ML Interest Tag: squeal

Sweet Valentine’s Day Activities for Families

by Annette Benedetti

Have you noticed the abundance of roses at your grocery store or Teddy Bears offering stuffed hearts in shop windows? That’s because love is in the air. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and with it comes the opportunity to express your affection for your family by spending quality time together at a local event (there’s one for the animal lovers)  or by participating in a fun activity (get artsy)! Read on for our top picks for things to do this Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's Day at the Oregon Zoo

Oregon Zoo via Yelp

Were the holidays too busy to catch ZooLights? Has it been a while since you and the family have explored the jungle of animals that is the Oregon Zoo? Well, you're in luck! This Valentine's Day, the Oregon Zoo will be discounting admission pricing by $4, making this outing both fun and affordable! Spend your day letting the kids fall in love with the zoo's family of elephants, or take a seat and ride the historic zoo train! Zookeepers will be putting on a special Valentine's Day show with the leopards, lions, elephants and orangutans this Valentine's Day, so head online to plan your zoo visit! 

Be sure to check out the Oregon Zoo's facemask policy on their website and make sure to leave the cash at home! The zoo is currently operating as a cashless entity during COVID-19.

Where: Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Rd., Portland
When: Feb. 14
Cost: $20/Adult ; $19/Children ages 2-11
Online: here

Lovejoy Tea Room's Royal WEE Tea Service

Why not celebrate Valentine's Day the posh way? There's nothing better than getting on your Valentine's Day best for an afternoon full of finger-food and a spot of tea! Lovejoy's Tea Room has a Royal WEE Tea Service as a kid-friendly option that offers more youthful snack options like Nutella laden treats or hot chocolate in lieu of tea. This option is for kids 12 and under, and runs $35 per tyke. Not to worry, parents. You can have the RoyalTEA Service for more sophisticated hors d'oeuvres and a bottomless tea! Head online to see their menu and to reserve your love-filled lunch or midafternoon outing today!

Where: Lovejoy's Tea Room of Portland, 3286 NE Killingsworth St., Portland
When:
Wed/Thur: 2-6 p.m.
Fri/Sat: 11a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun: 11a.m.-6 p.m.
Cost: Varies
Online: here

PaperSource: Valentine's Day!

PaperSource

We all remember handing out valentines in elementary school. The rush of excitement of exchanging candies and handwritten notes with classmates is a fond childhood memory, so why not put a little crafty-effort into this year's valentine's card creation? PaperSource has tons of options for helping you and your family get into the cupid crafts this February. Whether it's classroom valentines, valentines crafts, cards, or wraps, or maybe even the works for a Valentine's Day party, PaperSource has you and your family covered! They've got discounts and sales galore when it comes to peppering your Valentine's Day celebrations with heart-shaped glitter and wordy cuteness. You can call ahead to arrange your order via phone, place an order online for delivery by Valentine's Day, or take the family for in person shopping! Whichever method you choose, you're sure to encounter the best kind of decision paralysis. Make sure to have PaperSource part of you and your family's Valentine's Day festivities this year!

Where: PaperSource, 638 NW 23rd Ave., Portland 
Hours:
Mon - Sat: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday: 11a.m.-6 p.m.
Cost: Varied
Online: here

Winter Light Portland Festival 2022

Pull out the winter jackets, don your knitted caps, and step out into Portland this February for a tour of the Winter Light Festival! This year will be the seventh annual light show produced by the Willamette Light Brigade (PDXWLF), and is surely not one to miss! PDXWLF urges the community to explore their neighborhoods by checking out the pop-art that they've sprinkled across the city! Art installations with illuminated components, live performances, and touch-free events will be the name-of-the-game this year, as PDXWLF works around COVID-19. Whether you and your family set out by foot or hop on your bikes for a cycling tour of this year's displays, you can be sure to be awed! Get out, get connected, and celebrate a bit of community love this Valentine's Day with the Portland Winter Light Festival!

