What Cute Things Do Your Kids Love Doing?
When I became a mom, one of the most surprising feelings I wasn’t prepared for was…
Feeling super excited about the things my kids are excited about. Truly. Growing up, I rarely babysat because the idea of stacking blocks or playing peek-a-boo sounded like a snoozefest. But the first moment I noticed my daughter Ella’s eyes light up, back when she was three weeks old and discovered the ceiling fan in my parents’ dining room, I was hooked.
Now, four years later, I still feel a shiver down my spine when I see my son or daughter fall in a love with a new hobby. Here a few things they find magical these days…
Bubbles
Singing “Do Re Mi” from The Sound of Music
Climbing terrifyingly high play structures
Picking flowers
High fives
Mommy playing criss-cross applesauce on their backs
Flashlights
Playing with Daddy’s Allen wrench
Taking pictures with anyone’s phone
Singing “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” REALLY FAST
Counting the snails in the backyard after it rains
Making “potions”
Playing waiter
Chocolate chips
Emiliano’s new favorite thing — saying “cheeeeese”
Re-evaluating the world through your child’s eyes and finding a new sense of wonder in the little things, like jumping off a swing or wearing a pearl necklace to dinner, is intoxicating. It feels like you get a new chance at experiencing life, don’t you think? And I have a feeling that it will get even better as they grow older.
What about you? What funny things are the kids in your life loving, saying or doing these days?
P.S. A parenting hack for older kids and a baby’s 10 favorite things.
Comments
134 commentsIt completely melts my hearts every time my foster son says, “I love you, Mauren”. I’m his safe person and this is how he knows to pronounce my name. What an absolute privilege.
My niece drops everything & claps when i walk into a room. It’s the most wonderful feeling of all time. Last week at church, my 5 yo nephew ran into my pew while we were singing just to hug me & snuggle for a bit before going back to sit with his parents. Our oldest nephew called noodles “nerdles” & all of us adults will never stop calling it that. Kids are truly the best of us ❤️
My 5yo daughter is VERY into unicorns, typical, but she’s also been insisting for awhile now that she’s going to be a unicorn rider when she grows up! She even announced it proudly at preschool graduation.
My daughter just learned how to high five, and I’m obsessed! High fives for everyone!
My preschooler howls at the moon whenever she sees it. Now I do it, too.
It’s hot in here, in the South of France. My 7-year-old goes to bed with ice packs. We do have AC but the ice packs have replaced his cuddly toy and seem to work better for him. You have a problem? Pablo has the solution! :-)
Things my kids (15, 12, 7) all love: wiffle ball, card games, hangman; hanging with cousins; eating pesto pasta all summer. B Our youngest is an early riser and after staying out late at a party I (jokingly/hopefully) said “well, you’d better sleep in tomorrow” and his deadpan response was “that’s not possible.” Noted, kiddo. Noted.
My daughter just got really into dinosaurs. Nothing cuter than hearing her tiny 2 year old voice say pterodactyl and allosaurus.
My daughter just starting taking violin lessons. Her very kind, patient teacher asked her if there was any sing she wanted to learn. Her instant request? “Pink Pony Club” 😀
The one thing that makes me laugh every time is when my children interrupt my showers to tell me something *very important*. Like, we are together literally all the time and i finally get 10 minutes without them but they cannot wait one second more because they need me to know the play by play of their life. Case in point: a few months ago my 4 year old ran into my bathroom, whipped open the shower curtain, and in a very enthusiastic, wide-eyed, but still totally serious way, told my totally exposed self: “Mom! I just drew a TRIANGLE.”
This makes my heart smile! You are their world and they want to share every moment with you. : )
Both my kids have incredible imaginations and are super creative. When my daughter was four, I walked into the bathroom to see her completely soaked, wearing a black turtleneck, black knit pants but with both her legs in one pantleg, swim goggles and her arms stiffly at her sides. When I asked her what she was doing, she said…”I want to be a penquin!” A few years later she brought a really ugly animal toy to the dinner table…It might have been a Happy Meal prize. My husband said to remove it, we did not need to see that while we ate. She left the table, and we could hear her in the next room chuckling to herself. She came back in with the said toy, but with My Little Pony bunny ears on it! Had to give her an A+ for cleverness!
Potions! We even had a mad scientist themed birthday party around this where all the kids brought odds and ends from their frig and they went to town mixing and making a mess. It was FANTASTIC (albeit, smelly). Also present, mentos/coke and baking soda and vinegar volcanoes. My kids also learned that you can add expired flour (from some random recipe their mom made years ago…) to potions to make “dough”.
omg this sounds SO fun!! I still loved making potions when I was in junior high haha and would have loved this type of party!
This sounds like such a blast! I know someone who let their kids have an intentional, massive food fight in their empty garage right before they were moving – just hosed the whole thing down afterward. It’s so great for kids to have license to make a big ol’ mess! Also, the color drops for the bathtub work really well for “potions.”
