Happy Birthday Momala!

Today my Mom would be 59 years old (and she would probably kill me for posting her age on the internet). 

It goes without saying how much I miss her. I am so sad that she didn't get the opportunity to meet and love on Ellie. I know they would adore each other. 

I am so thankful for all the memories I have of her, the lessons she taught me, and the love she gave me. I wouldn't be the woman I am without her nor would I be the mother I am without her guidance throughout my childhood.  

She was a woman of good character and was loved by so many people. Ellie will be a lucky girl if I am even half the woman she was. 

I love you Momala! Happy Birthday!! I know you are partying it up hard in Heaven with my angel babies! I love you and miss you so much. 

-Ashley

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I can't let today go by and not say Happy Birthday to my Daddy. He is 73 today!

I am so incredibly blessed to have this guy as my Daddy. He has been a great provider and is so tender hearted. He truly is a caring man and I consider myself lucky to have had him in my life!

I love you Daddy. Happy Birthday!

-Ashley 

Toddler Tuesday - with Alycia

You know what I love about tuesdays? This series!!! I cannot tell you how much I am learning from all these other moms!!  I have Alycia here today.  She has the cutest little girl called Palmer.  Not only that but Alycia has some top notch tips on helping your toddler gain their "independence" which is something we all can use a little help with!!  I sure know that I can with how Ellie has been lately and its nice to know that I'm not the only one going through this.  So go on and take a peek into Alycia's life here and then grab a coffee and hop on over to her blog for a while - I know you are gonna love it!

I want to thank Ashley for allowing me to be a part of her series, Toddler Tuesday. I have enjoyed reading all the tips the other mama bloggers have had to say. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my ideas too.

Firstly, I'll introduce myself. I'm Alycia and I blog over at Crazily Normal. I am married to my husband of 3.5 years, Mitch and we have an 18 month old daughter, Palmer; our little firecracker! We are jumping feet first into the "toddler independence" stage right now, so I thought it was fitting to talk about this.

Toddler independence is something we are trying to take with a grain of salt these days. It can be very frustrating for us as parents as well as for your child. Being unable to effectively communicate what it is they want or are trying to do is the first battle. Then come the tantrums; the kicking and screaming and flailing around on the floor. Then the frustration sets in. I all too often find myself getting frustrated with Palmer when she doesn't listen, but I need to imagine where she is coming from; her point of view. She is just a child learning about her environment and trying to gain the knowledge to succeed. Sometimes, allowing her to make mistakes, although it may be difficult to watch as a parent, will be the best way she can learn.

So, from there, I will share with you my Parent Strategies for helping your child transition to becoming an independent toddler. (Disclaimer: I am no expert. I'm just going by what I imagine might work in hopes of being right as we jump into this journey of raising a child)

1. Let them make their own decisions.
 I don't mean all decisions. I mean things like apple juice or orange juice with breakfast. Or do you want to wear this shirt or this dress? Simple things that can make them feel like they have the control. Palmer will happily point to which snack she wants after her nap or will choose from a variety of books which one to read before bed. It's simple things like this that can help your child feel independent and allow you as a parent to keep your sanity, at least in this moment.

2. Patience.
This is a time of learning for your child; a time of figuring out the world around them. This won't happen in a minute/an hour/a day. It will take time and lots of patience from you as a parent. So it takes Palmer 4 minutes to try to put on her shoes, yet she still gets it wrong. That's OK! Allot that extra 5 minutes it takes for her to get herself ready. So she's trying to use a fork but ends up with most of her spaghetti on her lap? This is why she eats naked for 95% of her meals! She can't eat with her hands and be this messy forever or she'll never get a date. No better time to learn.

3. Pick your battles.
I'm sure we have all heard this all too often. Is it really horrible that your child wants to wear two different shoes? No. Is it the worst thing in the world if they want to wear a toque in the middle summer? No. Ridiculous? Yes. Horrible? No. Is it really worth watching your toddler throw themselves on the floor and acting like their entire world just came crashing down? I think not!

hey, at least they are the same kind of shoes, and there is a left and a right!

