toddlers

Oldest Son

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I shared a few months ago about one of two scary incidents since being a mother.

The second incident involved my oldest son once again. I was eight months pregnant with our daughter. My husband had left for the grocery store and my son was walking around the home with a cookie rack. He loved going through the cupboards and taking out pots and pans.
We were playing a game and he was walking away from me, still holding onto the cookie rack. He fell just right that the cookie rack cut him on his forehead. He was bleeding a lot. I tried to find a rag to put pressure on his cut. The blood was dripping fast.

I called my husband, but he was still driving to the store and so I had to leave a message. Luckily we were literally right next to the hospital. It was a two-minute walk to the hospital. I quickly grabbed my wallet and ran to the ER.
This was at the beginning of Covid so people were more on edge. I got stopped by one of the hospital employees and was asked a few screening questions. I was annoyed with him as he didn’t seem to be concerned that I was holding a toddler with a bloody towel. We were finally able to go in and were seen pretty quickly. He didn’t need stitches but needed some special glue and they put on a bandaid.

My husband arrived while we were still in the waiting room, but he was not allowed to come in. But it gave me comfort knowing that he was outside waiting for us.
We finally were able to go home. It was close to his bedtime, but we let him stay up a little bit longer as we just cuddled with him on our bed.

Christmas Mouse

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“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Except for our Christmas mouse.
Since Christmas is just around the corner I thought it would be fun to tell a story about the mouse that would not die.

We had our first child born end of October. A couple of weeks after he was born I was sitting in the living room at night. My husband was fast asleep in bed. I was trying to nurse our baby back to sleep. All of a sudden I saw the shadow of a mouse race across our living room. Of course, I freaked out and tried calling my husband from the other room. But he was fast asleep. I quickly ran to the room, waking him up with the news. We couldn’t find the mouse but knew that he probably would be back.

Fast forward maybe a week after that, I was walking at night into the kitchen when I felt and saw the mouse against my feet. I was scared out of my mind to walk anywhere no matter the time of day.
Christmas morning came and we were all sitting on the couch. All of a sudden the mouse came from under our couch and raced across our floor and disappeared into the kitchen. We would set traps out with cheese and peanut butter, but this mouse was very sneaky and could get the treats without getting caught.

Finally one day we heard the trap go off and went to go see it. The mouse got caught, but just barely!
I will never forget our Christmas mouse. I also wonder if that is why our son loves Mickey Mouse so much.

Do You Remember How To Be A Kid?

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My opinion is that to be a parent, you must remember how to be a kid.
We have had problems with our kids and temper tantrums within the last few months. It usually ends with them in their room for a timeout and my husband and myself are frustrated beyond all means.
In the last few weeks, I have realized that part of their problem is probably just needing extra attention and love. Sometimes I want to do other things like cleaning the house, baking something, or just taking a moment for myself. But I believe that the most important thing that parents can try and do is play and hang out with their kids as much as they can.

For the last few weeks, I have been trying hard to remember how to be a kid again. I have loved to play pretend stories with them with their toys, coloring, and even play hide and go seek. It’s fun to see how excited they get when I find them even if I find them hiding in the same spot again. The other day we were on a hunt to find the dinosaur’s family. Today I went to the “doctor” and got a check-up and all I needed was a bandaid.

My son always asks if I can play with him. Even though I may be busy I will take a few minutes and play with him because I know that will make his day and will help build a closer bond with him.

I forgot for a moment what it was like to be a kid. Kids are learning and growing. They need nurturing along with having fun. I have learned that in order to give the best to my kids I need to focus my priorities more on them. And to not worry about those other things at home. Those things can wait for a little bit. I have also found that I am becoming more patient with them as well.

Sharing Feelings

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I heard the most heartbreaking comment from our three-year-old, a day after I cut his hair. I can’t remember how the conversation went, but he told me that no one would talk with him because he got a haircut. It is a challenge to cut his hair, but I felt like I did a good job using the razor and having patience with him as he would scream and move around on the chair.

I wasn’t heartbroken because he thought I did a horrible job cutting his hair; I was heartbroken because he felt like other people wouldn’t like him because of his haircut. It was a random comment from him and maybe he didn’t mean it the way he said it, but it was sad to hear that from him.

It reminded me that we all need to be kind to each other and build up each other’s self-esteem. Everyone has feelings and kids especially are trying to understand those emotions that they are feeling.

It has reminded me to compliment our children even more so that they know just how amazing and loved they are. I also have been trying better to ask our children how they are doing and if they are ok. Sometimes I don’t understand all of what they are saying in their toddler words, but I want them to feel comfortable talking and sharing what they are feeling. So I am always there to listen to them.