I love the way my son lights up when I compliment him. I was pulling him around on his little tractor today and said “wow, you look like the coolest kid ever” and his face went from serious to lit up in joy.
After 5 years of IVF we got our little miracle 3 weeks ago. I was so surprised to see his interest in the bird sounds at week 1. I though I was going outside for my own mental health and the bird noises also soothed him.
My oldest (20) just got home from a summer in Guatemala and let me confirm that YES the fun keeps coming. It was an absolute delight to follow along on her trip via pics and texts and video calls. I feel like I got a vacation every time I sat down to catch up on the day’s updates.
I have an (almost) 18 year old and I agree. We just finished a round of college tours and it’s been so fun to get the privilege to travel with her – taking silly selfies to “snap” her friends and just generally seeing these campuses and college life through her eyes is such a blessing. I’m trying to savor it all, even when emotions run high and the stress of the impending change creeps in for both of us,
As someone just a little older than your kids, your comments make me so happy to read, as a daughter. My mom always tells us that she had a lot of fun raising us “and now the fun continues!” and I’m just super happy to see other moms who think the same <3 I send my mom outfit selfies and pics of cool flowers that I see on campus (we have a botanical garden) and titles of books she'd love from the library
Emiliano’s crinkly eyes when he says “cheese” just broke my heart. The. Sweetest!!! xox
My son has also been very evangelical about his interests. When he was a toddler, we were all in on Buzz Lightyear. And then Star Wars, Iron Man and Minecraft as he got older. I joked that I knew more about Star Wars than any woman my age should. In college, he took an ornithology class and became obsessed with birds. So, we all became obsessed with birds. He’s now a professional bird guide and photographer.
I love dancing with my boys, we turn up the music and just dance around the kitchen. They’re 5 and 1 and both big into music. My 1yo just started walking and watching him toddle around is so sweet and seeing his big brother encourage him is even sweeter. My 5yo has also taken to picking up his brother and running around the room holding him which makes the 1yo laugh and laugh. Watching them interact with each other is just the best thing.
My 14 month old sticking her feet out or lifting up her arm and saying STINKYYYYY!!!!
I’m not proud of it, and I wish it would stop, but I can’t help but smile a little when my 5 year old gets overwhelmed with his older brothers and just says “you’re an idiot!” He’s so small and it’s the meanest thing he knows and he doesn’t even know what it means. His brothers taught it to him because they thought it would be funny. Sigh.
Teaching my two year old twins “guess what?!” “Chicken butt!” has made for lots of laughs for all three of us all summer :)
I was sitting in the lobby of a youth treatment center, waiting in my business professional attire for a meeting. Two kids nearby were doing the “guess what? chicken butt!” thing and were absolutely FLOORED when they turned and asked me “guess why?” and I responded “chicken thigh!” haha.
I held off on teaching my kid this… until he came home from school one day thinking him and his friends had come up with the funniest saying. I for sure feel like my mom when I have to say “we used to do that when we were kids…” and still love how things come back around.
Watching my newly 16 year old sit in the drivers seat, plug in his iPhone (tunes) nod at me standing in disbelief at the front door
sob!
My husband and I are music lovers and have been playing a wide variety of music for our five year old. We started introducing some hardcore and metal and she LOVES it. Watching her make “rocker” faces and jump around pumping her little fists is amazing. Ultimately, I don’t care what her musical taste is, I just hope music can be a source of joy for her.
When my kid was still really little (like, maybe 4 years old?) we took him to a record store once where they had a chalkboard kids could draw on and he started happily drawing. “What are you drawing?” I asked him. He responded, “I’m drawing Motorhead.”
One of my four year old’s first interests was metal! His dad would play metal for him as a baby and he grew up loving the genre. He can easily identify a lot of bands and loves to pick which metal album we’ll listen to on the short ride to “camp” each morning. And his first concert was Iron Maiden at age 3.5. Everyone who saw him in his Iron Maiden T-shirt at the concert thought he was so cute and I kept telling them that my son was the super fan and we were there for him!
This is a bit off topic but i’m so overwhelmed so will vent a bit. I just had a second baby and am at a loss for how to soothe and make him calm and happy. He is literally never calm/quiet unless he is eating (and sometimes not then – he fights/grunts often) or sleeping (and he doesn’t sleep much, especially in daytime). We go through a rotation of holding, walking, carrier, play mat, swing, bouncy chair, stroller walk – he is never calm for more than 10 minutes, if i’m lucky. He’s already 2 months old and doubled his birth weight, so I’m fairly certain he’s not hungry all the time. We also have a 3-year old and while we’re lucky that he looooves the baby, it’s also challenging as the toddler has daycare coughs/germs constantly and all he wants to do is smush his face up to the baby’s. I’m having a hard time with feeling so annoyed at the baby’s lack of chill and so so guilty about my own inability to calm him down and make him happy. And of course all the guilt of not being as patient and attentive a parent to our 3-year-old, who is (understandably) in an extremely temperamental phase right now. I feel like i can’t be a good parent to either of them! I look at parents of multiples and wonder what is their secret.