4. Keep your sense of humor. 
  I find Palmer will react better to my requests if I incorporate something silly. Making funny noises and silly faces will make her forget what she was mad about and help me clean up the toys. Keeping things funny will help you keep your sanity! I'm sure the people in the grocery store think I'm some kind of whacko crazy person, but at least I don't have a crying child!

This stage of toddlerhood is them finding the balance between their need for independence and their need for dependence. It can be difficult but also so amazing to watch your child grow and become this little person doing things for themselves. Obviously, there are many things they still need mom and dad for, but trying to differentiate what they can and can't do is hard.

Some days they want to do things by themselves. Other days, they want mom and dad to help. Whatever type of day it is, remember, your little person is trying to develop into someone who knows what they want and can think for themselves.

And remember....it's just a phase. It will pass, thank goodness!!!

pretty fantastic, am I right?!!  Thank you so much Alycia for going on this crazy parenting journey before me and letting me know what to expect and how to navigate it!!

♥ Ashley

love this series as much as I do?  Have a toddler and want to contribute?  I would LOVE to have you write a guest post! Just send me an email or comment here and I will get you on the calendar!!!

Monday Meals Mashup

I feel like it's been a while since I posted a menu. Being on summer break really changes up our schedule (ie there is no real schedule). 

Here's what we have cooking this week:

It's finally wedding week for my BIL! We have been waiting and "preparing" for this wedding for over a year and are beyond excited that it's finally here. Thomas is the Best Man and I have the privilege of being a bridesmaid!  

Monday- Thomas is at the Sounders game so were are having a DIY dinner night. 

Tuesday - it's time for some good old pasta. We have an abundance of zucchini in the garden so that might make an appearance one way or another. 

Wednesday - a friend of ours is having a BBQ and we are invited. I'm bringing my moms famous pasta salad and we are in for a good time. 

Thursday - I have been watching a bunch of cooking shows lately and I've seen a lot of burgers. They are calling my name! I think I'm gonna make some ranch burgers by mixing ranch powder with the meat and then serving a side of zucchini fries!

Friday - I can't believe that the time is finally here for the rehearsal dinner for my BIL and his fiancé. We're ready to spend some quality family time for this event and hopefully have some good food.

Saturday - today's the day.  It's wedding day, so we're going to be having a festive day all day getting ready to celebrate my BIL and his fiancé for their marriage.  We're going to have some prime rib and enjoy spending time with family once again. Hooray!

Sunday - all the festivities are over and we're going to spend some quiet relaxing time and maybe make a soup for dinner. Like I mentioned before where have zucchini coming out of our ears so I'm thinking I might make a gazpacho, especially since we are experiencing another heatwave here in the PNW. 

What's cooking in your kitchen this week? I would love to know!

-Ashley 

Travel Diaries - Scotland (travel and day 1)

So apparently I am totally into series on the blog at the moment.  And you know what? I am totally okay with that!  I have a new mini-series that is going to talk about our recent vacation to Scotland and Ireland.  We had a total blast and I cannot wait to share our adventures with you all (and for record keeping for myself).

We had the great opportunity to take an amazing road trip around Scotland and Ireland with my Daddy.  It was a trip we had planned to take back before my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer, when she got diagnosed the trip went on the back burner and now since Ellie is still essentially "free" to travel with, my Dad thought it would be the perfect time to go.  And of course with the opportunity to go to the motherland we couldn't help but agree.

Scotland - Travel Day

Let's start off with the travel part.  We had to take 3 planes to get to Scotland.  Seattle to Chicago then Chicago to Dublin (35 minute layover - stress me out) and finally Dublin to Glasgow (45 minutes layover with a trip through customs and back through security - stress x5)

After nearly 14 hours of travel we finally arrived to our destination country.  We rented a car at the airport (as well as a car seat for Ellie - she had to be facing forward) and then began our journey of seeing the country via road trip.  In Scotland you drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road and most rentals are standars (stick shifts).  Thomas was able to adapt rather quickly to this new driving skill though I am not going to lie there were some hazy moments here and there and only one trip over the curb on the shoulder.  Not too shabby.

