toddler Archives - Page 10 of 12 - The Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Zoo lights with a toddler

December 16, 2014catherinemryan

Last weekend we hit up the Zoo Lights at Portland’s Oregon Zoo, an attraction that attracts thousands of families every year. It was our first time going, and I’d looked forward to it since we became zoo members in the summer.

Going with a toddler presented its own challenges, though. Peeper hasn’t cultivated the Christmas spirit and wonder yet, and she’s more interested in pushing her stroller than gazing at million-watt displays.

Despite the tears and the frustrations, I’m glad we went, and we’ll for sure go again next year—when Peeper will probably appreciate it more. If you’re still planning a trip to Zoo Lights with your toddler (and the event runs until January 4, so you have plenty of time), here are a few tidbits of advice to make the process a little smoother. Enjoy!

Go early. The zoo’s web site says the festivities don’t start til 5, but most lights are turned on closer to 4. It’ll take you a while to get through the lines anyway, and you’ll want to make it home before your tot has a too-close-to-bedtime meltdown in front of the penguin lights.

Do the train first. If you do get train tickets, get in line immediately. The queue soon becomes never-ending, and I wish you all the luck in the world if you try to get a squirmy toddler to be patient in those conditions.

Beware the train. Peeper is extremely sensitive to noise—the blender, the vacuum, even an electric razor. We didn’t scoot past the train quickly enough and when it blasted its choo-choo (no doubt delighting 99% of the other children), Peeper lost it. So if your little isn’t a fan of loud sounds, either, dart past the train as fast as you possibly can.

Reconsider your group plans. We had originally invited a few other families to join us at Zoo Lights, but in retrospect I’m glad they couldn’t make it. Peeper wandered in little circles in the middle of the pathway, and it would have been stressful to shepherd her to what everyone else wanted to see.

Find the Fragile Forest. There’s only so many lights a toddler’s attention span can handle. When you’ve passed that threshold, go to the Fragile Forest. When we went, we saw monkeys, giant fish, turtles and even a huge snake.

Bundle up. This is a tad obvious, but dress your toddler in lots of layers. Peeper wore fleece leggings beneath her pants and legwarmers; she wore a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater and a coat; and a hat and mittens. She stayed pretty toasty under all that and didn’t even look like Randy from A Christmas Story. Well, not too much, anyway.

Abandon all your expectations. My Facebook and Instagram feeds have been sparkly with friends’ family photos at Zoo Lights. I had my sights set on a Ryan Gregory family picture in the lights tunnel (wouldn’t that make a great Christmas card photo?). Yet when we got there, Peeper was in no mood to tolerate standing still, let alone smiling at a stranger. After a few attempts by a well-meaning gentleman, I gave up. We moved on, and despite not getting any decent photos of all of us together, we were all happier for it.

Of course this last piece of advice could be my parenting advice tattoo (or a bumper sticker that makes me millions!), it holds up especially well with toddlers at Zoo Lights. You don’t really know what they’ll be into and what they’ll completely ignore, so just roll with it.

Did you go to Zoo Lights? Any advice you’d share?

Still thankful

December 3, 2014catherinemryan

It seems a little late for a Thanksgiving post, but a) I was feeling under the weather over the holiday and didn’t much feel like writing, and b) gratitude doesn’t have an expiration date.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it’s the perfect time to reflect on the everyday blessings that are easy to take for granted in our busy lives. My family takes turn around the dinner table to say what we’re grateful for (usually while wearing a paper napkin on our head—a weird, inexplicable Ryan tradition).

Allow me, then, to pretend I’m wearing a napkin-hat and share a few things I marveled at over the holiday weekend. How—I mean how?—did I get so lucky? I am thankful for:

These photos were taken at Dorris Ranch, one of my favorite places on earth.

These goofballs. There is absolutely no one else I’d rather spend my days with.

Family. Half my siblings live on the opposite end of the country and spent Thanksgiving with friends at a cabin in upstate New York, but my younger sister and her hubby braved the holiday traffic from Seattle to stay with my parents.

I didn’t see my relatives often when I grew up, so I especially value the time Peeper gets to spend with her grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins. Plus, she’s always learning something from Auntie Amy—this time it was the best puddle-stomping techniques.

Grandpa Shempy joins Peeper for craft time.