We are with you. You are doing great. This phase will pass.
I just had my third baby and she is a dream. The only reason I’m telling you this (not to gloat) but it’s to say I SEE you and some babies are hard!! Some babies are easy. I promise it has nothing to do with your ability to parent!! My first baby was just difficult and only after having 2 others did I realize he WAS difficult!! It’s not because you’re doing it wrong or because everyone else is doing something better than you. One thing that helped was gripe water – I swore by that. Gas drops might help. Oftentimes they won’t treat for reflux if they are gaining but it wouldn’t hurt to try the reflux meds for 1 month (which is what I did, didn’t help). Mine liked when I would sit on the exercise ball and bounce him. But this is seriously so so difficult and so so frustrating. They are getting close to an age when you can put them in the tub together. Take them to the park and just let the little one cry – no one will care. Try wearing him in a carrier. Driving him in the car. Perhaps your 3 year old would like choosing music and going for a drive. Take him for ice cream often. I promise it gets better!! Hang in there you are doing great!!
Oh also my 2 month old likes watching tv. And so does my 3 year old.
There is no secret other than time. This is a HARD phase. I have the same age gap between my kids and, who are now 2.5 and 5.5 and it’s the best. You’re not doing anything wrong. Keep loving them and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise.
WOW, I was exactly where you are three years ago. It was so hard. No way around it. Things seemed to work the best if I took both kids out of the house and wore the baby in a carrier – an outing made me feel less mom-guilt about the older kid, and the stimulation/walking helped the baby. But, that angry baby got a lot happier once he was able to scoot around. And by 1 year, he was a joy, and still is. And I still remember crying every day during that time because I was so unhappy and exhausted. Hang in there, you’re doing a great job at a very very hard thing, that is very worth it.
I am sorry to read this. It is such a hard place to be in. I hope things ease up soon. If you are at all open to alternative support, and this is based on my personal experience, you may want to look into craniosacral therapy, which I mention because it is incredibly gentle and can be so helpful for new babies.It was beneficial for my son when he was a baby. Often midwives, birthing centers, and lactation consultants know of resources and give recommendations.
I feel you. I think the secret of other parents of multiples is time and luck. I had two under two and watching our second child growing up massively affirmed for me how much of these little humans’ personalities, challenges, and passions are pre-baked. The first six months with the two of them were my hardest parenting months yet – feeling like there was never enough to go around: enough of me, enough support, enough patience, enough time, you name it! I am sending you a big hug and wishing I could drop a hot coffee at your door this morning and a dinner ready for the oven at dinner time. I hope that for you, like for me, it gets easier and easier. Now our kids spend most of the day playing independently together and while our youngest is still ABSOLUTELY the person on planet earth who best tests my patience, I have reserves built up to withstand his insistence on throwing everything at everyone and those bleary hard-ass days feel like another life.
First of all… I am no expert. I have five kids and all of them were different. It is very hard so I want to make sure to validate you before offering any advice! We really loved happiest baby on the block and we were big on swaddling. To us that made the biggest difference. You could also consider going to a chiropractor? Perhaps baby is uncomfortable and doesn’t know how to express it besides irritability. I’m sure other people have suggested reflux as well. You are in the thick of it and the fact that you’re even asking this question shows that you are a great mom. Here with you in solidarity!
Hang in there! I second the sentiment that it is not your parenting, but kids are just who they are. I had twins and one was an easy baby and the other was very hard. She cried all the time, could not soothe herself to sleep, and had BIG tantrums for years. She still goes from 0 to 60 when she gets upset about something (she’s 11), but she’s also my more emotionally present, caring child. She’s an expert at giving hugs and making people feel good when they are sad, including friends at school. I know immediately when something is wrong and we work together to fix it. My “easy child” holds things inside and the problems seem harder to fix when they finally come out. So there are pros and cons to every personality and while this phase is hard, it will pass!
I hear this so hard. I had the most unchill third baby in the world. It was an agonizing time with a five and three year old and baby that never stopped fussing. I could not for the life of me soothe her and was so stressed out. I felt I was the worse parent in the world. Like others have said the only thing that worked was time. By the time she was 6 months old she settled down a bit, but truth be told she was an easily upset and volatile child until about 5-6 years old. Happy to report she was a dream of a teenager and now at 28 she’s a strong and independent woman. But man I didn’t think I was going to make it. It’ll change! Sending love ❤️
Echoing what everyone else has says at this stage but not all babies are the same. Ok, no baby is truly easy but some are comparatively easy! And some are… not. It feels harder because it is harder. You are a superstar and you will all come out the other side. Hang in there.
