Today was #SnakeDay! Cesar and I went to go check up on the strawberries and fruit trees inside our covered fruit tree mini forest in the nursery (spearheaded by my hubby with @earth_haven_project) where we found a lady bug (the day before we discussed how different bugs play different roles in supporting plant life while …
When did you last see yourself in the mirror and spontaneously wanted to give yourself a big smooch? Lol, I don’t remember ever feeling that way! As for many, looking in the mirror has over the years become an automated moment of self-scrutinizing, self-criticising and self-judging. As soon as I’d see my reflection in the …
When life gives you a snorkel you….make a balloon blowing device. @sunettespies came to give Cesar a snorkel. He is the go-to-person for all things random you want to get rid of. He’ll find a way to do something with it. Cesar’s not very good yet at blowing balloons, but in using a modified snorkel …
When the one year old takes the 5 year old for a walk in the stroller
When I imagined myself one day becoming a soccer mom, I didn’t think I’d actually be playing any soccer… Seeing our kids growing up gives us as parents the amazing opportunity of revisiting our childhood, the personalities we created, the beliefs we formed about ourselves, the decisions we made and the chances we never took. …
Cesar has been talking about the metamorphosis process that caterpillars undergo to become butterflies for the past two weeks. Today, as I was watching the dogs run to our gate, I noticed a butterfly sitting quietly underneath an Aloe leaf – it had just come out of its cocoon! I went to get Cesar, who …
“Leila, my eyes are sick”, Cesar, my 4 year old son, tells me. My first instinct is to go into full-blown paranoia – there’s something wrong with him!! I stop for a moment and take a breather. I’ve been down this path before, going into fear only veils me from what is really here. Almost …
*WARNING TOTAL GOOEY MOM MOMENT* Gian and I have the same type of water bottle and we always get confused as to what bottle is whose. I also often add mineral drops and apple cider vinegar to my water, which Gian and Cesar find to not be a pleasant way to find out they got …
Cesar calling on the Moon and Ocean to make bigger and BIGGER WAVES! Shouting how strong and powerful they are, pleading for a display of some raw nature force. I didn’t intend to swim in the water so I was wearing a dress, keeping us by the small waves rolling on the shore with my …
![Cesar gave Syntia his train tracks about a year ago, and before they were hers, she would play with them together with Cesar. She's had a ton of time to learn the different pieces, how to put them together and build a track, but for some reason, she DID NOT want to build a track by herself and most of all preferred to just watch as someone else built the track for her.
Lj and I knew she was perfectly capable of building a track for herself and we tried to support her to start small and show herself that she can do it. Or that we'd be here if she gets stuck, but she can at least try on her own. Any such attempts, however, were met with an absolute and firm refusal. So, we did it with her, or for her.
We started wondering, is this little girl really just taking advantage of us at this point? Are we entertaining this too much? Should we push harder? We knew she could do it, she knew she could do it, but for some reason she just didn't want to do it, at least, not yet.
And then one day, out of the blue, she takes out her blocks and starts building a track... by herself. Lj quietly waived me over, pointing at her, then signing 'shhht', lol - didn't want to disturb the moment. The track you see in the pic is the first one she built by herself. It wasn't a "beginner's" track like a simple circle or a straight line, it was a more intricate design laid out exactly and precisely how she wanted it to be, including all the elements she wanted to have as a part of it. Kabam, out of the blue.
There are other things where Syntia 'took her sweet time', like learning how to walk and potty training, where it was clear at some point that she was able to do it, but for some reason, pulled back or didn't want to do it all by herself just yet. It's so easy as parents to freak out over that, to think that children should develop skills in a particular way, like 'starting small' or doing something by yourself as soon as you're able to. But not all kids are the same in this. [Continued in comments..]](https://scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/135216034_868657797266702_107582540258970761_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c4dd86&_nc_ohc=Z1V8WJUUqosAX-4LmjA&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfCJjAXVxtNiIi6gvUUl0MZd6cdkXtaHW6r2JeZgYPVE-A&oe=64DB2E92)
