Crafting with Princess C

I'm trying to find more things Princess C and I can do toghether while Princess R is napping and Princess V is at school. I don't think it will be long before the naps are gone, and I won't get this special time with Princess C anymore.  So today we made a magazine holder for all The Friend magazines. 

Princess C got to pick out the paper. I cut the top and portion of a side off a Chex box. Together we glued the paper on to the box, and filled it with The Friend.

Lesson learned by Princess C - glue is fun, but can sometimes be stubborn.

Lesson learned by Mommy - Chex boxes aren't quite long enough for magazines, but will make do.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Princess R and I woke up early and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to upload pics from the iPad :(
After some baking was done Princess V and Princess C helped Nana make the table place settings. It was a lot of fun, but again no picture, because I can't figure out the upload from the iPad.

Princess C's preschool

We do a coop with some ladies in our ward for Princess C's preschool. She has had so much fun, and I've really seen the amount of growth she's had by having something just for her each week. Today we had a little "Thanksgiving Feast", and I hosted it at our house. The kids had so much fun, and despite being a bit chaotic, I think the mom's had fun too. 

We started with a craft

hand and footprint turkeys (thanks Mom to 2 posh little divas!)

Then we ate snacks that each child brought. We had yummy peppermint cookies, rice crispie treats, ants on a log, and candy corn! YUM!

While the kids ate I read them a story about being thankful

If we had had anymore time, we were going to learn to spin tops, and roll a hula hoop across the floor. Things pilgrim children would've played.

Snowy day fun

With more snow bringing lots of cold, we stayed inside yesterday.The Princesses were begging to paint, and I felt it was the perfect kind of day to let some mess happen.

I covered the table in newspaper. Poured paint onto a paper plate. Then gave each Princess their own paintbrush and paper plate to paint. They had lots of fun! Princess R enjoyed painting her plate, and then herself.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Temper Tantrums

Welcome to Toddler Talk Thursday hosted by Family and life in Las Vegas, Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, and Crazy About my Baybah!

This weeks topic is

How do you handle toddler temper tantrums?

There are so many ways to "handle" a temper tantrum, and I'm pretty sure I've tried them all! I kind of feel like a pro in this area (still undecided if that's a good thing to be a pro at or not....).  When we first started experiencing temper tantrums with Princess V, it frustrated us. I think mostly because we didn't understand her, and she didn't understand us. We used a lot of time outs.  Eventually I started realizing that this didn't fix the problem.  We'd just reset and repeat, day after day. 

So I started looking for the root of the problem?  Was she throwing a tantrum because she needed more attention, because she couldn't communicate with us yet, or because she was tired?  These are the 3 main reasons I find cause tantrums in toddlers. Now Princess V is no longer a toddler, and I feel some of her tantrums are more a battle of wills, then the other 3 things I mentioned. So I'll get back to her in a bit.

If the tantrum is caused by lack of attention, I get down on their level. I quickly evaluate what I've been spending my time doing, and cut back on housework, blogging, and anything else that my attentino was  being drawn to. When I get on their level, they get that attention they need. Sometimes, it's just a hug, but more often that not, they need to feel special. So we bake together, play dolls, read books, and dress up. 

If the tantrum is caused by lack of communication, I must slow down, and figure out what it is they are wanting. Most of Princess R's tantrums usually come from this communication barrier. She has figured out a great way to communicate with us though. No it's not through signing, though I wish I was better at teaching that. It is a great way for toddlers to communicate. We did use it with Princess V, and the change was wonderful! Princess R though, will grab hold of our hand, and lead us to whatever it is she needs/wants. If she wants a drink, she takes us to the kitchen. She can get her own cups, since we put them on her level. So once we're in the kitchen she will give us her cup, and then either wait for us to put something in it, or try and open the fridge on her own. Sometimes we still have the barrier of communication if I give her the wrong drink, like water or juice instead of milk, vice versa.  So we take the time to point and say each drink. When we get to the one she wants she smiles and nods her head.

If the tantrum is caused by being tired, which many are. We just grab pillows and blankets, and all lay down together. Sometimes it's in front of the tv, sometimes it's in our beds, and we grab some books to read.  Other times, it just means we go to bed early.

Now back to Princess V. She's not a toddler anymore, but I'd like to prepare you toddler moms for what's to come! The battle of wills!  I believe Princess V likes testing her boundaries. Being the oldest, she likes to get bossy, and when things don't go the way she wants them to, a tantrum will usually ensue.  I find at times like these, it's best to give her some space. Instead of sending her to a time out, we have her "take a break" in her bedroom. She can play with her toys in there, read books, or sit and cry. We just won't allow the tantrum to be held all over the house. This for the most part works. She gets time away from her siblings to play by herself, and think about what happened. Most of the time she understands why she had to take a break, and will apologize. Other times, she doesn't understand what happened. I always try to make sure to calmly tell her what about her behavior was wrong, so she understands and can try not to repeat it.

