Tis The Season For Kindness!

As a parent, you are consumed with your children and there are many things you wish for them.  You hope they will always be happy, both in childhood and adulthood.  You pray that they will always be healthy.  You want to provide the best for them, however you are able.  And you wish they will always feel love.

But, as we enter this year's holiday season, I have been overcome with another equally important hope for L'ie Bear...empathy and kindness!  Among our traditions, excitement and happiness this December, we have also been surrounded by so much loss and sadness.  Not a day goes by without a story of a sick child, an innocent child's death, children who may not experience a gift under the tree, children who may not have a meal over the holiday, or families who may not be able to celebrate the holidays together.

It is hard to not feel helpless during these times, but it is important to realize that we have so much to be thankful for and just the smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference.  So I am resolved to make sure L'ie Bear learns this lesson along with the joys the holidays can bring.  

And although she is still too young to really understand the experience, it is important to me that she still participate.  This year, L'ie Bear has helped me pick out toys for children less fortunate and we have made sure to give food or donations whenever possible.  But, the best moment occurred last week, when we joined Aunt Sarah, her boyfriend Kevin, Mee-Maw and Grandpa to deliver cookies and holiday wishes to some of the patients in the nursing home in Salisbury, Maryland.  

The Bear dressed up as Santa's Helper and left so much joy and cheer in her wake.  I was concerned that she would be scared and would not enjoy the experience.  Boy was I wrong!!  She happily handed out bags of cookies, waved hello and goodbye, and even blew the patients kisses.  After a few minutes into the trip, she was leading the way through the nursing home and confidently marched into each room.  It was heartwarming to watch and one of the proudest moments I have had as L'ie Bear's mom so far!  She is becoming such an amazing young girl.  Here are some photos from the visit...        

Heading into the Nursing Home with Mee-Maw and Aunt Sarah

Bags full of cookies

Visiting with a patient.

Santa's Helper heading into a room

Saving some love for Mee-Maw.  Bear hugs are the best!!

So much holiday spirit here!!

Heading out to deliver more cookies

At the end of a happy holiday experience!!

I look forward to building many Christmas memories with L'ie Bear and it is my hope that giving back in some way will always be an important part of those memories.  It is easy to get caught up in the receiving part of Christmas,but I want L'ie Bear to understand that we have so much to be thankful for, that kindness is an easy way to make change, and that she has both the support and empathy to make that change!!!  

An Outdoor Thanksgiving

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Salisbury.  Overall, it was another successful holiday.  There were some cranky moments on L'ie Bear's part and she was suddenly overly clingy with me, but there were many fun moments as well.

While we enjoyed our time inside, L'ie Bear was also determined to spend as much time outside as possible.  Luckily, we had some very nice weather and there were many family members who were happy to oblige her wishes.  Here is a brief overview of the Bear's outdoor antics...

1.  Playing in the leaves!

2.  Wheelbarrow rides!

3.  Lacrosse lessons!

4.  And playing with family.

We also headed over to 'Lucky Star' to sit for our first professional family photo session.  I do not have the photos yet, but we were able to sneak a peek at the them, and they are wonderful!  I am looking forward to hanging some of them up around our house (I am sure there will be more about this in a later post).

All in all, it was a successful weekend full of fun memories and delicious food.  And now we are officially ready to usher in the Holiday season!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Play Time = Fun Time

I think the title says it all.  Playing with L'ie Bear is a blast, and it is getting more fun as she gets older.  This stage is fun because I have been able to put on my "kid hat" and see everything around me through the eyes of a toddler.  Every day items can be turned into a fun toy.  For example, wooden bowls and spoons become drums, pillows and blankets transform into forts, and doors really enhance the game of peek-a-boo.

At 19 months of age, L'ie likes to dress up in my clothes and she also enjoys music.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Dress-up time.

These days it is not uncommon to find the Bear dancing in the living room or playing "drums" with pots & bowls in the kitchen.

DANCE PARTY!!

Playing the "drums"!!

Recently, L'ie has also taken a real interest in sports.  While out at the tennis courts with Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, and myself, she picked up one of the tennis rackets and looked as though she was ready to hit the ball...without any prompting or help from us!  

Picking up a racket for the 1st time.  

And she especially enjoys going to the ice rink to watch her dad play hockey.  Most of the time, Chad's hockey games are way past her bedtime, but occasionally we can attend an earlier game, like today.  This is a win/win for everyone, because it is pretty loud at the rink, and the Bear can run around and make as much noise as she likes.  This morning, when Chad came off the ice, L'ie made a beeline for him and was anxious to check everything out.  She is still a little too young to start skating lessons, but we hope to get her out on the ice very soon.

                                              

          

Watching Daddy at the ice rink

                                       

With her favorite player after a great game!

Also, I have enjoyed taking L'ie Bear to playgrounds, now that she can start to climb on the equipment and play on the slides.  Yesterday, while out shopping, L'ie and I stopped in at the play area in the Tyson's Corner Mall.  They have a wonderful children's area on the 3rd floor, near the food court, and the Bear was able to stretch her legs and run around.  It was nice to take a break from walking all over the mall and I watched her happily climb on all of the toys.  And we even got to take a train ride through the food court.  

Unfortunately, while at this play area, she also encountered her first bully.  An older girl and boy pushed L'ie as she was attempting to enter a play house and knocked her aside as they pushed past her on a slide.  The Bear was not hurt and after I made sure the kids understood that pushing was not an acceptable behavior, there were no more incidents.  I realize that this is bound to happen in public play areas and I know this will not be the last time L'ie is pushed by other kids.  But I am happy that L'ie Bear brushed it off and was still able to enjoy herself.  