Abundance. We have more than enough to meet our needs. Our plates are full, our homes warm, our needs met. We have medical care. We are safe. Our water is clean.

Beyond basic necessities, we are surrounded by those who love us. We also have the opportunity to love others. Is there anything better than that?

Growth. Now that I’m a mama, I get to see the world through Peeper’s eyes. She finds joy in everything—sprinting around her grandparents’ house, feeding Grandpa Shempy’s fish, picking up sticks, hugging Finn and chasing bubbles, to name a few. I, then, get to delight in the these things even more because of her toddler enthusiasm.

The world can feel depressing and cold, especially if you spend much time listening to the news. We could all use more wonder.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too! What are you grateful for?

Our favorite kids’ books: Singable stories

December 3, 2014catherinemryan

We sat cross-legged in a circle on the classroom’s thin-carpeted floor. I leaned forward toward Mrs. Weineger, my kindergarten teacher, and her spot in front of us eager 5-year-olds. I could barely contain myself in the moments before she opened the book.

Instead of simply reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, she sang it. Later, she posted pictures of the colorful animals around the room, and we incorporated the song into our sing-alongs.

I think of Mrs. Weineger—her wide smile, the crinkly skin behind her large glasses, her fluffy orange hair (which, incidentally, made her look a lot like the teacher in Eric Carle’s book)—every time I sing this book to Peeper.

Our little bookworm loves it, and no surprise there: It combines two of her favorite things, books and song.

Here are a few of our other favorite singable stories. Clear your throat and make sure the windows are closed—you’ll want to sing these books over and over! Read more →

Family reunion

November 18, 2014catherinemryan

I recently took my first trip without Peeper. After 16 months of spending every day together, I headed up to Seattle for a business trip. It was a short jaunt—I was gone only one night—but, as I wrote earlier, I worried how she and I would handle the separation.

It felt good to be busy. Between meetings and visiting my sister and brother-in-law, I didn’t have much time to dwell on how much I missed Peeper. When I had a few minutes of down time, I walked around and stumbled across the adorable Once Upon a Time toy store in Queen Anne and of course bought her a little present.

That night, though, as I sat in the quiet hotel room, loneliness threatened to swallow me. The spacious room with its two queen beds, sitting room and kitchen that seemed so luxurious in the day felt yawning and empty in the dark.

The next morning, we videochatted. Seeing Peeper’s smiles filled up the hollow space inside me. Peeper kept peering over the top of the computer on her end, looking for me.

As I drove home later that day, I imagined our ecstatic reunion—like the tearful homecomings you see at the airport or veterans seeing their loved ones after coming back from war. (I know, I have a very healthy imagination.) Impatient, I cursed 5pm traffic and watched the clock, predicting what Peeper would be up to at that moment. Read more →

Travel without my toddler

November 4, 2014catherinemryan

Today I’m headed up to Seattle for a brief business trip—without Peeper. I’ve never been away from her for a night, and now that she’s almost 16 months old, I bit the bullet and scheduled this overdue outing.

I don’t know how it’ll go. I’ve been imagining two scenarios:

1. I take an uninterrupted bath, order room service, lounge around the hotel room in a cushy robe and watch cable.

2. I cry uncontrollably, Skype with my husband so I can see Peeper sleep on the baby monitor and go to my meetings with puffy eyes and an emotional hangover.

Thanks to some strange timing, today’s trip is a trial run. My sisters, brother and I are converging on Santa Fe for an unprecedented siblings weekend, so I’ll be spending three days away from her then, too.

I’m already feeling the guilt at leaving her, and I’m still at home. This’ll be hard—but hopefully rewarding, recharging and fun, too.

Wish us all luck.

Feeling grateful for the lack of a sugar hangover

November 3, 2014catherinemryan

The best part of having a toddler who could care less about trick-or-treating?

Not having a giant candy stash to gorge yourself on.

On Halloween, Eric and I took Peeper trick-or-treating at Multnomah Village, along with thousands of Elsas and Elmos and elephants. Parking was a zoo and shuffling along in the queue felt a little bit like going through TSA at an airport, but it was actually quite fun.

From our pot to yours, happy Halloween!

