I heard time and time again…make sure to give them veggies when they are young so they will love them when they are older! I took this advice and ran with it. Always giving Annora veggies with every meal and for every snack…until 4 years hit and everything changed…I mean EVERYTHING!
“Mom, come find me?”
The words I hear from my 4.5 year old as I wash the dishes in the kitchen. With a smirk on my face, I place my dish rag down and go on a child hunt. It is pretty easy to spot the little feet sticking out from under the curtains but I play the game and act as though I cannot find her. Delise, my 22 month old, has no trouble pointing out where her sister is hiding and the game is over. Annora comes out and, of course, wants to play again, again, and AGAIN! Trying to switch things up a bit, I excitedly recommend making a “fort!” Not the usual fort, but a “Mommy Table Fort!”
We get out ALL of the big blankets and start sliding the chairs out from under the dining room table. I must admit, our fort is IMPRESSIVE! We have height, space, pillows to sit on, dolls to entertain, etc. The fort is TOP NOTCH to any novice fort builder.
The hustle and bustle of the day begins at 7:00 AM in our household. Father’s Day was no different but Ben was already out the door and in the Ann Arbor, MI area before the girls uttered their first word for the day. I was in the basement working out when I heard:
“Happy Father’s Day to you,
Happy Father’s Day to you,
Happy Father’s Day dear Daddy,
Happy Father’s Day to yyyyoooouuu!!!”
“I booked your mom this evening!” “Um, for a date night?” I replied. “Eeeeekkkkk!!!!” I was dressed with my hair in a bun, no makeup on, I was working on getting the laundry done, I had on an outfit that looked straight out of the 80’s and TIME WAS TICKING! Read more…
Princess dresses, tiaras, musicals, The Little Mermaid, The Wiggles, Beauty and the Beast, Annie, Build a Bear, Rudy’s Hot Dogs, etc…Daddy can make a little girl’s dreams come true…or close to it!
It isn’t about how extravagant the daddy/Daughter date night is, it is all about the experience and bond that forms because of it.
I can remember the very FIRST daddy/ daughter date night. Annora was 2.5 years old and a HUGE fan of The Wiggles. I dressed her in all red (Simon Wiggle, the red wiggle, was her FAVORITE) and sent her and daddy to Canada to see the show. She had NO IDEA what she was about to do or what to expect. Sure I would have LOVED to go on the date with them, see Annora’s excitement as the crew entered the stage and she saw them live, be there when she met Simon Wiggle outside of his bus, etc.; but the experience she had with her daddy wouldn’t have been the same with me there. Instead, I was able to hear how wonderful the show was through her eyes. She was so excited to share EVERYTHING that happened and the fact that her daddy was there with her is something they have together…their little secret and bond that no one else was a part of. It was a beautiful thing to witness and from that point on, I made it a priority to send them on dates together regularly.
I am one of those mommy’s that gets family pictures done ALL.THE.TIME. Every 6 months or so I am scheduling the good ole family photos because right now in this stage of life, our girls are sprouting like weeds, changing before our eyes, and quite frankly I don’t want to miss any of it. I would say I am a bit extreme when it comes to putting the good old smile to the test.
I remember the day we brought our firstborn daughter home from the hospital. She was perfect, GORGEOUS, and sweet as pie. She had the tiniest fingers and toes and made the cutest sounds when she slept. When we got home, we set her carefully on our big, brown oversized couch and stared with awe, wonder, and FRIGHT! Ben and I looked at each other and we could tell what the other was thinking…NOW WHAT?!?
Researching what options Ben and I have as far as Annora’s schooling goes is darn INTIMIDATING! There is homeschooling, private school, charter school, good ole fashioned public school, private tutors, Montessori, yada, yada, yada! Honestly, the list goes on…
Last year I found myself frantically struggling to figure out the BEST option for her. She has a heart of GOLD, gets easily intimidated by others, has a hard time with mathematical concepts, LOVES people and making new friends, can’t get enough books, and LOVES singing and acting out musicals.