We can't wait for our next box from MySmartKid

There is nothing like the allure of a package that arrives on your doorstep!

We have received our second package from My Smart Kid! I have won a year's subscription from The Mommy City in March, and Little Miss has really been enjoying opening them up and playing with the games and activity sets that's included.
Previously I could only give Mysmartkid away on the blog, but now we are getting all the fun stuff as well!

The latest box included the Jenga game, which is a really cool game for the whole family. Little Miss has been building the towers, as well as houses, and making the blocks fall like dominoes.
The Line-up game has also been a favourite for the past few days.

Jenga

Jenga blocks falling @mysmartkid

A video posted by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on May 27, 2015 at 10:19am PDT

It is Mysmartkid's first birthday! 

It seems they have a winning formula here!

Happy birthday, Mysmartkid!

This play-based educational initiative for children from birth to 6 years old has taken the local market by storm and revolutionised the way in which Early Childhood Development (ECD) is promoted in South Africa.  Mysmartkid has quickly become a leader in this field through its “learn through play” philosophy. The subscription programme promotes school readiness through the use of age-appropriate toys, tools and activities and was designed with the help of a panel of experts who share their professional insights and expertise.  

Princessionista

The Toddler was 31 months yesterday! It is a very precious age. I love the vocabulary and the quirks of the little personality developing!


I hope we will be sensitive enough to allow her to develop fully as her own unique human being…

Because it is also a very difficult age! She pushes the boundaries the whole time. The question is how important some of those boundaries are? Where do we draw the line with regards the really important stuff?

Mama Poekie’s article at Authentic Parenting about the art of negotiation struck a cord! This is exactly what we are doing right now! We are trying to improve the art of negotiation to come to “an agreement that we all feel comfortable with.”

A case in point: the Toddler wants to look like a princess every day. What she thinks look like a “princess”, and what we think are totally different things! She went to sleep last night with summer sandals over socks… The Wordless Wednesday post of this week shows her where we got to a very amicable agreement! It is now mostly summer dresses over winter clothes…

I feel totally beat every night after her bath and negotiating to get her into a princess outfit that we both agree on. It doesn’t help for me to put the outfit on the bed… She checks it, and jumps down and goes to her cupboard and takes out something that she prefers. It is mostly the same dresses over and over again! She’s got a whole cupboard full of pretty clothes, but it does not fit her “princess”-style of clothing!

Phew! Breathe! It doesn’t matter, does it? It is not important, and I must keep reminding myself that…

Another very cute thing that she does now: She is definitely a Daddy’s girl. Whenever she watches or we read a story, and the princess finds her prince, she declares: “Sy het haar papa gekry!” (She has found her daddy!) Even with some love scenes on the television!

Love this girl, our little princess!

Two and a half years full of questions

Come and look!

Toad in garden

30 months today!

The toddler is a bag full of questions:

"Wat doen jy?" (What are you doing?)

"Wat is dit?" (What is that?)

And whatever we answer, she repeats it diligently!

She absorbs everything!

This is a wonderful age! I want to freeze-frame the cuteness of her!

A year ago Thursday Blog Hop #2 – The toddler is 22 months today

Mieka at 22 months

Today, a year ago: The toddler was ten months and I was still raving about bonus days I got for taking the baby to clinic and getting a whole day to do it. She had no hair and a McDonalds play thing on her head.



Mieka at ten months

 I am joining Mommy Only Has Two Hands in her going down memory lane Thursday Blog Hop. Go and check her rules when you want to join in.

Today the toddler is 22 months. I know I say every time she can’t get cuter than his, but she does! We are really enjoying the little person she is becoming.

The vocabulary is coming along very well. I was worried at one stage, but she says a lot more than we are able to understand. She stands in front of us and give us a whole blast of words! We hear babble, but sometimes we catch a recognisable word. The head nods very seriously while she tells her whole “story”! (CUTE!)

Some more 22 month things:

• She loves drawing. She insists that we sit with her and draw with her.
• She has a fascination with “goggas” (insects). She wants to look at them, but not yet touch.
• We get feedback from the school that she hits and bites some of her class mates. I feel terrible about it! We try to talk to her. I do hope that it is a passing phase...
• When I leave her at day care in the mornings, she’s got a new thing. She does not want to kiss me, but immediately turns her head when I put her in the arms of a teacher. Then she looks out of the window until I pass on the outside and she waves to me. She smiles and she waves... That helps me a lot during my working day...