When: February 4 - 12
Cost: Free
Online: here

Valentine's Day Dinner Nostrana

Kenny C. via Yelp

You can't deny that that pizza looks amazing. Similarly, you can't go wrong with getting your Valentine's Day meal from Nostrana. Whether you leave the kids at home for a cute night out with your partner, or order in for the whole family to enjoy, Nostrana has an option for you. Should you choose to dine in, this exquisite Italian restaurant is serving up a special 3 course menu for this February's evening of romance. Your mouth will surely water just by reading it. Make sure to reserve your spot before hand as seats are going fast! And if you'd like to wine and dine yourself with the family in the comfort of your own home, you can easily place a takeout order with them over the phone beginning at 5 p.m. Head online to check out Nostrana's Valentine's Day menu, make a reservation, and let the staff know about any dietary restrictions you may have! 

Where: Nostrana, 1401 SE Morrison St., Portland OR 97214
When: Feb. 14, 5 p.m.
Cost: For dine-in, $119/person ; takeout, varied
Online here

 

Take a Snow Day

Snow Tubing, Skiing, winter fun, snow, outdoor activities
Laura Green

If you are looking for a Valentine's Day activity in or near Portland that will turn cheeks pink and keep the kids smiling and squealing all day long? Grab the sleds and snow tubes, pack some hot chocolate and snacks and head for the hills for a day of fun in the snow. Everyone know PNW folks love their cold-weather recreation and tubing and sledding allow everyone to enjoy the late-winter fun. Head to Mt. Hood for an afternoon of snow play, or try White River or Little John snow park. Most places on the slopes require a Sno-Park Permit, available in daily, 3-day, and annual increments. Pick one up at your local DMV or at many Bi-Rite and outdoor stores. For a full list of options, with driving directions, hours and more, check out our top picks here.

Plan a Winter Wonderland Vacation

Black Butte Ranch via Yelp

Why not celebrate Valentine's Day weekend with a winter wonderland road trip? There are a plethora of of great locations perfect for mini family vacation only a short drive away. Think Central Oregon with it's Bend, Sisters, and Sun River destinations all perfect base camps for wintery outdoor recreation. Depot Bay offers its own seaside charm, and an opportunity to catch a glimpse of whale tales. Whether it's the mountains or ocean that calls to your crew, we've found several winter road trips that are perfect for celebrating your love. Check out our whole list here.

Hunt Down Sweets for Your Sweetie

pexels

What would Valentine's Day be without sweets for your Sweeties? Take your kids out for an amazing cup of hot chocolate (or purchase some to enjoy at home) at one of Portland's great shops. Creo Chocolate offers both hot chocolately drinks as well as candies you'll enjoy as a family. If you feel more like celebrating with cake, Fat Cupcake is the place to go for beautiful confections that declare your affections. For a full list of our top picks of places to check out, read about where we think you can find the best sweets for your sweetie here. You can also find a full list of our most beloved candy shops here.

—Hannah Judge

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How to Make Reading to Your Child Really Count

By ALEXANDER FERNÁNDEZ

Photo: Alexander Fernandez

Once you hear the full-throated laugh of your child, see them startle in surprise, or hear them squeal “again, again” when you finish a book passage, you’ll be hooked; you’ll know you’ve done it right, and you’ll have created a memory, a feeling, that will last a lifetime. 

I know you’re tired. You’ve been working all day. You’ve come home (or have been working in the home) have started (or continued with) the chores, made food, dealt with the bills, the PTA, the in-laws, the friends, the frenemies, politics (lower-case p), Politics (uppercase P), married life, single life, traffic, the boss, the employees, and every other thing that an adult has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. If you have more than one child, I’d set the multiplication factor exponentially at 12 per additional child. Life is hard. Dead stop. Yes, you can say it, think it, feel it. Life is hard. And now, this little human (they are little humans even when they behave like little monsters) wants to hear a bedtime story. I’m here to tell you: Yes. Do it. And, you should encourage them to want to hear a story.

But, how? How do you effectively read with a child?  Well, for starters the days of reading to, are over.

1. Be Present. If you think that I’m going to start with some New Age fangled stuff, you’re right. (Although at this point isn’t it really Old Age?) If you are rushing through the reading, looking at your watch, dreading every second of it, and thinking of what you’re going to be doing next, you should not be reading with your child. Stop. Don’t do it. Grab the iPad, the laptop, whatever and go to YouTube and find a story of somebody entertaining reading a book and let your child view that. You can go have a drink (your beverage of choice) and relax. You are in no condition to be reading a storybook. You are not invested. It is not that you are necessarily a bad caregiver. I’m not judging. I don’t know you. You are just not in the right frame of mind to complete the task at hand.

