encouraging preschooler independence

When I was in residency, doing pediatric check-ups in clinic, one of the questions we were prompted to ask parents of five-year-olds as part of the developmental assessment was, "Can your child prepare a bowl of cereal by himself?" Almost every time, the parent would look mildly startled and respond with something like, "I don't know. He's not allowed to do that."

As I sit here now, while four-year-old Faith puts a bib on her toddler sister and pours bowls of cereal for both of them... I think, those parents are crazy!!!

I mean, sure, sometimes she spills a little. But that's why we have the paper towels stored where she can reach them.

Here are some ways we're fostering our preschooler's independence:

- We have a small water dispenser and plastic cups on a low table in the kitchen so she can get herself a drink without help.

- The paper towels (as mentioned above) are on a holder that hooks on the cabinet doors under the sink, so she can reach them without a stool.

- Their toys are in open baskets -- no lids for easier and quicker putting-away-- with labels with pictures. The pictures are key. The pictures mean that my pre-readers know where everything goes. Not only does this lead to less "Mom, where's my _____?" but they can put things away more effectively too. Labels with pictures are by far my favorite kid-organization tip.

- Same thing for our three-section hamper, so Faith can pre-sort her own laundry. She does a reasonably good job.

- Same thing for their shoes. (I, uh, might go a little overboard on labels. But they're SO AWESOME!) And the 4-year-old's hanging-up clothes (mainly skirts and dresses) are on a lower closet rod so she can access them and dress herself without help.

- We have a "clean up chart" that helps Faith straighten up without getting too overwhelmed, so she can accomplish mini goals even before everything is done. One the left half of a laminated* sheet is "To Do" with a sad face, and a bunch of small velcro squares. On the right half is "Done" with a happy face, and more velcro squares. Then we have a bunch of small laminated pictures of their different categories of toys with velcro on the back. So when it's clean up time, we stick the pictures of whatever they need to clean up on the left, and when they're done with one category of items, they get to move that picture over to the right side.

What do you do to encourage your kids to be independent in their daily activities? Any gold mines I've missed?

*Yes, I have a laminator, and it is awesome.

{p/h/f/r} - tropical weirdness & silly babies

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}!

Pretty:

A strange thing about living close to the equator is the way the days are pretty much the same length year-round (not to mention the lack of seasonal variation in weather). It really weirded me out when we first moved here; it felt like summer, it was JULY for goodness' sake-- not that that makes much difference here-- and yet the sun was setting before 7pm. It also rises by around 6am every day... which tends to lead to early-rising toddlers as well. But one benefit of being up with the sun is getting to walk into your back yard and see this:

Happy:

I mentioned in my last post about the free printable high-contrast images for newborns that I love. I claimed newborns love them too, and here I present Video Proof! Soak in the excited baby limb-flailing and fast breathing! (Oh, and a cameo from Josie.)

Funny:

These are Faith's favorite socks. She wears them year-round. I've considered taking them out of her drawer and putting them away (on the closet shelf? with the seasonal decor? in the trash?), but I mean... if jack-o-lantern socks made ME that happy, I'd wear them too.

Real:

Having three little kids who are reasonably close in age is great. They love each other dearly. Faith and Josie play fantastically together (or, well, as fantastically as one could expect a toddler and preschooler to play). But then there are also times like these:

Sigh.

To the linkup with you!

five favorites - newborn baby edition

With things how they are, 'round here we've been all about that baby, 'bout that baby. You know how it is. So now that I'm three kids in, I'm getting a pretty good idea of which newborn baby products I love and which I'm kinda just "meh" about. Here are five that I love!

1. Fisher Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper

Love this thing. It's portable and lightweight, doesn't take up much space, and gives me somewhere convenient to set the baby down during the day without worrying about him accidentally rolling off a piece of furniture, or getting stepped on by the dog. Plus it looks comfy. I kind of want a grown-up sized version.