October 31, 2014catherinemryan

Peeper is a bit afraid of other children on Halloween and every other day, so she wasn’t thrilled about the group photo. Thankfully, this little lobster cheered up and spent the rest of the play date happily throwing balls, nomming fruit and toppling headfirst into toy bins.
Happy Halloween, everyone!

Is it Halloween yet?

October 21, 2014catherinemryan

Peeper is getting in the spirit of Halloween. Only a week and a half to go!

Peeper has been getting extra use out of her candy bucket.

She thought it was hilarious putting the bucket on Mama's head — She thought it was hilarious putting the bucket on Mama’s head

Some random kid at the zoo couldn't stop touching Peeper's bat hat. I don't blame her—it's irresistible! — Some random kid at the zoo couldn’t stop touching Peeper’s bat hat. I don’t blame her—it’s irresistible!

Motherhood this week

October 15, 2014catherinemryan

“I should remember this.”

The thought strikes me every day as Peeper does something funny or sweet or ridiculous, yet I don’t keep a baby book and I haven’t updated my Peeper journal for months. I’m afraid all the tiny moments will slip into oblivion while I mark only the big ones.

Here, then, are a few glimpses into our everyday lives. These won’t make the front page headlines, but I think they’re worth recording.

Friends with Freddy. Our downstairs neighbors decorated for Halloween, draping the bear statues with fake spiderwebs and hanging spooky critters. They also put up a lifesize paper cutout of a Freddy Krueger lookalike, which bares its sharp teeth at us as we walk toward our door.

Whenever we walk past, Peeper says “Hi!” to Freddy in her cheeriest voice.

“You’ll know to worry if she starts saying ‘hi’ to her closet,” my brother said.

Pumped up at the park. Yesterday Peeper was a beast on the playground. She was struggling to get up the first big step on the play structure but didn’t ask for help (“hep!”), so I didn’t intervene. She kicked her leg up to shoulder height and somehow pulled herself onto the step.

She was too busy moving on to the next one to celebrate or even recognize her accomplishment.

She climbed up and down the rest of our time there but by the end, she was clearly getting tired. Instead of giving up, though, she’d grunt and yell with the effort of dragging her little body onto the first step. She reminded me of a bodybuilder or Maria Sharipova. Peeper’s a beast!

Toddler irony. Peeper recently discovered my underwear drawer. She opens my nightstand, drapes my bras around her neck and tosses my undies over her shoulder.

I figured that since she was happy and occupied, I’d change her diaper while she played there. When I came back with a clean dipes, I realized she had pooped—on my lingerie.

Well, I guess that’s kind of what it’s for.

The kicker: She’s done this twice in the last week. That’ll teach me.

Family plans. Verizon and AT&T got nothin’ on Annie’s. Peeper has been using anything and everything—a box of mac n’ cheese, a cup of crayons, the remote control, a package of oatmeal—to call her grandma.

“Nana, Nana,” she says while cradling the object near her ear.

We’ll see if messaging and data rates apply.

How did you record your kids’ everyday antics?

15 months

October 13, 2014catherinemryan

The world is a wacky place, and at 15 months old, Peeper is really starting to grapple with it.

First off, it’s confusing. I’m always feeding Peeper mushrooms and berries at home, but when she tries to eat them when we’re on walks outside, I freak out. What gives? And she throws dirty diapers in the pail, but I take out the toys, magazines and my hairbrush that she oh so helpfully tosses in, too. All these arbitrary rules are hard to follow.

Secondly, it’s scary. Nana got Peeper a book that makes animal noises when you open the flaps, and my bug started crying at the first electronic “moo.” She ran away—and came right back. She seemed to be torn between fear of and fascination with it. I had to cut her off when she started whimpering when we looked at animals in other books.

She’s also pretty intimidated by other kids. When we recently got together with the One Weekers—a group of baby friends born within a seven days of each other—Peeper was a bit out of sorts. The other toddlers just had to look at her sideways to set her off. She required a lot of cuddling when the other kids ran around and fought over blocks.

Yet Peeper is also overcoming her fears—at least, in one case, with the help of noise-muffling headphones. We went to a Timbers game knowing we might have to bail early, considering Peeper is terrified of loud noises. But once she got used to the cushy headphones covering her ears, she didn’t mind the soccer match. I spent most of it chasing her around the restaurant, but I counted it as a huge win.