To read a storybook and actually connect with the book and the child, you need to be fully invested in the child and the story. There is no fooling a child. The second your mind starts to wander, the child will wander with you. Reading a storybook is work. And, it should be. The benefits that you read about in those articles I linked? You didn’t think those fell out of the sky, did you? Reading a storybook takes concentration, anticipation, joy, rhythm, and enthusiasm. You cannot do it if your mind is wandering all over the place. You have to fully commit.

If you want to establish a routine of regular reading with your child, you have to do just that: establish a regular routine. It has to be when you both set aside a place and time to be in your own little world–undisturbed from the world around you. You have to start by making the time available in your schedule, to be present. This is not something you can half-ass.

2. Do the Voices. If you are reading along and wondering if you need to do the voices of the various characters, the answer is a resounding, yes! And, by the way, the narrator has a voice. Kids love when each character has a different voice. It keeps up their attention, it sparks their interest, it engages their minds. I want you to stop for a moment and think of the story of The Three Little Pigs. Those of you that know the story, know the line: “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll bloooooow, your house down!” OK, how many of you just heard that in the voice of the Big Bad Wolf? What about “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin”? Did you hear that in the voice of a tiny, squealing little pig? Chances are you did.

Now I’m not going to kid you. Doing voices is hard work. And, I know that some of you are put off by this. But I have news for you: your child doesn’t care whether or not you are any good at doing the voices. They only care about your enthusiasm and that you try. So, here are some tricks of the trade. If voices are not your strong suit, do dynamic reading. Vary your rhythm. Speed things up. Slow them down. Take, dramatic, pauses. Stop. Continue. Talk Louder! Talk softer. The punctuation on the page is your friend. Use it as a guidepost. [By the way, even if your voices are good, you should be reading dynamically anyway.]

3. Your Reading Must Be Interactive. Anticipatory/interactive reading is key to not only building a life-long love of reading but to building the critical thinking and reasoning skills we all need to survive in the world.

As you read the story, ensure that your child explores the pictures on the page. Ask questions like: “What do we see in these pictures?” “What do you think this means?” “How is this character feeling?” “Is she happy? Sad?” “Have we seen this before?” “Is there something missing?” You can even ask your child to predict what might happen depending on what the pictures are showing. Every now and then, take pauses in the story and ask your child to review for you what has happened so far. This, is your check for understanding. With younger children, you may have to do a bit of leading. Once you’ve done a recap, ask your child to predict what’s going to happen next and why they think that’s going to happen. As your child gets older, the predictions will get better.

The key to interactive reading is to remember that you are not just a reader, you are actively acting as a parent, teacher, caregiver, instructor, and mentor. You are developing vocabulary, bridging synapses, strengthening concepts–in short, you are building a human building. All, under the guise of reading a storybook. 

ALEXANDER FERNÁNDEZ
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Father, children's book critic, writer, judge, director, actor and amature photographer—together with his husband of 25 years—raising an energetic four-year old! "Parent is not just a noun, it's a verb.  If you're ever in doubt as to what to do, substitute the word caregiver.  It will steer you in the right direction."  

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Saving Baby Bunnies & Other Brave Acts of Courage

By Dr Bethany Cook

I quickly dropped my bag and tossed the house keys on the counter as I raced to the loo. After having two kids, when nature calls…I gots to go.

No sooner had I sat down when I hear my 4 and 5-year-olds start shouting:

“Momma B come quickly! Momma B. MA B! MAAAAAA Beeeeee!”

Sweet Jesus, the whole bloody block heard these kids losing their damn minds outback.

I’m not done in the loo and now I’m irritated because I just wanted a second to myself so I could pee in privacy. So I holler back:

“Hang ON!  And STOP SHOUTING!”

**Side note:  If you haven’t shouted “Stop shouting” at your children, are you really parenting?

As soon as I make it outside I can immediately tell something serious is up because both dogs are jumping back and forth trying to get close to whatever my children are protecting. I race down the porch stairs and as I approach I hear a tiny high pitched squeal. Pulling the dogs away I discover what the commotion is all about.