@C L Not sure of the specifics of your situation but we had a similar baby. Fussy when eating and only slept while being held. I was attempting to breast feed at the time with mixed success. At about 2 months, her doctor suggested we start using formula. It was almost like magic. She started eating easily from the bottle and sleeping. We had to start waking her up she slept so well. Absolutely no problems sleeping. She now goes to sleep at 7:45 and wakes at 6:30. No issues ever.
going from 1 to 2 (when the eldest is still so young) was the hardest thing in the world. Some practical tips: keep sending your eldest to daycare (can someone else do the morning routine and get him there?) ; get loop earplugs for yourself; carry baby in the football hold; when you are wearing baby make sure you are keeping your knees slightly bent and your tongue off the roof of your mouth (you have little strength right now, but carrying helps so do it safely) ; if you can give the baby to someone else for a couple hours, take your eldest to a coffee shop for a cookie date (it will do you both so good). You are doing great, it really is just that hard. I wish I could take a shift for you
C L I am an RN-Lactation Consultant. I work full-time time with infants and have for 20 years. The part that jumped out to me is that your 2-month-old has already doubled theie birth weight. Whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding or a combo of the two, I am very certain that your baby is over-feeding, and it is very highly likely that this is a huge part of your baby’s discomfort. I am sorry to say this because I know they mean well, but evey commenter who has said nothing can be done and you have to just ride this out – it is not true. I spend 40 hours a week working with families with challenges like yours. A skilled lactation consultant or infant feeding specialist should be able to get to the root of the problem very quickly.
I’m so sorry it’s so hard right now! My two are 5 and 18 months. Next summer, your kids will play together and it will be so sweet (and terrifying sometimes!). Time will pass! All the advice on reflux and gripe water that others have suggested is good. Perhaps some noise canceling headphones and lots of strong coffee for yourself. Good luck!
I had a very hard baby. She screamed constantly, refused to sleep even as a newborn, and had a hard time eating. She’s now 19 months old and sadly now has tantrums constantly and still has trouble napping. I have no advice, just know kids come out exactly who they are. Look up “highly sensitive children”. They need extra love and support. You did nothing wrong. You just have to get through it.
I’m late to this, but want to say solidarity. I was in EXACTLY this same place at the end of last year. New baby was so fussy, and I couldn’t tell if I had completely blacked out that phase with our first one, if our second was just particularly tough, or if having a 3yo running around (with daycare germs, as you said) just made everything that much harder. Still have no idea! Some kind of switch flipped at 4 or 5 months and now our baby is the happiest, chillest, sweetest, smiliest guy. Is great at entertaining himself and LOVES watching his brother do all kinds of stuff. I’m certain it’s nothing we did, and I’m also certain that every baby is different so I will not promise you a specific timeline. Just to say hang in there, you’re doing great, and if literally any help is available/feasible during this tough time, try to make it happen! You deserve lots of help in whatever form it takes. Love to you from a little bit down the road.
Until recently, I was a nanny for the same family for years. Their son went through a BIG hedgehog phase. We’d watch so many hedgehog videos on YouTube. I may never get the background song of his favorite out of my head. He loved them until my mom brought him a hedgehog stuffed animal and he burst into tears – apparently he had no idea that hedgehogs were “so tiny.” Without context of them with other animals (or even humans, in the videos, now that I think about it!), he had assumed they were the size of elephants!! His little sister has always loved music – specifically a boisterous female voice. Her current obsession is Pink Pony Club, so much so that she requests it as her bedtime song and we melancholically sing it as her lullaby. The other day I was taking her to the library, as their new nanny was out of town, and she wanted her photo taken behind a cut-out. I told her to say cheese and she responded with a huge grin and “pony club!” I’m 15 weeks pregnant with my first baby and I can’t stop thinking about what kind of person they are going to be! I can’t wait to discover all their “quirks and features” (as Doug Demuro says).
Bahahahaha! Thank you for sharing these two kiddos’ adorable personalities!
My freshly 3-year old LOVES playing restaurant. she’ll be the chef, she’ll be the server, she’ll be the customer. She has ice cream, hamburgers, lemonade no not lemonade, hot soda, what flavor ice cream do you want? It’s still cookin. Here ya go! It’s hot! blow on it ! You want coffee too mama? I’m not Lyla I’m a chef!
We recently moved, which meant a lot of hanging things all at once (pictures, curtains, furniture anchors). My 2.5yo son LOVES using the stud finder. It was actually quite helpful for keeping him entertained but in sight when something required both my husband’s and my hands at the same time. He also loves helping me in the kitchen. Whenever I’m cooking dinner he announces in his little toddler voice “I cooking like mama!” It usually means playing in the pantry, and it melts my heart.
