(1) Our preschooler would always refuse to take off his shoes, jacket, and backpack after school so I implemented after school snacks. If he puts them away right when he gets home he can have a little snack. I'd wanted to do after school snacks because it seems like a fun idea, but he gets home at 4:50 and it's so close to dinner that I just hadn't done it. I keep the snacks small but that's plenty to motivate him.
(2) My husband got us a kitchen timer to use at bedtime. If they are ready for bed when it goes off they get a story, and if they're not - no story!
So often it seems like our efforts to reward turn into punishments of not getting the reward and it drives me crazy, but in both these cases it hasn't felt like that yet :)
Also this month: Our toddler and his dad were discussing throwing and our preschooler said to me - "they're making a pattern: no, yes, no, yes." Hahahahaha.
And: Our toddler often comes up to me to say "I love you mommy." Super sweet! He does it to his dad too.
The first few days of December they asked to play with the beans. They even showed them to their baby brother.
If I put him down he'd wake up, but if I had him he'd sleep soundly, so here we are folding clothes.
The next day (at 3 weeks!) we introduced the pacifier.
Our oldest loves his baby brother. He loves talking to him, playing with him, giving him kisses and hugs, and holding him.
Baby in his Kozy for a little Christmas shopping on a Saturday in early December. We went to Fuddruckers for lunch and the boys loved it. There was plenty of open seating, we sat in the back and were practically alone which was great with a newborn.
I rolled unused playdough into a cylinder and called it a "big barrel" and my firstborn was so proud of me that he ran to get his camera to take a picture of it. It's pretty difficult to get a good picture with that camera but he did it. The playdough road he made is pretty awesome.
Tummy time! (The oldest was at preschool.)
After a bit our toddler just wanted to run around the blanket (and baby) laughing.
He loves his baby brother but has only agreed to hold him a couple of times. (And the baby is kind of getting too big for him anyway.)
I loved that they came and sat as close as possible. You can't see my face but I'm about the happiest person in the world in this picture ♥
Our preschooler's been doing lots of this.
Tummy time with big brother home.
Meeting my brother and sister-in-law for the first time at my mom's birthday dinner.
My parents gave the boys a battery powered Christmas train for around the tree. They love it.
He fell one morning :( This is probably about 3 hours later. It's good they were with their dad. I'm not sure I'd handle it properly.
His first tub bath. Though it looks like he could have used more water, oops. He loves bathtime and has never complained about a bath.
Painting Christmas tree ornaments - bells from egg cartons. He did an awesome job picking the colors, painting, pouring glitter, and stringing bells. Little brother wanted to paint too, I promise he used a paintbrush. Not that finger paints would have been bad, I'm just saying.
Assembling his teachers' Christmas gifts. There are 8 = 2 teachers + 2 parateachers + 1 speech therapist + 1 physical therapist + 1 bus driver + 1 bus assistant.
A homemade bell ornament and 3 cookies (2 decorated by me, 1 by him). He wrote their name and his name on a tag and put snowman and snowflake stickers on the back of the tag. I don't know that it's the sort of gift teachers appreciate but I guess I was thinking of it more as an experience for him than as something they'd really want. I like them and think they're awesome, ha.
I thought he did a good job with this coloring sheet at the Ward Christmas Party.
He matched engines up with train cars of the same color. Pretty clever.
Selfie with baby.
I thought he looked cozy and wanted a picture and he thought it was a good time to smile for the camera :)
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