Lila is a toddler. A busy toddler. Which makes me a busy toddler’s mom. I don’t have anything to compare her to, but I think Lila is busier than the average child. She’s also smarter than the average bear, according to Yogi. But that’s a mother’s bias speaking. Back to the point: Lila isn’t the child who will just sit and be content. In fact, the only thing she will sit somewhat still for is Barney.
And not just any Barney…the “Round and Round” episode is all she’ll watch. Over and Over. So much so that Murray and I find ourselves quoting it in everyday life and singing the songs to annoy each other. We have the script memorized.
However, the other day Annie was on. Lila was entranced. She sat in my lap eating Special K flakes for a full 45 minutes. She would stick her hand in the snack bag every couple of minutes without taking her eyes off the screen, just like she was snacking on popcorn at a theater. This is why we went to Walmart, then Target, and finally Best Buy in search for Annie. Best Buy ordered it for us and we patiently waited for it in the mail. The glorious day came and Annie is ours…
We hope to not hear “The Wheels on the Bus” quite as often.
Another activity that I use to keep her occupied is pool time. Baby blow up pool time. The first time we got the pool out, I could not figure out how to turn the hose on. Hello, 1935?
Call me city-fied but I have never used a well pump. Ten minutes and a phone call to Murray later, I finally figured out I didn’t have to “pump” it…I just pulled up the handle and freezing cold water filled up Lila’s pool. Even though her lips were turning purple, she had a blast.
The child loves water. At the park near our house, there is a pole that blows mist. As hot as it has been up here she spend most of the park time running in the mist in between sliding, swinging, and eating bark. Every time I look she’s putting a piece of bark in her mouth…we’re at that stage.
Our new tradition is Saturday morning pancakes. They are so good, but the brand name does not sound very appetizing. Brace yourselves…
Krusteaz? I’m not even joking. Probably not the best brand name ever used, but trust me, they are good and fluffy. Daddy makes Lila’s mini-style and with no syrup. My busy child doesn’t need any extra sugaryness to add to her busyness.
Speaking of daddy, we have a major daddy’s girl on our hands. Lila absolutely adores her daddy and vice versa. I am the one that gave her life, nourishes her at every meal, changes her out of soiled diapers, but daddy hung the moon. No offense taken, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I hope to have a mama’s boy at some point.
On Tuesday nights we go to Chick-fil-A for kid’s night. They have free kid’s meals, balloons, a magician, and of course the famous cow walking around. Lila stares and smiles from across the restaurant, but as soon as the cow starts making his way over she’s practically crawling up me trying to get away. She enjoys watching kids run around everywhere, but honestly kids night is more for us. It means we don’t have to keep her super quiet in a restaurant and if she throws a bit of food on the floor, so is everyone else’s kid. I think it more adult therapy than anything.
More adult therapy occurs at Rockabye Readers on Wednesdays at the library. We sing, dance, read alound, and play. I never knew a library could be so therapeutic. I also joined a mom’s group on meetup.com and that has helped me meet other moms and is a great way for Lila to be around other kids. Some of the moms are interesting, some are boring, and some are just old. But it’s still nice to talk to people that can understand all of the JOYS (said with some sarcasm) of motherhood.
I think one day I’ll miss doing all of these activities with my busy girl. One day she’ll rather be going to the movies or eating with friends instead of dear ole mom and dad. So we'll keep on with our busy schedule of activities together...while she still likes the togetherness.
