Choosing colors is one way to explain feelings and moods with little ones. Dr. Seuss’ “My Many Colored Days” is one of my favorite concept books to read with my toddler. This book assigns colors to moods, complemented by catchy rhymes.

“There comes a Yellow Day. / and weeeee / I am a busy, buzzy bee.” As you turn each page, you’ll be delighted by gorgeous paintings and whimsical lyrics.

I love that the book acknowledges that there are good days and there are lousy days. Whatever you’re feeling on any day, there’s a color to capture your emotions.

Can you guess what emotion green stands for? This is my toddler’s favorite page. He loves the big green fish! As for me, busybee Mommy loves the yellow page! If only I could blow up that spread and paste that image above my workspace.

You can use this book to ask your child what color he is today. You can also ask him if there are any colors that are not in the book. It’s amazing how these lighthearted illustrations are a great springboard for creative discussion.

The board book has very sturdy pages. Get this one for younger kids! The images are so colorful and playful that they would want to touch the pictures again and again.

“My Many Colored Days” is for kids ages 2 and up. My son has been going through this book since he was seven months though! He’s two years old now and still gets engaged every time he reads it. It’s definitely one of our favorite family books.

This book is a beautiful celebration of colors and feelings. It teaches kids of all ages that there may be days when we’re grey with boredom or down and brown, but there are also days when we’re buzzy yellows and free-thinking pinks! Then there are days when you can be a jumble of colors! No worries though because “it all turns out all right, you see. And I go back to being . . . me.”

What’s your color today?

Duck & Goose’s How are you feeling? is one of my favorite books for the toddler. Duck, Goose and their friends demonstrate a variety of emotions in adorable ways. Each illustration tells a whole story, such as the scared story:

Patience is cute too. Here’s me being patient with the little boy who likes sneaking his shoe into the shot:

This is one of our favorites. Timmy likes pointing out the happy blue butterfly, the happy green butterfly, the happy flowers, all the happy things!

This is his favorite of all favorites: the loving page.

Everytime we get to his page, he leans forwards to get a loving embrace from me. For that alone, I am so keeping this book until he’s in college and even much longer after that.

Now I’m feeling sentimental. Sniff.

I got this book at Powerbooks Greenbelt. Duck & Goose have a whole series of books. Check them out. I think this one’s the best though!

Last year, we decorated our family Christmas tree with the toddler’s toys. This year, we haven’t put our family tree up yet but Timmy has his very own. Lucky toddler! It didn’t cost us a thing either.

4 foot Christmas tree : Hand-me-down from his godmother’s old office
Alphabet decor : Timmy’s toys
Christmas star and angels: Extra decor from home
Huge smile on the toddler’s face upon seeing his tree: Priceless

I want to put lights on it, but am too scared he might fiddle with the bulbs and get zapped. So I’ve nixed that idea. Maybe I’ll add a little gold tinsel to brighten it up in the evenings. The yellow light on the ceiling can bounce off the tinsel. Cute, right?

This tree now sits in the corner spot of his little play area at home. Super cute! Once his presents start coming in, they’ll be placed right under this tree. Then his colorful guard dog can keep watch.

Yup, my toddler prefers to lightly headbutt people and objects he has a fondness for. He was quite affectionate with this toy panda, as his head lingered with the panda’s for longer than a few seconds. I have YET to get a kiss from my son the human way. Lips on cheek. For now, I get head bumps and head butts.

Maybe he’s part-feline.

Then he spilled a box of toys on the floor. Intentionally. To get his Lightning McQueen car from the very bottom of the pile. After getting that car, he left the clutter of toys on the floor. Oh well. I got up from my chair to sort the mess out. I had hardly pushed the toys aside when I heard a sound.

PLOP!

PLOP?! I turned around and saw the toddler moving away from my computer. How he raced to the desk so quickly I don’t know how, but upon seeing his empty hands I knew what had happened.

Lightning McQueen was getting his caffeine fix.

This is what happens when you turn your back on a toddler for a SPLIT-SECOND.

Just another day in Toddlerville. Coffee anyone?

In my case, it’s the outdoors. Morning sun baths and afternoon romps in the playground are a must for my little boy, and I always struggle when those times come. I’m not a big fan of going out. I’d rather read on the couch. I’d rather watch my DVDs. Since I try to be a responsible (and un-boring) parent, I just suck it up. Duh, put your child’s needs before your own right? Right! So with a slather of anti-mosquito repellent for the toddler and a kick in the ass for me, off we go to the wild, wild outdoors. Wild, wild outdoors being our neighborhood playground and our own backyard.

Getting over my discomfort of the outdoors is easy. I just watch my son’s eyes open wide once the front door unlocks and ta-da, I’m as game as he is. Well, almost. He dashes towards the garden and starts picking on every stone and blade of grass he sees.

Oh baby, baby, it’s a wild world.

He digs his hands into the soil. He holds pebbles and rocks in his hands and bumps them together. (Maybe soon he’ll discover fire. Uh oh.) He plays with toy reptiles and feeds them stones. He drops grass and gravel into a watering can and giggles each time he hears a splash. He inspects the earth. He feels the earth. He smells it. He almost tasted it once; good thing I was there to tell him that it may look like chocolate cake, but it is not chocolate cake!

While the toddler’s senses open up, so do mine. I thank him, I really do, for helping me reconnect with nature too. The sofa at home won’t give me the Vitamin D my bones need. The TV at home won’t swing a fresh breeze in my face. So yes, I am grateful that this little boy has led me to rediscover what’s out there, to assure me that being outdoors isn’t so bad.

Timmy’s world is getting bigger everyday with the many things he is discovering outside the house. So far we’ve seen grasshoppers jump from stone to stone, worms and caterpillars and other creepy crawlies bedecking leaves and grass, beautiful yellow and white butterflies resting on flowers and flying in the garden, soil in shades of brown, maroon and orange. At least I think it was soil. Hmmm.