She was sick again from the weekend. Nose and ears and eyes! Nothing new! I had her at the doctor today, and now we are throwing drops in all of the “openings”. Not a favourite thing for the toddler! The doctor says that Johannesburg is the worst place for children with regards the pollution. That’s why we struggle so much with the allergies. The fact that it does not rain, makes it even worse...

What happened with you a year ago?

The toddler is 20 months

The months are rolling by with the toddler! 20 months!

It is such a fun age:

She understands us. Every little task we give her, she is able to do! I love that we are able to get some communication going.

But sometimes she gives us a big IGNORE. When we ask her to tidy up, or put back something, she will continue as if not hearing us... (We know she knows that we know, but she is still able to play her little game!)

She is getting difficult! I think they call it the “Terrible Two’s” or just plain “Tantrums”. Missy wants to do what Missy wants to do, and she gets stomping feet upset when she don’t get it her way.

I think we are beginning to see the beginning of potty “readiness”. She sometimes tells us there is a “pooh”, or she starts pulling down her pants. She has an extreme fascination with the toilet, but do not want to be put on it at this stage. She has a small potty that she spends hours playing with. I see that we are going to have to exercise extreme PATIENCE with regards the potty training thing, and that you cannot force her to do anything she is not ready for...

At day care she has developed a very strong bond with Cindy, one of the assistants, and cry after her when she moves out of her sight. She even sits on the chair in front of the door when Cindy goes to the toilet. She has been crying more and more mornings when I leave her at day care. It leaves me with a feeling of uneasiness for the rest of the day. But it helps to know that she has someone specific to go to...

It is getting more and more difficult to go shopping with the toddler. Dries took her with him today when he went to shop at our local Look & Listen (music shop). He phoned the teen and me to tell us that he is bringing her to us in the mall. He was not able to complete his shopping expedition with her wanting to get out of the stroller, and complaining... It takes two of us to keep an eye on her and to shop! Going to a restaurant also takes creative skills to keep her occupied. I have to take extra titbits of food and crayons and toys to keep her seated at the table! Which does not last for very long...

We love our little girl more and more! We marvel at the wonderful unique being in our lives. She takes up all our time and our ENERGY, but we love being with her! We know it is not going to last...

Related posts:
The toddler at 19 months
The toddler is a year and a half
17 months - toddler update

Cute toddler things

The toddler is doing so many new cute things; I can’t wait for the monthly update. Things change so fast, and I am afraid I will forget some of it.


The most favourite word at the moment is “klaar” (finish). The food is “klaar”. The programme is “klaar”. The bottle is “klaar”. And the arms make a wide open swinging movement!

She even got it down to a perfect pitch. The teen caught her doing the following: she got a sandwich at day care, and saw the teen looking away. She dropped the sandwich, and when the teen looked again, she said: “Klaar!” (With conviction!)

She loves her bath. When we announce that it is bath time, she starts climbing up the stairs and we have to rush to follow her up the stairs. A friend of mine told me yesterday that her boy (who is three weeks younger) refuses to bath, and that she has been sponging him for the past seven weeks. Margot at joumaseblerrieblog also complains that her Felix throws tantrums when he has to bath.

Luckily our Mieka enjoys it and “helps” us with the washing, focusing mostly on her right leg. Not sure why (?). When she gets excited the Epizone E cream (we use it against the eczema) goes all over her hair as well! She loves doing the hair “washing” (anytime), because yesterday she came home with sticky hair (still trying to figure out what THAT was).

The sleep is a bit of a struggle at the moment. She is more in our bed, than in her cot. I suspect it was the holiday room-sharing that did the trick! Missy loves sleeping in the middle, and she kicks all the blankets off, and we pull it up again. She kicks, we pulls... The winter cold does not seem to have any effect on her. *Shiver*

The tantrums are here, but we are able to distract her. I try to ignore it as much as possible. So far it has been working. It is getting more difficult to go to restaurants. She is not as contented to sit in her table chair as she used to be. Same problem with the chair in the car as well... She goes stiff, and throws her back in an arch! (“This too will pass!”)

The teen says that Mieka seems to stay more with the teachers, than venturing around when they are outside. I see the same behaviour with us; she stays in our vicinity, and gets us to walk with her in the arms. I hope it is something that she will outgrow, because it sounds so very much like me. I was stuck to my mother's side when I was small, and they had endless problems to leave me. Luckily she goes to day care. I believe it helps a little with helping to get over the “cautiousness “(if that is what you call it?).