We’re preparing for our first round of IVF and my heart feels so full and hopeful reading through these comments! Thanks to all for sharing.
Wishing you a happy & healthy pregnancy journey! I’m sure your little one will be loved beyond measure!
Go Emma! What a lucky little babe already, so wanted and loved by you and your courageous heart.
Good luck Emma! Make sure you schedule yourself some treats throughout the process. It’s my daughter’s first birthday on Friday and she is IVF from our second cycle :)
Yelling, COW or GOAT or HORSE at whatever farm animal we drive past. My newborn is 13 now and he isn’t into it but I will forever call out the animals on the side of the road. He just got a Skimboard on our recent holiday to the coast. He loves it, so now I love watching him do that.
My son just turned one and his newest thing is finding sneezes hilarious. He laughs so much if anyone around him sneezes. But he really loses it when he sneezes and will do this deep belly laugh. It’s the best!
My 3 year old son has been really into pinecones for a while now. For a short time he called them “ponecorns” which was the cutest. He loves spotting them while we’re out for walks, and he’ll often ask to go on a pinecone hunt. There’s a pine tree not far from us that is always dropping pinecones, so we’ll grab a bag or basket and go out for a hunt. We have a growing mound of pinecones near our front door because he can’t bear to part with them, but I don’t let them come in the house.
Welp, they’re officially “ponecorns” forever.
“Ponecorns”…….I’m in.
Laughing at this because my now-6yo also when through a pinecone phase. She would put them to bed in various places around the house. I specifically remember one day we had a pinecone wrapped in blankets on the kitchen counter and I was supposed to feed it its afternoon bottle. I had left for work and forgotten to do so and frantically called my husband to put the bottle on the counter next to the pinecone before I came home with the kids.
This reminds me of taking a walk with my four year old who casually said oh look it’s a smushed porcupine, look out. Reader, it was a pinecone.
My five-year-old is also into . . . toilets, urinals, and volcanoes. He draws detailed pictures of all three. The former include astonishingly anatomically correct figures using said fixtures. Let’s just say there’s a stack of illustrations that make our eyes pop, that we slip under a book when friends’ kids come over! :D
My five-year-old son LOVES music. He plays CDs and tapes (!) all day long on a little boombox (which we got thanks to COJ commenter recs a while ago). He is currently into replaying my high school piano recital tapes (eek, so bad) on repeat and a They Might Be Giants hits CD. Even the two-year-old wanders around now singing “My name is Dr. Worm…”
That is such a good idea!
not a real doctor, but i am a real worm!!
These bring back so many memories, but for those wondering what’s ahead, my 15- and 19-year-old daughters baked a cake today while working out harmonies for the K-pop Demon Hunters anthem “Golden.”
OMG the chokehold K-Pop Demon Hunters has on my 9 year old is strong! We went to the public pool last night and a whole group of tween girls were singing the soundtrack while going off the diving board. Her eyes lit up with that “those cool older girls like the same thing as me?!” feeling.
Can confirm my 9 year old obsessed with all songs from K Pop Demon Hunters, and has a secret crush on the boy band members! I told her I thought they were cute, too, and that it felt funny to have a crush on cartoons, and she giggled, so shy but so happy to be seen!
My 8 yr old son loves this movie, and we’ve been playing the soundtrack on repeat! Today we sang Golden together in the car, on the way to his swim meet!
My sweet 3 (almost 4!) year old is currently in a phase of making little hideouts in every room … just precious! And a favorite phrase of his continues to be “when I was a little boy,” e.g. “I used to like carrots when I was a little boy” 🥹 What a joy to watch these littles grow up!
Our kids, 3 and 4, basically enter another dimension when they’re doing puzzles together – their entire relationship dynamic also plays out in 30 minutes or less, from their ride-or-die love for one another to their extreme allergy for correction from each other. My husband and I always know they have a puzzle out when we hear, “I do NOT need coaching, I AM a coach!” in our daughter’s tiny firm voice from our living room.
I knew I was changed forever when a really good fire truck drove by and I was alone in the car shouting “wow, look at that one go.” Twenty-something me could not fathom noticing such a thing, let alone developing a strong affinity with certain fire trucks. I don’t know this woman, but I think I like her. In the words of Elphaba and Glinda, “I have been changed for good.”
I love this! Agreed, I appreciate trucks in a whole new way.
Same! I was on a workday walk to lunch with co-workers and a fire truck drove by and I did the whole ‘look at the firetruck!’ bit and stopped and pointed… and then remembered where I was and that I was 40 years old. They were very sweet and understood, we had a good laugh.
My two-year-old’s music teacher always sings “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and stop” at the end of each song and now whenever Margot is strumming her little ukulele around the house (which is often) she sings a song and then counts loudly, slowly to an arbitrary high number (14? 17? 23?) all out of order after 10 – and then yells “stop” and claps for herself. Cracks me up every single time.