A baby….I’m talking a baby bunny has managed to get his tiny little head stuck in some chicken wire attached to our fence (meant to keep grown rabbits outta my garden).

He looked so scared and helpless as his beady little black eyes looked at us, scared half to death trying to backup and free himself from the presence of three humans and two eager canines.

5-year-old Son: “It was Sherlock (our dog) who found him Ma B!  He saved a baby bunny!”

4-year-old Daughter: “Oh isn’t he (the bunny) cute? He’s so adorable Momma B. We must help him!”

Before I go any further you should know I don’t particularly enjoy dealing with situations like this…because I’m kinda squeamish. Nevertheless, when you’re a parent and two little kids are watching you in order to learn how to handle situations like this in the future, you just gotta Alpha Up…which is what I did.

Me speaking calmly: “Stay here you two and sing to the bunny and tell it that everything will be OK. I’m gonna take the dogs inside and find some wire cutters.”

Kids: “OK.”

I dash into the basement and rummage through the mess of tools, cursing when I can’t easily locate the wire cutters. Then I remember I have a strong pair of utility cutters in the hall closet and I race back upstairs to get them.

The children were calmly and gently singing and speaking to the little bunny who had stopped squealing and trying to escape.  It just lay in the grass with half of his teeny body in my neighbor’s yard and his wee little head in our garden.

I felt the rush of adrenaline as I neared the baby bunny. “You’re gonna be OK, little one. We will have you out of here in a second.”

After 5 snips with the utility cutters, I gingerly bent the chicken wire away from his itty-bitty neck just in case the bunny decided to dash forward and back again. I definitely would not have been able to handle any mess that involved bodily fluid…that’s where I draw the line.

Once freed, the bunny didn’t immediately run away.  As a matter of fact, he hopped a few feet away from us up to the fenceline and tried again to squeeze through the chicken wire, obviously disoriented.

Me: “Come on kids. It looks like we are going to have to pick up the baby and return him to where we see the grown rabbits pop in-and-out of in the neighbor’s tall grass.”

And quick as a flash the kids and I raced to the front gate and were in the neighbor’s yard before you could say “Bob’s your uncle.”  I scooped up the disoriented baby bunny and it immediately started squealing.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a large rabbit bounding toward us.  Once the grown rabbit spotted us it dashed to the other side of the neighbor’s yard.
I allowed both kids a quick stroke of the baby bunny’s velvety head before I whispered in its ear “Hurry home to your momma and papa little baby. I know they’re waiting for you.”

As I set the baby on the green grass, my children who were a few feet behind me started whispering encouraging things like:

“You can do it, bunny. Go find your family. We love you bunny.”

The baby bunny must have figured out where it was because he hopped straight toward the long grass a few feet away from where the grown bunny waited. The baby bunny paused for a second before disappearing into the safety of the long green grass.

As my children and I walked back to our house my wonderfully sensitive 5-year-old son looks up at me with tears spilling out of the corner of his eyes and says, “Momma B, thanks for being brave. I bet we saved another little boy’s Velveteen Rabbit. I love you.”

His words filled me up so completely that I too had tears spilling from the corner of my eyes.

It is my hope that I can always be brave for my children. That I am able to find the right tools at the right time and that I can save all the “baby bunnies” they find in the world. The reality is I won’t be able to save them from all the heartache this world holds. Nevertheless, I will find solace and comfort in knowing that I am modeling behaviors that they will someday emulate. As a parent, I always remember these wise words Winnie the Pooh so cleverly spoke:

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.” A.A. Milne

I am a 42-year-old biological mother of two young children in a same-sex relationship, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychological assessment, a music therapist, a trainer of therapy dogs and ex-communicated Mormon from Indiana with a wicked sense of humor. 

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Parenting Really Is Just Like Learning to Ride a Horse

By Rachel Phillips

Once upon a time I had a job—a job that paid money. That job was teaching people how to ride horses.

Riding a horse can be as complicated (and expensive) as you want to make it. You can literally spend your entire life and hundreds of thousands of dollars on riding lessons, gadgets, hospital bills, therapy and still be thrilled when your horse just simply comes to you when you call it.

