For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, April is a happy month of beginnings: the start of springtime and the restarting of the zodiac cycle, which begins with Aries. For those with an April birthday, longer days and the renewal of seasons have imbued April babies with bubbly personalities and positive outlooks. Here are some other fun facts (like what’s April’s birthstone) and traits of people born in April, the fourth of the year.
They’re born in the middle of the pack
April babies are usually neither the youngest nor the oldest students in their class, neatly fitting in the middle of the school calendar. A study from the University of Exeter found that first-time moms were more likely to attempt to plan their delivery dates for the spring.
Aries are natural-born leaders
If you know someone born under the sign of Aries, (March 21 – April 19) you’ll know that thanks to their ambitious and tenacious natures, people born in April tend to be leaders. They can be innately stubborn and bossy—a potent combination (when used right) that can lead to people born in April to achieving their goals.
April’s birthstone is one the rarest of all—the diamond
When worn, the diamond is thought to increase the wearer’s inner strength. One of the hardest materials on the planet, April’s birthstone is also the symbol of eternal love and is one of the most popular gems to give as a gift. In the middle ages, the diamond was thought to have healing powers.
Your BFF is probably born in April
Passionate and caring, those born in under the sign of Taurus (April 20 – May 20) are steadfast, making loyal and generous friends. But be forewarned: April babies can be chatterboxes who love attention and can sometimes want to hog the spotlight.
People born in April can be emotional
Aries babies are known to be passionate, fiery, and impatient, which means they tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves. The good news is, this makes them wonderful friends because they bring all that passion to every relationship in life.
April babies are fearless risk-takers
Aries is the most fearless sign of them all. This means there’s a good chance your baby born in April will be enthusiastic about everything they do and be unafraid of taking risks. That’s great news if you’re a parent who doesn’t like to stay still because April babies are feisty and possess seemingly boundless energy.
People born in April are hard workers and love routine
Those who are born under the sign of Taurus tend to be hard workers—they’re not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get the job done, already. They’re also a huge fan of consistency, so don’t be surprised if your April baby thrives on a routine (aka, don’t EVER skip the nap).
They share their birthday month with these celebrities born in April
Plenty of famous people have April birthdays, including Michael Fassbender, Pedro Pascal, Robert Downey Jr., Natasha Lyonne, Pharrell Williams, Elle Fanning, Samira Wiley, Chance the Rapper, Jennifer Garner, and Tim Curry. Notable (fictional) characters born in April include animated smart-aleck Bart Simpson (born April 1, 1979) and heavyweight boxer Rocky Balboa (born April 6, 1946).
The brightly hued ceramic skulls are a perfect addition to any Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) décor. Rather than cause frights, the sugar skulls are intended to express the happy memories of loved ones that have passed on. This year’s eye-catching collection does just that.
The skulls are available in purple, orange, white, black, blue, and yellow colors. In years past, there have been both mini ($4.99) and grande ($9.99) sizes to shop, but so far in 2022, we’ve only seen the small versions at local stores.
While we wouldn’t call ourselves botanists, we have spied a variety of succulent plants to choose from. Echeverias, Haworthia, aloe, Tiger plants, and several other options will bring a little life (after death) into your space.
Karly Wood
The best part about succulents? Even the blackest of thumbs can keep them alive with just a little water and sunlight. They will likely survive long past Día de los Muertos, which means you can either transplant them into a year-round container or your backyard, or just keep them in the candy-colored sugar skull all year long.
The next time you’re headed out to Trader Joe’s to stock up on fall products to welcome the season or just to pick up the perfect gift, grab a few skulls before they’re gone!
As most of us learned last year, you can’t stop Halloween in NYC—even if it means elaborate candy-delivery systems to keep things safe! (If you do decide to venture out this year, take precautions—like wearing a mask—to stay healthy.) Looking for some Halloween costume inspiration? We of course love a good New York City-themed costume, and have rounded up our favorite ideas for 2021. From family costumes to baby costumes and lots of easy costumes, this is how to show your NYC pride!