Counting to 20 but never ever saying 17!
At our place it’s the 16 😂
My daughter did this but always skipped 13. We’d say she counted like an elevator!
My three year old loves counting to 20, always skipping 15!
Skips 15!
Hahaha we’re another elevator family – 13 does NOT exist to my 5yo!
On a recent bus journey, my husband and I were giggling as a 4-5 year old earnestly asked his mother whether 18 was a ‘necessary number’!
2 things my kid loves that I’m loving (3 y/o boy) 1) Riding his bike. His little legs can pedal 7 miles in a day! Real pedals, no training wheels! We watched the Tour de France every morning this month so now sometimes when he rides he pretends to crash and narrates, “Pogacar tapped his tire, he’s down, he’s back up!” He says he wants to “race the real Pogacar” one day. 2) Camping. He LOVES camping, and we didn’t get to this summer because we welcomed his little sister in March. He packs up his nap map and invites me to his “race car” (his bed) and we go camping. He rolls out his mat on the floor once we “arrive,” and we pretend bears are gonna get us and hide in our “sleeping bag.” Once we’ve survived the bears we “roast marshmallows.” We’re going to surprise him with a night of camping in our backyard on Friday night to celebrate the end of his summer break before he starts at his new preschool. 3 has been HARD, but filled with sooooo much magic, wonder, and growth (for everyone!).
My four year old fell in love with The Pog/Poggie this year, too! And “the one with fingers in his name” (Vingegaard) We’re in Australia, so we got up every morning to watch the highlights of what had happened overnight. I’ve always enjoyed the cycling for the scenery, it’s sweet to get to enjoy it now with a little fella! Maybe our boys can race each other up the mountains of France one day.
Our household watched the Tour de France avidly too! Each night we gathered on the couch to watch the extended highlights from that day. It was so fun to talk race tactics and cheer on all the highs and lows of the individual stages each day. Definitely having kids share in the joy and adrenaline of watching the cyclists made it ten times better of a viewing experience.
When I read this, my thought was “A future Champion!” Have you seen The Triplets of Belleville? It’s one of my “comfort food movies”. The aforementioned cyclist’s calm and focus has honestly inspired me since I first watched it a few years after release. I hope your son discovers even more to love about the sport. My bestie just biked through England and Scotland, and described it as an excellent experience. Who knows where he might take it too, right?
I just started a one question a day kids’ journal with my daughter who is 5.5 and will start Kindergarten soon. It has been such fun seeing how she answers the questions and what conversations they start. She has two homes so I hesitated to get a one question per day journal, but the truth is that she wants to do a few a day anyway, so we’ve been doing that. The rule we have is that we can look ahead at questions and talk about what our answers would/ will be, but she can only officially answer the questions in order on paper. We’re loving it, and I highly recommend it to others. Plus, what a cool time capsule for her to look back on later! The questions run the gamut, but here are a few samples: What is something that makes you laugh? If you could fly on a friendly dragon, where would you go? What is something you have done that you are proud of? Why are you proud of it? https://literati.com/store/product/one-question-a-day-journal-for-kids-365-days-all-about-me/r041180/?srsltid=AfmBOopK2eLi2whwRM4sgggJ2exrB-GXINHa-r8DAlU_WZ-uZ4QkNZhv
Last year my daughter went to bike-riding camp to learn how to ride a two-wheeler (or as she calls it, a “pedal bike”). She learned to ride on the first morning; I was amazed. When I praised her, I made sure to emphasize how proud I was that she’d tried over and over again even after falling many times because she really wanted to learn to ride her bike. “I already knowed you’d be proud of me for that,” she said, and then rode off casually. Good lord, I love that kid of mine.
Just this weekend I said to my now young adult daughter “Do you remember when you were little and you would take down everyone’s order for dinner, or coffee” mostly at my mum’s house. She loved playing a waitress. or she would come out of her bedroom with her double breasted coat, a handbag over her shoulder and she would have a clipboard in her arms saying she was a BIG businesswoman and was going to work.
This is so cute!
I played Glitter in the Air by Pink for my 5 year old and now she requests the Grammy performance with the aerial silks every night at bedtime. We also found a clean version of All I Know So Far to sing in the car. I’m so glad that we’re expanding past the very early baby music to include my own musical preferences again
My 7 yo son is into So What and Flowers by Miley Cyrus. I love singing with him and also encouraging him to see a female empowerment viewpoint.
There’s a 50/50 chance my 1.5 year old will blow a raspberry on my cheek instead of a kiss (I taught her this of course lol), it cracks us both up. Another cute thing- while i lotion her up after her bath, in order to keep her entertained, I’ll let her hold the tub of shea butter. To prevent her from trying to eat it, I showed her that she could just rub a little onto my arms, which she does with surprising care.