But: We are enjoying the personality more and more as the lights are being switched on! Really!! (no sarcasm here)

The toddler is a year and a half

Mieka & Arnia at Ballito - the nearest she wants to be at the beach

18 months! Time is flying by!


Update:

She is not speaking as much as I think she should. Just a few words here and there. The rest is still done with the pointy finger and a grunt. She’s learnt the negative uh-huh, and uses it very strategically.

We are not worried. Yet! We are also not known for our verbal proficiencies! Tracing it back to both sides of her gene pool; especially mine. Uhmmm... Mom is the guilty party! (Tongue-in-cheek)

She is a very cautious little girl. We see it now with the great experience of beach and sand. It was her second day today at the beach, and she did not want to put one little toe on the sand. Forget about going near the crashing waves! Apparently the beach is a very scary place! We left after half an hour after she dived for my breasts (for comfort), and fell asleep!

She loves her granddad and grandmother (my parents), and enjoys spending time with them. She gets them to get up by taking them by the hand. As soon as they are up and moving, she turns around, and wants to be picked up. From there she directs where she wants to go. Very smart! (She does it with us as well.)

She loves singing to us. No words yet, but wonderful mermaid songs. We can’t help but smile at the “melodies”. All made up!

She had a bit of a stomach bug yesterday, but today all was sorted. I am very glad I am still breastfeeding. I know it is one of the best remedies to keep her hydrated and get a bit of nourishment in. It really helps while we are on holiday.

It is such a wonderful time to spend it with a toddler. We are very lucky!

17 months - toddler update

Drums: Dum-Dum-Dum-Ta-Dum! The toddler is 17 months today!


Quick update: (Why it is SOOOO nice that they actually grow up!)

- The sleeping is going better and better. We have more and more nights where Mieka sleeps until 5/6 in the mornings. (Ta-Dum! Our sleep deprived nights are getting fewer and further in between!)

- She has 12 teeth. We discovered an extra four in her mouth about two weeks back. Big bonus – we did not notice teething-relate niggles! (It was probably those few many nights we did not sleep through... Who knows?)

- The breastfeeding is working well. I am planning to continue until the two year milestone, or until Mieka decides to quit. I read somewhere (on KellyMom?) that when you wait for the toddlers to wean themselves it is usually between 3-4 years of age. (Gulp!) We’ll see! I did not expect it to last as long, but it is one of the most rewarding experiences ever. And the bonus – it is very good for them! (Pat on back! You go, Powerwoman!)

- Mieka got her MMR injection on Wednesday. She was two months overdue. She had a runny nose the whole time. I was also a bit apprehensive because of the link between MMR and autism, and because a lot of babies get sick after the injection. The teen got measles from the injection 15 years back! A doctor convinced me that it is better to get the injection sooner than later... (Thumbs crossed.)

- Mieka “told” me her first story this week. I was breastfeeding her, and she started to poke her eye, and saying something like “seer” (sore). I eventually deduced from that that she got sand in her eyes at day care.

- It is going very well at day care and the new class. She enjoys the activities and singing, and we can see the difference at home. (The “lights” are brighter!) She swings and rolls her arms while “singing”, and loves-loves building puzzles and blocks and sketching.

- She prefers spending time on our hips (big back-breaker at the moment (literally)): She gets us to take her finger, and as soon as she gets us up, she wants to be picked up while she directs us in the direction she wants to go! When she does not want to be put down, she folds in her legs, and no ways is it possible to get her to stand... (This too will pass.)

Oh, we love this little girl! She is a big pleasure in our lives! And she is growing up... Very quickly! (Big smile!)

Our little girl has become afraid

Something of the scared little face that we see...

Lately we have noticed that we have to watch what is showing on television. We have to keep our fingers on the alt button. Even stuff that we think is not worth mentioning makes our little one afraid.


She sees an ugly face, or a strange creature, sometimes even a “funny” face, and she looks at us with eyes full of fright! I was not even aware of how many strange things are being shown on television. Our days are filled with abnormal apparitions: a devil with red horns, an ugly face on a clay tablet, and a man with tattoos on his face... We are being bombarded with it!

The thing is – as soon as she has seen it, she has seen it. You can’t undo an image in the mind... We will have to be extremely careful from now on!