Our first stop on the road trip was to Stirling.   We did a little sight seeing and had some Indian food for lunch.  Then headed to our B&B called "The Barn", it was a little difficult to find so a very nice lady at the petrol station kindly offered to guide us there! Even though it was called the barn it was nice place.  After arriving we were so tuckered out from our voyage that we decided to take a quick nap - that lasted nearly 5 hours!! (of course due to the stress of the day traveling with close calls on all of our connecting flights - I got a wicked migraine) we headed across the street to the well suggested restaurant for dinner.  Since my head was pounding so bad, I skipped dinner to head back to the room for a hot shower and time in the dark hoping my meds would kick in soon so I could feel better.  The boys (and Ellie) finally came back after dinner and watching the World Cup in the bar and we all fell asleep in a matter of minutes. 

Scotland - Day 1

I awoke at 3:30 in the morning fresh as a daisy - no migraine in sight! but then I couldn't fall back asleep.  So I watched the sunrise at 4:45 and tried to get some catchup reading on my blogs - thank goodness for wifi! Finally around 6:15 I started to get heavy eyed and was able to go back to sleep until it was time to get up at 8.  

We all got ready and hopped across the street to the same restaurant for breakfast and went on our way to visit William Wallace monument - we didn't actually go up but got a picture and stopped in the gift shop where we found the most adorable children/s books and a cool shirt for Thomas.  

Then we stopped by the bridge on our way to Stirling Castle.   Okay folks this was a fantastic Castle.  There was a lot of history found here and it was all very well maintained.  Some of the rooms were furnished as they might have been back in the day and it seemed to be very clean.  The grounds were beautiful and they even had a few activities for children and adults alike to partake in, so this was a very family friendly Castle (although the terrain might be a bit of a challenge for those who are not very stable on their feet)  We also went down to the kitchen where they had it all staged with manikins and whatnot to see what it was like.  Cool points about the Castle: the Tapestries hung in one of the rooms depicts the Passion of the Christ by way of a Unicorn being hunted, the Great Hall once held a ship for a sea themed dinner, and we learned about the significance of the Coats of Arms in the Queens bedroom.

After finishing up with the Castle we started on to our next stop Glencoe.  The views and countryside of Scotland are just beautiful.  On the way we drove through Drymen and saw a wedding party taking photos, then we went to Balloch and had a boat ride tour around Loch Lommand.  As we had quite a distance to travel we didn't get too much time in Balloch but it seemed to be a very quaint town.  We stopped in a convenience store and had a sausage roll for lunch and then as we were the last boat tour of the day the guy manning the concessions on the boat gave us the last two chocolate chip cookies and a cup of tea for free! He said he would rather give it to us than throw it away - we very willingly obiliged.  Then we traveled more of the country side and saw some beautiful views.  The roads were much better than we had imagined they would be, wider and paved well.  We had some difficulties finding our next hotel as well.  The map we had from the website was not correct and the town of Glencoe is tiny.  Not much there except for a petrol station and a pub.  Thankfully the petrol station was open and the clerk new exactly where it was that we needed to go... we were about 5 miles off and needed to cross a bridge.  But boy oh boy was it a nice hotel.  I would totally recommend it.  It was spacious and clean and so much nicer than we ever thought we would come across due to the lackluster of the town.  As the distance we traveled was so great we arrived after 8:30 in the evening and still needed to have dinner.  They suggested a restaurant down the next road over.  It was a very formal restaurant with a casual Pub in the back.  Seeing as the menu was the same in either location we chose the Pub so we could watch World Cup.  This restaurant had the BEST FOOD.  The service was a little slow - by American standards, in Europe they want you to enjoy your food and experience. We got a delicious Goat Cheese Bruschetta for an appetizer and then Thomas and I shared Fish and Chips - good thing because they served us a whole fillet of fish.  The tartare sauce was divine and since the meal was so good and I also happened to see Sticky Toffee Pudding on the menu we got that for dessert.  By far the best pudding I have ever had. (Pudding in the UK isn't actually like the instant pudding we have in the states its actually more of a cake)  Ellie was a total champ! She sat pretty well in the high chair for most of the meal and then we let her out to go and walk around.  Our waitress gave her the triangle and a ball for the billiards table and she had a blast carrying both around. We finally got out of the restaurant and back to the hotel around 11 pm.  It was bath night for Ellie and she had a blast in the tub and was so tired she fell asleep almost instantly.

