My treasure is something that happened yesterday morning.
Kayla has a (bad) habit of emptying the bottom dresser drawer in her room. It's full of pjs. She pulls these all out so she can climb in and reach the books that are on her dresser shelf. She'll then proceed to pull any number of books down off that shelf. (Proof that she is actually growing since she couldn't reach these a few months ago!)
Every time I find her doing this I tell her she needs to clean up all those pjs and help me put the books away.
So yesterday I find her in her room, pjs out of the drawer, she's still standing in her drawer, caught holding 2 books and looking guilty. I tell her, "Kayla you know you're not supposed to do this. Now come out of the drawer." She stands there for a few minutes looking all sad but finally climbs out. I tell her to pick up all her pjs and put them back. She sits down on the floor with one of the books and opens it - ignoring me mind you.
Usually I would take the book from her and tell her she needs to clean up her pjs first...but I'm trying to be more patient...gotta pick your battles and all that right?
So I sigh, turn around and walk out of her room. I head to my room and bathroom to brush my teeth. A few minutes later she comes to find me, climbs up on the toilet seat to stand next to me. I ask her, "Did you put all your pjs away?" Kayla, "away." Me, "You put them all away?" Kayla, "away."
I pick her up and carry her down the hallway to her room. I open her door prepared to see pjs still all over the floor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see every single one of them put back in the drawer and the drawer closed! She did it with me only saying it 2x before I left the room. She did it without much nagging and pleading and pestering from mom.
I told her thank you so much for listening to mommy when I asked you to pick up your pjs! I'm so proud of you! Then she signed "proud" :)
So it's a small thing, but it was a wonderful treasure to find yesterday morning that just made the rest of my day.
And before anyone thinks I'm a "mean" mom (saying it lightly!) for keeping her books up high where she's not "supposed" to get them...these are books that I don't really want her to read without us because they are paper and lift-a-flap books. She's not always "gentle" with the books yet, lifting the flaps too roughly sometimes, or pulling them to hard so they rip. She has PLENTY of board books on the 2 bottom shelves and in the living room that she's more than welcome to have at whenever she wants! But no, she wants the books that are up high of course! She is starting to be not so rough with those books now, so maybe I can start trusting her with them!
21 comments:
Emptying dresser drawers is Miss E's most favorite activity in the world...
She doesn't do it to get things that are up higher though--although she will hang off the highest drawer like a little monkey just for fun...we are working on this too.
I would be simply thrilled to have Miss E pick the stuff she gets out back up, but we are not at that point yet...hopefully soon.
What a big girl Kayla is..and she is about to be 3 :)
Hee hee - Brady empties our book shelves, "reading" each book before he discards it and takes another ;) Wish he would pick his books up - maybe Kayla can come over and teach him :) That is definitely a treasure :)
Way to go Kayla! She knew what you wanted done and because you didn't "nag" her but left the room she did it all on her own. I am so proud of her.
I have to work on my "nagging" with my husband. Maybe he will get things done sooner!!! Love, G-Aunt Debbie
That is a fantastic treasure! Having kids on their way to becoming responsible is a blessing.
Way to go Kayla! Now maybe she can come over here and teach my boys how to listen?
a great parenting moment! good job Kayla!
I think we've all been there, in a kids mind whatever is nicely packed away needs to be tossed on the floor LOL
She's such a sweetheart though, love your little Kayla :)
My treasure is up too :)
Shaylee aso loves to empty out her dresser drawers. She loves books too and she is very gentle with them, but if it's something i'm reading, she'll rip it all up.
I wish Shaylee would pick up her clothes and put them back in the dresser, I don't think she has that concept yet. Kayla will have to teach her how!!
What a real treasure! Kayla is so funny, brings a big smile all the way to Europe!
When Vincent gets to that point, I will ask you for advice on how to get him to listen :-)
I read your blog every day...I've even read all the posts you wrote from the start so that I could understand and know what your life is like...right from the post where you talked about Kayla's birth and the DS, she's held a special place in my heart and I get so proud of her whenever you write about something she has done or said...like this post:-)She is a treasure herself and you are a GREAT mom!!
We have a lot of books out of reach that Becca is welcome to ask for at any time of the day. They are books that are very special to her and I knw she would be heart broken if anything happened by accident!!!
Very cool treasure...listening is definitely a treasure!
How precious! She is getting to be a big girl!!! God bless her. I bet she was proud of herself too!
Oh Michelle didn't that just melt your heart. :) She wanted you to be proud of her and when you did not "nag" at her, she got it done!!Especially since you had walked away too..What a "moment" Love Mom
YEAH!! We only tell them fifty ga-zillion times & then... IT SINKS IN!!! The heaven's open & the angels sing!!! baby steps... baby steps...
And if you're a "mean mama" for keeping those books up, so am I. The nice books are only accessible by us, so we can read them together. And keep them in tact. When she was younger, I wwnt bonkers trying to keep her out of my cookbooks & garden books. Smart girl, but all in good time, my princess!
Kendall still will not leave her clothes in her closet or drawers and of course she has this really bad habit of taking off her dirty clothes and putting them in with the clean-ugh.But it is wonderful that she did that!!!!Go Mommy!You are doing it right!Kendall loves to clean as long as it is dusting or sweeping......
That's so awesome that she obeyed you and put away her pjs all on her own!!
I can relate with the "picking your battles" when it comes to small children. We do the same thing.
Oh, and we have special books put away where Snuggle Bug can't get to them unless we're there with him. He's sometimes rough on books.
Just the other day, I opened up a board book to read it to him and on page 3 I found silver Sharpie markings. I comments, "Ah ha! I see you found a Sharpie, Snuggle Bug!" I guess I have to watch him even more closely! :)
My son loves to climb on things. We got him a little step so he can brush his teeth and stuff and he loves to carry it out to the kitchen and reach stuff he couldn't get before. My DH found him sitting on the sofa watching Noggin and eating out of a bag of tortilla chips I thought was far enough out of his reach. It's pretty scary when they start getting bigger and more independent.
Thanks for visiting my TT!
I smiled when reading this one. We have all been there. I remember when Katie made a mess of her room with her toys and I asked her to clean up. She did and was so proud to show us. She was Kayla's age also.
It think thats great you only told her two times!Way to go Kayla!
That's awesome! I wish I could get my kids to do the same!! That's a great treasure.
It's those small things that count! What a great story!
yes and maybe get a stool?? That may eliminate the need to pull out the drawer.
My best friends little girl Cayti loves books so much. She goes to a special school for only children with downs, they have taught her to read, she is doing awesome.
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