11 Things To Do With Your Little Girl (part 1)

I grew up as the youngest in my family, with 2 older brothers. I was the baby. I was the one everyone played with and took care of. I didn't have to change anyone's diapers or hold a bottle to an infant's mouth while my mom was doing some crazy multi-tasking. As I grew older I never felt like volunteering in our church nursery and didn't have too many babysitting jobs. Babies usually cried when I held them. 

Fast forward a couple dozen years to today. I'm now a mom to an almost-3-year-old. The whole pregnancy and baby thing did not come naturally to me. Don't get me wrong, I love Ivy more than anything, and think she's the coolest kid EVER, but when I found out I was pregnant, there were tears. Tears of fear. Making my living as a dance instructor, you'd think, "Becca will be such a great mom! She has so much experience with kids!" Well, the majority of those kids were over the age of 3... Moral of the story: when I had Ivy, I had to figure her out. I had to figure me out!

Well, Kit and I finally feel like we're in a groove. Parenting took us by surprise, then took us for a ride. But today's blog post is not about that journey, it's about where we are today. Specifically, it's about what we do today.

As a new parent, it takes a little motivation to figure out what to do in your new role in life. You visit parenting websites, read books, and maybe even join a mom's group. Eventually you get a routine going and see what you like to do, but more importantly, what your child likes to do.

That's where we are now.
And as Ivy transitions from toddler-age to pre-school-age,
I feel like it's getting more and more fun each and every day!

So here's a list of 11 things we like to do with our daughter:

This is probably the most common activity new moms do. It was so fun when Ivy got old enough to finally start climbing up on the equipment. We've got two great playgrounds by our house. One is brand new, but the trees haven't quite grown big enough to create shade, so it's a little hot. Bring sunscreen!

We have a great library just down the road. Once a week they have story time for toddlers (age 0-2). On another day they have story time for pre-schoolers (age 3-5). Ivy turns 3 in a couple of weeks, so we might be transitioning to a new day! On the toddler day, it's somewhat noisy (you think?), but no one seems to care too much, and if it gets out of control, the librarian will just politely ask the parents to have their children sit near them, or do some kind of attention-getting poem/song. 

When my brother was here last Fall, he and his wife would take Ivy to the Humane Society. She could see the dogs, hold the cats, watch the turtles and bunnies. Kit recently discovered this little pet shop close by that has cats, dogs and turtles roaming the store freely, as well as birds, fish and rabbits to see. It's right across from the library, so we usually go after story time! 

(Can you tell we live on an island? Everything is close by!)

Now I know I may be judged for this one: 

"How could you succumb to exposing your daughter to such vanity at her ripe young age?" 

Oh, you weren't thinking that? Phew! Well, just in case you were, here's why I love to do this with Ivy:

• It teaches patience. It's not easy for a 2 year old to sit still for 20+ minutes! But, Ivy is now amazing at it!!
• Growing up, this was something I always wanted to do with my mom, but she cleaned for a living, so she could never really justify getting a manicure.
• It teaches a girl how to take care of herself, giving her pride in her clean, maintained nails.
• She makes a choice, and has to stick with her choice! There have been visits (not many) where Ivy has chosen her nail polish color (kelly green, let's say), and we've gotten home and she's wanted me to take it off and repaint them pink... I don't let her. She made a choice and has to stick with it! (...at least until it starts chipping off.)
• It's cheap for kids to get their nails done. I go to a place that does a kids "polish change" on hands and toes for $10 total! Then they'll do a polish change on my hands or feet for $10. The only thing missing from the polish change versus the full mani or pedi, is the soaking and massage, which I don't have time for anyway! I think spending $20 for an hour with your daughter in a sanitary, peaceful environment, every other month or so, is worth it. 

Do you do any of these things with your daughter? I'd love to hear about it! 

Come back in a few days for PART 2 of "11 Things To Do With Your Little Girl."

Aloha, 

Rebecca