Our days in Scotland were pretty busy and jammed packed with activities, stops, and miles to drive but they were all amazing and we just loved it!!

♥ Ashley

My Next House

We have been living in our house for 6 years. It's been good to us and has served it's purpose well. 

Our house was perfect when we bought it. It met our needs: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large kitchen/great room, enough property for our horses and it was in our price range. 

Before with bark, 35 junipers, and gravel for the front yard

Since living in our home for 6 years we have made some improvements.  We have painted nearly every wall (minus closets and the laundry room) made some lighting updates and changed the floors in the kitchen and guest bathroom. We have also replaced the interior doors to suit my liking and are in the process of painting all the woodwork white. In addition we painted our kitchen cabinets. We also recently did a makeover of our guest bathroom and it's one of my favorite rooms in the house!

We have also done an overhaul on the yard. We have fenced and cross fenced nearly the whole property, tore out over 35 juniper bushes to make way for a front lawn and flower bed and planted a veg garden, berry patch, and fruit orchard. Additionally we have added a barn for the goats, a barn for the chickens and a barn for the horses. 

After digging out 35 junipers and removing a ton of gravel we finally planted grass. 

A year later and we added some birch trees and started planting flowers in the front flower bed. 

We really have made some great strides on our home and have made it work for us so far. 

With that being said, I have learned a lot about what I like, dislike, prefer and want/need in a house. The one we are living in just isn't fitting the bill (but will work for now).

I have a long list of things I would like our next house to have. Now some of these things I am totally willing to do in the house.

- at least 5 bedrooms (master, 3 childrens rooms and a guest room)

- at least 2.5 bathrooms (master, kids/guest and a powder room)

- large eat in kitchen with walk-in pantry (white cabinets are a must so if need be we will paint them) and preferably in a great room layout

- a separate formal dining room

- a separate formal living room 

- a playroom/craft room

- large closets

- a separate laundry room

- I would also love to have wood floors throughout (or at least in all the community areas and the master)

- not off a super busy street

- long driveway 

- private back yard

- mature trees

- covered sitting front porch 

- a generously sized back deck/patio

- additionally I would prefer lots of acreage with buildings for our animals and gardens/orchards (preferably already fenced)

Wow! When I put that all down on paper (or blog post) it sure does sound like something we aren't going to be able to find!!  That's okay! I know the right house will come along when it's supposed to!

So what are some things on your next house wish list?

-Ashley 

Toddler Tuesday - with Keri

Welcome back for another "Toddler Tuesday"!! One of the best things about this series is that I have a chance to learn from those mama's that have gone before me.  Today I have the lovely Keri here and she is totally fabulous.  She is the mom of 3, has a ton of wisdom and has some great tips for teaching language/communication to our littles!!

 

Hello! I am so thankful to Ashley for letting me share today. My name is Keri from Living In This Season. I am a mom of 3 little ones, Jack who is 5, Nate who is 2 1/2, and Claire who is about 2 months old now. We live in Charleston, South Carolina where my husband is a middle school teacher and I am a stay-at-home mom who is in my first year of blogging. I love being able to share about the different seasons of life and also lots of activities for kids, DIY projects, and organization tips. I hope you will stop by and say hi!