    

L'ie loved going in the play house at the mall.

   

Train ride in the mall

Wow, this is so cool.

The play time fun is just beginning and I look forward to many more creative play sessions with L'ie Bear.  I just hope that does not mean she will be beating me at tennis any time soon!

A Bear of a Halloween!

Tonight, we finished up the 2012 Halloween festivities, and they were definitely bear filled...in a great way!

Technically, the holiday began when we decorated our front porch.  We previously purchased a bunch of pumpkins out in Western Virginia and then L'ie and I headed to Michael's to pick up some extra decorations.  I couldn't help myself, and went with a Bear theme this year.

The dressing up began on Saturday, October 27th, when we put L'ie in both of her costumes.  Yes, she had two costumes this year, and before you think we are Halloween crazy, let me explain.  I purchased a costume for L'ie Bear back in August.  After much thought and careful consideration, we decided she should go as a StrawBeary this year.  It was an appropriate choice, since that is the name of Aunt Scareby's car and it was still Bear themed.

I scoured the internet for the perfect costume and finally found one at Babies R Us, of all places.  The costume was adorable, but there was one small problem...there was no strap on the hat.  And anyone who has an 18 month old can tell you that it is nearly impossible to keep a hat on their heads.  So, we headed off to JoAnn Fabrics to figure out a way to keep the hat on L'ie Bear's head.  We found some red elastic ribbon and I sewed it to the inside of her cap.  The first attempt was too loose.  The second attempt was too tight.  And the third attempt was just right.

We were all set, until John Albers showed up with another great costume.  He was planning on dressing up as Calvin, from the classic cartoon Calvin & Hobbes and brought over a Tiger costume so L'ie could dress up as Hobbes. The irony of this costume choice is that John was unaware of Grandpa Pali's nickname for L'ie.  For the past year, he has said that L'ie Bear's ice hockey nickname should be "Tiger Bear", and is anxiously awaiting the day he can paint tiger stripes and a bear face on her hockey helmet.  So, this costume idea was perfect!!

Obviously, L'ie was not allowed to accompany John to a costume party later that evening, so I made him a crotcheted stuffed tiger to use as part of his costume.  L'ie fell in love with the stuffed tiger and I could not resist taking a few pictures.

So without further ado, here is the first glimpse of the future junior ice hockey legend known as TIGER BEAR...

Don't let the cute smiles fool you.  She can be quite sneaky when she wants to be.

Later that afternoon, we dressed L'ie up in her StrawBeary costume and headed out to participate in the neighborhood costume parade.

The neighborhood kids all dressed up.

Excited about her noise-maker for the parade

We then posed for a few photos in front of the house

Mom, what are you doing to me?

StrawBeary and Mommy

StrawBeary and Daddy

The Three Little Bears!!

Then we headed off to the National Zoo for their "Boo At The Zoo" event.  We met up with the Ackermanns and Bloughs and spent the evening trick or treating around the animals.

But the fun did not end there.  On October 31st, L'ie, Grammy and I attended her weekly "Mommy & Me" class.  Since it was Halloween, most of the kids were in costume and they looked great.  I was even surprised to see another Strawberry there.

Playing the instruments

Some of the kids

And finally, that evening, Chad and I took L'ie Bear out for her first Trick or Treating experience while Grammy and Grumpa made dinner and gave out candy.  At first, L'ie was a little hesitant and shy.  She would bravely hold our hands and walk up to the doors, but would quickly back up as soon as someone answered.  And she even grabbed the candy bag and walked off when we ran into a large group of young children.  After Chad and I finished laughing, we convinced her to join the group and she gladly followed them around.

This Halloween thing is pretty fun!

Trick or Treat

Overall, the Bear made it to quite a few houses and then happily walked back to our front door.  She finished the evening with dinner and some M&Ms...one of her new favorite candies.

Although we put her down to bed fairly close to 7:30 pm, it was another 1.5 hours before she finally drifted off to sleep.  I think the excitement of the day, combined with a slight sugar rush, allowed her to spend that time rehashing her Halloween to all of the stuffed animals in her crib.  I just wish I could understand what she was telling them...maybe next year!

Happy Halloween L'ie Bear.  May they all be as wonderful as this one!

Mommy & Me Time!

In an effort to help socialize L'ie Bear, we have enrolled her in Mommy & Me Fun Fit classes at our local parks and recreation department.  Most Wednesday mornings (we have missed a few because of my court schedule), at 9:45 am, she and I head to class.  The Bear gets to burn off all of her energy with the other kids, complete with plenty of screaming and squealing.  She loves every minute of it, and is even slowly learning how to share and clean up her toys.

The class starts with the "Hello" song and the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".  After that, we quickly stand up and pretend to be animals while running all around the room.  It is actually a great little workout for the moms too.  Then the instruments come out, followed by the parachute, bouncy balls and hula hoops.  We finish the class with the "Good-bye" song, and each child gets a stamp on their hand.

Running around

Picking out an instrument

Putting away her toys

Parachute time!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee

She loves it.

                                   

Don't let it fall down on us.

Showing off her new stamp on her hand

This class has been a great addition to L'ie Bear's routine and I can honestly say that I enjoy it just as much as she does.  My hope is that she will become more comfortable around other kids her age and I look forward to attending more classes through the parks and recreation department.  Maybe a dance or music class next?  We are very fortunate to have these local opportunities and this class even comes with an added bonus...a much needed and extra long nap time!!