We actually have a simpler version that doesn't vibrate, which is fine with me... I don't love the battery-operated kid-stuffs, myself. AND it was given to us by a friend, so.... free! Even better!

2. Free printable newborn infant visual stimuli

Twenty free high-contrast black-and-white images to print. I laminated some and hung them by the changing table. Jackson loves looking at them... he gets all quiet and alert, and his breathing gets fast and excited, and his eyes make little darting saccades all over them.

3. MoBoleez Breastfeeding Hat

So I know nursing covers are one of those topics that tend to spark Mommy Wars... so let me start by clearing the air: I do NOT think moms should be required to cover up when nursing their babies. But I personally feel more comfortable using a cover when I nurse in public. So I do.

This nursing cover was given to me at my most recent baby shower. I'd never seen one like this (I previously used one of those apron-style ones)... and I. LOVE. IT. It's so much quicker and easier and more unobtrusive. And smaller to carry around in my bag. And reversible and machine-washable. What's not to love?

3. Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper

This is one of those sidecar (a.k.a. attaches to my bed) co-sleepers. Again, we have an older, simpler version of this. But it's great for the first few months of life for breastfed babies. You have somewhere to put them down that's Not The Adult Bed, but you don't actually have to get out of bed to grab them for middle-of-the-night feedings. (I want to have baby to have a separate sleeping space because I'm a pediatrician and, y'know, SIDS risks. Though if there's any breastfeeding mom who claims she's NEVER slept with the baby in her own bed... I don't believe her. Even pediatrician moms.)

5. Muslin Swaddle Blanket

I don't know if this is the exact one I have, because I got mine for 50 cents at a rummage sale. (Score!) But any kind of muslin blanket would do. They're great because not only are they easy to swaddle with (more give than flannel or cotton receiving blankets, but less than jersey or waffle-weave), but they're also multi-purpose. You can use them as sun shades, nursing covers, changing surfaces, etc. Especially nice in hot weather since the muslin is so light and breathable.

Head back over to the linkup at Call Her Happy and read more favorites!

wiws - trinity sunday

It's my first time linking up with the ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday!

 Maxi dress: Old Navy

Camisole: Target maternity cami from years ago (works great as a nursing cami because it's so stretchy!)

Shrug: some generic thing from the Navy Exchange

Earrings and bracelets: Charming Charlie (cute birthday gift from my in-laws!)

Sandals: Famous Footwear

And how about what THEY wore Sunday?

Matchy-matchy polka-dot jersey dresses: Old Navy

(My girls love to match for church!)

Seersucker romper: hand-me-down from friends, not sure where it was originally from.

Now head back to the linkup to admire more well-dressed bloggers!

seven quick takes - ed. 29

1. I'm probably the last person to jump on this boat, but I've been trying One-Pot Meals lately, and they are AWESOME. (In case you've been living under a rock even more than I have, one-pot meals are just that... dinners that are all cooked completely in one pot, including the pasta/rice/whatever.) We just tried this one last night, and we all devoured it: Spicy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Tomatoes. Soooo yummy. (The commissary was out of grape and cherry tomatoes this week, so I just used a can of diced tomatoes. Worked fine.)

2. The definition of terrible: going to Guam's Department of Vital Statistics and Social Security Office... in the same day... with a 4-year-old, a 23-month-old, and a newborn... and waiting for 4 hours in total. I may have PTSD. I'll let you know.

3. In case you missed it, I'm sharing a free printable baby book with you. (I posted about it here.) Share with anyone who might enjoy!

4. It's a bit of a long read, but this article does a terrific job outlining the history of medical training and summarizing why it's so messed up. I'm sure the book that the article cites does an even better job... but I haven't read it. So I can't say.

