Michael plays with a Santa Claus ornament.
Editor’s note: To read part I of Sarah’s story about Christmas with a two-year-old, click here.
Now that Michael is two, he is capable of doing so much more with me around the house. I’m looking forward to sharing his excitement for the Christmas holiday. Here are a few activities that I plan on doing with Michael to make the season jolly.
Making Sugar Cookies. I’ll make the dough and Michael can use the cookie cutters (with my assistance) to cut the cookies. We can decorate the cookies with easy-to-use decorations such as sprinkles, frosting, and candies.
Make Christmas Tree …
If I can avoid the toy stores, I will.
It has already begun. I am at that point in my life where I have to spell certain words so as to avoid disclosing information to Michael. This Christmas season will provide no exceptions. I have already replaced the word “toys” with “t-o-y-s”.
Michael loves birthdays, even if it’s not his; he loves receiving gifts, and attending parties. Christmas will be a blast this year. Surely, he doesn’t remember last Christmas when he was only 16 months old. In the weeks leading up to this Christmas, I want to create excitement for him by reading A Night Before Christmas, …
Michael playing in the leaves.
My parents live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The area has developed a lot in the recent years with shopping centers and more residential neighborhoods, but woods and farms still occupy it. My parents own about two acres of land that’s heavily shaded with mature trees in the summer months.
The down side to the beautiful full-grown trees is that when Fall rolls around, the leaves fall and we had to rake them all into the woods…. a few times each season!
As a child and teenager, my weekends were spent in the leaves during this time of year. I loved to jump in the …
Young children often suck on their thumbs. It’s perfectly normal, even though some parents fret about it.
“This is usually very reassuring news to parents: Thumb- and finger-sucking habits are common and typically harmless behaviors of infancy and childhood,” says Douglas S. Ramsay, M.D., professor of orthodontics and pediatric dentistry at the University of Washington School of Dentistry.
Roughly one out of every three children ages 1 to 4 will suck his or her thumb at least sometimes. About one in five children will still be doing so at age 5 or older. The habit is typically harmless if the child does it occasionally, such …
Michael’s a little over two years old and doesn’t have any interest in “going” on the potty. He’s the first born, a boy, and his daddy’s not home to show him. What can I expect?
Family members and friends have asked if I’ve started potty training Michael. When I tell them that I haven’t, more often than not I am given advice on how to do it. Here are a few tips people have given me:
When he tells me he has gone to the bathroom in his diaper, then it’s time to start potty training. Michael is already doing this, but when I ask him if he wants to sit on the …
I feel like I’m approaching my due date all over again. In a way though, I am approaching a significant date that demands preparation.
We took this when we thought Charlie wouldn't be home for Christmas.
For all you military moms and spouses, you know what I’m going through. My husband is returning in a few short weeks from a six-month-long deployment. The best part about it is that he’s coming home a month early. He hasn’t met Maeve, he left when Michael was hardly talking, and I was bigger than huge when he last saw me. So much has changed!
Now that his homecoming date is just around …
