My sweet little bird baby Mila.
Thank goodness she loves her sister so much, otherwise I would feel completely guilty that she is always sharing her mommy and me time. But luckily we have created a really wonderful routine in our girl gang, tribe, girl army…whatever other cute names you could give us! I feel so lucky I have gotten the chance to develop a bond with my girls together and watch them love eachother so much. But I totally get the importance of mommy and madison time or mommy and mila time. Time for me to bond with them one on one and get to witness their personalities develop as they grow.
But when Madison goes for a sleepover, it’s my time to reconnect with my not-so little baby before she gets any bigger. I try and incorporate as many developmental activities in our day, while still finding time to cuddle and enjoy her as she is! I forgot how much fun this age is, when they can talk but not talk back. It seems so long ago since Madison was this age that I almost can’t remember what it was that I did with her everyday! And when the girls are together, they always come up with their own ideas of play. So here I am with a little toddler trying to make the most of our time together, here are a few things we like to do to pass the time but always keeping busy and having fun.
Mornings and Mickey!
Mila doesn’t care much for a large breakfast so our mornings are rather quiet. So while I am fixing us a little breakfast, she’s usually starting her day with Mickey Mouse club house (it’s basically her coffee!) Mornings with Madison always tend to be a lot louder and way more chaotic so, it’s so nice to ease into the day with this little one!
Bring on Playtime!
I usually try to fit in some play time after breakfast, either I’m cleaning up the kitchen or I’m on the floor getting right into the toy action. Truthfully, playing with the kids can be a little monotonous. I find that all they do is boss me around and make me build this and fix that, but it’s a great way to bond with them and see their imagination first hand and THAT is priceless! Some of our favorite playtime toys:
Vtech Smart Friends and this one.
Or a puzzle, alphabet and counting games.
I just try and go with the flow when it comes to Mila, when she is really into an activity she can do it happily for a while and when she’s ready to move onto something else she has no problems letting me know.
Let’s get outside!
We’ll either go for a walk or the park – depending on how mom and Mila are feeling. Sometimes even just hanging out in the yard with their slide and playhouse, enough activity to tire her out and get me some sun. After being outside, I usually try and get her down for a nap or at least some quiet time. Her quiet time really is my (only) time to get any work done.
Fitting in time for me!
This is my time to get photo’s done for the blog or product shots, blogging or planning out the next scheduled posts. I’m still learning how to navigate a young family that needs so much of my time, focus and energy while trying to remain consistant with blogging and maintaining the standard I want for my brand. And let me tell you I don’t have a real system in place just yet – right now I’m just figuring out what works best for us. I’m a full time mom first and foremost right now so everything else has to be scheduled around that. Once I find a balance I am content with, I’ll let you guys know but right now I’m still working it out. Maybe you guys have some tips for me? Lots of love to all the working moms (inside and outside of the home) out there!
Pretend Play!
Sometimes, even if I plan on getting work down it just doesn’t happen. It could be that she is unsettled from a bad nights sleep, or because she’s teething etc. Whatever the case, I always fit in activities that allow us to get creative : Playdough, baking, painting, sensory play, dancing, coloring. I love watching the girls create, even though it always ends with a big mess for me to clean but it’s worth it when you get to see them learning and responding to your questions. There isn’t much to playing with kids what they love is the attention – responding to their cues, asking questions about what their making, what this or that is, how many, what color or just letting them know how great they’re doing is what I try to do.
In a perfect world it would always be this easy and some of the time it isn’t! I try to maintain a similar routine everyday with both girls full of activities to please a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old, but some days there is no way to please everyone. This is generally what our days look like while I also fit in groceries and making lunches and dinner, then laundry and dishes, bathtime….life takes over. But at the end of the day it’s all about nurturing their young minds and your relationship with them.
For instance, if one or both girls are too moody for pretend playtime, we stay outside longer, or have a story time instead – something that let’s them lay and relax while we still get to bond. Here is my post on our favorite story time books.
Gizmo’s and Gadgets!
In a world with so much technology starting at such a young age, I embrace it and try to control it instead of banning it. I filled our ipads with spelling games, nursery rhymes, counting and alphabet games. On days where Madison wants to watch programs (for example youtube kids) I sit with her and watch it too. I ask her questions and we talk about what she’s watching. No, this is not fun (for those wondering lol) but I get peace of mind in knowing what she is watching – there are some real strange programs out there. But most of the time they love watching Little Baby Bum, Hoopla kids, Dave and Ava – they absolutely love music and nursery rhymes so these keep them busy and happy when our usual activities just don’t work. I try and be flexible and adjust to a new day…and hve lots of crafts on the ready! (that is a life saver!)
Let me know if you’re interested in knowing the games we play on our ipad and I’ll be happy to do a post about the best ones! It’s taken a lot of reading up on them but I have found some great ones!
Thanks for reading and following along on our journey – it means more to me then you will ever know!
Happy play time!
With Love,
Michelle and the minis xo