The Tale of the Toddler and her Cooped-up Dress

The beautiful dress had been gifted to her as an infant. But as the dress was far too big, her Mama hung it in a closet. There, the dress remained for many long months. 

Then one day, the infant grew up. She could walk, and talk, and open door handles. While her mother was attending to her baby sister, the toddler opened the closet door, pulled the dress off the hanger, and put it on, all by herself.

Despite her mother's objections, the toddler refused to remove the dress. Her mother was worried that the dress was impractical, that the toddler might trip and fall, that it was too cold to wear outdoors, and the list went on and on...

But the toddler stood her ground! And so it was that the dress finally left her hanger! The dress was so happy, she could not wait to see what adventures awaited her. 

That glorious day, the dress went to the library. She read some books, played with a train set, and used a magnetic table for the first time. She also walked up and down the stairs, and did not trip nor fall a single time!

Many people commented on her beauty. "Are you going to a party?" one lady queried. To which the toddler's mother replied "no, my toddler refused to take the dress off." The dress shone brighter with pride for the toddler.

Back at home the dress and her toddler had lunch together with nary a stain. Then they baked cupcakes that they later decorated and devoured! The dress swelled with satisfaction.

After the sweet meal it was time for an afternoon nap. While most toddlers would have removed their fancy dresses for a nap, not this one! The dress and her toddler slept soundly for almost two hours.

After their nap, the afternoon flew by: arts and crafts, reading books, singing songs, turning somersaults and joyful dancing. After dinner it was a little more play, then to bed. When the time came to put on her pajamas, the toddler once again refused to part with her dress. And so the task fell upon her Papa to change her into pajamas once she was sound asleep.

That night, the toddler dreamed of more adventures with her puffy new dress. And as for the dress, she hoped not to be cooped up for another year or two before someone discovered her.

Mama breathed a sigh of relief. The day had gone much better than expected. Each time her toddler misbehaved that day, all she had to say was "I think it's time to put that dress away". Her toddler immediately listened to her mother lest she part ways with her new dress.

the sick week

Sucking her thumb

In their new Hello Kitty clothes

All five of us had just barely gotten over our cold of the month when our oldest started tossing her cookies. It began Wednesday at 2am and continued for 10 hours. My husband attended to her while I stayed with the baby.

On Wednesday, my husband worked from home. I try to limit screen time to 1 to 2 hours per week for our toddler, but we made an exception, and allowed our toddler to play with her iPad for a few hours on Wednesday. She hung out with her Papa, and I headed out with the younger two. After a 4 hour nap on Wednesday afternoon, our toddler was almost like new. But I found myself very anxious. Would the rest if the family get sick? I actually felt nauseous at the thought...

My husband felt nauseous as well. In the early hours of Wednesday, he was by our daughter's side while she vomited over a dozen times. When he did manage to sleep, he dreamed of her vomiting!

As I write these words, the rest of the family has somehow managed to stay relatively healthy. I found out while at work on Saturday that #2 had vomited once the evening before, but had since shown little signs of illness other than a decreased appetite...

Where our toddler picked up the bug remains a mystery. Was it the money she put in her mouth before depositing it in her piggy bank? Possibly. Was it something she ate? Unlikely as her middle sister ate the same food. Was it a book she touched at the public library on Tuesday? Maybe.

I  suppose we will never know. The important thing is that they are feeling better, and the baby has shown no signs of illness...

My toddler, the hoarder

I can't pinpoint the exact moment it started, but at some point over the last few months, my 31/2 year old toddler became a hoarder.

There are two areas where she hoards things, both in the room she shares with her sister. 

One is a little nook behind a doll stroller. She hides a variety of items behind the stroller including a play phone, a doll carrier, and books. Her other "special area" is a cubby in a large storage module. She wisely chose one out of her sister's reach. There, she stores a colouring pad, her new slippers, a plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket, among a number of other items.

Mostly I found this behavior endearing. I assumed she was hiding things from her sister. A few of her objects are new acquisitions, while others are well-used objects. 

She doesn't seem to mind when Papa and Mama remove things from her stash, but doesn't allow her sister anywhere near her hidden treasures.

I decided to read up a little on hoarding in toddlers. Is it indicative of future obsessive-compulsive behavior? I found a list of 10 questions. If the answers to the first 4 are yes, then your kid is in trouble:

1. Is your child in physical danger from the hoarding?

2. Does your child hoard food?

3. Does your child steal things and hoard them?

4. Does the hoarding interfere with your child's participation in normal activities?

Thankfully the answer to all four was No. Perhaps she is simply keeping her possessions away from her formidable foe, her middle sister?

Her formidable foe 

Spot # 1

Spot # 2

Back to Work

I was very happy to return to work the first week-end of November. I had missed the simple pleasures:

-of going to the loo without my kids running in

-of eating a meal in peace

-of talking on the phone without being interrupted (albeit work-related calls)

By the end of my first shift on Saturday, although exhausted, I felt as though I had never left. The time change early Sunday morning allowed for an extra hour of sleep, and my second shift was not as tiring.

Working week-ends only for the time being allows me to quickly return to the wonderful chaos of home life!

Ready for the cool weather!

Donning her new hand-knit hat

The Wet Hallowe'en

We set off in the rain towards our friend's house for Hallowe'en. The baby stayed at our house with Grandma, while the two older girls donned their Hallowe'en costumes, and eagerly got into the car. Would the rain let up, or would their trick-or-treating experience be dampened by the poor weather?

In the end, the rain did let up, and when we set out door-to-door at 18h, there was only a slight drizzle. #1 wore a costume given to her by her aunt. She was dressed as a fairy. Her younger sister wore #1's costume from last year, and was Hello Kitty. But when our oldest daughter saw her sister's hat, she too decided to wear her Hello Kitty hat, leading to a bit of confusion. A few people even mistook them for twins! The girls eagerly followed around their friend, who was dressed as a Rock Star. In fact our middle daughter refused to hold Mama and Papa's hand, preferring the company of her friend.

We lasted about an hour, when a down-pour ended our trick-or-treating. The girls were very excited about their goodies. Once we removed the peanut-containing candy bars, they dug in. #2 has since forgotten about her candy, but our oldest regularly asks to see "her Hallowe'en bag".

With their Rock Star friend 

Their Stash

Trying on her friend's pink wig