a parenting post??

        A few days ago me and my sister were having a chat about our children (what else is there to talk about anways??) and their crazy antics and different things they had been doing to drive us crazy. And we always find it so interesting how different children are and how we kinda ( I do anyways) expect them to behave like other children that we see..and how we get frustrated sometimes." Why can't you sit still for 5 minutes like so and so??? " We all do it..admit it!! We put a lot of expectations on our children to behave a certain way instead of encouraging them in the strengths that they do possess. Its only took me 2 years to finally grasp this concept ( I still have trouble sometimes) and realize Lucas is not like Colby or Kai or Riley...He is Lucas and he will do things how he sees them and mommy needs to back off and let his personality shine through! So yesterday I set out on a mission to find things for him to do that would encourage his strengths and give me a few minutes of peace to be able to cook supper or do laundry. This would be an easy task if my husband was home to distract him but he is away working again...so I needed to get some ideas going to help my mission of "peace"! I went to one of my favorite stores, Michaels, and started scanning each aisle for ideas and this is what I found..a lace and trace set, pipe cleaner and an animal marker set (on clearance, YES!). Lucas loves to use his hands and has great fine motor skills (always has) and he is annalytical (not like his dad at all!). He will sit still for longer than 5 mins if his hands are busy and his mind is thinking...hence why tv watching does not last very long!

     The lace and trace was off to a good start...he loves animals so this also encourage him! He didnt quite get the concept of putting it through on hole and than another and so on but kept to one hole and pulling the string all the way through and repeating that through another. That will come with time. I believe I got at least 10 mins out of this project which is good in my books!

Next project was using pipe cleaners to put them in the holes in a colander. Fun for him but unfortunately they bent too easy and the little metal ends would poke him, which eventually deterred him. Might have to think of another way to use them! Any ideas??

         The best was saved for last. The animal markers (washable of course). This encourages fine motor skills, matching, naming and coloring of course!! A win win situation! His favorite part was taking the lids off and putting them back on (the heads are the lids). As well he loved the different animals. What I loved to see was it didnt matter how many heads you took off he always managed to put the right heads back on the right body and name the animal. I even got him to say what colors some of the animals were! Some of the color made it on the paper but mostly he enjoyed coloring his hands and putting the lids on of course! He didnt want to put them down and played for at least 30 mins with these!! SUCCESS!! (if you run to Michaels right now you might be able to grab some for $3.99!!)

I know as he grows his tastes will change a little but I hope that I can keep encouraging him in his talents! I would love to hear what you have found works for your child or any other ideas that I can use!

Lions and Tigers and Zebras (?) oh my!

|We had the pleasure of celebrating Lucas' 2nd bday this past saturday! Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped out! Lucas loved the party and all the people who made him feel so special!!

 

He was a little scared of the candles...Good i guess..he knows they are hot!!

Wondering why I am bringing the burning fire closer to him!

Mr. Colby

The end result after hours of cake pop making! Well worth it! :)

Dark bathroom + glow bracelets= cheap entertainment for kids!

Good times with friends, family and cake pops of course! :)

Capturing a Monkey!

   A few days ago when it was beautifully sunny out we headed to a nearby park to let Lucas get some fresh air and of course Mommy (me) decided that I would try to get some 2 year old photos of the little man! Lesson learner...photographing a one year old was seemingly easier than a 2 year old that moves way faster and has more of a mind of his own..I'm surprised the pictures didn't just have blurs of blobs moving! I also decided that I need to take half year photos as well because his yearly pictures so far involve hats because of the cooler temps...and since I prefer using natural outdoor light..hats it is! At least this hat was cute!! 

Lucas turns 2!

     Its hard to believe that 2 short years ago Lucas entered our world! (I say short..but somedays it feels like an eternity!!) Life has never and will never be the same again! Good, the bad and the ugly! Lucas and I had a rough start to beginning our mommy/son relationship. I prefer to block out the memories of labour and the word "vacuum" out of my head! He scared daddy from the start...I think he thought his child was going to be headless! He came pre-tanned as well and decided that he preferred to sleep over eat..which does not bode well for a tiny little infant and his mother! Back to the hospital we went for a little light therapy and a night from hell (as my lovely husband likes to refer to it as! I however have experienced more of those...hush hush!).

We survived however and lived through the next few months of me teaching my child to nurse properly. (me being too stubborn to give up was an understatement!) Other than feeding problems and gas problems Lucas was a fairly content baby. From early on we could tell he was an observer and thinker. He never liked to cuddle facing in and always had to be looking around. He barely made any babbling noises for that matter but rather took it all in! He wanted to move early and started crawling (or bum scooting/propelling himself) around 7 months and took his first steps at 10 months. Thus he was into everything rather quickly! Once he could walk he started trying to climb and well...once he started to climb it was all downhill (literally) from there! Nothing was safe.

Lucas at 15 mos using his pushcar to climb onto the kitchen chairs.
 Rookie mistake? Having a stepstool with wheels!

         I now have shelves in my living room attached to the wall at an optimum height that contain everything from camera equipment, permanent markers, glue, batteries..etc! I do realize that one day he will grow and be able to reach these shelves but for the sake of my sanity I am hoping that we move before than! For the past year my kitchen table has not looked normal as I had to either a.) get rid of chairs or b.) box them in the corners so he couldnt move them. I chose 'b' as it was the easiest option. Sadly this only lasted so long as some phenomana happens where children gain more strength as they get older. So long mommy's mental sanity!! Surely one day soon I will catch him on top of my refrigerator!

          With age comes experience and confidence. I now hardly bat an eye when I find my child at the top of the cat tree, change table, kitchen table, couch, desk, ladder, tree (ok that one hasn't happen yet..not that he hasnt tried.) I really have to thank his older cousin Colby, though, for teaching Lucas the things that he hasn't quite figured out. Like how the couch is a great landing target off the coffee table, or the stairs a great slide, or pulling cushions off couches and jumping on them like trampolines,  or how his lungs are capable of making even louder noises than he thought possible! We really do love you Colby, your little cousin idolizes you!

     The funnest thing about watching Lucas grow is watching his personality shine through more and more. He is such a monkey. He loves to make people laugh and makes every possible face to get you to! His little cheesy smile is infectious, crooked teeth and all! It is amazing to watch him use his hands. He has always had great motor skills and is becoming more evident as he grows! He watches you like a hawk and can pick up on things rather quickly...which means we really need to mind our "p"s and "q"s!! We love you buddy and look forward to the rollercoaster of a ride you have planned for mommy and daddy!

CHEESE!!!