This is most probably where the stage of being afraid is coming into play. I used to be a very scared little girl myself. I remember being in my bed when I was small; not able to move because of being scared. The teen also used to sleep with a night light, and to this day she does not watch any scary movies. We have a rule: we rather do not look at something when we get the inclination it is going to be scary. We change the stations!

From now on: we will change stations even more quickly!

How do we teach them to not be afraid? Is it possible to do it, or is it a normal phase in development?

Our little Princess at 16 months; an update

(The detour at the hospital yesterday, with the abscess, got us a little bit side-tracked.)

What she is doing now at 16 months :

- I am a little bit worried about the language development. A friend said she should be speaking 10 words by now. Let me count: Mamma, Pappa (daddy), tatta, hello, Arnia... She is even calling every other object “pappa” now? And the rest is mermaid-speak. Should I be getting worried?

- The finger still points and she now comes to fetch us to walk with her. Not that it is always clear what she wants. It seems she is happy to go in any direction, as long as we are going with her.

- The new class at day care has definitely “turned on a few more lights”. She seems to be more interested in drawing, building puzzles and reading. It was a good thing to have moved her from the baby class. They also don’t have any problems with her going to sleep on the mat. She spends two hours sleeping in the early afternoon, a bit longer than the rest of her friends. (But she used to sleep twice during the day in the baby section).

- I am still breastfeeding. The two year goal is within reach! I think it is a comfort thing during the night. She loves to sleep while being latched on. I am treasuring these wonderful bonding moments. After I have seen the Avatar movie, I think of breastfeeding in the same context as the species on Pandora who latches on to the Tree and the animals with their “hair”.

- I am struggling to get her 100% healthy. She has missed the MMR vaccine at 15 months. It seems that she has an allergic type of sinus problem. I think milk is number one suspect, but I have looked on the shelves, and don’t think that soya is a good alternative. I feel a bit unsure to cut it from her diet at this stage? (Which a friend suggested.)

- She is sleeping much better. The problem is getting her to fall asleep. I feel that 8-9 is a bit late, but that is usually the time she goes “down”. She wakes up once or twice, and sometimes she goes right through until 6. I hate it every day I have to wake her for day care. Powerwoman is allowed to say it, and to keep on hating it! Not nice to be a working mother when you leave a sleepy baby in somebody else’s arms...

- She loves shoes! She has no problem in the mornings to sit down for us to put on her shoes. And she doesn’t take it off until she goes to bed at night. It was a struggle yesterday to take it off in hospital. She was trying to put it on again the whole time. She is a girl, for sure! (Smile)

16 months and an unexpected day at the hospital

Mieka had an abscess drained today in the hospital. It was a very scary experience!

Our day started as usual, with us trying to get dressed. The teen tried to help me by taking Mieka from me. When she picked her up, Mieka cried out in pain. I immediately knew it was the red bump under her arm which has been growing. It looked like an insect bite, but on Sunday we saw that the bump was redder and more inflamed! I wanted to take her to the doctor on Monday, but we had other errands to run. This morning we had no other option, although I still believed that she only needed a cream, or something...

The doctor immediately said that it was an abscess, and that she had to get a surgeon to look at it. Horrors!! We landed up at the hospital, having to book the toddler in for the day. The surgeon came round during his surgeries, but said that it wasn’t such a big deal. He would drain it, and leave it open for it to keep on draining (no stitches).

It was extremely stressful to walk into the operating theatre dressed in the green clothes, holding her in my arms. She was fighting against the gas mask and crying. The next moment she was sleeping, and I had to leave her. I heard her little wheezy chest when she went under and it made me even more uneasy...

While we were waiting, I shed a few tears, telling Dries they were taking too long. 20 minutes felt like forever!

She was crying when they placed her in my arms, but luckily she went to sleep while we carried her back to her bed. The anaesthetist told us that the abscess was bigger than they had predicted.

I breastfed her when she woozily woke up, and after about 40 minutes she was eating and playing again. Luckily we could go home when they saw that she was fine... (How easy they bounce back! Tonight she was playing and babbling again, bouncing all over!)

It was an unexpected day! It seems we get lots of these with children. (Gulp!)

How do we get them to grow up? All in one piece?

(Photo: Mieka on Sunday - busy with one of her favourite activities - "talking on the telephone".)

The Centre of our Universe

Photo: Patrick Pretorius Photography.

