Maison's favorite bear

When Maison was younger she could not pronounce the name of one of my closest friends. Her name is Yvonne, Aunt Yvonne to Maison. Maison tried and tried and finally settled on calling her Ipedub (all vowel sounds are short). As you can guess, the name has stuck and Aunt Yvonne won't respond to anything but the name of Ipedub in Maison's presence. Maison even started saying "Aunt Yvonne" one day and stopped and called her Ipedub...funny! Maison's Ipedub is the "cool Aunt" who always seems to pick things up for Maison when she is out or gives her the slightly used but still stylish purse she doesn't need anymore. This past Sunday Ipedub gave Maison the cutest bear/doll that has a plaid dress on, patent leather boots, and a purse to match. I went to check on Maison before going to bed last night and came upon the cutest sight of her holding her precious bear while she lay fast asleep. I do believe we have a new favorite toy. :-)

Maison's Favorite Snack

It has become a habit that every time we go somewhere Maison wants to take a snack to eat on the way. I don't really mind this for a few reasons: 1)in the morning it's how I make sure she eats a decent amount of food for breakfast, 2)when I pick her up from daycare (armed with a snack) it tides her over until dinner is ready, and possibly the best reason 3)it's a good habit to eat a lot of little meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism going. This particular rainy morning (see Maison's raingear in the pic on the left) the snack was the remaining egg cheese she didn't quite finish at breakfast and her current favorite--Batman "fruit" snacks. Of course, she does not get these all the time, but when given the choice, that is what she wants. She looks at each shape and tells me what it is: "This is Batman's car Mommy!" "You're right, it's the Batmobile," I say. The Joker shape starts a conversation about how she doesn't like the joker, but she does like Dora and Hello Kitty. I can see the wheels in her head turning as she looks at each shape.

Maison is always thinking. We decorated the house and put up our Christmas tree yesterday. Maison asked me a few times why we were putting the tree up already. I explained that Christmas is coming soon and this way we can enjoy the decorations for a while. That answer seemed to satisfy her, but when it was time for bed last night I could tell she had something on her mind, that intent thinking look on her face again, so I asked her what she was thinking about. She again asked why we already put up the Christmas tree. If you have a toddler, you know it's very difficult for him/her to understand the concept of time. Everything that has already happened was "yesterday," and anything past tomorrow is tough to explain. Maison knows it is not Christmas yet, so it was hard for her to understand why we decorated before the actual day. It's so neat to see her learning something new. Understanding time and learning how it relates to her day is a biggie. How do you explain time and upcoming events to your little one?

Maison's favorite outfit

I should tell you that I am one of the luckiest Moms around. Not only because of my wonderful little girl, but also because I work for a fabulous children's wear company called Coco Bonbons! That's right. Feel free to be jealous. :-) If you've seen the designs for this Fall then I don't have to tell you how much fun I've been having dressing Maison ever since we started feeling a chill in the air. One of Maison's favorite outfits to wear is from the Cat collection. Check out the pictures to the right. Every time we go somewhere and she is wearing Coco Bonbons she gets so many oohs and aahs. You can see the designs for yourself at http://www.cocobonbons.com/.

Maison is definitely a girly girl. When given the choice between pants and a dress, she always chooses a dress. (And oh yes...there is a Cat dress and matching tights too!) Does your little girl prefer dresses or pants? Does she have a favorite outfit she wants to wear everyday? Maison has to wear a uniform to pre-school every day except Friday, so I think that's why she likes to dress up when she's out of uniform. It's interesting to see what she picks out to wear. She loves having a choice and some control over what she is wearing. She's already becoming so independent which is awesome because it will help her as she continues to grow, but it can be challenging at times too. Teaching independence and respect for others is difficult, but so far she is such a fun person to be around. Please tell me about your little one too! Is he/she an independent fashion maven too?