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Birthday Ritual
I mentioned in this post that I was thinking about creating some kind of candle ceremony to commemorate Henry’s birthday every year. When I stumbled upon this 9-candle holder on Etsy, I realized it was the perfect complement to the ceremony: one tealight candle for every year until he’s 9, then a colored candle to represent 10 years, and additional tealight candles in the remaining eight slots to take him to 18.… Read MoreHere’s how the ceremony went:
- I printed out his one year-old photo.
- We clipped the photo to a ribbon using these mini-clothespins.
- We lit the candle and read the following letter.
Dear Henry,
You bring
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Gearing Up for Toilet Training (i.e., Toilet Awareness/Learning)
Montessorians believe that the sensitive period for helping children use the toilet independently is 12-18 months (according to the book Montessori from the Start). The author cites studies that indicate that in the 1950s, ninety-two percent of babies were using the toilet successfully during the daytime by 18 months of age.… Read MoreWe’ve done a little Elimination Communication with Henry from early on to help him associate diaper changes with the toilet (and we’ve always set up his changing area in the bathroom), but we honestly didn’t have much success with it. Even though I was home with him full-time for the first year of his life, I was never -
Balancing Henry’s Needs with My Own
Being a parent is tough in the sense that it means you are responsible for ensuring that another human’s needs are taken care of every single minute of every single day. That responsibility is a heavy burden to bear (while also being an immense blessing, of course).… Read MoreIt’s important to me to keep my own needs at the forefront of my mind, so I continue to live a joyful, vibrant, and healthy life. If I take care of all of Henry’s needs at the expense of all of my own needs, then I will not be a very good mother for Henry. It’s a delicate balance, for sure.
Every once