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Katy Walter
Channeling your inner RBG is never a bad idea. The Supreme Court Justice hailed from Flatbush, Brooklyn, and it's easy enough to pull together a costume on your own, but you can also get the basics here. Of course, another option is to go the Notorious RBG route and add a slightly askew gold crown. And for the first-timer? Can't go wrong with this.
P.S. Let's not forget that Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor is also an NYC native, who was born and raised in the South Bronx—so you have your choice of impressive jurists!
King Kong Tableau
photo: Ashley Bailey
Have a few trick or treaters you need to outfit? A trio of the Empire State Building, King Kong and damsel in distress (or not) is a formidable ensemble. This particular iteration is the work of Ashley Bailey, the inspired Atlanta area photographer and mom behind the site "Stellaween." The month-long celebration of October's biggest day started with Bailey dressing and documenting daughter Stella in a new homemade costume each day, with a pair of twins joining in a few years ago. (You can see Bailey's shots of other people's kids at her site, September Morn Photography.)
Little Island
Vy H. Via Yelp
A little high concept and definitely not for the crafting-challenged? Sure, but we think a whole bunch of plastic funnels with some little trees and people on them would be instantly recognizable.
Ghostbuster
Wikimedia Creative Commons
Genius sibling idea! Get a brown jumpsuit, a backpack, some hose and a DIY Ghostbusters patch and you're good to go. For a family costume, incorporate Slimer, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man, Zuul, etc.
Even though it involves some potentially messy bronze face makeup and maybe spraypainting some clothes, we think it could be worth the trouble. We bet you know a fearless girl or two who could rock this costume hard. Bonus points if you do a family theme with other members taking on the roles of the Charging Bull, a tourist, stock trader, etc.
New York's Finest
photo: Ashley Bailey
We don't mean any disrespect. Of course cops don't just sit around eating donuts. But how cute is this costume? NYPD for the win!
Hipster
photo: Ashley Bailey
Another costume idea that's open to a lot of interpretation, the Hispter is a little more subtle. This is Bailey's take on it, and we think the mustache solution she came up with is genius.
An MTA train car is a quintessential NYC choice for Halloween, and it's a project, but an easy one. Nice touches include personalizing with your neighborhood's main line, or with your child's initial. (Yes, there can be an "H" or "T" train.) Pizza Rat really takes this version over the top.
Statue of Liberty
East Midtown Partnership
Another costume that's simple, easy, instantly recognizable, and can be worn with absolutely anything underneath. An aqua-colored sheet, foam crown and torch and you're done.
Sesame Street
Ashley Bailey
Why pick one character from the Street when you can be all of them and the Street itself?
Another, more subversive take on the Sesame Street crowd, the Times Square Elmo is easy to achieve. You just need an Elmo costume that looks a little...wrong. Thrift stores are filled with Elmo costumes that have seen better days. Give your child a five-dollar bill and a bad attitude and you're all set.
OK, obviously this is not a costume applicable to NYC alone, but we're going to claim it because A.) New Yorkers have to be some of the most phone-dependent beings and B.) this costume is so cute, easy, and a dream to get around.
We're betting at least one kid in the Bronx or Queens steps out in this. (If you see them, please send photos.) A hard sell? Maybe. But maybe not—AOC is pretty inspiring. A nice companion to Fearless Girl, this is super easy to pull together (especially if your kid has long dark hair). Still, some bright red lipstick, a House of Representatives Seal or Green New Deal material, and you're good to go.
Naked Cowboy
Wikimedia Creative Commons
Easy. Hilarious. Cute. What more could you ask for? Obviously an indoor costume only, this one is perfect for your diaper-wearing tot. Just scrawl "Naked Cowboy" on his (or her) butt, throw on some kiddie cowboy boots, a hat and ukulele and call it a night.
I listen to way too many podcasts—the ones that make you feel more aware, upset, unsure and fascinated. I meditate sometimes and I drink enough water. I’m definitely putting in the work to try to remember who I am, in addition to being a mom, a wife and a business owner.
