My toddler has a life and is old enough to have “must-haves”
My biggest regret about my subpar blogging over the past year has been that I haven’t captured all the little ditties going on with KK that fully illustrate and document how quickly she changes and continues to grow. So, in rapid-fire style, I thought I’d try to combat that by creating a little segment for her current faves and loves.
Books
KK is in the age where she likes books fine and well, but she lobs on to one particular book for a chunk of time before moving on to another. That’s rough as the majority reader, but you do what you have to, and try to make it more interesting. I make her “read” it to me or I change up the story or the way I tell it. We also use books to play games and act things out, which she absolutely loves. Her favorite books definitely have a song, rhyme, or interactive (flaps) component.
A few of her favorite books right now:
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mickey’s Halloween
- Doc McStuffins: A Dragon’s Best Friend
- I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa Mccourt
- President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath by by Mac Barnett
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Shoes and Accessories
She’s totally latched onto our big kid routines and how we get ready in the morning. And although she still hates having her hair brushed, she likes to accessorize and get herself ready to go places to some degree. She is obsessed with her shoes and accessories like hats and sunglasses to signify that it’s time to go somewhere, and that she’s big enough to do it herself. Her favorite shoes of the moment are some Keen sandles I picked up on Zulily, and a pair of brown boots Neil picked up off thredUP.
Finger Foods
So we haven’t escaped the picky eater phase, and we also have a super active toddler who doesn’t like to sit still. As much as I want to guide her towards good eating habits and the love of diversity in her food (and make her do what I want period), I also like some moments that she’s not hating me and throwing temper tantrums. So we’ve adopted kind of a la carte approach to feeding KK. She is not a huge eater at any one meal anyway, so we just keep a variety of foods in our fridge and feed them to her in bowls and compartment containers to make it more fun. Think of it like a ploughman’s lunch, a little of this and a little of that. She typically eats it all, and doesn’t get mired in 2-3 items she isn’t excited about. We don’t waste food either.
We always offer her what we’re eating, and sometimes she loves it and sometimes she doesn’t. For now, that’s what’s working for us.
Movies
I know, screen time bad. BUT KK loves movies, like legit loves movies. She loves memorizing lines and actions and she’s starting to act them out or recreate them. It definitely influences the way she says and does things as well. Her current favorites are Moana and Secret Life of Pets. She also loves some TV staples like Sesame Street, classic Donald Duck cartoons, and Goldie & Bear. We also just discovered Super Why over the weekend and that seems to be a hit as well.
Singing and Pretend Play
We are finally in the age of pretend play! KK’s pretend play usually involves her baby dolls and the ritual of bedtime/going to sleep, but sometimes I get the sense that she’s on some kind of adventure to hunt something down or fix something up. All scenarios are accompanied by song, with the intensity dictating the seriousness or feelings she has toward what she’s doing.
Oh and let’s talk about this slide. Yes, we have a slide in our living room. She loves to slide, I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner. I’m kicking myself that we didn’t get this like a year and a half ago. It’s not only a slide, it’s an excellent fort framework. Again, kicking ourselves. It may look like an annoyance, but it folds up too.
Crafts
I can not wait until she’s old enough for crafts and board games. But while we wait, she’s got some things that I think are building to that. High on the list are the coloring books with easy activities and Color Wonder markers with reveal art (the characters reveal when you roll over them with the markers. She also likes the oversized beading and threading kits.
I think she’s also on the cusp of easy baking kitchen activities (without total meltdowns) and maybe some stamps and safety scissors. Stay tuned there.
So a lot in what feels like the past 6 months. We were talking about vacations late in the year and it’s crazy to think she’ll already be 3 years old. It’s that feeling of excitement and sadness all at once.
As I always maintain, we are not experts at parenting. If you know of something our littler busy-body doer would love or love to do, tell us in the comments!