Training Young Doctors: The Current Crisis

5. This video made me laugh. A lot. It's only 15 seconds, so you should watch it too.

6. This is really cool: Step Into a Van Gogh with a Virtual Reality Tribute to his Famous Paintings

7. Finally, here, have a picture of an adorable one-month-old boy-child. Enjoy.

Head over to link up with Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum and read more quick takes!

not dead, news, and a present for you

So, not that many people noticed my absence (that's what I get for being an intermittent blogger), but I'm back! And not dead! And decidedly less pregnant!

Meet sweet baby Jackson, born Monday, April 27 at 5:59pm. He's pretty cute. I think we'll keep him.

AND! I have a gift for you, which I meant to share months ago but didn't get around to until now. I was hunting around the internet for a printable baby book (preferably free, because, y'know... free). But I didn't really love any of the options I found. So I decided to make my own. And then I figured, with all that effort put into it, why should I be the only one who gets to enjoy it?

Click to view and download, and please tell me if you have trouble: Woodland Boy Baby Book.

I made it using PicMonkey and this user's fabulous digital scrapbook pack "In The Woods." (Don't worry, according to her terms of use, it's okay to share projects created with her stuff.) And I guess it could work for a baby girl too, if you don't mind a lot of blues and greens. I inserted the pages into sheet protectors and used a 3-ring binder (which I plan on cute-i-fying at some point).

The thing I love about printables for things like this is you can pick and choose which pages you want. I did design it so that, if all the pages are used in the order given, opposing pages will match or coordinate, but it's all from the same scrapbook pack, so it all coordinates, really. So if you rearrange things, it won't make much difference in aesthetics.

So if you or anyone you know is in the market for a free baby book, please share!

seven quick takes - ed. 28

1. This normal pregnancy shortness of breath (aka physiologic dyspnea of pregnancy) is killing me. Okay, not literally... obviously. Otherwise it wouldn't be normal/physiologic. I don't know if Jackson is sitting higher than the girls did, or if I just notice it more since I'm not working full-time, but when it hits hard I feel like I'm dying or something. Luckily it comes and goes, so I have periods of time where I can breathe comfortably, but man... I will not be sorry when this baby drops, even if I do start having to pee twenty times a day.

my poor internal organs, haphazardly shoved aside.

2. Vignettes from a house with two small girls:

Faith: "Mama, can put your cereal bowl in the sink?"
Me (thinking she is making a sweet offer to help): "Sure, baby!"
Faith (after a pause): "So, do it!!"

At 4:30am, I was woken by the following:
Faith: "Josie! JOSIE! Wake up! It's time to get up!"
Josie (sleepily): "Dawa? Uh?"
Me (jumping out of bed and rushing to the girls' room): "Faith! Stop!! It is not morning time!!!"
My thoughts: "WTF WHYYYYY"


3. If you haven't read this yet, do it. It is high-larious. The Presidents of the United States: In Order of Hotness. A few choice (spoiler-free!) quotes:

Here is a man whose appearance would be radically improved with the simple addition of a neck tattoo.

Nothing is sexier than a man giving a speech while covered in blood.

What’s not to love about a corrupt bad boy who plays by his own rules? He’s like the James Dean of presidents!


4. Honest Toddler makes me laugh every time.

5. Did you know you can download Facebook videos (without also downloading scammy-looking freeware)? I just figured this out. It actually works-- this was how I downloaded Faith's birthday video from earlier this week. Here's how you do it:

6. Ugh. The commissary on base has had pretty slim pickings lately, and it appears it'll be awhile before it gets better. DeCA expects several more months before Pacific commissaries return to normal. On Guam, there aren't really any civilian grocery stores in the same way we think of grocery stores in the states-- and the prices are absurd (think $8 for a gallon of milk), so we're kind of in a tight spot.

Shipments of staples are delayed often enough that it's not unusual to find shelves looking like this (photos from this past Monday, courtesy of my friend Katie):

bread selection

chicken selection

Thanks a lot, West Coast dockworkers!



7. Aaaaand I don't have a seventh take, so head back over to This Ain't the Lyceum!