Category Archives: Mila Stories

Toddler Activity: DIY Heart Banner

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With only a few days of January left, I thought it was a perfect time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day. Since Mila loves to paint, I incorporated that and my love for decorating in this project.

I also was inspired by this Instagram post to make Mila’s artwork into a banner!

This little banner looks simple, but took two days to make.

Older kids may be able to do the entire project by themselves. Younger children will need their parents help with scissors and a hole punch.

Here’s what you’ll need for this project:

  • Paint
  • Brushes
  • Paper (we used craft)
  • String
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Bubble wrap (optional)

We started off doing some process art with bubble wrap. Anytime we can add new ways to create, we do.

I had Mila paint Valentine’s Day colors (pink, purple, and red) on bubble wrap. Then we set our big pieces of craft paper on top. After it was on top, she rolled her rolling pin over it. I told her to do this to make sure the paper picked enough paint up.

We did this for four pieces of paper. She did different strokes of paint for each.

They all came out so individual and Mila enjoyed how different this looked compared to her usual paintings.

Next, we had to wait for everything to dry.

To be honest, this probably would have taken a few hours. I might have waited a couple days. Oops!

Mila is still too little to draw hearts or cut them out, so I did the next steps by myself. If she was a little older, she could have done these steps too!

I drew and cut out different sized hearts. The size variety is interesting to me, but you can do whatever.

If you have extra painted paper leftover, keep it! I have a cute Valentine’s Day card you can make with them!

Next, hole punch two holes on the top of the heart.

Your child can help you put the string through the holes if you’d like. Mila thought it was cool to help put it together this way. It took her a little whole though!

After they’re all on the string, hang it up where ever.

This simple project is fun to do with a toddler and even older kids. You can showcase their art and have festive decorations that are handmade and cute.

The plan the rest of the wall is to put hearts around the canvas she made with reasons why I love her in them.

I can’t wait to make this February special for Mila.

Let me know if you try this project out and what projects you’ll be doing this Valentine’s Day!

Weird Things My Toddler Does: Part Nine

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Mila is back doing her weird things, like normal. This one really makes me laugh, especially since I have no idea where she got it.

Like most kids, Mila likes to eat snow. She’ll get a handful, says something, and then eats it.

Well, I was curious as to what exactly she was saying. Sometimes toddlers speak really fast. Mila does when she’s excited!

Anyways, I figured it out. She calls the snow she’s going to eat snow cookies.

It’s the cutest, but weirdest thing to call snow. But at least she’s not asking me when Santa is coming back anymore.

I still have zero idea where she heard the phrase snow cookies. She insists that’s what they’re called. Of course, that means everyone around her calls then that.

I guess toddlers and their made up words are just meant to be weird.

Mom Tip of the Week: Dress Up

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I had a lot of things planned for Mila and I to do today. Of course, she had an agenda of her own when we woke up.

She ran straight to her closet and picked out a dress. Not unusual if you know Mila, but…

This is the dress she chose. Today she is Princess Mila.

I brushed her hair all out and put her in a little ‘crown.’ We found the most perfect princess shoes. Then, we put it all together and she wanted to take pictures with her ‘beast.’

So, we did just that.

My biggest tips for moms is things don’t go exactly as planned. Just try to roll with it.

It might not be what you wanted, but these unexpected moments can be just as wonderful. You never know when you’ll have the beauty and a beast in your house. Or a fire fighter, police officer, chef, or dance teacher.

Embrace these moments. They go too quick.

What’s your child been pretending they are lately?

Toddler Activity: DIY Nail Salon

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Mila can be such a girly girl.

One thing that she absolutely loves is painting nails. No matter if it’s her nails or someone else’s, she always asking.

I saw this activity last year and figured now was the perfect time.

All you need is:

  • Cardboard
  • Marker
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes

I had everything had home and used old cereal boxes to draw the hands. To hold the paint, I used the caps of milk containers.

Next, I traced my hand and then drew finger nails.

To get her used to seeing her name, words, and numbers, I wrote them on the cardboard too. Before she painted, we counted all the fingers, told her which one was right and left, and spelled her name. She tells me her name is ‘la,’ which always makes me smile.

Then, I let her paint these nails.

She enjoyed mixing the colors and practicing painting nearly, at first. It switched from near to a little wild soon after.

This is a quick activity to put together, but it gave me enough time to do some work on the computer. Sometimes you just need five minutes of peace and this did the trick.

I will continue doing this activity with Mila. To help her with her pre-writing, I’ll make dotted lines that she has to trace for bracelet and rings. It would also be fun to do color recognition or teach the order of the rainbow here too.

Either way, this is DIY nail salon is fun and toddler approved.

Weird Things My Toddler Does: Part Eight

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I think every kid takes a few toys in the bath, but the amount my toddler brings… might be a little weird.

Last night during Mila’s bath, I counted: ten ponies, seven Barbies, a Barbie boat, six empty bottles, two bath books, a play broom, countless numbers, countless blocks, and all the bubbles that could fit.

To top it off, she asked me to get in the bath with her. Unless we took half of them out, there was no room for me to fit. She ended up chooses all her toys instead.

The amount she brings in is strange, but at least she has fun… right?

Toddlers are just weird.

Toddler Activity – M&M’s and Diversity.

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

To honor that, I wanted to have another diversity talk with Mila. I figured to keep her full attention, I’d use her biggest motivation: m&ms. The girl loves them and always sneaks them. I guess I can’t blame her for that.

Anyways, m&m’s are a perfect way to showcase different skin colors, but we’re all human on the inside.