Mieka is still in the developmental phase of being the centre of her own universe. Everything revolves around her. She is nearly 16 months old now!

A quote from Practica:

“She believes that the sun came up today because she woke up and that it will set this evening because she needs to go to bed.”

Dries said to me this weekend that our household truly revolves around her. It is not something that we are experiencing negatively, quite to the contrary. We are enjoying her and how our lives have changed because of her. We are planning our days and our activities around her.

She also dictates how we spend our days. The joys of parenthood! (No sarcasm here!) So far it has worked out well for our little fairy – her world is our world, and we revolve around her!
Shame – it is not going to stay this way... (Smile)

We got our photos back from dear friends of ours. We are very lucky to have a photographer as a friend!

Isn’t she the cutest?

Photo: Patrick Pretorius photography.

The Toddler’s section at day care

I am so impressed with my Mieka. She is taking it in her stride: moving from the babies to the toddler’s section at the day care this week.


Yesterday they reported to me that she even slept on her mat with the other toddlers.

There are pictures of autumn and autumn leaves pinned up against the wall with her name on it every day of the week. It is the theme of the month: Autumn. (We are beginning to feel a little pinch of winter here…)

When I fetch her in the afternoons, she is walking around outside with the other children. On a mission by herself, of course! She looks so small walking around with the bigger children, and my heart goes mushy when I see her. She is always so excited when we go to fetch her!

It is doing her good, because she seems a bit more eager at home to read her books, and she watches with great concentration when they show animals or planes or babies on the television. She gets very upset when the picture changes… Enquiring to us with her little hand (showing “come-here, come here”) to put up the same footage again. Very cute!


(Photo by Grandfather James)

The toddler’s last day at the baby section at day care

Another milestone! The toddler is apparently ready to move over to the toddler’s section at the day care. Today is her last day with the babies!


This is how we have to let go... Small little steps turn into big steps! And tomorrow she goes to university!!! Oh, come on, Karen. No need to be dramatic! (Powerwoman welcomes the opportunity to help her child into the big(ger) world!)

I am feeling a bit apprehensive. She is still my baby, but apparently not!

The one lady that looks after them at day care is also of the opinion that they are still too young to move. There is another toddler who started to walk months before Mieka, and she went to the toddler’s section two months earlier. She struggled adjusting, crying; and they had to bring her back to sleep with the babies during the day.

I want to do the right thing. Are they ready to move at 15 months? I see that she enjoys doing things with her hands, like scribbling and painting. Luckily they have been taking Mieka to the toddler’s for two hours every day for the past two weeks. They said she was in awe of the other children, and just walked around, looking at everything.

They don’t have cots in the toddler’s section, only small mats. How do they get them to sleep on them? We struggle to get her to sleep in her cot at home...

I hope they prepare their bottles with the same care as with the babies...

No, stop it, Mrs. Neurosis! You can always ask them to take her back to day care if she does not adjust well.

Our baby is BIG already!

(Photo: Mieka with the strong arms of her dad in the background)

Small milestones: Potty training 1st and stairs

The toddler and potty training. No, we haven’t started with potty training for the 15-month old, but we caught her doing the right thing!


We have noticed that she regularly shivers and let’s go when we take off her nappy just before we put her into the bath. She loves sitting on the potty with her clothes on. Last night we put her directly on the potty after we took off the nappy, and she made her first pee. We applauded her, but I not sure that she made the link?

The things you get excited about when you are parents... A pee in a pot makes us go “Whoop de whoop!” (Smile)

Mieka also loves nowadays to sit on the first step of the stairs. She goes round in circles before she does a back-up with her bum to land it on the step. Sometimes she misses, and does it again. She then sits smugly on the step for a few seconds before she tries it again.

It progressed yesterday to her beginning to climb the steps. I know; it is very late for her to only now start climbing the stairs on her own. I have heard of babies who climb/crawl the stairs since they were six months old. She is a bit more reserved with regards to trying new things. Which I think is a bit of a blessing for us – we don’t have to check her the whole time. (She loves climbing the stairs when we hold her hands for month now, and she climbs it with one foot on one step, barely making the height of a step with her short legs.)

She started to climb by going up on her knees, and enjoyed it tremendously when we clapped hands. She was going up, and clapping hands for herself on each step. No we will have to close the security gate at the bottom of the stairs as well... (We have a gate at the top of the stairs already.)

Cute, very cute!