My “to-do” list, like most caregivers, is long. It lives in my phone and on my mind and if I forget it, it pings me back into submission. It keeps me busy—doing and going, going and doing my way to a satisfactory life. And it makes me feel 82% numb and substantially less alive.
The routine dulls my senses and for a not-new human like myself, it bores me to death sometimes. Sincere gratitude aside, being a mom of young kids is majority monotonous and minority former-self fun. Today, as I was driving home from a meeting, I realized that I had a full tank of gas, my suitcase and not one but two credit cards. I thought, “I could just get away for the weekend, run off and be alone for a full 48 hours. The kids would be fine, my husband would understand.” In fact, he was the one that told me, “I can’t make you happy.”
I wanted to drive far away today and to leave my problems behind. The idea perculated fuzzy in my head, as my fomer-fun self suddenly perked up, like a breath of fresh air had entered my lungs and was pumping life back into me. But as regularly programmed, I instead reverted back to my “to-do” list and pushed the novel-yet-non-sensical idea aside.
Annoyed, I drove back into the mind-blowing experience of modern motherhood. I was driving myself numb and not doing anything about it. Why? Because motherhood is unconditional and transformative. It’s damn beautiful and in that beauty is also a breakdown, an experience of the soul. And because as mothers, we’re trained not to rock the boat. Heck, we are the boat keeping everything afloat.
Deep inside my sticky sense of resentment, hand-dipped in disappointment, I heard my husband say it again inside my head: “I can’t make you happy. You have to do that yourself.” He was right. This, “But what happened to my life?” baggage wasn’t his or theirs to carry. It was mine, all mine. There was no one left to blame. So now what?
I noticed a motorcyclist driving in front of me and he was masterfully pulling up his front wheel and rocking a wheely. I was at once, in awe and in admiration and also moderately concerned for his health and well-being. We exchanged a thumbs up as I drove by, congratulating him on his fearless feat and in that flash of a moment, I saw a twinkle in his eyes. They were sparkling like sunlight on the water. They were eyes of someone who was happy in that moment. It was that undeniable look you have when you’re doing something that makes you feel alive. When you’re not asking for anyone’s permission to live out loud and disappointing the world by not caring what anyone else thinks. Carl Jung calls it, individualizing, a way of being open-hearted to life.
That’s what I’m looking for. That look, that feeling.
I then have another idea and refuse to let my “to-do” list dictate my decision. I ask Siri, “How far is Coney Island from here?” She answered, “12 miles.” I veered my car off and decide to take matters into my own hands. To dedcidedly be happy by doing something that actually makes me happy. It was pretty simple: I was going to hit the coasters, because I love riding roller coasters. I took myself on the date night I’ve been so desperately missing and I ended up riding the Thunderbolt front row next to a mom and her daughter. We held hands and screamed our heads off. When I picked up my souvenior picture to remember this version of me that I’ve longed for, I noticed something in my eyes looking back at me. It was that same shine. There’s the me underneath the “to-do” lists and it’s just waiting to come out if only we can allow ourselves to unappolgetically do whatever makes us happy, no outside assistance required.
I’m a beauty hunter, a dreamer, a learner and a doer. I'm also a mama to 2 wild ones (Lily Love + Bear). As a self proclaimed forest fairy + forest school founder, I believe in nature and magic and know that growth happens when you step outside of your comfort zone.
Get ready for a year filled with Disney princesses! Disney recently announced the “Ultimate Princess Celebration”—and this year-long event includes everything from awesome activities to magical merch.
The princess-packed celebration is more than just an ode to Disney’s fab, fearless ladies. Disney’s imaginative event and the accompanying activities spotlight the theme of courage and kindness.
The celebration will start with the debut of Disney Publishing Worldwide’s new Tales of Courage and Kindness storybook. The 14 original stories featured in the book are told by the Disney Princesses and include artfully crafted illustrations. Fans can download the book for free through the end of August here.
Your littles can also check out dramatic readings of the stories by Mandy Moore (voice of Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled), Auli’i Cravalho (voice of Moana from Disney’s Moana), Tamron Hall,Kelly Marie Tran (voice of Raya from Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon) and Anika Noni Rose (voice of Tiana from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog).
