|
The words are simple. Please. Thank you. You are welcome. Excuse me. These are words we hardly ever hear at all when we are out in public. So much so that the words stand out when someone actually says them to us.
We work hard to teach our boys to have manners. We encourage them to say please. We encourage them to say thank you. We encourage them to say excuse me. It does not take much effort and it shows courtesy and respect. Or perhaps it does take a lot because no one says it when I hold the door open or when I ask for something and say please. People will bump into us in an aisle as they try to forcibly pass by but will not say excuse me beforehand or apologize for bumping into us. I do not understand why manners have fallen to the wayside but they have. It makes it harder for us to teach our boys to be polite when the gesture is not reciprocated at all. We encourage it because it is the right thing to do. We want our boys to be polite. We wish more parents would share the same belief as they would be polite and encourage their children to be the same. This would snowball and be a positive impact on a society that has lost its way. With technology there is less and less human interaction but the little we have should be respectful.
0 Comments
There are many purchases that we have made that were on Must Have Lists or came highly recommended or we otherwise thought were needs and often they were total duds for at least one, if not both of our boys. However, the transition to cups is a tricky process and not just because the kids do not wan t to give up the bottle, but the actual cup choice – functionality, leak-proof – is the hardest part. When choosing the cup, we need to consider the water or milk flow process, our sons have struggled with cups that the suction/leak-proofing is too hard to get anything out, even with an adult’s strength but then, if the flow is too easy, the milk flows out of the cup with a river stream down his chin, shirt and into his lap.
The Dr. Brown's Soft-Spout Transition Cup is the BEST cup. Our sons are able to drink water and milk . They do not spill down their entire body and if the cup is laid down on the ground, it does not spill out either. I know this sounds like a simple review and simple description but EVERY other cup we have tried either pours and spills or is impossible to get anything out of. That is why, it is certainly on our MUST HAVE list. When we were younger, it was all about the bicycle, these days, it seems to be the Scooter and/or the Ride-On Electric Car (which we can talk about another day, because we have these too- ugh).
We chose our home for many reasons but one of the top on the list is the family-friendly neighborhood. On any given day, we will find kids playing on the streets and now our 3-year-old is itching to run out to join in the group. Though he is one of, if not the one, youngest in the kids crew, our son is able to ride with the best of them. Of course, our son needed a Scooter to play too. He was gifted with both a Micro Kickboard Mini 2Go as well as a Radio Flyer My 1st Scooter. He was quick to hop on both scooters. It took some time for him to understand the tilt to turn concept with the Micro Kickboard but it seems to have come naturally. He LOVES his ‘blue scoots’ and rides it both in the house and on the street. He races with the big kids and was adamant that we get a scooter for his little brother. He gifted his brother the Micro Kickboard Mini 3in1 for his 1st Birthday and lo and behold, they both want to ride it! Unfortunately, the Radio Flyer has received less love. He finds it is very hard to ride and navigate. We took it out to the streets and heard similar talk from some of the older kids and then even added it to the mass of scooters on the side of the road and it seemed to sit while everyone left dust behind during the “scooting.” (Disclaimer: yes, we know our sons are spoiled, but we feel it is acceptable to be spoiled as long as you are not a spoiled brat. Our kids are the ideal example of manners, gratitude and being well-behaved. The minute we see a hint of anything less, the treats cease!) Our son is excited to see the Chomping Monsters are back!
We downloaded the Kidlland Math app and the very next morning, our 3-year-old son was quick to find it and start exploring and playing. Not only does our son love the games but he’s working on his sorting and developmental skills at the same time. Who wouldn’t wan to feed numbers to a monster… We are fans of the Kidloland app and the Math app is a great compliment. The only thing we wish, if there was a way to hide some of the games- like a parental control. For example, we do not celebrate Christmas but the Kidloland app has Christmas related songs and stories and as parents, we would like to ‘hide’ those and with the Math app, as our son advances, we would like to ‘hide’ the math games that he aces through. If you want to check out the app and see why we love it so much, click Apple for the iOS version or Google for the Android version. Next step - enjoy! Take time for yourself. That is what everyone tells us. We need time away from our children. We need time to relax. We need time to get away for a date night.
I am am a huge fan and believer that couples should always maintain their identity and be with each other when time permits. That is why you got together in the first place. Ask any parent and they will attest that this is far easier said than done. When we had one son who slept through the night date night was a regular occurrence. Now with our second child time and energy are rare commodities and having them at the same time is like finding a unicorn. You have heard it exists but have never seen it. We had our children because we wanted to. We want to spend time with them and love doing it. But as much as anyone can tell you that you will be tired and running around like a chicken with no head, you will not understand it until you are living it. We have made the choice to spend our time playing with our boys and watching them grow. We love every minute of it. We just forget it some times because of the pure exhaustion... |
|
