Anita VP

Today, in the spirit of authenticity, I bring you this moment: My son sees some books.   He’s very excited for these books.   He looks so adorable looking at the books.   He points.   He coos.   He smiles.   This lasts for a complete four seconds.   He crawls away to get the better of some house plants.   Goodbye books – see ya later! I guess good thing I’m fast with a camera!   We’ll keep trying for reading that’s longer than the blink of an eye. #AnitaVP #realtalk #reading #readmore #baby #parenting #littlecritter

An article from CBC entitled It's never been safer for kids to play outside — or more dangerous to be inside caught my attention. Maybe it’s true?   Being outside is wonderful for children.   It helps them explore the natural world around them.   It encourages unstructured free play.   Smelling fresh outdoor air is also good.   There’s something about bare feet outside that’s good for the soul.   On and on. Maybe it’s not?   There are countless beneficial activities that occur almost exclusively inside.   Baking together, reading, coloring, and so on.   In my opinion as a mother, long gone are the days where (in most cities and towns) it’s a good idea to “send the kids to the park by themselves.”   See where this is tricky? I’ve reasoned that one thing that makes parenting young children today uniquely more challenging than most other times in history is all of the rigmarole involved with car seats. ...

I feel like this photo is a phenomenal internet meme in the making.  At a loss for what's really the right caption, as there are too many options.  Open to all suggestions.  Nonetheless, this is pure gold.  (And he is adorable.) Of all ironic things, on the day when I believe I have captured the world wide web's next greatest meme photo, I run into technical difficulties.  I bring my humble offering as payment in return to the internet gods, and they cast me out.  Geez!  Harsh, cold, cruel inter-world. Perhaps it's not to late.  Perhaps it is.  So much in life is all just a matter of timing! #AnitaVP #parenting #baby #nakedbaby #meme #puregold #nsfw

Certainly every parent has those hit-like-a-brick-to-the-face moments where all of a sudden the tiny human is not looking so tiny any more.   The next phase of development has snuck up overnight, like a thief of Neverland.   “When did you get to looking so big?!” Furthermore in my particular present situation, learning to read is catapulting my oldest into the next chapter of childhood.   Although teaching her to read is not coming without full and complete effort on my part, it feels as though I blinked and here she is saying, “NO! I’m going to read this part myself!” I’m not one to gush, but she read two sentences yesterday!   Not one, but two, folks!   Wowee!   What a big girl!   Where have I been all this time!? #AnitaVP #reading #read #readinglessons #learningtoread #kingergarten #biggirl #timeflies #Tuesdaythoughts

All aboard the reading lesson train again!   Now that we’re quasi settled in between leaving our Colorado home and finding our new one, it’s back at it to so-called “regular” life for tiny humans. As I mentioned in another post , we’re learning to read over here using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons .   “What’s the first sound?” “Now the next sound.” “Are you a snake?... SSSsss” I can appreciate that this is genuinely the most complex thing that my four-year-old has ever had to take on – and there’s decided challenges in that!   In my child’s case, the comprehension of the material is there without question, but the desire to be compliant and obedient was seriously lacking.   However, I think that it might be fair to say that at this juncture I am perhaps the one who is learning more.   Patience.   Flexibility.   Persistence.   Endurance.   More patience.   I may have garnered a point this week in parentin...

A song that my husband and I first loved about ten years ago, Easton Corbin’s Roll With It , came on the radio yesterday.   As I sang along, I realized that perhaps what “rolling with it” meant to us a decade ago looks so vastly different than it does now.   To say this season of life, with a preschooler, a baby, moves, developing careers, etc., is crazy suffices as an understatement.   As we try and adapt our lessons of “assuming positive intent” and “agility” from what we’ve learned in a business capacity and apply them to our “regular” life, we’re constantly being tested and pushed.   No one sufficiently prepares you and your spouse for the amount of time spent in this stage of life that you will exchange glances with the singular look of “what in the heck?!” “Did you read that paperwork the car insurance mailed?” “Which reading lesson are we on?” “Did you make a payment on this already?” “What’s in her hair?” “I thought we already placed that ...

