Recapturing a Piece of My Childhood

One of the best things about becoming a parent is that you have a valid excuse for having toys around the house.  I mean, sure, some of us have held onto some childhood toys even though we were not yet parents, but it might still have been a nit awkward to have a friend pop by for a visit and find us having a teddy bear tea party in our adult dining rooms while we were yet single or childless.

Now that I'm a parent, I get the added bonus of having a legitimate reason to play like a kid: it's good for my son!  Yes, that's right....not only do I get to have fun with his toys, but it also benefits his development for me to get down on the floor and play toys with him.  What an amazingly wonderful concept!

When I was a child, two of my favorite activities were coloring with my crayons and building with Legos.  And these are still activities I'll readily admit that I enjoy as an adult.  At this age, Kaleb has the larger Duplo-style Legos, and I am so excited for the time when he gets old enough to have bucketfuls of the standard-sized Lego bricks.  Right now, our favorite activity to do together is to color.  I have a large set of Crayola crayons, and Kaleb has a box of larger preschool-sized Crayolas of his very own.  We each also have our own coloring books—his Mickey Mouse & friends, mine Strawberry Shortcake—so that we can lie side-by-side on the floor and color together.  He may not have the motor skills for fine art yet, but he's improving at the same time he is learning by watching me.

Being a parent may have its ups and downs, but getting to play with an adorable little boy whenever I want is definitely one of the ups!