We keep a running list of Mommyisms: quiet please, salt is not a snack, two arms around and squeeze, I’m not your cruise director, Mommy tax, where are my glasses, to name a few. But I also have quietly logged their phrases du jour or more often, de la saison from when they were young to present (13, 13, 9). Sweet toddler word combinations from lasterday, disatrophe, rememborize and the smidgiest bit – to tween/teen lexicon including, legit, YEET, bussin’, I’m built different, low taper fade, sigma, because yeah, bruh. They never tire of hearing me read them out loud.
I want to adopt “I’m not your cruise director” with my four (6,5,3,1) but they will have absolutely no idea what it means! Need to explain cruises to them… 😂
My almost-2 yr old is OBSESSED with mantis shrimp. There’s a very specific video of a mantis shrimp punching a hermit crab that he needs to watch as part of his routine after bathtime. He gets wrapped up in his bathrobe, climbs into my lap, and shouts “Boom boom!” Here is the video in case someone else will enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Li1k5hGBE
This will blow my son’s mind, thank you
We just spent time with our 1 year old great grandsons – twins! They love to hide so you can find them. They aren’t walking yet so sometimes they just lower their heads or lay down to hide. They have small colanders in their toys and they use these to hide behind – the cutest! When you find them – they grin these big huge smiles! I could play that game all day and swoon with every smile!
My 5 year old is not one to show a lot of outward excitement, but the intensity of her focus when it comes to her special interests gets me every time. Arts and crafts are her big thing and the time, thought and laser focus she puts into her collages right now leaves me speechless. I cannot wait to see what she focuses her brain power on when she gets a little bigger. My 2 year old is fearless—as in first to jump off the diving board (with her life jacket) at the neighborhood pool party fearless. So she’s always excited about some new thing she’s tried, but she had a grilled cheese sandwich for the first time a few weeks ago and made sure to tell me at bed time “Mommy, I love grilled cheese sandwiches!” (In toddler-ese) Same, kid.
When our three daughters (now 5, 14 & 17) catch my husband and I both lying in bed, they all vehemently fight for “the middle”. It’s a hilarious love pile that is partly for our benefit but mostly a true expression of their only child fantasy.
When she was three, she would ride her scooter down the block singing « Zou Bisou Bisou » (yes, from Mad Men) but would stop every few houses to clean off her sunglasses. When she was six, she wrote to the phone company to tell them that it was « unfair » that people didn’t get to choose their own phone numbers. She also nicknamed me « Linda » (not close to my name) two years ago, and uses that name when she thinks I should be in trouble or when she really wants me to do something for her.
My son (7) and I share a passion for Harry Potter books, which we’ve been reading together (don’t @ me about JK Rowling….i know). Anyway, we’ve recently gotten very into listening to the soundtrack and my son is obsessed with John Williams now. We’ll listen, and he’ll say “mommy isn’t this part beautiful” or “this was when baby Harry was laid on the step.” Meanwhile my four year old will repeatedly ask “what instrument is THAT?!” with every new melody that’s introduced. As a former trumpet player in the marching band, it literally just makes my heart sing watching them connect with the music.
This has been the summer of roly-poly (pill bugs). My 3.5 son asks to look for them every day and my 1.5 son loves tagging along. We try to find the biggest one and my 3.5 says “come on big guy” while we wait for it to stretch out from being a ball. It is so much fun! I never thought I would get this excited about bugs but here we are.
Roly polys are such fun! We recently found out about this kids artist Uncle Jumbo with a song all about roly polys, and it’s too good not to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAUdg8jH_1c&pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD
My 3 year old son is in a sassy faze. I told him the other day, “It’s time to clean up.” He said, “Why?” I said, “It would be really helpful if you cleaned up.” He replied, “It be helpful you give me a cookie!”
love this!!
This makes my heart swell! My husband and I are going through the ups and downs of navigating some fertility issues on our TTC journey. I’m tucking this post away so that I can look at it again on hard days and remind myself how much we have to look forward to even if things feel “stuck” right now. I’m a kindergarten teacher and one of my favourite things to do at the carpet is sing “Head and Shoulders” really fast! All of the students get so silly and it always reminds me not to take life/ myself too seriously. Another big hit is “backwards like a robot” – singing all the parts in reverse in *beep boop* robot voice.
I am newly pregnant, first time (and feeling hopeful!) and this post is what I need! I was actively trying for a baby and yet it all feels so foreign and strange for now. Focusing on the things to look forward to is helping!
My kiddos are 7 and 9 now — and I have to say: This list holds up.
My three year old putting his shoes on the wrong feet, but thinking they’re on correctly, and then going on with his day. It’s a small, tender decision that I think is so precious. Whenever I see other children living their lives with shoes on the wrong feet it makes my heart swell.