The most important thing I tell myself when I feel the laziness coming on is: “Get a grip! Soon he’ll be wanting to spend time outdoors without you! You’ll no longer be his nature buddy!” And that, my friends, gets me off the couch fast enough to strap on my own walking sandals and walk hand-in-hand with him to the door.

It may be his world, but taking a step outside my own world can make his much bigger. It’s one of those pretty obvious things you should know about parenting, but I’m learning you have to experience it to truly understand that lesson. In the end, it’s what a parent should do. Hold his hand while he gets a grip on new ground. Let go when he can explore on his own. Watch him run, run, run as his world expands. Then we come home, the little boy tired from his explorations but ecstatic with the new things that has just made his world bigger. As for me, I go back to my own world and happily discover that it has grown a little bigger too.

The play area had just opened so the toddler and I had the whole pen to ourselves. It was so much fun! The pen was about half a foot deep at least. There were so many balls. I felt like I was six years old! I kept falling on my butt.

Meanwhile, Timmy was quite the expert maneuvering his way around the pen. It wasn’t his first time to play in a pen full of balls. His Dad usually accompanies him, but today I wanted to be his playmate!

If it weren’t for my toddler I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to wade through this pen. It was an awesome experience. I think I had more fun than the little boy did.

So woohoo! It was a dream come true for this thirtysomething. You’re never too old to play in a pen full of multi-colored balls. If you haven’t tried it, you totally should. So much fun.

Out-stubborn your toddler. You think your toddler is hard-headed? There’s one more person who should be even more hard-headed than he is – you. My two-year-old loves playing with water. It’s great when he needs to wash his grubby hands. I can soap away the dirt from his fingernails to my heart’s content. However, he tends to overstay his welcome at the faucet. When I finally tear him away from the sink, he’ll throw his freshly bathed toys on the floor and follow suit. Germs and grubbiness, we meet again. He’d fight his way back to the bathroom but I’d stand guard. He’ll pull on the door handle, insisting his way in. No friggin’ way, my eyes would say. He’d throw himself on the floor again, rolling around in frustration.

During the first few times he did this, I gave in. FINE! What’s two more minutes? At least I can wash his dirty hands AGAIN. Then I decided to be more firm. Well, you guessed it. The firmer I was, the more upset he became. The good thing is that after a few tries, he’d get the idea. He’d push his luck once in awhile but already knows that when I’m standing guard by the bathroom door, he stands no chance at getting in.

This being more stubborn than your toddler thing is exhausting. It makes good discipline for the little one though. That’s the priority after all.

Perfect the art of distraction. Toddlers are easily distracted. I was watching my son play with his toys this morning and had a good laugh at how playful, and easily distracted, he was with his playthings. This must have been what was going through in his mind as he went around the room: There’s a gorilla in the book! Where did I put my toy monkey? Oh here it is in the toy box. Look Mommy, I can put the monkey through the basketball hoop! I can hang my Doc Hudson car on the net too! Is that a ball? I can kick it under the dining table Mommy! It’s Ninang!!! So that’s where my belly button went. It’s fascinating.

Distraction helps when he’s particularly focused on one thing he shouldn’t be playing with but desires, no, HUNGERS to play with. Like pushing buttons on electric fans. Grabbing cell phones. Banging his toys on glass windows. Banging his toys on glass doors. The more he senses my hesitance and growing ire, the more he’d push his luck. You don’t know how many “Noooooo’s!” have filled the house. All said by Mommy. So now I’m trying to play along with his ability to get distracted.

Electric fan? Look baby, I have a ball! See how far I can kick it? Glass doors? Mommy’s on the other side! Peekaboo!

I haven’t looked into baby books if the distraction I’m doing is psychologically right. I must be doing something right though otherwise he’d have his fingers stuck in the electric fan and we’d end up with broken doors.

Support his independence. Toddlers are developing their independence and have no qualms asserting it. I want to do it by myself! Me only! My toddler wants to go down two flights of stairs by himself and cross the street by himself. That’s craziness for this paranoid Mommy. What’s key is not to limit, but support. “Yes, you can go down the stairs but hold my hand.” “Yes, we can cross the street to get to the playground but you must hold my hand always. Or be carried.”

When it comes to meals, toddlers are very messy eaters. He insists on holding his spoon by himself, which I don’t mind at all. I’ve just learned not to mind the mess either. It comes with him learning how to be independent during mealtimes. If he insists on washing his hands on his own, that’s fine with me. “Yes, you can wash your hands on your own but only till Mommy counts to ten.” If no limits are set, we’re back to out-stubborning the toddler. (See first point.)

The boy has only been two years old for two months now but we’ve had quite our share of tantrums. I’m guessing there will be more in various styles (stomping feet, screaming matches), but I’ll come prepared. My weapons are a bottomless pit of patience and the firm Mommy voice I pull out as needed. Terrible Twoville isn’t that bad. I think this will be a walk in the park compared to Teen Angstville! I’ll get back to you in ten years on that one.

* Nope, that’s not my kid in the pictures. I haven’t taken a picture of my own toddler throwing a tantrum. Maybe I should!

Timmy has a bunch of stickers from his sticker exchange friends and souvenirs from his trips to the pediatrician. Aside from him using them as decoration on our walls and bedsheets, we’ve discovered that they make great distractions during waiting times at the restaurants.

Most of the stickers can be peeled off the pages again and again so he can easily transfer them from one page to another. That buys us around 10 minutes of sticker time while waiting for our orders to come. Not bad! By the time our food arrives, he isn’t cranky one bit. Whew.

What techniques do you use to keep your toddler occupied at the restaurant?