Sometimes, the thought of doing a specific activity with your toddler can be much more daunting than actually doing it. For example, when Dylan’s aunt decided to take him fishing about a month ago, I wondered whether she realized what she could be getting herself into. It turns out that she had thought about what fishing could be like with a toddler, and that she had age appropriate expectations. They had a great time, and Dylan is lucky that he has such a nice auntie who is willing to try doing things with him that seem rather daunting to me. … Continue reading →

As you may know, I love to read about all things related to parenting. Sometimes that is a good thing, and other times it just gets me into trouble. Yesterday, I was reading about how important it is for children to engage in “sensory play” or “messy play”. When I started reading about bags and boxes filled with fun things to squish, pour, sort, and explore I became worried. Was everyone else out there already doing this with their toddlers? Have I been depriving Dylan of something important for months or years? Why hadn’t I thought to do anything like … Continue reading →

Even though Dylan will not turn three until the end of November, the topic of preschool crosses my mind at least a couple of times a week. He will not be going in the fall, as both my husband and I do not think he is ready just yet. He seems very ready in some ways, but not quite in others. For example, he is making strides with using the potty but he is not yet fully potty trained. On the other hand, although he stays home with me much of the time he thrives in group settings and is … Continue reading →

I love the library. Ever since I was a young child I have enjoyed reading immensely. My parents brought me to our local library all the time, and I have many fond memories of going there and choosing books to take home and enjoy. Now that I am a mom, I am discovering the library all over again. Even though I live in a different town now, and a different state, too, the feeling of going to the local library is a warm and familiar one. Dylan loves the library too. Whenever we pass by it, he asks if we … Continue reading →

For some reason, I have been more into finding interesting places to go with the kids during the past few weeks. We have plenty of fun at home, but Dylan always enjoys new experiences and so do I. As an added bonus, Blake seems to enjoy new experiences too. He is usually either watching whatever we are doing intently or sleeping soundly, all from the front carrier that I wear him in. Today, our big adventure was visiting a local raptor center to see the birds of prey and spend some time walking on different trails than the ones that … Continue reading →

Last Thursday, I did something with Dylan that I had been planning to do for quite some time. In the morning, I visited the web site www.pickyourown.org and located a blueberry farm in an area that I like to visit. I called the farm to make sure that their blueberries were ready and that the farm was open for picking. We drove over a scenic mountain road, and my excited little fellow was making up songs about blueberries in the back seat as his baby brother slept soundly. On the other side of the mountain, I stopped at my favorite … Continue reading →

Today, Dylan and I tried something new. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about an open casting call which was going to be held in a city about an hour away from where we live. I went online to look at the information about the casting call and decided that I was going to bring Dylan and Blake to it on one of the three dates that it was being held. I had been looking for an “excuse” to go to the city to do some shopping, and that seemed like a good one. The … Continue reading →

In about a month, my husband and I will be taking our sons on our annual vacation to Cape Cod. My dad has a time – share week there, and we go there to stay with him. Last year and the year before that, we had a great time vacationing with Dylan. This year will be the first time that Blake goes to Cape Cod. While I am not worried about our vacation, I do want to prepare myself (and my husband) for our first lengthy excursion with a two and a half year old and a baby who will … Continue reading →

If it seems to you that children are participating in sports at much younger ages than they did when you were a kid, you’re right. More and more kids are beginning to play sports at younger and younger ages. There is considerable debate over whether or not early involvement in organized athletics is beneficial for children. It is undisputed that children need physical activity, and plenty of it in order to develop strong, healthy bodies and minds. It is also clear that many children do not get enough physical activity, and that their health suffers because of that. Many children … Continue reading →

Today, I found an opportunity to practice refraining from instructing Dylan as he plays. We had gone out to pick up a couple of things at the hardware store for my husband and I decided to turn it into a fun afternoon outing by adding in a stop for lunch and a trip to the playground before we went back home. At the restaurant where we had lunch, there were a bunch of plastic and metal food containers on a table with a sign that said “Free For Our Customers”. Of course, the containers caught Dylan’s eye and he picked … Continue reading →