This is also of course, parenting.

Riding a horse can also be as simple as throwing your leg over and trying to stay on. It can be running out your back door, jumping on your pony bareback, galloping down a hill and squealing with delight as she puts her head down to eat grass and you go flying through the air into the dirt. Sometimes pure survival is exhilarating.

Again—this is also parenting.

When I was a riding instructor the hardest students to teach were adults. Particularly adult women, especially moms. And of course, they were the ones who wanted it the most. They would do anything if they could just “get good” at this thing that they wanted to “get good” at.

They would come to lessons announcing that they had read articles, found a horse back riding centered fitness class, subscribed to a riding magazine, bought a $2,000 saddle from a man with a french accent… Surly this is THE week it all comes together and becomes “easier.” And I loved teaching these women. I really did. Even before becoming a mom myself, I understood that this time they were taking for themselves was important and sacred. I loved hearing their stories, goals and fears—and I loved being a part of the journey of them learning something new.

But of course, in order for them to truly feel the joy of cantering a horse without whiplash and awkward saddle/rear slapping, they would have to do the unthinkable. They’d have to do the one thing that most Moms simply cannot do; their bodies are so out of practice, that they have actually lost the physical ability to do this one impossible thing:

Relax. 

Let go.

Not care so much.

Not overthink every movement, second guess every step. Not overwhelm themselves with all of the opinions, the “tips,” the insane amount of information available out there. They would have to stop yelling over their shoulder at me: “Is this right? Am I doing it right?” every step of the way. They would have to start trusting their body to just follow along and react.

“My hands? Do you want them here? What about here? Is this right?!” As their instructor I would patiently point out that the problem wasn’t their hands at all—it was that they were thinking too much about their hands.

This is me, parenting. And maybe every mom I know: “Please for the love of God, just someone tell me how to do this right.”

Kids are the easiest to teach.

They have little to no expectations. Most of them are just happy to be in a barn petting a horse. They want to learn, but they are more concerned about the steps to take to make it happen, not so much how they look doing it. They aren’t worried about what might happen if the end result is achieved differently than instructed.

I had a student once who’s pony spooked and took off with her. Her mom sat white as a ghost next to me, her finger hovering over 911 on her cell phone. I was calmly but loudly giving instructions to pull the reins and say “Whoa!” The little girl responded by yelling out with delight: “Is this what galloping feels like?!”

So what is it?

What is it that happens between the somewhat out of control gleeful gallop that feels so free and good—and the paralyzing question of, “Am I doing this right?”

Is it just life experience? Knowing that hearts and ribs can break and the fear of what COULD happen takes over the joy of just being in the moment? Is it because we learn to put value on moments? “I paid for horseback riding lessons. I need to learn to prove it was worth it.” 

Sounds an awful lot like, “We said we were going on vacation this weekend and by golly we are going to HAVE FUN even if it kills us!”

My experience with horses and child rearing is that the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle, somewhere between the squealing little girl with wind-blown hair and the mom with pilates legs that don’t bend.

I learned through the years that the mom lessons sometimes went best when I jumped on a horse myself, opened up the gate, and took them gallivanting in the woods. I’d ask them questions about where they grew up instead of telling them how to make a 20 meter circle. The freedom of not overthinking and just feeling the rhythm almost always unlocked their stiffness and before you knew it they were smiling from ear. It was as if they had remembered the words to an old song.

I learned that fearless kids still needed boundaries and goals and direction. Their lessons often went best when given an upfront guarantee of some kind of adventure or “free time fun” after their lesson was complete. “If you want to jump, you need to learn how to go straight,” I would tell them.

But I watched time and time again as those very same without-a-care kids grew up, little by little, the “fears” would creep in. A sudden realization that another student was “better” than they. More natural. “Well, of course she won, SHE has a better horse,” they might say. “Can you tell me what it takes to win the BLUE ribbon?” This from the the 14-year-old who at eight wanted to do nothing but comb the horse’s tail and pick hooves. Eventually the need for some sort of validated success is craved.

I still have my old ribbons from horse shows past. I’m still waiting for my motherhood trophy.