Hard Work Brings Happiness

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Sometimes it is hard to take the kids out to the library or the park by myself. I wish that my husband could come with me all the time, but having a job is kind of important so that doesn’t work. There is definitely a lot of work that comes with going on an outing. I have to make sure that everyone has gone potty, that we have our shoes on, jackets zipped up…etc. I have to make sure that my bag is packed with diapers, lots of snacks to persuade the kids to leave the park, and toys for the car ride. It does take a lot of work to go somewhere where we may only spend 30 minutes at a certain place.

Recently I took our kids to the library when my mom was in town. I thought that it would be a fun little outing. Boy, was I wrong! Our oldest did not want to share the train set with any other kids at the library. Then he was upset that we could not find a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD. So while I was checking out I had the older two kids crying and wanting to “help” me check out, but it was not helpful at all. The baby was getting upset so Grandma took him outside. I finally made it out the door and as much as I would like to say that things got better after that, they did not. Our oldest was throwing a temper tantrum in the car the entire trip home. It felt like a disaster!

I did not want to take our kids anywhere else after that. It was embarrassing and I get embarrassed very easily. But even though it is hard most days, I do have to remind myself that it is important to get them out so that they can learn how to socialize with other kids. Covid has made it hard for our kids to learn how to act in public and socialize with other kids. I have felt bad and feel like they have lost out on a lot because they have been in lockdown for what seems like most of their life. Plus moving to a new place in covid hasn’t helped because it has made it hard to get to know other individuals. So any chance I get to take them out, I will because I want them to learn and have fun. Recently our son has been saying after trips to the park or the splash pad, “Thank you, mommy, for taking us out.” It has made my day when he has said this because even though going out is hard, I know that they have enjoyed our outing. That brings me a lot of happiness.

Free Printable Invite Card – A Fun, Rainy Day Activity For Your Toddler

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Here’s a fun idea. Most toddlers have an entourage of stuffed critters hanging around. Have your cute kiddo plan a party just for them. Set a time, plan snacks, decorate the room with blankets, books, toys or actual decorations like ballons if you have them.

Finally, a party is not a party without a formal invite. Download and print this free happy hippos themes card and invite each stuffie individually. Then have your child pretend to be a postal worker and deliver them.

Hippos Invite CardDownload

Getting Ready for Birth!

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As the birth of our third child comes closer and closer, I have been doing lots of nesting. Trying to get things organized, hospital bag ready, and notes prepared for babysitters.

My body is feeling the aches and uncomfortableness of being in the third trimester. As we are pretty sure that this will be our last baby, I am trying to soak in the last few moments of being pregnant.

However, I will be glad when this part is over. Being pregnant with two young kids is a challenge. I feel like a cranky mom all the time, but I try to remind myself that our kids know that something is happening soon. They are being told the baby is coming soon, but they don’t fully understand it as much as we would like to think they do. So that is part of the reason they are acting up or being more clinging and whiny.

I need to work on having more patience with them. I do this by sitting down with them, cuddling them, or playing with them. Sometimes I want to do other things, but I know they need lots of attention and love, especially right now.

I am getting all the nerves from thinking of giving birth soon. I have never given birth in the same hospital and this birth is no exception. So I don’t know what to expect. Our experience with the doctors and health care system here has unfortunately not been the greatest. So I am worried about what to expect at the hospital. But I am trying not to worry about it and just go with the flow of things.

First pregnancy.
Second pregnancy.

I had a fetal assessment last week to see how big the baby was. As my other two babies have been a bit bigger for me. So far baby looks good and healthy and they will probably not have to induce me with this one. Maybe soon I will share the birth stories of my other two kids.

Third pregnancy. A Halloween kiss from a Pumpkin and Wreck it Ralph.

We are excited to meet our little bundle of joy soon and hope that delivery goes well.

-Jelly Jazz

Banana’s and Boys Growing Up

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Our son is at the age where he wants to help with lots of things. He is almost three. He has a morning routine where he wants his milk first and then breakfast. Just recently he has been wanting to help pour the milk in the bottle. He will say “I help, I help!” I have been letting him hold his bottle and then put the lid on. It is the cutest thing and I love that he wants to help me.

The other day he saw me starting to make banana bread. Of course, he wanted to help. This felt way out of my comfort zone. I thought of him sneezing into the batter, or licking the batter. I thought of him tipping the bowl and making a mess. But I just saw how desperate he wanted to help mommy so I let him. He did so well! He listened and stopped when I told him to. He stood on the chair very well and didn’t make a mess. Although if he made a mess, I would have survived. I am glad I didn’t let my fears get in the way of my son’s learning and growing.

I look at other three-year-old’s and worry that he is not advanced as they are. But partly that is because all the three-year-old’s that we know have older siblings so they learn from them. Our son is learning from scratch. But just like our banana batter is made from scratch, it is cooked into something wonderful. I know that my son is developing just fine and is growing into something wonderful.

-Jelly Jazz