Hello, friends! I hope you had wonderful and cozy Thanksgivings! I was thinking about this old post this weekend, and how we lay down the richest memories in novel circumstances. If you celebrated in a new way – with different people (or without the usual people), in a different place, with different food – maybe we can take comfort in the fact that this holiday (and the December festivities to come) will be one we’ll remember with great clarity… and hopefully great gratitude. I know I will.
I had plans to deliver several more gift guides last week, but a few bumps in the road got the best of me (a theme for November, as you will see in tomorrow’s goals update post). But I do have this one to share – a rundown of what we’re actually getting our kids for Christmas this year. This works out okay, because this was your favorite of last year’s gift guides anyway, so I guess we’re just cutting to the chase :)
A few disclaimers: I consider the want / need / wear / read philosophy of gift giving, though we don’t officially subscribe. Some years we give more gifts than others. I’m not too concerned about matching amounts spent or number of gifts given at my children’s current ages. This year, Santa will bring our stockings and everything else will come from Mama and Daddy. (Santa has been hard for me to navigate as a parent – maybe a future post in the making!).
One final note: as I was wrapping up purchases in prep for this post, several of the items I had earmarked in weeks past were sold out when I returned to hit purchase. I can’t ever remember this happening to me in years past, and it was frustrating! So from one mama to another — this might not be the year to hem and haw over decisions.
June (who is almost 5) will be receiving: — A light-up bike helmet (her one and only request) — A homemade card making kit, because she is obsessed with (you guessed it) making cards. I bought a cute box and plan to fill it with blank cards and envelopes, lots of stickers, washi tape, fun pens, and *real* stamps. — A rainbow wall hanging sewing kit. I came across her lacing a string through the slats of her doll house’s bed the other day, so I think this will be a hit! *Shipping is international, so order ASAP! Sweetest seller! — An IOU for a mama + mini date to Fearrington for pedicures and afternoon tea, sometime in the spring. I predict she will lose her mind over this (once she figures out what it actually means, ha!). I got her a trio of Olive & June nail polishes to wrap up – she will love seeing her name on the bottle! (Use this link for $10 off your first order.)
Shep (who is about 2 1/2) will be receiving: — This MagnaTiles expansion set, as he makes a beeline for our bin every day after school. (Related: if you don’t have it already, I HIGHLY recommend this MagnaTiles cars duo – the most played with pieces in our house!) — This fire chief dress up set, as everything is a fire hose and everyone gets sprayed with water right now. — An adorable needlepoint triceratops ball cap (40% off plus free shipping when I bought it earlier this week!) — The firefighter playdough kit from Young, Wild, and Friedman. Happy to support a small business! (I suspect June will ask for one for her birthday after she sees Shep’s…)
A relative little birdie also told me he will be receiving this Squigz set – fun!
Finally, June and Shep will be receiving a joint gift: the Theolaby box set (another beloved small business!). They’ll get the keepsake box and the first volume under the tree, and then the other four books as they ship throughout 2021 (a gift that keeps on giving!).
Below, tell me what you’re getting your kiddos this year — I love hearing your shopping lists!
Last year’s post if you’d like ideas for a 4-year-old and a 1.5-year-old! Affiliate links are used in this post!
As a parent and keeper of memories, I can’t do it all. I can’t keep an impeccable baby book, yearly photo book, Instagram photo book, journal, art portfolio, clothing capsule, progressive handprint art, one-second-a-day video, memorabilia scrapbook, schoolwork file, etc., etc., etc. Especially not for multiple children. Especially not while keeping my sanity :)
BUT. I do get to choose a few of those things, and go all in on them. From the beginning, I have gone after these month-in-the-life videos for our kids wholeheartedly, and for that I am grateful. They capture the everyday magic moments I know we will love looking back on, like – my current personal favorite – Shep’s frantic sprint for the porch every time a garbage truck rumbles around the corner. Two has brought an explosion of words, a mellowing of disposition, and the sweetest little exchanges with our boy, and I love that this year’s video captures a bit of that. I hope you enjoy this peek into our life together!
I wasn’t planning to write a stand-alone post about June’s big-kid bike, but I had a deluge of questions after sharing a little clip of her riding it (the “whoop”!). It seems inquiring minds want to know, so let’s dive in!
How we prepared for her big kid bike:
We gave June a balance bike for her third birthday. While we’ve generally been happy with it, I think we will choose a different model for Shep, as the seat continually comes loose and twists.
She was a bit short for the bike when it first arrived, and sometimes resisted riding it after the initial rush of excitement wore off. We didn’t push it on her (she often preferred to ride her scooter), but we continually suggested it, and she took us up on it more and more until she was riding comfortably by the summer (age 3.5).
By the time this summer rolled around, she had more than got the hang of the balance bike – in fact, she was flying down hills so fast (without brakes!) that it no longer felt safe. While we considered waiting for Christmas or her birthday to graduate her to a new bike, we didn’t really want to wait until the thick of winter – so we went for it early.
How we chose a big-kid bike:
For these two Enneagram 5s, a big purchase meant diving into some good old internet research. We were guided at the start by a parent friend who had previously worked in a bike shop – he recommended a model with hand brakes instead of coasting brakes. Especially for kids who first ride on balance bikes, coasting brakes (where you pedal backwards to stop) can throw them off kilter since they’re used to a back-and-forth motion propelling them forward.