 

 I know how challenging the toddler years can be. Some days it can be downright exhausting trying to figure out what exactly your little one may want. As a little one is learning to speak, there can be more tantrums as they get frustrated over not knowing what to say or how to say it. Our 2 year old actually has a speech therapist who works with him weekly and we have been learning a lot about early intervention and teaching your little one. Today, I am going to share some of these simple, fun activities we do with Nate to promote language development.

 

  - Mr. Potato Head: One of his favorite activities is to play with Mr. Potato Head. We get out the potatoes and let him pick which one he wants. As we play we have Nate ask for the items he needs to complete his potato. It is simple just saying eyes, ears, nose. Sometimes, we have to encourage and will say, "Do you need eyes?" If there are multiples of a certain item, he will pick between the two.

  - Letter Stamps: Stamps are always so fun and as he stamps a letter we announce what letter it is and the sound. One thing I am learning is that it is never too early to start talking about letters.

  - Animals Play: It is always fun pulling out some of the toy animals and working on animal noises!

  - Reading: Read, read, read with your little one. This is one of the best ways to help your little ones with words.

  - Puzzles: We love doing puzzles together. Whether it is one with bugs, cars, or animals it is always fun to say the word of the picture as we put the puzzle together.

  - Talk About Everything: During the day, as we do different things I will narrate what we are doing (yes sometimes it seems like I am talking to myself!). As I change his diaper, make meals, whatever we are doing I just share what is going on. This good too for when you are playing outside or go on a walk- talk about the things you see and explore the world together :)

 These are just a few ideas of ways to work on language with your little one and to have fun! Even if your little one is a talking machine, you can have fun with these activities. This August I will be starting Tot School with my middle child and I will be sharing about the activities we do on a weekly basis. Make sure and stop by to see some fun ideas and to share some of your own!

Thanks again for letting me share some over here!

I just love her tips and ideas for helping with teaching language and words with our little ones.  I for one really need to be more mindful of narrating our days together!! Thank you Keri for such a great post!!

♥ Ashley

and remember if you are interested in contributing a post (or two) to this fun series please send me an email or comment on this post and I will get you on the schedule!!

 

{monthdate} 14 months

somehow my little girl went from this

to this

and all I did was blink my eyes!!

We had quite the eventful month so let's catch you up!! But first let me say that this is hands down my favorite age so far and I know it's just going to keep getting better and better, then she's gonna start driving and dating and going off to college and I will be crying for this age again!!

Eats:

Ellie is pretty much eating all the same foods we are. She learned how to suck out of the Plum Organic pouches and now feeding is a dream! She is well behaved at restaurants as well. Some adventurous eating has gone on with our trip to Europe and then some. Girlfriend has tried: fried rice, Indian food, blood pudding, Chinese food, and lots of ice cream!  Her fave food right now is Peas!  She is also no longer drinking formula, whole milk only! And we also eliminated bottles completely!!! (Happy Dance!)

Goes:

I think it's safe to say that E. F. is a world traveler. She has been on all modes of transportation (boats, cars, buses, planes, and trains) and been to a total of 4 different countries (Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and the good ole USA). 

Does:

Girlfriend became an official walker while we were in Europe. She also loves to climb stairs and insists on "walking" down then - with assistance of course!  With her new found mobility has come independence and I just love how she can walk around our house and entertain herself! But with her independence she is also exercising her dependence on us! Whenever one of us leaves the room (especially if we go outside) she starts chasing after us and crying because she wants to be with us!!

Loves:

Peas, the dogs, walking, the goats, drinking our drinks from a straw, books, the grass, bubbles, bracelets, and her kiddie pool!

Baby Gear:

With her new mobility we have had to do some baby proofing with our cabinets and we got the safety 1st magnetic locks and they are the best!! We also graduated to a convertible car seat. We went with the Britax Boulevard an are loving it so far. 

