Posts Tagged ‘toddlers’

Oh Christmas Tree?!?!

Friday, December 12th, 2014

From Friday Mom – Erin:
Rory is afraid of our Christmas tree. We put it up last Sunday afternoon during his nap. We strung the lights on Monday evening, and we are hoping to put the ornaments on tonight. (Can you tell life is busy around here. . . ) But, try as we might, he still does not like to walk past the tree. He insists upon being carried up and down the stairs because the tree is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and he asks to be picked up the moment he gets home from daycare with his daddy because the tree is just inside the front door.

We’re not entirely sure what we did wrong.

I think we may not have talked with him enough in advance about the fact that we’d be putting a 7 foot evergreen into his living room for a month. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that it seems so tall compared to his little 34-inch self. We’re not sure what, exactly, it is that he doesn’t like about it, but we’re finding ourselves wondering whether he’ll get over it in time for Santa to arrive.

So far, we’ve talked to him about how pretty it is, let him touch the branches, and talked about how it cannot hurt him. We point out decorated houses with great enthusiasm when we are out and about, and we discuss the tree with that same overjoyed tone.

Occasionally, he seems indifferent. Yesterday morning, for example, he walked down the stairs, past the tree, and into the kitchen for breakfast without batting an eye. We’re hoping that becomes the norm sooner rather than later. Luckily, we have a comfy couch in the family room if we end up having to move all of the presents out from underneath the tree. . . let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Oh Christmas Tree

Friday, December 6th, 2013

From Friday Mom – Erin:
Like Monday Mom and Wednesday Mom, this week has our family thinking a lot about the Christmas season. One of the things I have loved most since moving into our house—almost four years ago now—was the fact that we could have a real Christmas tree. For some reason, the holidays have always seemed more “real” with the smell of a balsam fir in our home.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that putting a live tree in the middle of our living room would be problematic on a number of levels. First, because our living room is one of the few truly child-proofed rooms in our house and is Rory’s primary play area, putting up a tree in that space would mean cutting his play space by about a third. (Yes, our house is that tiny).

Second, putting a tree in our one childproofed room would be perilous to say the least. Rory would try to eat the needles, grab at the ornaments, and, quite possibly, attempt a little swim in the water in the tree stand. Third, the lights would pose quite the attractive nuisance, drawing his attention to not only the lights themselves, but also creating a lighted path to the electrical outlet (which he has, luckily, largely ignored to date). Fourth and finally, I feared that the tree would become Rory’s latest gym. Given his love of pulling up and cruising, I had visions of Rory pulling up on the tree and pulling the whole festive shrub onto the floor.

I denied these issues for a period of time and even purchased plastic, shatterproof ornaments, thinking that we would simply keep a closer eye on him than usual. But the more we thought about each of the above, along with the fact that we literally would not be able to leave him unattended on the first floor of our house, I changed my mind.

As a result, this evening, we will be digging out the artificial tree we used in our first apartment—a “skinny” tree that we purchased to squeeze into the corner of our too-crowded combination living/dining room—and putting it up in the corner of our dining room. There, it will be safely off-limits behind the baby gate that divides our living and dining rooms. It may be scrawny, and it certainly won’t smell as nice, but these are the things parents of toddlers do to be able to enjoy a safe and happy holiday season.

Traffic Jam

Monday, May 6th, 2013

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
As I type this, I am sitting in the car in terrible traffic (not driving, of course!). We are on our way from home after sleeping over at my parents’ house. I intended on getting home early, making a cup of tea, and spending a lovely afternoon writing. We should have reached there a long time ago. And judging by the way we are sitting at a standstill, we will not be getting there any time soon.

Whenever I am in a situation like this, I am usually quite patient and calm. I immediately think of all I have to be thankful for and remind myself not to sweat the small stuff. With Haley in the car, that peaceful mentality goes out the window. I feel so badly because she was such a trooper for over an hour, which should have been a sufficient amount of time to reach our destination. In New York City, however, you can’t count on anything in terms of transportation. As far as I know, some sort of bike race is causing all of this.

As Haley has become increasingly antsy, she has complained about being itchy, her diaper, sitting in the car seat, and not being allowed to eat the plastic baggie holding her snack. It’s passed her naptime now, and it shows. She’s rubbing her eyes and yawning. The slow pace of traffic means she won’t be able to fall asleep in the car.

These sorts of moments are terribly frustrating. Still, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. Try telling that to Haley. She’s annoyed about the situation she’s in and she’s not afraid to show it. And I kind of admire that. Toddlers tell it how it is, and this stinks.

Hopefully by the time you are reading this we’ve made it home safely and have recovered from the rough ride. I hope you have a great week with wide-open roads ahead.

Climb Every Mountain

Monday, August 20th, 2012

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Haley has a new hobby—climbing! She climbs on everything—the coffee table, beds, couches, toys, bins—none of which are meant for climbing, and all of which involve varying levels of danger. I don’t know if I missed this in the mommy handbook, but I have no idea how to deal!

This latest development has done a number on my stress levels. Once upon a time (two days ago), I could take my eyes off of Haley for a moment if she was playing with some toys in a relatively safe area of the house. Now all bets are off. Every piece of furniture, every object, every fixture is a summit she must reach. You have to respect her adventurous spirit.

This is another one of those times I need to remind myself to count my blessings. Haley is healthy, active, and curious. It’s a good thing. It’s just that I’m already so darn tired half the time. It takes a lot of mental energy and focus to care for a toddler—and the physical strain is no joke either! When people talk vaguely about how “hard” it is to be a stay-at-home-parent, this is precisely what they are talking about! These are the things that can be so grating and difficult—but you have to do what you have to do for your child.

Luckily, I know just who to blame. Haley’s FATHER is an avid climber who has been bouldering for years. I, on the other hand, would prefer to watch TV in bed or curl up with a nice book. I think these tendencies are simply in our nature. Her aggressive physicality is a genetic gift from her father. I’ll have to remember to thank him for that.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to hone my spotting skills and stick close to Haley. Hopefully it will not take too long for her to learn how to negotiate heights and realize that reaching the top of everything is not always a prudent idea. She already knows that I will be there to lend a helping hand, no matter what it takes.