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Holiday Portraits

I got an email earlier this week, for a some free stuff from Kiddie Kandids (photo shoot, 5 photos, and a cd).  I really love Kiddie Kandids, so I jumped on this offer!  Aren't the Princesses cute all dressed up for Christmas?  Sadly this was one of our worst sessions ever, because for the life of me I could not get Princess R to sit still, and Princess V to get her fingers out of her mouth (what is up with that one?!).  So we had a limited selection of picture to choose from.  I still like it, and I can't wait to get the sheets to send to family with Christmas Cards (yeah, I'm on top of things this year!!).

*I was not asked to write about Kiddid Kandids. I did recieve free product through a local promotion. All opinions are expressly my own.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Bullying

It's thursday! Time for parents of toddlers to come together to talk all things Toddlers!

Hosted by Family and Life in Las Vegas, The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, and Crazy About My Baybah.

This weeks topic -

Playground etiquette: What do you do when another child is pushing, hitting, kicking or hurting/bullying your child at the playground.

We haven't had a problem with this very often.  I think more and more parents are stepping up and really watching their children to keep bullying from happening. The only incident I remember was a couple years ago when Princess V was about 2 or 3. There was an older child at the park, probably around 5 or 6, who kept running at Princess V and pushing her. Then not letting her play on any of the equipment. I had seen this boy talking to an adult earlier, and assumed it was probably his mom. At first I didn't do anything. I just told Princess V to find somewhere else to play, and leave the boy alone. That didn't work, because the boy would still find her and push her around. I watched as the supposed mom (adult in charge at least) watched this child bully my daughter, and do absolutely nothing about it.  I finally said enough was enough, and cornered the boy to let him know his behavior was inappropriate and it had better stop. I may have threatened something like telling his mom, or calling the cops (yeah I would too), but I don't remember if I did or not. However, he did leave Princess V alone after that, and his parent/adult had watched the whole interaction, and then went right back to chatting with her friend.  I was about ready to give that mom a piece of my mind as well, but decided I'd leave it alone. 

So other than that, the only other issues we've had are my kids not always being nice to others. They get impatient, won't wait in line for the slide.  Not really bullying, because it's never done intentionally, but still not being nice. I usually give the Princesses one warning, before we leave and they lose the privelege of playing at the park/playplace. 

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Book of the Week

Princess V's preschool has begun a backpack reading program. They have a small stack of books that the kids can choose from each day to bring home. They write their name on a library card (you know the old way libraries use to check out books?), place it in their name slot and bring the book home. I think this is a great way to help the kids enjoy reading! Last week we checked books out twice. First it was Are You My Mother by PD Eastman then we brought home The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman.  I fell in love with this book! There's a mom and a dad, and they have a child who will only eat warm milk, nothing else. Every year or two they have another child, who also will only eat one specific food. The mom starts out happily cleaning up spilled milk, and getting more. After seven kids who are all picky, the mom begins to get tires, worn out and frustrated. There was one specific picture I truly connected to! I thought, boy I sure feel like that sometimes, haha. 

Besides me being able to connect to this book, Princess V has also loved it. She asks us every night to read it, and then she takes it to bed with her to look at the pictures.  The words in this book flow amazing. King Daddy even came up last night still ryhming, and smiling because he too enjoyed the book.  I think we may put this on our Christmas list this year, to add to our shelf.

Snow Day

We had our first good snow of the season (it's been sprinkling here and there for a bit, but not sticking).  So what did we do? We played in it of course!

Princess R was a little unsure what to think about this cold white stuff.

Snow Angels were the first order of business.

Along with catching falling snow on tongues.

We then moved on to creating a snowman. The snow was perfect for snowman building!!

PUSH!

We were too tired to create a 3rd ball (actually it was created but someone took off with it, and couldn't remember where they left it....) So Princess V and C had fun piling more snow on top for a head, while Princess R and I tried to get a fire started...no such luck.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Haircuts

This weeks topic is

How do you get your toddler to sit still for a haircut?

My simple answer, I don't.  I have never wanted to cut the Princesses hair, but King Dad likes to give them trims, so I let him deal with it. He usually sits them on the sink so they can watch in the mirror, and then gives them something to hold. When they were really younger we would even turn the water on and let them play in the water. Here's a picture of Princess V's first haircut at 16months.

We have taken Princess V and Princess C to a professional.  Princess V's first trip was a bit emotional for me, since it was neccessary...

She found the scissors.

We came home looking like this. AHHH! She was still a cutie, and I can laugh about it now.

Princess R has yet to have a haircut, and I'm hoping it stays that way for awhile.

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts.That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.
3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up.Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

4. If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

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This link up is for families that have toddlers.Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting.Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.