1. You know what’s super classy? Us at church. Not. During the last several Sundays during the reverent silence of the sacrament (communion), my children have been known to shout the following…
- “I NEED TO (insert bodily function here)!!!”
- “WOW THIS CEMENT MIXER POURS THE CONCRETE anna RACECAR GOES FAAAAAAAAST!”
- “You have a kinda really polka-dot face, Mama” (freckles)
- “I NOT A BE LOUD, MAMA! I NOT A BE LOUUUUD!”
- And, my personal favorite…”You know I’m all about that base, ’bout that base…”
No amount of whisper-shushing works. No child pays the slightest bit of attention to their parents gesticulating and shushing and turning purple with embarrassment. It’s really terrific. I’m sure everyone is so happy they’re sitting by us, the glowing example of pious reverence… #sarcasm
2. Take a cheese. Speaking of church, Milo and Sophie have determined that it’s very important for me to “take a cheese” of them after church sitting on a big rock. I don’t know why this became important, but each of them insists on rock sitting and photo taking despite the fact that no one will look at the camera. In his defense, Milo is usually man-shouting the word “cheese,” as in the above picture, so he gets partial credit.
3. Guys, we watched another movie. The YouTube clips of songs and scenes trick is working for us! We watch song and movie clips from Disney movies to familiarize Sophie with what’s going to happen, and she did okay during Robin Hood this week! We thought it seemed a natural step up from Jungle Book, since there’s a bear voiced by the same guy and a silly snake in each movie. Milo is in heaven, and Sophie did something hard. I’m so happy for everyone!
p.s. Anyone have a suggestion for our next one? Sophie scares super easily (the animated Cinderella was TERRIFYING for her and we only for 15 minutes in, so I think Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Little Mermaid are out for now because of their villains). She also for some reason REALLY doesn’t want to watch Aladdin. I don’t know why. The cover is too much for her.
4. Our train set has proven one of the best toy purchases we’ve ever made. It’s played with just about daily, often several times a day. Milo LOVES to play trains, and Sophie’s good for a few rounds before moving onto something else. We bought this set from Melissa & Doug and a little one from IKEA.
If you’re not sure your child will love a train set, I’d totally recommend the IKEA one (or two) to start with. It’s super inexpensive (like $10), very high quality and fits together with other train sets (like our Melissa & Doug one). Once you know that train sets are your thing, I can’t recommend the Melissa and Doug one enough. It’s got everything (including plenty of trains) and endless configuration possibilities.
5. Lastly, a question: if you got to save up for a big trip somewhere in a few years WITH two children (who will be around 6.5 and 8 years old), what would it be? Hawaii? The Oregon coast? A cruise? Disney World with all the trimmings? I’d say Europe, but I’d rather do that sans children or when they’re old enough to appreciate it.
We have some other, smaller trips planned in the next few years (including Disneyland in CA), but Michael will have a big work break/sabbatical in a few years and dreaming of/saving for a big special trip is something to look forward to and keep me going. What dream vacation would you plan for?
It’s not your dream trip to come to California and hang with the Parents? Whaaaa?
I do love the Oregon Coast, but it can be VERY chilly. (Hawaii is a little too warm/humid for me – but it surely is a beautiful place. I’d go back to Switzerland in a heart beat… What a fun thing for you to plan ahead for !
First. I so hear you in the church department. I just told my husband last Sunday it was the first time I didn’t break a sweat wrangling kids in church…in a long, long time. Second. We just booked a trip to disney world in Oct of 2016 and I’m already super excited. Florida is closer for us, but if I were you I’d be super tempted to do Hawaii since it’s on my bucket list. Good luck deciding!
Your kids sound a lot like mine at sacrament meeting! Lady an the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians are a good bit tamer in the villain department than some of the princess ones.
So next movie to watch could be aristocats the main character is the same guy as baloo and there really isn’t anything too scary (rain and a car crash is all). It’s also an older film so the color palate will be similar to what she’s seen in the other movies. Then maybe Peter Pan
I second the recommendation for Aristocats. It is decidedly not scary and my 3 yo loves it while she is scared of other Disney movies. She also really likes the Fox and the Hound. She doesn’t get the hunting part of it and there isn’t really a villain, just a grouchy old man.