Some things we are looking forward to: Ellie talking and sleeping in her crib through the night. 

I just can't believe what a great girl my Ellie is and what joy she has brought to our lives!

Sweet little Ellie Faith, how I love you so!!

♥ Ashley

Friday Roundup

I am so happy that Karli of September Farm is hosting a Friday linkup! This girl is my jam!

So let's get to it:

Last weekend I got to take a stab at being a single mom. It ain't no joke. Parenting alone is hard. The hubs was at his lil brothers bachelor party for the weekend. Thankfully my MIL was home and we had some great girl time. We spent the day on Saturday over at her place playing on the trampoline, running through the sprinkler, and driving the "jeep"! Baby girl had a blast - until she bonked her forehead on the deck - cue the instabruise. But after a few tears she was ready for more!!

On Monday we added two new members to our farm! Stella and Delilah. They are four month old Nigerian Dwarf goats and just the cutest.  We now have four goats, one for each of our angel babies up in Heaven. Ellie has been having a blast putting on her Freshly Picked moccs and chasing them around. She is a true farm girl and it makes me so happy!

Ellie is so much fun with how mobile is is getting and I just love seeing her walk around everywhere! Some think it's a challenge, I find it a blessing!

Now that girlfriend is so mobile we are starting to "baby proof" our house. Actually just the cabinets in the kitchen. I'll post more about this soon but let's just say that a certain little someone was quite disappointed when they could no longer open the cabinets. 

And finally I came this close to deleting my FB this week. I just got totally overwhelmed with all the pregnancy announcements lately that it put my depression on the matter into overdrive. Infertility is no joke my friends. But then my wonderful husband reminded me that our friends deserve to be happy as we know many of them are having a challenging time and this is something they need. This is so true. We often don't know what the struggles that others are going through and who am I to deny them their joy? I'm glad I kept my FB and I need to focus on the positive and trust in God's timing in our family planning. 

Peace my friends and may your weekend be merry!!

-Ashley 

Little Things - farm additions

Ladies, I am so excited to let y'all know that our farm grew by two this week!  

While we were on our two week vacay to Scotland and Ireland all Thomas and I could talk about was we couldn't wait to get home and get more goats!

One day last week we finally decided to start looking for some babies and we happened upon a local farm with Nigerian Dwarfs (our other two are Pygmy Goats) for sale. We have been discussing for a couple years that this would be the next breed we wanted to get. 

We contacted the farm and they had 6 doelings they were selling (girl goats) so we set up an appointment to go over a look at them. We knew we wanted to get two and would most likely pick them out on our visit. They were all about 3 1/2 to 4 months old and completely adorable!  We got to take a look at the moms and the dad and we fell in love. 

We were able to quickly decide which two we wanted (and we even agreed completely). They are so tiny and I can't remember Annabelle and Penelope ever being this small - but I know they were. 

Thomas was going to be out of town for the weekend (at his brothers bachelor party) so we asked the lady to hold them for us and we would pick them up on Monday. She agreed and we spent the next 6 hours trying to come up with names.  We finally decided on Stella (the blonde one) and Delilah (the brown one). 

The whole weekend I kept talking to Ellie about her new goats and was doing a countdown every day. We even went out and had some conversations with our goats to let them know they were getting sisters!

Monday finally came around and we headed out to pick up our new girls. They are just adorable and we are so excited to have our farm growing. Ellie is in love and she is having so much fun being on the farm and petting all her animals. It melts my farm mama heart to see how much she loves the goats and her smile is precious. We got her moccs on and let her chase the goats around the yard and let me tell you - life is SO much better with a walking tot!!

I am so happy that we get to share these moments and experiences with Ellie and I am so grateful to have her in our life!

