It’s nearly official. Dylan went to bed as a two year old, and when he awakens in the morning it will be his third birthday. Good night, toddler, good morning, preschooler. I’m not sure that I agree with all of those people who say that “it goes by so fast”, but that might be either because not enough time has passed and I’ll be saying it a few years from now or because I have been lucky enough to stay home with him and experience (nearly) every waking moment of his toddlerhood. There is no one word that sums up … Continue reading →

I recently realized that my toddler will not be a toddler much longer. Apparently, the age range during which a child is a toddler is from eighteen months until three years. Dylan will turn three on November 21. At that point, he will belong to the “preschoolers” age group regardless of whether or not he is actually enrolled in preschool at the time. As with anything kid – related, it seems as though passing through the toddler stage did not take as long as I thought that it might. There sure have been a lot of things packed in to … Continue reading →

As toddlers grow, they often surprise their parents with the depth and range of emotions that they experience. The other day, Dylan treated me to a glimpse of an emotion that is not often associated with toddlers – generosity. Not just the sharing kind of generosity, but the kind of generosity that involves giving and expecting nothing in return. We were out hiking, and suddenly Dylan stopped in the middle of the trail to pick something up. I was halfway through asking him not to pick any more leaves off of the trees when I realized that he was not … Continue reading →

It seems like it has been ages since Dylan took a nap in his bed. In reality, the last time that he regularly took naps in his bed was at about four months ago. Even then, he did not nap every day. Once he started refusing to nap in bed, I knew that it was the beginning of the end for nap time. That was a hard thing for me to come to terms with because his nap time was always a much needed break in my day where I could get a few things done, spend some one on … Continue reading →

One of the most enjoyable things about being the parent of a toddler can be watching your toddler as he or she grows. Seeing a little person make strides in learning how to express himself, use his body to do different fun and practical things, and think his way through different situations are just some of the wonders that we parents can experience as our toddlers develop. Some days it seems as if Dylan is a long way from doing anything independently, and other days he seems to have developed skills beyond his years. This week, our family is on … Continue reading →

There is something about this time of year that makes me think about school. Perhaps it is a deeply ingrained sense of anticipation of a new school year which is left over from my childhood. You see, I was one of those kids who loved school. This year, my school related thoughts involve assessing Dylan’s readiness for preschool and assessing a few preschools in my community to see whether there are any that are a good fit for him. As luck would have it, the other day when I brought Dylan to one of our favorite playgrounds, I got to … Continue reading →

One of the most fun things that I have been doing with Dylan lately is helping him learn how to ride his bike. It is a little red bike with training wheels and pedals that are connected to the front wheel. Up until about a week ago, he was content to move it around by sitting on the seat and walking his feet along the ground. Then, he discovered the pedals. At first, he needed me to push him along. I encouraged him to pedal as I was pushing him, but each time I stopped pushing he would stop pedaling … Continue reading →

Recently, it dawned on me that at some point in the future Dylan will not be spending all of his days at home with me. Preschool is a topic that I have not yet given much thought, so it is time for me to learn what it is all about. Today I decided to start at the beginning, with the question of determining when a child is ready to begin preschool. Dylan will be two and a half years old this month. That is the age at which many preschools begin accepting children into their programs. For some reason, I … Continue reading →

The other day while we were at the playground, Dylan and I received a wonderful compliment. A woman who was playing with her little girl on the swing next to the swing where I was playing with Dylan remarked that he seemed to have quite a large vocabulary for someone who is two and a half years old. The woman is a day care provider, so she has a lot of experience with toddler talk. Her comment is very meaningful to me because I feel that one of the most important things that I can do for Dylan is to … Continue reading →

Last year Jessie turned two. Turning two was a big deal in our house. Five days after Jessie turned two we adopted her. Her first foster parents came to her first birthday party, but were unable to come to her second. We didn’t invite them to her third. Because of the adoption, both sets of grandparents were there to celebrate turning two with Jessie. This year the grandparents broke their visits up so each could spend time with Miss Jess. My parents arrived four days apart; Dad wanted to give Mom more time alone with us. They were here on … Continue reading →