I find myself navigating stiff mom-lesson-moments in my own parenting journey. Researching “Okay to Wake clocks. It worked for so and so, it will work for me. Second-guessing myself in decisions: am I a “time out” mom? A “1-2-3 magic” mom? Should they be eating more organically grass-fed beef?

But I also find joy in my wind-blown-hair-mom moments. Get in the car kids we are going to climb a mountain today! You know what? Yes—yes we can bake zucchini bread. This school feels right to me. Let’s stay in pajamas and build forts. Hell yeah, we can get Happy Meals on the way home!

Parenting is just a life long lesson on how to stay with the horse: finding your balance and creating rhythm. Keeping your heels down not by forcing, but by relaxing and sinking down into them. Keeping your eyes up—but not by staring, but SEEING what is surrounding you.

Trust yourself. You know when it feels right, no one has to tell you. Get out of the arena. Go jump on bareback and gallop in a field. Pack your kids up and go somewhere new.

A little wind blown hair never hurt anybody.

This post originally appeared on Planting Marigolds.

A Whidbey Island mom that left a life that was "normal" and ran away with her husband and three little boys to live on an island in saltwater air and open spaces. A mom who is remembering who she was, loving who she is and dreaming of what she could be. 

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Not in Kansas: A Wizard of Oz-Themed Playground at Watkins Regional Park

by rtjamybond

At Watkins Regional Park in Prince Georges County, you can follow the yellow brick road (literally) to a Wizard of Oz-themed playground that’s guaranteed to have your kids singing, “We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!” But don’t take our word for it. This is one fun spot you’ll have to see to believe. Read on to discover this hidden gem.

Photo: Caity T. via Yelp

Somewhere over the rainbow…
As the latest addition to this popular family-fun filled park that features picnicking, trailblazing, camping, mini-golf, mini-train rides, old-fashioned carousel rides, and an animal farm, this super cute playground leaves nothing untouched when it comes to its Wizard of Oz theme. From the yellow brick road that begins at the park’s gates, you’ll walk under a rainbow of colors and pass by wood carvings of the Scarecrow and the Wicked Witch of the West, then make your way to two giant ruby red slipper slides that will have your little ones squealing with delight.

Photo: Kelly B. via Yelp

Lions, and tigers, and bears…oh my!
You can park yourself on a bench near the slippers and watch the kids dart from one colorful piece of equipment to the next. There’s the Emerald City, an enormous green structure with a climbing wall, slides, tunnels and bridges. The kids can explore Uncle Henry and Auntie Em’s barn and wonder through a poppy flower field. They can crawl into colorful Munchkin houses and check out Auntie Emm’s farm house. They can even spend some time in Toto’s dog house. The entire playground is encircled by a rainbow track where kids can run themselves ragged. A swing set is strategically placed to let them swing over the rainbow and back again. It’s a fabulous and fun time for everyone.

Photo: F Delventhal via Flickr

Insider tips
Take a picnic or snacks because there’s no food for purchase, and choose a day other than Monday to go if you want to combine the playground with a carousel ride or a game of mini-golf, because these activities are closed every Monday.

301 Watkins Park Dr. (Upper Marlboro, Md)
Cost: Parking and playground are free; $2-$2:50 for carousel and train rides; $5-$6.50 for mini-golf.
Online: mncppc.org

Have you visited this park yet? Tell us about it in the comments below.

–Jamy Bond

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8 Awesome (Yes, Awesome!) Things About Toddlers

by Huffington Post Parents

 This story by Jennifer Benjamin originally appeared on Momtastic.com. 

Between the tantrums and the defiance and the out-of-nowhere OCD, toddlers can definitely be challenging. Despite all of the meltdowns, though — both theirs and ours — kids this age are also particularly adorable. It’s probably what keeps us from leaving them with Grandma… permanently. If you haven’t noticed, time flies, and I have a feeling that in a few years, I’m going to miss these giggly, squealing, snuggly days. While it’s easy to gripe about the annoyances, I think it’s also important to embrace the sweetness of this stage. So, with that in mind, here are all of the things I actually love about toddlers:

1. The adorable way they butcher the English language. I mean, is there anything cuter than a toddler mispronouncing words? Some day, someone is going to correct them, but right now, they can still get away with saying, “Look, a hiccup truck!” and “It’s so cold, I’m brrr-ing, I’m brr-ing,” and “My want a cookie with sprinklers.”

