With two it’s hard to find individual time during the day since they wake up and nap at the same time. We’ve been incorporating weekly dates with each kiddo into our schedule so they get a break from one another and we get quality time with each alone. And since Blaise will be two on Sunday and we needed a cake, and I needed one-on-one time with the Bug, he and I went on a date tonight.
I thought the cake order was taken care of. I ordered one online last night, received an email confirming my order, then had a voice mail today from the bakery saying they didn’t have the cake decoration kit needed for what I ordered. Plan B, order another cake. I always give Blaise a choice: when he gets dressed, I give him two outfits and let him pick what he wants to wear; when we go shopping I hold out two options of whatever item we’re in the market for and let him pick (which is why he has a girly toothbrush); when he goes to bed I ask which bed he wants to sleep in (there are two in his room), and so forth. My parents did this with us growing up and it always made me feel empowered and that I had a choice. I want our kiddos to feel the same. And I did the same with the cake online, showed him a few options and let him pick the one he liked best. Ordering another cake was the primary goal of our date tonight. We went to Fred Meyer, looked through the cake book, and narrowed our options to three themes: construction, Bob the Builder, and fire truck. No surprise, Blaise got super excited at the fire truck so we went with it. I would have gone with Bob but hey, it’s not my second birthday.
Cake ordered, check. On to Barnes & Noble. I have to be honest here, I’m an Amazon gal. I am part of the decline of brick and mortar book stores … I’d go peruse books then stand right there in the store and place an order on Amazon. Now having kids, I’m back to being an in-person customer when they are with me. And since Borders is long gone and Barnes is just up the road, they get our business. Libraries are cool but when it comes to kid books, and knowing how many and what things our kiddos touch before reading books, I’m only buying new until they are past the “you just touched what?!” phase.
Blaise *loves* books. He was slow to be a fan at first but lights up now when he’s around them. We spent about a half hour checking out the selection before settling on three search and find books, and two truck books … his favorites these days. We purchased his stash and went to the cafe, ordered a hot chocolate and a Halloween cookie, and sat together reading his new books. He had a blast. It’s always special with both kids, extra special with just one. We made a pit stop at Costco on our way home since it was right there, Brian requested a pie.
Blaise’s New Books
Hide & Seek: First Words
Search & Find: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Search & Find: When I Grow Up
Red Truck
First 100 Trucks
Jumping Raccoons 
Super cute post! It’s so sweet that you have little dates with the kids. What a great idea! I think more families should do it!
I think that’s great that you’re giving Blaise choices. On top of making them feel empowered as you said, I read an article once while I was pregnant that said giving kids choices is also good for getting them to do something they may fight doing. (like getting dressed, or eating a veggie) It’s been very successful for us! 🙂
We do that, too! Even as far as, “Do you want chicken with broccoli or broccoli with chicken?” He’ll figure it out one of these days. There’s something about having a choice, even at such a young age.