Living an Intentional Life
Reading is so much more fun with an audience. Now, what could be better than, Pooh, Piglet, Eyore, Tigger, Babies (2!), Baby, and Bolt? They are captive!
How else could I get her excited about retiring to her crib for “nap time?”
“Mom, you can leave now; I have this under control.”
Up…Down, Up…Down. This is Tatum’s term for the Carousel
Then when walking in the HOT Phoenix sun, she knows a cold drink when she grabs it…COLD!
Or when we were at Starbucks and she spilled a whole cup of ice on herself! Now that is COLD!
Then of course the favorite, when I say, come “HERE” she wants to go “THERE!”
Finally, on the train, she knows GO until we come to a STOP
Coti demonstrates being “ASLEEP” when she wants to be “AWAKE!!” (ergh!)
Today she learned the opposite of “ON” when she kept turning “OFF” the music!
Can I do this?! Of course. Keeping Tatum busy means balancing what she needs to learn with a bit of fun. I also want her to be a bit independent.
Therefore I started with….Beans. Yes, beans. Sorting, distributing and pouring. All you need is some cups and lima beans or beans of choice (dry of course). Then, in the background, the music playing sets the tone. I obtained some fun kid CD’s and the classics play, like “The Wheels on the Bus,” “Five Little Monkeys,” and “This Old Man” etc…When Five Little Monkeys started, of course we had to get up and dance. Tatum knows the “NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPIN on THE BED” part as she shakes her finger. For some reason, I know she is going to want to be the one in charge. 
So, after beaning, we retired to the patio. I attempted to sit at the table while she exercised her little muscles. She slid down her slide and pushed her motorcycle around. I am a bit concerned because she just does not like to run around too much. The other end of the spectrum could be an OVERLY active child, so I guess it’s a blessing. However, she usually just wants to sit and read. Puzzles? nah.. Little people? Nah.. (well, for a minute. She’ll pick out the doggie and run around yelling “doggie!”).. Drawing? We’re getting there. So, at least 
Upstairs, she jumped onto the rocker to read about the Little Bunny.
Then it was time to feed the baby her “ba ba”
I attempted to introduce her AGAIN to pop beads. This may take, but she can get some fine motor skills pumping
We made it at least to lunch. I knew after that she would play a bit more then nap time from 2-4. After 4 is always fun (haha) 
The pool? Of course! This involves more pouring of water and splashing. She continues to “challenge” me as she wants to jump on her terms, but when that happens? Bye bye pool and fun.
It was a great day. I’ve already seen a huge change in her behavior by just BEING with her. Hmmmm, what a concept!
Tables seem to make all the difference for a Tot. 
This Tot table is even a bit too high, but she loves to sit and then say, “Mommy,” pointing to the other chair.
Then upstairs, she has an antique table which serves four. Perfect for her THREE babies. Then she can thread beads, read or play on her mini piano.
Being her mommy makes me truly smile.
Cups are not just for drinking! They are also for bean-pouring. Who knew?
She gingerly poured the white lima beans into the paper cups. Completely enthralled in the journey of the bean INTO the cup, she then found she can pick beans one by one and distribute them to the other cups.
After this, I gave her some of her nesting cups to challenge her pouring ability.
Success! Now moving onto bigger cups
And back into the mini cup…
This dexterous activity turned into about 30 minutes, and what made it even better was it was completely unplanned. She found something she can do with her little fingers. 🙂
And…when she did spill the beans, she “uh-ohed” them right back into the cup with the rest of the lima friends.
Not everything works 100% of the time. Being a black and white person (in recovery), I have a hard time understanding why what has worked in the past does not work in the present. The battle of “who gets to hold the toothbrush” heated up as Tatum forgot the “I count to 10” rule and then [you] can hold it. The not so pretty incident had me question the tone of the day. I would not let this stand in the way of happy day! Upon a mulligan with the toothbrush to get it right and be successful, we were headed out for a great day with some old, dear friends.
During the drive to their house, I decided to tell the story of how I knew Dick and Marilyn. I told her that I wanted her to be the kind-hearted, lovely little girl that she is and show respect and love to them.
Tatum took them both in with merriment and absolutely seemed to adore them as much as I do.
Dick and Marilyn played with her for a while and they also spent time encouraging me which mommies always need! Sometimes one just needs to hear that she is doing some things right, and they both ooze positivity. I truly cherish them in my life, and I know Tatum will continue to build a relationship with them. She sure felt comfortable!
She just chilled out and read, studying a bit about marinating and herbs from Cook Magazine, as we visited.
Their influence in my life has been immeasurable.
It’s also Tot’s day today! VENTI MES!
And what a celebration it has been. I knew today had to contain some sort of water play, so we would head to the Splash Pad at Kierlands with Moms of the City from my church. But first…a bit of piggy play on the patio.
Then…off to Kierland. Being 110 today, we smothered the lotion, donned the shades and sported the hat. Ms. Fashionista.
When we arrived, I gently placed Tatum down on one of the mini-fountains and she started to cry.
Seriously, MOM?
Once I demonstrated the water fun she could have by running around myself in the springs (looking ridiculous, I might add, but oh..the sacrifices (to my hair and clothes) we make for our children 🙂
Finally, she couldn’t get enough. Moreover, she met a little friend, Addison, who walked with her through the water and guided her along!
Now, she was a pro!
I handed her a cup and this added a whole new splashing dimension.
While there, I met a lovely girl (Addison’s mom) from Indiana who just moved here with her husband 3 weeks ago. She’ll be a fellow teacher in the Isaac District, so we got to chat for a while about her new venture. Truly a blessing which I was not expecting (which are the best kind)
Getting her to leave the Splash Pad? This was another kind of water works within her eyes 🙁