My father’s favorite anecdote about me was when I was about 3 years old and did this – he said ‘your shoes are on the wrong feet!’ and I looked down and said ‘no Dad, those are my feet!’
I have one flip on this. I definitely did not grow up playing video games and have zero interest in them. They are my kids’ absolute favorite thing. I feel guilty that I don’t like something they love so much, but I can’t seem to muster the interest. I will sometimes snuggle up with a book on couch next to them while they play, but it’s usually too loud for that. Oh well. I think I’m at peace with this divergence.
Off point – but for a non-American (Australian here) that ‘rhyme’ Criss Cross Applesauce is hilarious, because in no way do those words rhyme to us!
My 11-month-old daughter loves criss-cross applesauce! She always squeezes her eyes shut and smiles for “cool breeze,” which kills me. (When my sister was little, she thought “Now you’ve got the shivers!” was “Now you’ve got the sugars!” So that’s what we say : )
For my three year old grandson, it’s shouting “MUM!” during the Bluey intro. It just tickles me so much. And the other day, I took him to a book store while his mom – my daughter – was getting her eyes checked. The way he RAN to her when we came out gave me happy tears. They live with me, and I get to see the ins and outs of their days, the frustrations, the exhaustion. That moment of pure joy was so very delightful!
My 22 month old son loves any and all machines. Recently, we went to my parents’ house and my dad showed him the garage door opener. He couldn’t get over watching the garage door go up and down and the big loud sound it made. He hasn’t stopped saying “I pushed button” and “I close garage door” for the past two weeks and recently my husband pointed out that this is probably genuinely his most exciting and proud moment to date! And I mean.. garage doors are pretty cool if you think about it :)
My 8-month-old LIGHTS UP when she eats the beautiful abundance of farmer’s market melon and stone fruit. She loves breastmilk, but nothing compares to those first sweet tastes of summer! (Also makes me so grateful she was able to start solids during this lush season).
I remember googling “how to have a conversation about Pokémon when you don’t understand Pokémon” because I loved hearing my son passionately talk about it, but had no idea what he was saying.
It’s like they are speaking a foreign language and I know 10% of the words. I’ll just be like “is the at one evolved” (whatever evolved means) or “what powers does that one have?” My kids hate me because I say charizard as though it rhymes with lizard and they are constantly screaming “it’s CHAR-i-ZARD”
The littlest kids at my daughter’s school made this video. Talk about cute!!! (Really reinforces to me what a great school it is too) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xBrXszwcOvk&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLwQsNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHsfKb4C-YfTDnxqe9EW-GzMTeRdngoU4VF_dtimHA3ruEDQUNjPZfchx1H99_aem_PMJPfQdolT4qnVrjALt62w
That is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. What a treasure, and what a joyful place! Also, “I want to be an ice cream scooper.” XD
That BEAUTIFUL ear worm is going to delight me for days!
I have a four year old son and his entire existence is so cute that it hurts so it’s impossible to narrow down a single anecdote to share. 1) He’s always been a snuggly mama’s boy but going through a particularly intense “mom only” phase. It’s trying but I know it’s just a phase so consciously trying to soak it all up. Like when he climbs into bed with me and falls asleep literally on top of me with our faces touching. 2) We are trying to encourage helping out and teamwork at home, which he has begun referring to as “doing a teamwork.” I cannot correct him. It’s too pure. “Me and Daddy are doing a team work to clean up my room. We’re family so that’s why we do a teamwork together.”
Mine are teens now so its amazing when we connect on a band or a show or movie and talking with them about the world and the things they care about and think about is wild and amazing. And I loved the pace they brought to my life when they were little kids, with their interest in nature and games and the time they spent immersed in what they enjoyed.
My spouse and I are childfree by choice, but our oldest niece just became a teenager and OH THE THRILL of mailing books to her that we’re excited she’s finally mature enough to read. She’ll read the whole book (which is a delight in itself) and then she’ll call us to discuss afterwards. It’s the BEST.
You are so important to your niece!
I feel this but with movies! I’m sure we’ll get there with books and I love that you have this ritual with your niece – I’m sure she’ll remember it when she is an adult.
That’s amazing– what a great thing it is that she has you and you have her. She’ll remember those books and those conversations forever. <3
My 6 yo and I were chatting the other day and he casually asked if I was glad I “borned” such a smart, confident and funny kid, which in itself just about killed me with sweetness and pride that that’s how he views himself. So of course I said yes and then we started talking about how weird and disappointed I would have been if I thought I was having a baby but instead “borned” all variety of things, including giants, a poop, a dog, a pig, a loaf of bread! Somehow that has transformed into a “family code” in which one of us can say “dog pig” and the other has to reply “loaf of bread!” to confirm their identity, and the most hilarious game is if one of us says “dog pig” and the other gets it wrong and has to be outed as an imposter!! Things get weird and I love it!