Making pizza at EarlyON

Week 141 motherhood of two year eight months old and five month old: 

• May 31:  There coincidentally seemed to be a lot of free things given to the toddler this week.  She got two free toys from our nice next-door neighbour.  Technically, both toys are for the baby but of course the toddler plays with it first.  One is a Vtech frog you can ride on and that plays music.  The other is a bead toy.
• She got a free mini rubber ducky from the sales associate at Shoppers when we were there to buy a few things.  It has a skincare logo on it and the lady was eager to gift it to the toddler.  The toddler, when told to say “thanks”, said she didn’t want to say it.  The lady said the toddler was “cool”.
• She got free snackable cake muffins and a goodie bag from the EarlyON we attended in Stouffville because it was their one year birthday celebration.  There was a red plastic egg with some things inside that you could shake and make noise with.  She also got a plastic blowup beach ball and some liquid bubbles.
• So funny that they’ve received all this free stuff lately.
• The baby shakes her head from left to right as a way to fall asleep and stay asleep.  She also sucks her fingers sometimes and falls asleep that way if she’s been fussy.
• We haven’t been attending the virtual EarlyON programs this week since we have been attending the in-person ones instead.  Also, since the toddler was more interested in playtime at the centres than listening to songs, I didn’t want to force her to participate in the zoom classes if that wasn’t where her interests lie.
• We visited the EarlyON in Newmarket on Thursday since I saw they had the Creative Chefs program and I was super curious what their class would be like and because it seems like the cooking classes all finish up for the summer and there won’t be any more until the fall.  It was a long 25 minute drive north.
• It is nice to attend a different EarlyON centre and experience the different instruction, facilities, facilitators.  It was so funny because at this one, we also made pizzas (we just made them yesterday at the Thornhill location).  It was different at this location though because of the way they showed the kids how to make it and also the ingredients were different.  We used a pita, pizza sauce from a bottle, and the kids scooped sausage bits and pre-cut pepperoni and bell peppers and cheese onto their pitas.  There was no heating up via a microwave or oven.  Most of the kids there ate the pizza like a burrito by rolling it up.  The facilitator didn’t teach them about vegetables beforehand or read a story about pizza.  The kids at this centre were a lot younger too, maybe all under two years old, so the parents basically did the prep for the kids.
• The toddler took her sweet time eating her pita pizza.  I could tell she didn’t feel as though she had a hand in the process as much; she didn’t feel involved or empowered.
• One of the facilitators sat with us as the toddler ate her pizza and asked me about my experience attending other EarlyONs.  I told her about how at another Creative Chefs class, the kids made waffles and cut up fruit.  She was so intrigued and impressed with the idea that she jot it down and planned to do that for a future activity.
• The toddler didn’t finish the pizza so the facilitator gave her a ziplock bag to take it home in.  The toddler then spent the rest of the time playing.  She was so happy and having fun.  Her playtime was cut short though when it was time to clean up and have circle time.  In the middle of the singing, the toddler actually pulled away and wanted to play more with the puzzle toys.  It was the first time she did that.  I liked singing the songs with the facilitators a lot actually.  The other parents didn’t seem as involved.
• The whole time, the baby was actually awake and in grandma’s arms and watching others and participating in circle time (beginning and end) too.  She is such a trooper.
• The toddler didn’t want to leave either when it was all done.  It took some coaxing and encouraging to get her to leave finally.
• I nursed the baby in the car after we left (whenever I don’t feel comfortable enough to ask the EarlyON staff about staying a bit later to nurse the baby, I’ll just nurse her in the car).
• At the EarlyON birthday celebration, the toddler played with playdoh and using a roller and press to make hearts.  The baby was awake during this session too and just observing and taking everything in.  As expected, I also nursed there on one of the sofa chairs.  There was another mom nursing her baby at the same time too.  It was the first time I saw another mom nursing at an EarlyON.
• We went to IKEA and the toddler loved playing with the stuffed animals (cannot bypass that area without her noticing the animals lol).  She did what she’s been doing at home all week: she took one of the brontosaurus stuffies and helped it to take a bath in the tub on display.  Lol. So cute.  She’s been doing this at home and helping the turtle stuffie wear diapers, change diapers (she has to put the “dirty” diaper in the pail too [we go to retrieve it afterwards]), bathe it, etc.  She really is putting to practice the things we do with her.  She also has been “feeding” the stuffed animals just like I nurse the baby at home.  Lolol. 😄😅
• The toddler enjoyed the vanilla frozen yogurt and the strawberry sorbet too.  The baby stayed sleeping the entire IKEA trip. 😊
• The baby has been sitting in the high chair and watching us eat during most meals this week.  It’s great to be hands free.  The toddler frequently says she doesn’t allow her sister in the high chair…
• I had plans for us to visit another EarlyON this week, but plans were disrupted because of two things: the toddler said she didn’t want the baby sitting in the car seat because she wanted her stuffed turtle in it instead and two, grandma strangely complied with her request and took the baby out of the car seat.  I was upstairs changing when this happened and by the time I went downstairs, the toddler was even more adamant about her sister not sitting in the car seat and also saying she didn’t want to go to the EarlyON anymore.  Sigh.  I was quite upset and hid away.  The toddler ended up going inside her room and sleeping for 2 hours!!!  She hardly ever naps in her room anymore in the afternoons.  This was a rare and unexpected event.  I ended up getting 2 hours of me time that day once the baby was nursed and fell asleep too.  Strange outcome but I got a quiet afternoon as a result.
• We visited the in-laws and the baby is so content to be held by anyone and passed around!!  The toddler is much more open to other people she doesn’t see often and talks freely too.  She still wants to play with me and hold my hand when we’re at someone’s place.
• I helped the toddler cut some more of her back hair.  I still haven’t desired to dress her hair up or style it at all.  I’m not a mom who wants to put her daughter’s hair up in pigtails or bows and ribbons.  I feel like I’d be tying her fragile hairs too tightly and restricting growth for the sake of her looking cute.  I’d rather her have her hair naturally down and loose for the time being.
• The toddler knows that when eating, she should lean forward so that crumbs don’t fall on the floor.  This meticulousness is grandma’s teachings for sure.  When she ate some honeydew with a fork, she made sure to hold a bowl underneath to catch it if it fell. 😅
• The baby loves kicking her legs.  These days when we bathe her, we have to put the baby tub inside of the bath tub in the bathroom so that the water doesn’t fall on the floor.  She’s such a strong kicker.  She loved kicking even when she was in my womb.
• The baby has started to reach and grab her knees and toes too!  She has turned over again on her own too.  She’s not a big fan of tummy time.  Her head seems to be heavy for her to lift up straight. 😂