2. The joy they get from the smallest things. Maybe it’s the wide-eyed way that we parents talk up the most mundane tasks, but you can get a toddler psyched about pretty much anything. “Want to help Mommy Swiffer the kitchen?” you ask. “Yes, yes, hooray!” they shout with joy. They’re thrilled to get stickers at Trader Joe’s. They think juice at a restaurant is a super special treat. And going to Costco, with its free samples and double-wide carts and giant frozen yogurt cups? It’s like they won the Mega Millions.

3. They’re perfectly cuddly. Kids in their 2s and 3s have lots of big emotions, which also include full-bodied, wholehearted love and affection. They will wrap their arms around your neck and squeeze tight, nestle their head on your shoulder, and throw their body around your legs with enough force to knock you off of your feet. Their faces light up when they haven’t seen you in a couple of hours, with big smiles and gleaming eyes that make you wonder what you possibly did to deserve this kind of greeting. And in those chill moments when they snuggle in close to read books or watch a show or just to rest, they fit so perfectly against your body, you think this must be exactly what this age was meant for.

4. The drama, oh, the drama. While little ones this age might not hold a grudge, they certainly know how to milk it. When they’re truly upset, sure, that can be rough, but when it’s simply whining, with fake cries and crocodile tears, it’s hilarious. If I dare refuse to give my son some cake for breakfast, he furrows his brow, wraps his arms around himself and gives an audible “harumph.” If he’s going for a full-on, Oscar-worthy performance, he might even fall back onto the couch, a forearm over his eyes for “Oh, the humanity” effect.

5. They still take naps. Sure, there are days when they fight it or spend a good hour making a slide out of the couch cushion in their room. For the most part, though, toddlers take a nap almost every day. They give their parents an hour or two of peaceful silence to read a book or watch Bravo or take a snooze themselves. Naps, sweet naps. Please, never ever ever end.

6. They have no filter. At this age, they have pretty vivid imaginations, and maybe even make stuff up sometimes. Still, they have no understanding of what’s polite, they’re not always clear on what may or may not be rude, and they aren’t really capable of lying. That’s why he might tell daddy that he has hair in his nose. Or she’ll loudly, and proudly, tell a stranger, “That’s my brother. He has a penis.” The best, though, is that they are blatant tattletales, and will confess to anything, which is especially helpful when you have twins. If one boy is crying, and I run in to see what happened, the other will usually tell me, “He took my lovey so my hit him in his face with my hand.” See? Mystery solved.

7. Their style is unique. Many toddlers insist on dressing themselves, and unless you’re going to, say, a wedding, it’s usually not worth fighting them on it. I’ve got to say that as much as I’m embarrassed by the ensembles my boys put together, they’re also good for a laugh. The other day, they both insisted on wearing brightly-colored, tie-dyed socks, which nicely complemented one’s florescent green sleeveless tee, and the other’s orange and green plaid button-down. I like to joke that they’re auditioning for clown college, but hey, as long as they’re wearing pants, I’m happy.

8. They still need us. Every now and then, one of my boys will have a nightmare, or just a rough sleep. When they were newborns, I dreaded those middle-of-the-night cries, but now, I actually don’t mind so much. I stumble in to their room to see one boy sitting up in bed, reaching for me. I silently scoop him up and sit in a chair, with his teary face against my chest, his little hand on my arm. I stroke his soft curls and wet cheek, listening for the steady breath of calm as he falls backs to sleep. My little babies are growing up so fast, but for right now, they still need their mommy, and I love that. I think I probably need it too. And I know that this toddler stage, this moment in time, won’t last forever.

This story by Jennifer Benjamin originally appeared on Momtastic.com. 

To read more, visit Huffington Post Parents by clicking here.

What it really feels like to raise kids today — from pregnancy to high school graduation and beyond. Read personal stories written by moms and dads, celebrate hilarious moments in parenting, get advice from experts and join our conversations.

 photo credit: Heather Katsoulis via Flickr

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