Priority bikes are not inexpensive, but so far we are REALLY happy with our choice. Here are a few of the things we love about it:
— It seems to be VERY good quality. At this price point, we expect to pass it down to siblings and/or cousins, and so we want it to last. For the price, it’s one of the lighter bikes on the market, it’s easily adjustable, and its chain is grease free. It was also easy for John to assemble. (The price is also less than many of the comparable bikes we considered.) — I love the classic design. It leans neither feminine nor masculine to me (whereas some of the other bikes we looked at seemed much more gendered either in design or color options); this is important, since we already know the next recipient is a boy :) We chose the red color, and it is so fun and vibrant in person! — It has hand brakes. — It has a kickstand – surprisingly hard to find! June has not quite mastered engaging it on her own yet, but we parents are glad to have at least one bike that stands up on its own in the garage (our bikes do not have kickstands, and neither does the balance bike). — 16″ bikes are generally recommended for kids age 4-7, and the experts recommend getting an accurately-sized bike instead of trying to cheat up so you have to replace it less often. The measurements of the 16″ matched up for June; we figure she should get about two years of riding in before passing it on to Shep at age 4 and graduating to a 20″ bike.
How we transitioned from a balance bike to a big-kid bike:
Many of you asked how the transition was from the balance bike to the 16″ bike. While I don’t have any other experience to compare it to, I would say it was pretty seamless. We did not use training wheels (that is the promise of the balance bike!), though you can buy an add-on pack through Priority.
The video you saw on Instagram was taken on her fourth outing. For the first try, we walked to a big parking lot in our neighborhood with plenty of space and fewer curious eyes :) The first day looked like a lot of John holding the bike while she peddled – and also a few tears, because the tread on the pedals scratched her leg a few times (we wore leggings for subsequent outings, which helped!).
On the second outing, she attempted starting from a standstill, and by the third, she could start from a stop independently. A month in, she is still learning to apply the brake to slow down (as opposed to a full stop), to rest her legs while going down a hill instead of continuing to pedal, and to get enough speed to go uphill (we haven’t introduced coming out of the saddle yet). She is loving it and chooses her bike over her scooter on almost every outing now! We are loving it, too, though we’ve had to begrudgingly lace up our running shoes to keep up with her – ha!
What’s next:
As she gains proficiency, speed, and stamina, next on the horizon is trying out a greenway ride with John and I on our bikes, Shep in the trailer, and June on her bike (!). Since she’s so far had plenty of intermittent rest waiting for Shep or her parents to catch up to her, I’m curious to see how far we’ll be able to go with everyone on wheels before she gets tired… once we find a nice quiet stretch of greenway, we’ll try a little experiment!
One final note: if you’re considering a bike as a Christmas gift, I’d pull the trigger sooner rather than later – bikes seem to be an in-demand pandemic item, with inventory going in and out of stock.
Whew – that’s a lot of info about a little bike! Happy to answer any more questions you might have about the big-kid bike, the balance bike, or our experience with either!
With June well into her four-year-old year, I figured it was high time for an update on some of her favorites! (We last checked in right after her third birthday!) As you can see, 4 has been an absolute delight. She is funny, quick to laugh, so loving, and an excellent conversationalist. She especially adores her mama, her daddy, and her cousins, and, as I’m detailing below, a few other things!
— This camera was one of her fourth birthday presents, and it has been a constant companion on hikes ever since. We’ve never actually uploaded the photos to the computer – the real joy is in taking them, it seems – but you can, if you’d like. — Little plastic animals like these and these (or a slightly bigger size like this, this, or this) are MVPs around our house. The kids play with them in the bath, in the sand table, in the garden beds, on trips, on hikes… they’re small enough that they’re easy to tote along or share with a friend and are great for facilitating imaginative play everywhere and anywhere. — Current TV favorites include The Octonauts (Netflix), If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Amazon Prime), and Clifford (Amazon Prime). Y’all know the Octonauts love goes deep around here (we love it, too – so many fun facts!) – if it’s the same at your house, I highly recommend this coloring book. June has painstakingly colored every page (sob). — Continuing with the Octonauts theme, girl loves splashing in under-the-sea sensory bins and completing this National Geographic Ocean Animals sticker book. (She calls it National Sea-ographic :)) — Other activity favorites: these paint-by-sticker books (June can complete them without assistance), these number and alphabet activity pads, and this unicorn and mermaid sticker book (it’s really good – there’s also this boy version!). To keep those colored pencils sharp, we invested in this pencil sharpener and it is a HIT. — In addition to Magna-Tiles (we also have Picasso Tiles – especially love the set with cars), the number one favorite toy in our house is this ice cream set. June and Shep both play with it daily with great enthusiasm, and have for more than a year. FIVE STARS! — We use this shampoo on her hair these days and this spray-on conditioner to help with the tangles. This brush is still the best! And a big bow or smaller bows. — These sweet princess dresses are perfect for everyday dress-up (or for a Disney trip, when those are a thing again!). A great price and adorable styles. June pairs them with her “party shoes” (also a great price – we’ve bought them in multiple sizes). — We’ve had a Jesus Storybook Bible since before June was born, but this feels like the first year she’s really started to understand it. It’s the most beautiful retelling – a pleasure for all of us to read :)
Whew! Hopefully this gives you a few new ideas for your favorite four-year-old (or gift ideas for the holidays! :)). If you’re looking for most of my past kiddo picks in one easy place, I’ve organized them more neatly here!
