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Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Red Polka Dot Bikini |
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
 Shopping is fun. Shopping is great. But it is even better when you shop for your child - especially if she's a girl. My daughter has a lot of clothes; some items still with tags on that she will never wear, others she will wear once. I tell everyone not to get her any more stuff. Yet, I am weak. Let me rephrase: if I avoid stores, then I'm good; however, if I enter baby fashion heaven, then I am bad - sometimes very, very bad. Everything is so cute when it is in a miniature size; this is especially true for stylish little bathing suits.  At the start of summer, I decided that O.C. didn't need more than three bathing suits (and she only even needed that many because we were going on a family cruise). Today she has six, including Le Top (right photo) and Banana Cabana (left photo). Now that bathing suits are starting to go on sale, it is getting harder and harder for me not to acquire even more of them. I love bargains, so if I see a sign that says '30% to 50% off', I get excited. Not wanting to go overboard, I try to be sensible and look for bathing suits O.C. can use next year. The problem, as other wiser mothers point out, is that I don't know what my daughter will be like next year - skinny, tall, fat, short, etc. Since I can't predict her growth spurts and changes, I have to walk away from super adorable bikinis. And if that's not strength, I don't know what is.
- O.C.'s mom,
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Thursday, July 8, 2010 The summer heat wave has interfered with my sense of motherhood and ability to think clearly. In the last few days, I lost a cake, got into a fender bender, missed my dance class, and battled a stomach virus. In case you are wondering how it is possible to lose a cake, I'll explain: I bought a cake, placed it on top of my car while putting my daughter into her car seat, and drove off forgetting about the cake, only to realize that it wasn't inside the car a few blocks away - needless to say, it was too late. The fender bender wasn't my fault, but it doesn't matter since I no longer have a vehicle to get my family around in this heat. I missed my dance class because I lost track of time and was confused about which day of the week it was. The stomach virus is still a mystery. Where is my brain? What is going on? I am not a person who takes things lightly; I prefer to overanalyze and blame myself for things under (and sometimes not under) my control. Where is my head? The combination of humidity and heat seems to have melted away my rational and lucid self. As a mother, I always feel the need to stay on top of anything and everything; thus, scatterbrain moments and decisions just won't do.
- O.C.'s mom,
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Thursday, July 1, 2010 There are two key toys this summer that I can't leave my house without - the phone and the ball. The phone keeps my daughter occupied in her car seat, and the ball is her answer to boredom on the ground. She takes them everywhere. Why she enjoys the VTech Dial & Discover Phone is no mystery to me. It makes funny sounds, calls out letters and numbers, and plays music. Of course, imitation is also an important reason for her fascination with dialing and saying "Hello...Ha ha ha." Seeing her parents on the phone, she aims to mimic adult conversations pausing only to laugh or listen. But what about the ball? It is nice and round, fun to play with, and, for a 16-month-old, quite easy to handle. Still, she doesn't just throw it; she chases it, tries to kick it, and lights up at the sight of it. Just as I was beginning to wonder about the ball's magic, I noticed that my husband and I were watching a lot of soccer these days (World Cup) and even though O.C. is not allowed to watch TV, she'd run around and stop in front of the screen urgently pointing at the players and clap.  Her eagerness to play with the ball isn't all about the object itself, but about being interested in what her parents are watching and mimicking the activity. I find this to be cute and adorable, but it also serves as a reminder that, as parents, everything we do translates to and influences our children. Our actions are their actions - especially when imitation is a huge part of their learning process. For toddlers, learning about the world is exciting, new, and fun, but it can also be confusing and frustrating. And it is our job as parents to encourage our children's curiosity while keeping in mind the responsibility we carry in shaping their choices, actions and desires.
- O.C.'s mom,
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Thursday, June 24, 2010  We've all heard the phrase 'sharing is caring,' and I want to make sure that my daughter knows it too. When we go to the park or to the beach, I encourage her to share her toys with other kids, and she does. She is very happy to have playmates, especially older ones, and is glad to be included in multiple activities. In fact, being more interested in people than objects, she often forgets about her toys - a loud popper, an alphabet ball, a colorful truck - in the hands of other kids. She'd rather climb on slides backwards, explore the swinging bridge (to my horror, of course), and hang on parallel bars than sit in one spot guarding her prized possessions. I am proud of my tot and understand that she wants to learn and try new things. Plus, learning how to share encourages curiosity and generosity. But then comes the time when we must leave the playground or sandbox with all toys intact. As a parent, I look at other parents whose children are playing with my daughter's things and loudly proclaim that it is time to go home. Although I say this in my daughter's direction, I intend it for the other mothers and fathers. What has been my recent experience, however, is that these parents completely ignore me and don't say anything to their children about returning the toys. The last thing I want to do is approach the kids myself, but it is not like I can get my 15-month-old to solve the situation. And so I find myself chasing after toddlers and preschoolers in a kind attempt to get my daughter's toys to bring back home with us. (Besides, a trip to Toys 'R' Us is not cheap.) As I bargain with the children, I am amazed at their parents who often don't say anything to help me. They just stare and smile or pretend they don't see their kid telling me that they are not done playing with my daughter's toy. How rude! What about parents sticking together? What about creating an environment in which we can instill values in our kids and set a good example for them - for instance, sharing, being responsible, showing compassion? Instead, I come off as the greedy old lady upsetting some three year old sassing me in front of his/her parent, who is watching me get frustrated but who pretends not to notice. My husband once said that he would just leave the toys at the playground, but I don't see that as a solution either. For now, I'm going to keep 'negotiating' with the little ones until, with more experience, I figure out a better approach.
- O.C.'s mom,
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Tuesday, June 1 5, 2010
We celebrated my daughter's first birthday this March, and it was a huge ordeal with decorations, professional photography, catering and music - all of which required tons of planning. To tie it all together, my husband and I agreed that we needed a theme. It didn't take long for me to begin fantasizing about boats, seawater, dolphins, colorful fish and  old-fashioned sailors. My daughter, I decided, would be a sailor and she would make her entrance on a boat with wheels. My imagination grew wild, and if planning the party wasn't stressful (or expensive) enough, I began what I expected to be an endless search for the perfect sailor outfit. Surprisingly, my search was not too long because Macy's (Herald Square, NYC) got a new batch of nautical outfits right before the big party. While the timing was perfect, I couldn't make up my mind about which outfit best fit O.C., so I got all three. Before long, word got around about O.C. making her entrance as a little sailor and I began receiving nautical dresses and sets as gifts. In her closet now, O.C. has a total of nine sailor-inspired outfits.
Although she looks adorable in navy and white, it turned out to be too much, as I never intended for my child to look like a sailor all spring and summer. Consequently, I hid the garments and promised either to forget about the ones she wore or re-gift the ones she didn't. But just as I was getting sick of all the hats, stripes, and anchors, I packed some of these outfits in my luggage on a recent family cruise to the Car ibbean. And on a formal night, I dressed my little one as a sailor and watched as she was showered with compliments and flattering stares. To me, my daughter is a star each and every day of her life, but on her sailor days she is a star to all. Even off a vessel, she makes waves come to life. And so the nautical dresses, suits, and rompers have come out of hiding and back into the light.
- O.C.'s mom,
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