Celeb singer Brandy, who starred in The Wonderful World of Disney,Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, will also debut a new song as part of the celebration’s launch. The song, “Starting Now,” is available May 21. If your princess fan just can’t wait, they can stream a curated playlist of fave Disney princess songs from Walt Disney Records here.
As if that’s not enough, in August the Disney Channel will premiere the video of Brandy’s song during a half-hour show— Disney Princess Remixed – An Ultimate Princess Celebration. If you miss the show’s debut, you can catch it streaming on Disney+.
Find princess-themed merch for this super-celebration at ShopDisney, score a sweet pair of sneakers from the Adidas Little Mermaid Collection ($96) from adidas.com, or get a Disney Princess Moana Lokai from Lokai.com ($1 of each purchase will go to Make-A-Wish).
Recent events have made it clear that we have more work to do to end racism. We know that racism is rooted in fear of the unknown and education and understanding are what we need to build up in order to knock down the walls of intolerance. As parents, we can do our part by teaching our children inclusiveness, to celebrate our diverse cultures and to embrace how we are different as well as recognize the things we have in common.
UNICEF has put out a call to talk to your kids about racism. One of their key recommendations is to celebrate diversity: “Try to find ways to introduce your child to diverse cultures and people from different races and ethnicities. Such positive interactions with other racial and social groups early on helps decrease prejudice and encourages more cross-group friendships. You can also bring the outside world into your home. Explore food from other cultures, read their stories, and watch their films.”
Wondering how you can help teach your kids about tolerance? These innovative companies have made it easy by putting together subscription boxes that will allow your children to explore the world through educational materials and fun activities delivered right to your doorstep.
1. eat2explore: “I grew up cooking with my family in Malaysia,” said Rowena Scherer Founder & President, Chef, eat2explore. “Hands-on cooking and culture exploration is more important than ever in today’s world, and I’m hoping through cooking, kids can foster a love for food and cultures around the world.”
Eat2explore delivers the food of different countries (17 countries/regions like Italy, Mexico, Greece, etc.) straight to your kitchen table, exposing your aspiring chef (and you!) to different foods from around the world like arroz con pollo or beef shawarma. Kids will gain an understanding and an appreciation of different cuisines and cultures—all while providing the tools for families to cook and eat together. Once kids are finished exploring a country, they’ll love that they can track their “travels” with a sticker on their eat2explore passport and collect country flag pins. The boxes can be purchased one box at a time, or through a monthly subscription. The best part? The boxes do not include perishable products, so you can cook the meal when you have time.
2. GIRLS CAN! CRATE. “We created GIRLS CAN! CRATE to show girls how amazing they are, and we think introducing them to role models is an important part of that mission,” said Alison Shores, Operations Ace, Inspiration Curator, Co-Founder, GIRLS CAN! CRATE. “In choosing the people we feature, diversity is key, because we want all of the girls to be able to see themselves in the women we highlight. Our goal is to inspire girls to BE and DO anything by introducing them to fearless women who came before them and made the world better. It’s important for them to know…now it’s their turn.”
Inspire and empower girls (ages 5-10), with this monthly subscription box that introduces them to fearless women of history who made the world better. Each month, a new kit celebrates the life of a strong, diverse female role model such as Bessie Coleman, Marie Curie, Madame CJ Walker, Althea Gibson, Clara Barton, Mother Theresa, Ida B. Wells, Susan La Flesche Picotte and more. Crates include the GIRLS CAN! 20-page activity book with an original story celebrating a featured woman and other fun activities, 2-3 hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities with necessary supplies, a play prop, a collectible button, and more.
With every box purchased, GIRLS CAN! CRATE donates crates to families in need and nonprofit organizations working to empower girls. GIRLS CAN! CRATE is proud to be an all-women owned company—talk about girl power!
3. Little Global Citizens.“I have traveled the world with my husband, and now that we have two young boys it is important for us to instill a love for travel, adventure, and most importantly, a respect for all people,” said Akeelah Kuraishi CEO and Co-Founder, Little Global Citizens.