I love love love Northern Michigan for vacation. Sand Dunes, Mackinaw Island, lake time, nice midwesterners, affordable, cherry picking, and blueberry picking. Also we loved the Oregon Coast. Our big vacation we’re saving for is Hawaii, because I’ve never been. Disneyworld seems like it might be sensory overload for Sophie, but maybe not? I really hate crowds so vacation to me means finding places where there’s stuff to do, but also a feeling of isolation and opportunities for tranquility. I like having a quiet homebase and then seeking out little adventures in short bursts.
One of my favorite movies that we took our son to when he was 3 was “Babe”. It is so precious and there is nothing scary or offensive about it. Regarding dream vacations: I think places like Disney are too expensive and overwhelming for young children. My boys really enjoyed New Orleans (they have a great zoo) and St. Louis. Now for the parents: Sonoma and Tuscan! Both places are affordable, beautiful and romantic.
Oooh! Such good suggestions! I’m hoping by 6 and 8 we’ll have better coping skills for whatever trip we decide on than we do as a toddler and preschooler, but I LOVE those suggestions! THANK YOU!
Love Babe! I’d forgotten about that one. Also thanks for the vacation suggestions. I’ll check them out for sure!
I think Hawaii would be great at those ages! Something like the Grand Wailea Resort (Maui) or even the Aulani (Disney on Oahu) would be fun for both kids and adults. Hawaii in general has great food options (and a lot of it is easily dairy and GF) which is important when traveling! Might be more of a splurge or just not logistically possible, but I would recommend bringing along someone who can watch the kids part of the time so you could enjoy a few kids-free activities and dinners too. We travel with my parents when we can and it’s super helpful! When we were kids, they brought our gymnastics coach on a few vacations so they could do the same. Everyone wins.
Jenny – THANK YOU for this!
You should try the Studio Ghibli movies. Ponyo is a much softer take of the little mermaid, no scary villain. Our Neighbor Totoro is our daughters all time favorite. The Secret of Ariety is a retelling of the borrowers. Kikis’ Delivery Service is about a cute witch going out on her own. No big scary villains, beautiful and soft colors and a couple cute songs. Not as singalong fun as Disney but very very kid friendly.
Krysta – I’ll check them out! Thank you for the suggestions!
Maybe Sword in the Stone? There’s not really an evil villain, and who doesn’t like pretending to be a bird, a fish, and a squirrel? And watching dancing furniture while singing silly words 🙂 Mary Poppins doesn’t really have a villain either, but I’m not sure how well it would hold the littles attention at some points. But the scenes where they are in the chalk paintings are fun! Do you think she would be okay with Peter Pan (Captain Hook isn’t as evil as Ursula)? Or what about Fantasia? Some of those are really fun (maybe not the Mickey and the Sorcerer one). Lilo and Stitch? I’m trying to think of ones that don’t really have villains, or scary ones. Hope that helps!
I’d forgotten about that one! Such a good one. And I’ll have to give Fantasia another look. She loves classical music (like on Little Einsteins, etc.), so that might be a good fit. THANK YOU for these!
Disney might be a little too much sensory for Sophie, but I can’t say enough good things about their work with people who have special food needs. They ask at every single meal if you have food allergies/preferences, and they will have the chef come out to talk to you and even design special meals if need be. Also you can bring your own food into the park, so if you have snacks or water or w/e you need, Disney is totally cool with that. I’ve seen people eating pb&j sandwiches inside the park. Just wanted to share that nugget with you. 🙂 Good luck traveling with your beautiful family!
I was totally going to mention The Aristocats too! Wall-E barely has a villian so maybe that may be ok? I live in Portland and there is a lot to do along the Oregon Coast. Maybe a cruise? There are always lots of things for kids to do too and then you’ll dock a few days to explore new cities.