Now that preschool is over and summer is here, I feel like it’s time for reading some new picture books!   While I’m a longstanding lover of the classics for children, a little bit of fresh meat is always good.   I’ve found this awesome list from Brightly called The Ultimate Summer Reading List for Kids Ages 3 – 5 that we’ll be working through this season.   I’m very excited for some of these titles, especially HIGH FIVE from the DRAGONS LOVE TACOS duo. What newer picture books are on your kids’ summer reading list? #AnitaVP #summer #summerreading #readmore #picturebooks #preschooler #preschool 

Perhaps one of the sweetest sides of fatherhood for a dad of young children is evening story time.   After a long day of work for dad and a long day of being with mom for the kids, curling up together and delving into picture book magic land produces a win for all.   Creative voices, funny looks between page turns, and observing all of the little details.   And as a mom, it’s so pleasant to watch your kids and their dad bonding this way. So to my husband, the father of our two humans, and to all story-reading dads, I bid you Happy Father’s Day! #AnitaVP #fathersday #dadsday #fathersday2019 #father #dad #storytime #picturebook

Presently, I reside in packing purgatory.   With our move date scheduled out about ten days from now, my house is dismantled, without a lick of décor, and far too many plastic totes everywhere. For some time, I’ve considered myself to be a “closeted minimalist.”   Not my actual closets; think of this as being a reflection on my dabbling in the world of minimalism without full public commitment.   Nonetheless, whether I suppose we have less than some and more than others, the fact remains that I do not miss much of what I’ve had packed for months. Now that we’re getting down to brass tacks, I’ll just ponder packing what truly matters. This is the most important box of what we have – ketchupy faces and all.   (All the other stuff is just stuff.) #AnitaVP #packing #moving #washington #colorado #whatmatters #parenting #Human#1 #Human#2 #minimalism

The article entitled Toddlers Want to Help and We Should Let Them is a thoughtful look at why and how to involve our best little helpers in daily work. As a parent, it can be so easy to miss a child’s genuine desire to be involved and even easier to want to be wholly “in control” of a task.   Peter Gray Ph.D. also reminds parents to assume positive intent and avoid cajoling or bargaining for help.   Beyond that, I’ll let the article speak for itself and tell you to just go read it. Human #1 is an exceedingly good helper with laundry (as well as with many other things).   Makes me wonder in what other areas should I be relinquishing control and increasing my patience!   (Human #2 better get ready – I’ll be calling his number soon!) #AnitaVP #parenting #littlehelpers #toddlers #psychology #letitgo

BEARS IN THE NIGHT has been a longstanding favorite in our house – you know one of those ones where your kid asks you to read it over and over again.   Out of the shelf, onto the chair, into the hands.   Yet, there’s something magical about BEARS IN THE NIGHT that allows us to willingly read this one as many times as requested.   Next to the kid, out of my mouth, into the air.   Arguably, this book thus embodies many qualities of the perfect picture book. Last week, we happily indulged.   And to our blissful surprise, upon hearing it for the first time ever, the baby laughed and giggled and grinned ear to ear.   He couldn’t get enough of it!   Sweet chuckles and smiles.   Babies laughing has to be the best sound ever. Hats off to you, Stan, Jan, and nighttime Bears.   We’ll be reading this one to both our bears for many moons. #AnitaVP #berensteinbears #bears #kidlit #picturebooks #Human#2 #baby #babygiggles #par...

Not long ago in Barnes & Noble, I saw the most fantastic alphabet book I have ever seen: P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever .   The title really says it all and I’d hate to give away any surprises, but this one is cute and fun! I can’t help but laugh, because right now in my house we are drilling phonics hard core to get Human #1 ramped up for reading.   That alphabet book would really be The Worst – haha!   As such, I’ll be saving this gem for another time in her life. Since we’re deep engrossed in Phonicsland, I also can’t help but wonder if many of the common word and picture references for letter names/sounds are out-of-date.   They’re either out-of-date or boring or something.   Just sayin’. My kid legitimately does not use the phrase “necktie” – nor do we.   She also thought that a little picture of the walnut (parading as “nut”) looked like a loaf of bread.   Another common “alphabet word”, just specific to N,...

I really like the photo above because I feel like it shows a different side to my child.  I see this serious side in her, regularly and consistently.  Observant.  Determined.  Focused.  In the ever-growing, ever-present world of social media, especially for those of us who “mom,” the photos loitering about seem to be nothing but picture-perfect smiles.   Cheese. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like those too.   I perhaps like smiling, ideal children more than anything.   I work SO hard to get that perfect shot, where their eyes gleam and their cheeks beam.   “Look here, look at mommy, yes, look at the camera, [indistinguishable attention-getting sounds].” What I also like is capturing her complete persona.   She, like a multifoliate rose, is beautifully complex and deep.   Beyond only seeing the gloriously happy, Disneyland-day, bubbliness, I appreciate that she has sides of her that are focused and determined. ...