This kit helps children foster a genuine respect for others, and help them feel connected to people whose lifestyle, culture, language, food or family structure may be different from their own. Little Global Citizens is a subscription service (send one time, every two months or every other month for a year) that sends an expertly designed, education-based box to kids (aged 4 to 10) to bring a new country and its culture to life. Each box is filled with items from that country including authentic guides, crafts, screen-free activities (games and puzzles), language skills, recipes, a storybook, and more. Countries are picked to highlight various cultural events relevant to that country. Past boxes included China, India, Kenya, and Jamaica.
Allyson is a mom of two and has more than a decade of experience working in both television news and public relations. From national television shows to top newspapers, Allyson has worked around the world including a travel magazine in London, England, Phoenix TV and local hospital and healthcare association.
Choices about our kids are always tough, and we happen to be operating in an era that makes them even tougher. We tend to think that every moment, decision, success, and failure is critical, but what’s critical over time is that our children become loyal friends, good partners, honest and reliable workers with a strong moral center
While there are many ways for parents to encourage independence and confidence in their children, five of the most impactful parenting behaviors are: setting a good example, asking questions, instilling optimism, giving age-appropriate control, and assessing risks. Here’s a look at each.
1. Set A Good Example. It takes a fearless family to raise a fearless child. If facing uncertainty makes us panicky and overprotective, our first task is to regroup and fortify ourselves. Our goal as parents is to be courageous enough to give our kids the time and opportunities they need to cultivate these qualities and to model them ourselves.
Love, support, curiosity, and emphasis on “doing the right thing,” and the ability to tolerate our children’s missteps and disappointments are what matter most. When we shield children from failure or choreograph successes for them, we’re distorting the experiences they need in order to grow.
2. Ask Questions. Renowned psychologist Carol Dweck found that children approach problems in one of two ways, with either a fixed or a growth mindset. Kids with a growth mindset believe it’s possible to get smarter if they work at it; they regard false starts and unsuccessful attempts as opportunities. Children with a fixed mindset try to avoid mistakes; they think that if they can’t do something right the first time, improvement is impossible.
Shifting children from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset needs to be a family affair, and the dinner table is a good place to start. To encourage a growth mindset, I urge parents to move away from judging children on performance alone and instead praise their openness to risk-taking and willingness to try new things. A good dinnertime question might be, “What was something new you learned today?” Instead of asking about test grades or athletic wins, parents can ask, “What did you learn?”
3. Instill Optimism. We each have an explanatory style—the manner in which we explain to ourselves why things happen and what they mean. A pessimistic explanatory style generally leads to learned helplessness, and a hallmark of learned helplessness is the belief that we can’t do anything to change our circumstances. I believe there’s a genetic component to our inherent explanatory style; many of the pessimistic kids I see have one parent or both with the same bent.
People with an optimistic explanatory style may get discouraged and give up temporarily, but those with a negative, pessimistic explanatory style give up permanently. High-performing kids with an optimistic explanatory style may still get depressed, but in spite of this, they become more determined to keep up with their studies so that when their depression lifts they aren’t behind in their work.
People with optimistic explanatory styles are more likely to blame circumstances (externalizing). When bad things happen, people with a pessimistic explanatory style consider the problem personal, blaming themselves (internalizing). Extended periods of internalizing can lead to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety among kids (and adults) alike.
4. Give Kids Age-Appropriate Control. As our children gain proficiency in meeting diverse people, experiencing new environments, and making transitions, we can simultaneously give them more control over their lives. The trick is not to shield our kids from activities and responsibilities, as long as they are age-appropriate (or just slightly beyond). If we encourage our children and offer nonjudgmental feedback along the way, they’ll get increasingly adept at managing their time, completing tasks even if they’re boring, setting ambitious goals for themselves, making mistakes and recovering, and inventing new ways to solve problems.