I lined her m&m’s up and asked her what colors they were. She told me all of the colors and I mentioned how all of them were all different. I talked about how people all have different skin colors too.

Then, I asked her if she would be sad if I told her she couldn’t have certain colors of m&ms. Of course she was. She told me she liked them all.

With that, I told her in the past, boys and girls who were black weren’t allowed to play with boys and girls with white skin. She seemed upset by this. Yet, i explained that some people judge others by their skin color.

Without giving her much more thought, I cut an m&m in half.

She seemed a little shocked, but I asked her if she thought the other m&ms looked the same on the inside. With a quick nod of her head, she pointed to another one and I sliced it in half too. It may be aggressive, but she liked it.

I told her that even thought people look different on the outside, we’re all humans on the inside. We have differences, but we still have the same emotions too.

Of course, as she gets older, these conversations will get more complex.

I’ll never claim to know what racism is like to experience. The only thinks i can do is teach my daughter to see people’s differences, but love them for their character.

Kids will change the world, but it starts with teaching them about diversity, even with m&ms.

Here’s some videos about Martin Luther King Jr. that Mila enjoyed this morning:

Toddler Activity – MLK Day Artwork

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With Martin Luther King Jr day quickly approaching, I knew I wanted to do an activity with Mila.

Plus, I thought it’d be fun to share beforehand in case you have your child home from school and want to do a productive activity with them.

Mila and I talk about race a lot. It’s important to me that she grows up anti-racist, especially in the world we live in now. It’s never too early to start those conversations. She has black barbies and dolls, books with diverse characters, and watches shows with people of all races.

Still, talking about MLK with her was a must. During this activity, I mentioned his name and talked about how people have different skin color. We also talked about how she would play with anyone, no matter what they looked like. She seemed shocked when I told her some people don’t like others because of the color of their skin.

Back to the project though!

This is an easy art project that actually took less than five minutes. The conversation we had before, during, and after spanned beyond that though.

Things you’ll need:

I started off by asking Mila what she thought her skin tone was between the three colors. She chose the middle color which was called “Territorial Beige.” It was interesting to see her perception of her skin tone.

This shade went in the middle because I wanted an ombre affect. Of course, you can do whatever color sequence you want.

I took a paint brush and painted her hand. Then we pressed it on the canvas. When pressing their hands down, make sure to get all of their fingers too. If not, it’ll be really faint. Finally, I cleaned her hand off and did the process two more times.

That part really is that easy.

After her handprints, or she calls them paw prints, dried, it’s time for the words. I ended up painting the phrase, “small hands change the world.’

You can use any quote or phrase here. There are a ton of MLK quotes that would work perfectly.

I have some more ideas to do for Black History Month that I want to share. They’ll be posted in the second half of the month. I have a few special activities for Valentine’s Day that I know you’ll love just as much!

If you like this activity or try it, let me know in the comments!

Weird Things My Toddler Does: Part Seven

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Kids have amazing imaginations and Mila is no different. She loves to pretend, which makes me happy that she’s so creative and playful.

Sometimes though… she takes it to the next level.

Her favorite thing to pretend to be is a dog. Normal, right? Every kid goes through this stage. It’s fine. But, every morning as of lately, she goes and gets Cookie Crisp and says it’s her dog food. I fill up her bowl and she’ll eat it all.

That’s one way to get your toddler to eat!

Then, she took it one step further. After asking for a bowl of milk, I figured she’d just put her ‘dog food’ in there. Nope. She had to make me laugh and do this.

Toddlers are just weird, especially mine.

Un-talked About Nights.

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This is the side of motherhood that doesn’t get talked about a lot.

The times where it’s 2am and there’s been an accident. Instead of getting mad at your child who’s already upset, you choose to do the harder thing.

You strip the bed, get it cleaned up, and then take every clean blanket to the living room.

They’re still crying. It’s disappointing and when you’re almost three, you have big emotions. A single accident feels world shattering, but it’s not.

It’s the decision to sleep in another bed or, in our case, make a huge, blanket sleep space in the middle of the floor. You tell them it’s much more fun to have a sleepover in the living room anyways.

Then, you calm them and help get them back to sleep.

No. It’s not the night you wanted. I mean, who wants to sleep on the floor? But just because it was a physically messy accident, doesn’t mean it needs to be emotionally messy too.

Parenting is hard. Parenting with lack of sleep is even harder.

These nights are not in the greatest hits moments. Yet, something tells me these un-talked about nights have lasting effects.

Documenting Gratitude in 2021.

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Earlier this week, I talked about how I failed to even remember 2020’s word of the year. I also didn’t keep up with something that was important to me.

I’m sure you’ve seen it on some type of social media, but it’s a gratitude jar. Every day or week, you write down something that made you feel grateful. Last year, I tried to do every day and I succeed until March.

This year, I’m challenging myself to one every week. Plus, Mila is going to be accountable to tell me what made her smile this week.

I want Mila to know she’s important and that she has a big space in our home. Even though she told me chocolate milk was the best part of last week… which is also funny if you read yesterday’s post.

Anyways, every Sunday, Mila and I are going to have a little chat about our week. Whatever we’re thankful for, I’ll write it down. Then, I’ll keep it locked up tight in our jar.

By the end of the year, there will be 52 or more pieces of gratitude on paper.

Hopefully, this will make the both of us smile. If 2021 is relatable to 2020, we’ll need the moments of gratitude next New Year’s Eve.

Have you thought about ways to document this next year? I’m also keeping a journal too.