Tuesday, March 3, 2009

What I Learned This Week #3

This is not the third week of the What I Learned This Week Carnival, but the third time I've participated. (Apparently I didn't learn anything the week before last!) Last week was VERY busy: I did the volunteer tutoring twice and helped out at the book fair, and made preparations for Mr. Blue's birthday party. Well, actually, I waited until Saturday morning to clean the house, because then Justin would be there to help me. But everything went smoothly, so I guess I learned that sometimes it's fine to procrastinate.

My belief that toddler birthday parties should be low-key (and inexpensive!) was reaffirmed. Some of the guests couldn't make it, but Mr. Blue never noticed. The kids played, we had cake, they played some more, he opened presents, they played some more, we handed out goody bags, and a couple of families stayed later so the kids could keep playing. It was great!

There was one minor problem when Mr. Blue couldn't get the candles blown out and my dad helped him--and then everyone cheered loudly and the birthday boy burst into tears. Oddly enough, I had been reading a book called Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy (love that title) which stated that the new three-year-old will often feel overwhelmed at his or her birthday party and have a meltdown. I remembered then that Miss Pink cried at her third party too. Back then, as a new parent trying to make the party run smoothly, I got irritated at her. This time, I knew I shouldn't blame him. Luckily, a do-over with the candles and a piece of cake dried Mr. Blue's tears.

I also learned that little boys like to own every kind of toy vehicle available in stores. And that my son will try to take most of them to bed with him.

Finally, I found out that my daughter is braver than I thought she was! She had the nurse pull her first loose tooth at school yesterday. Unlike her recent behavior in the morning, she woke up bright and early this morning to find that the tooth fairy had left three dollars and a note. (The Tooth Fairy did not know that pink glitter, aka fairy dust, is the thing right now. Next time!)

Right here would be a good place for a picture of Miss Pink showing her new gappy smile, but I don't have a picture yet. I'll take one soon!

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13 comments:

  1. Let's hear it for low-key toddler parties!

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  2. I had to laugh because the end of my son's bed is full of toys that he wants to take to bed with him.
    Blessings,
    Kim

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  3. I second the belief that all little boys want to own every vehicle in the store. LL adores everything and anything with wheels!!!

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  4. Oh yes - low key parties are the way to go for as long as possible.

    Our tooth fairy "forgot" one night, and my daughter decided it was because her room was too messy - now if she has a wobbly tooth, she tidies her room!

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I always love having new visitors.

    Good to know about the fairy dust! LOL. I can't imagine what the inflation on tooths will be by the time my son loses his first (we still have a few years).

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  6. Just stopping by to say "HELLO". Your hit rollcall right before me on the SITS.

    Birthday parties and tooth fairies, how I miss them. My daughter will be 20 in ten days and those days went by oh sooo fast. Enjoy them while they last.

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  7. I like the idea of fairy dust but not sure my oldest son would as much. Yes, 3 y.o. boys love every kind of toy vehicle and if he's anything like mine, he'll also have to carry around one in each hand all. the. time.

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  8. "My belief that toddler birthday parties should be low-key (and inexpensive!) was reaffirmed." AMEN to that!!!!

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  9. Sounds like a great toddler party.. thats what we are planning for our son's 2 year birthday.. just a few friends and family.

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  10. I love low key parties, also!
    I hope my kids don't find out that fairy dust is the new thing:)

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  11. It's amazing how much they'll step out of their comfort zones for other people. I just brought my two to the dentist today and let them (coaxed them) to go into the offic on their own. They were pretty unsure of it and truth be told I wanted to plop myself down on the floor next to them but I guess I've got to let them grow up sometime. (They did fine.)

    Funny too how it is such a formula for how they experience milestones like birthdays. Glad you knew this time. (Makes me wonder what I don't know now.)

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  12. Yes, I'm planning low key for Millie's second birthday. Not just for her sake, but for mine, since I'll have an approximately 4 week old baby!

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  13. Wow, a three-year-old...it's hard to remember back that far. I'll be planning a high-key 16-year-old b-day soon. Just stopping by to try and visit all of the other WILTW bloggers. All the best!

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