Human #1, during playing pretend: “No, sister! I want to go to St. Basil’s Cathedral!” It’s safe to say that I rarely get excited about children’s TV programming, but this new show on PBS seems to check all the boxes for me.  Let’s Go Luna! follows three friends, whose parents are in the circus, and their travels with their trusty pal, Luna the Moon.  The above quotation is clearly inspired by a recent episode of Let’s Go Luna! on PBS. It has the qualities of being cute (without being cutesy), gender neutral, and entertaining.  I feel that the characters do a good job of speaking respectfully, while still expressing their thoughts and emotions.  The show also nicely incorporates celebrating cultural diversity.  (And it’s moon-related – we love moon-related anything.) Perhaps even better yet, the focus of the show is on education and travel – two decides passions of mine.  The circus visits various famous places throughout the world and the ...

As a follow-up to my previous post on reading to baby , I wanted to provide some solid examples of the types of board books that may be best for baby.   In the article referenced , they discussed that babies were most stimulated when there were six or more named characters. The English major in me immediately jumps to some complex Shakespearian-style plot where your vast cast of characters is all intertwined (and modern day me jumps to Game of Thrones).   Alas, it’s much more simple than that for baby’s board books.   We luckily may just be looking at the full series of farm animals.   Nonetheless, many board books do not meet this criteria.   Because so many just involve a singular baby or other main character or even just have a series of “words to be learned” with matching pictures, it honestly it took me a while to think of a handful matching this descriptor. As such, consider reading the following six classic books, with a full cast of cha...

Once preschool ends in about a month, I’ll foray into teaching Human #1 how to read.   We’ve been working on lots of pre-reading activities and letter/sound identification.   I plan on primarily using a book my sister-in-law (former teacher) recommended called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons .   May it be so – may it be easy and may she read at the end of this!   I’ll update soon on our progress and what we both have learned.   (I think I may learn what new types of wine I like.) As I ponder my own experience learning to read, I remember specifically reading a book to myself in kindergarten.   It was during the school day; the book was in Spanish and it had very simple illustrations with lots of red, yellow, and white.   I honestly wish I knew which book it was.   As I grasp at this wisp of a memory, I can’t help but wonder what Human #1 will recall one day from her experience learning to read.   What will stand out to he...

I have days where I feel like I’m a boring mom.   Not because I think I may be the most “#basic” mom in my mom circles, but rather because I am comfortable letting my tiny humans get bored. As I began working on this post, Human #1 was outside scraping with my kitchen spatula at a trickle of a stream she had poured.   Boring, right?   In my opinion though, the self-directed play, e.g. being outside using just a few kitchen utensils and her boundless creativity, is good for her brain.   It’s good for the development of her patience.   It’s good for her to soak in some sun and listen to the birds. I stumbled across an article a couple months ago and I think it merits sharing.   Let Children Get Bored Again in the NYT calls out key differences in parenting today vs. parenting in the generations prior. When not being uberparented, kids today are left to their own devices — their own digital devices, that is. -Pamela Paul My husband an...

Human #2 is becoming increasingly fun.   He tries to kiss me.   He makes adorable hissing sounds, like the cutest little blue-eyed snake you’ve ever seen.   He also is really visibly enjoying evening story time.   We’re trying up the ante in terms of reading specifically targeting him and it’s so sweet to see him smiling as we read to him. Need any justification as to why you should read to your baby?   Check out this pretty neat article :  For baby’s brain to benefit, read the right books at the right time .   It uses scholarly research, but lays it out in a "regular person" friendly manner.   It also talks about which books specifically are more beneficial for the baby crowd.   For me, this article is good encouragement to keep at those healthy, daily habits that further my kids’ brain development. Read, Baby, read! #AnitaVP #parents #readmore #picturebooks #boardbooks #baby #storytime

Every year as Spring pops up and we move into Easter season, my mind always goes back to a picture book we read each year, HUMBUG RABBIT.   It’s a silly, entertaining little story about a Scrooge-like rabbit – but what makes it phenomenal are the illustrations.   Check out this book preview here . I love it all.   Bunnies are hands down one of my very favorite animals.   I love the rainbow of eggs.   The careful placement of the text alongside of the illustrations and the binary above and under ground views turns this into something special. For whatever reason, picture books, in particular, sing to my soul and continue to do so.   I would encourage you to snag a copy and read it.   Read it to your kids.   Take the time to read the books that are special – you’re building memories, not just killing time. #AnitaVP #Easter #Easter2019 #Rabbit #HumbugRabbit #picturebook #readmore

As a parent, I’m finding that some of my favorite picture books to read to my tiny humans are ones that in some way aid with anticipating a transition.  It feels like a parenting BOGO or 2-for – tiny human gets a story and we prepare for something more serious. Case in point, we read books about getting a sibling before Human #2 came along.  Currently, I’m in the writing stages of a picture book manuscript about moving.  What are your favorite picture books to help a child anticipate a transition, either as a parent or from your childhood? Pictured: A transition so fast that no human or picture book could have prepared me. #AnitaVP #picturebook #amwriting #moving #parenting #transition