- Ashley 

Toddler Tuesday - with Brittany

I cannot tell you how much I am loving this series - and I hope you are too!!  Today I have Brittany guest posting.  She is awesome and a mom of two! She really knows whats up with toddlers as she has two of them.  She has lots of wisdom with what its like for bringing home babe number 2. I hope you enjoy her insights and tips I know I do as we are starting the journey to adopt #2!!  Thanks Brittany!



Hey there Life Of The Parsons Farm readers!! Im Brittany from Littles and Love. 

Im a momma of two littles, Kai-4yrs and Quinn-20mo, and married to my best friend and love of 10years this month!! Ahh yes 10 years! Wow, times fly's when you're having fun.

We live in Gilbert,AZ (SE of Phoenix) where I work part time as a Registered Dental Hygienist in a pediatric office and am a "new member" to the blogging world. I LOVE it so far!

I jumped at the opportunity to guest post over here for Ashley- like literally. One of the reasons I started blogging was to not only document my littles childhood but to connect with other women in my stage of life. Making connections and sharing tips and tricks, making friends! I have been enjoying this series for just those reasons. 

With being a mom of two comes a whole new world. Today I thought I would share a little bit about bringing number 2 into the mix, siblings, and the art of sharing- or lack there of.  

Shortly before having number 2 (my daughter) the anxiety started. How would I be able to love 2, manage schedules for 2, I worried for my son- would he feel abandoned, unloved, blah blah blah. 

My son was almost 2.5yrs when we brought his sister home. 

Somehow things have a way of falling into place and working themselves out. 

Some things that made his transition easy-

- Stories: We bought a few books about becoming a big brother and what babies were like. 

- Talked it up: We constantly talked to him about who was in mama's belly and what his role was once she was here. We talked to him a lot about how he was the "big boy", he had to teach her, and show her how to do things. 

- Included him: Once she was here we tried our best to include him in tasks we did- grabbing diapers for us, bathing her, singing to her, holding the bottle. 

I definitely believe the last one was key to making him feel the whole "big brother" vibe. He knew she had to be taught and helped and that made him feel "cool". 

Just as we parents have to deal with sharing and how to deal with other toddlers at play dates or daycare, having number 2 brought on the sharing concept along with patience, waiting your turn, and realizing the world does not revolve around them. 

We all know toddlers can be a little crazy. Lets face it screaming and throwing yourself on the floor all because you couldn't close the door? Really?

I thought this concept was hilarious because its just so true.

In our house we have our fair share of fights over toys, even more so now that Quinn is approaching her twos. I catch her silently bolting down the hallway while Kai is screaming in the playroom. Its a dead giveaway that something was taken. 

The only thing that has seemed to work or at least help a little in teaching the sharing concept- consistency. 

The few rules we do try to enforce-

- You play with her toys, she can play with yours.

- You are not required to share brand new toys like a birthday present, until you get a chance to play with it. 

- Redirection- This helps at Quinn's age. If she cant have something and throwing a fit, redirecting her gets her mind off it and she's over the incident quickly.

- Last we try to encourage playing together. If they are fighting over something somehow playing with it together will work. 

Keep in mind we can't prevent all melt downs, they are going to happen no matter what. Kids will be kids and choose your battles. Ill admit sometimes I walk away when the fighting or should I say "crying" starts. Id rather let them work it out or cry it out until they are done. Being a mama is hard work and we all do our best. Knowing that others are experiencing the same things is what helps me get through this whole parenting thing. 

PS the whole sibling thing is the cutest to watch. Seeing my son go from an only child to taking on the big brother role has been so sweet. He watches over Quinn and catches things I don't and I even catch him using phrases I say with her. 

Makes me want more- on a good day! 

Thanks a million to Ashley for having me over today!! I look forward to hearing some more tips and tricks to the toddler life.

XOXO

Brittany

Isn't she a doll??

If you are interested in contributing a post for this series just comment on this post or send me an email and I will get you on the schedule.  Huge thanks to all of my guest posters so far in helping me launch this super fun series!!!
♥ Ashley