Each task a child masters builds competency and self-assurance, and if chores evolve into routine responsibilities, they also teach what it means to be a contributing member of a community. That’s foundational to our kids’ growing into good team players, classmates, colleagues, friends, partners, and citizens. Kids who learn early in life that they’re capable of mastering activities that at first feel a little stressful grow up better able to handle the stress of all kinds. This is how they grow, develop an awareness of their strengths and weaknesses, and cultivate the self-efficacy that keeps them from feeling helpless.
In contrast, when children are given little control over their environment and activities, it lowers their motivation and inhibits their forward growth. Establishing inquisitiveness, enthusiasm about learning, and having an open, playful, and agile mind is much more important than always being comfortable.
5. Assess Risks. An essential part of building children’s self-efficacy and independence is helping them venture out on their own. It can start with crossing the street alone and progress to walking to school with a friend, riding a bike or skateboard around the neighborhood, taking public transportation, going to the mall, learning to drive, and taking a trip with a class, club, or group of friends.
The problem is not only how do we know if an activity is too risky, but just as important, how do we train our children and teenagers to think about risk? Your first job is to calm your own nerves一most of us know when we’re catastrophizing. Second, take a look at their previous behavior and use it to determine how you think they’ll apply that to a greater level of freedom. Finally, talk to your child and set some appropriate next-step limits. This rule of thumb is helpful for everything from when to allow your toddler to go down the steeper slide to when to allow your teenager to drive on the highway. The ability to organize oneself and assess risk has always been important, and it will be a signature skill during turbulent times.
Madeline Levine, Ph.D., is a clinician, consultant, speaker, and author of the New York Times bestsellers, The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well. Dr. Levine is the (extremely) proud mother of three sons and is also a new grandmother. Her latest book, Ready or Not is on sale February, 2020.
The Ravenna Police Department recently issued a warning via Facebook. The Ohio PD wants residents to watch out for a “highly addictive substance” that’s about to hit the town’s streets—and it’s probably not what you think it is.
So what exactly do the Ravenna police want town citizens to stay on the lookout for? Hint: the addictive “substance” also goes by several names, including Thin Mints, S’mores and Lemonades!
The too-cute, and now-viral, post warns residents about items that are, “Distributed by strong, smart, fearless young women who will lure you in with their story and get you hooked.” If you have any doubts about the highly addictive nature of this substance (a.k.a. Girl Scout cookies), the PD added, “We know many people think I will just get one box. But one turns into two and two turns into five and the next thing you know you are hiding ‘Thin Mints’ in the freezer.”
Ravenna residents shouldn’t worry about their ability to resist the overly addictive items. If they do happen to buy a box (or a few), the police department also posted, “We want you to know we are here for you. We have set up a disposal location for these “cookies” at the police department. Just drop them off 24/7 and we will properly dispose of them for you.”
What do your kiddo’s fave Frozen 2 characters listen to on Spotify? Even though Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff are currently on their big screen Arendelle adventures, Spotify’s newly released annual Wrapped campaign now includes the Frozen gang’s stats for 2019.
Spotify Wrapped is your way of sharing what you’ve liked, listened to and streamed over the last decade. With the 2019 Wrapped or My Decade Wrapped share card, you can show friends and fam your results via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat.
photo: Courtesy of Spotify
While plenty of non-fictional humans are using this end of the year/end of the decade feature, the Frozen gang is also sharing too. At least, what the experts at Spotify think the fictional favorites would be into.
So what’s on Anna and Elsa’s playlists? Anna’s top songs include “Hey, Soul Sister” and “How to Save a Life,” her podcast picks feature “The Sister Diary” and “The Fearless Chase” and her top genre is Scandipop. Elsa’s top artists include Queen and Arctic Lake while her top songs are “Icy,” “Hair Down,” “She Makes Magic” and “Dark Horse.”
Along with the cast of Frozen 2, you can also see the 2019 Spotify Wrapped cards for characters Netflix’s Stranger Things and HBO’s His Dark Materialshere.
It’s been nearly nine years since I first became a Mom. Five years after my first son was born, I truly didn’t know if I would have a second. Life got in the way, the timing never seemed right and my firstborn just kept getting older; we just weren’t sure if it made sense. Now that we were finally past the challenge of the infant and toddler years and experiencing some version of normalcy, did we really want to “hit the reset button” and start all over? With the larger age gap, would our children even experience the benefit of having a sibling around to play with and grow up together?
Now, as I look over at my toddler’s sweet, joyous face and think back on those early concerns, I know there was no reason for pause. And even with its challenges, there’s not a single thing I would change. Because right now, at this very moment, this is what it’s like to be the mom to a three-year-old:
Joyous: You’re such a happy little boy. Your smile is contagious, I watch you enter a room and spread that smile to everyone you encounter, strangers included. It fills my heart with such happiness.
Energetic: From the moment you get up (way too early) to the moment your head hits the pillow, you are going full-steam-ahead. There’s just too much to see, too much to do, and you want to experience it all.
Learning: There’s a lot for a three-year-old to learn. You’ve struggled with a speech delay and you’ve worked so very hard at it. You’ve made major strides and words I never even knew you understood are pouring from your mouth. Ironically, I can barely express how much I love hearing all the wonderful things you have to say.
Challenging: You are a toddler through and through, to a fault. And toddlers push the limits just to see how far they can go. Of all your new words “NO!” might be your favorite. And when you’re the one told “No,” watch out.
Awe-inspiring: You look at the world with such big beautiful awe. Just yesterday, when you woke up in the morning, you looked out the window and exclaimed “Wow! The sun is up, the moon is down!” I’m so lucky to be able to glimpse the world anew through your eyes.
Stubborn: It is borderline impossible to get you to do something you don’t want to do. Sadly, this includes eating 90% of the food I make, driving me insane nightly as I try to convince you otherwise. In your perfect world, you would live on a strict diet of yogurt, muffins, and crackers and hummus.
Independent: You have a big brother as a role model and you want to do everything yourself too. You think you’re bigger than you are, but that often also pushes you to do things other kids your age wouldn’t. This is a blessing and a curse as I run behind you just trying to keep up and prevent catastrophe.
Fearless: It is terrifying. After years with an older son who was more content to sit and play, and to this day, still assesses the risk factor in every challenge, you very much do not. Case in point, last week our “Sunday Funday” was spent in the ER getting five staples in your head after a rather reckless ride on your Thomas the Train toy. I’m still traumatized from it.
Smiles and Laughter: Even after a hard fall, you’re back to your sweet happy little self in no time. Your laugh is perhaps the greatest sound on earth and you spread it like confetti. Lately, you’ve taken to saying “I’m funny.” And yes, sweetie, you very much are.
Sibling Rivalry: After a rather blissful three years of you and your big bro getting along marvelously with him doting on you and affectionately calling you “Mr. Baby” (a nickname I’m so sad you’ve outgrown), you are now becoming your own person with your own interests. Unfortunately, those interests often include playing with his toys and taking his stuff. You’re no longer a harmless presence in his life and you very quickly are learning the tricks of the sibling rivalry trade yourself, pulling your own power moves on a brother almost three times your age. It’s almost impressive.
Snuggles and Big Hugs: You are a world-class snuggler and will lay on me for hours, or you’ll scoot over just an inch closer to be next to me. Your sweet chubby little arms wrapped around me, and those sweet smooches you give me when we snuggle, are the best feelings in the world. I hope it doesn’t change anytime soon.
Perfect: Ask any parent of a toddler and they will speak of the challenges and trust me when I say they are not wrong. It’s dealing with epic toddler tantrums and an unreasonable little human who has no idea what they’re doing. But three is also a rather fantastic age where the world is an amazing place and every day is an adventure. Where laughter flows openly and happiness is contagious. And I’m going to do everything in my power to soak up every minute. Because four and five and ten and twenty are right around the corner.
Just your average borderline-crazed mom and snarky wife who joined this online fray to build up other awesome women around me and have some laughs along the way. Follow me at @momandburied where I share both inspiration & rants about life along with my husband Dad and Buried... snark is our love language.
