Smiley Todds

Toddler: "n. An emotionally unstable pint-sized dictator with the uncanny ability to know exactly how far to push you before reverting to a loveable cuddle-monster." 

When deciding to blog about the hard Toddler stages, that cute little quote popped up on my Facebook! Toddlers are the most lovable, squishy, and adorable tiny humans known to mankind. 

As teachers and parents, we have to take a step back and remember that they have only been on the Earth for a short amount of time. They don't always know what we need or want or how to express what they need or want. This can be such a frustrating stage for teachers and parents, alike, but they make up for it in their sweet smiles and hysterical giggles. 

So be easy on them, but be easy on yourself. Biting, hairpulling, pushing, and screaming happens- it's all apart of the toddler life, but it doesn't last long. We do the best we can and at the end of the day, those kiddos know they are loved and adored by everyone around them and thats what matters. 

Enjoy these smiley babes and remember, they won't be this little forever. 

Easter, Easter, Everywhere

 Easter here at AoILV was nothing short of a BLAST! Our blog might be late, but our pictures are so sweet! We did the most fun activities all week long leading up to Easter parties and hunts. 

For our Easter hunts, this year, we had parents donate pre-stuffed eggs and boy, did our parents show out!! All of our preschool-PreK classes had over 500 eggs a piece to hunt! 350+ eggs for all our todds and we used our extra to take the sweetest pictures of our infants! What a sweet time it was! 

Don't forget, all of our parties are live on Instagram and we are hopeful that parents will be allowed back soon! We sure do miss having ya'll here to celebrate all this fun with us!! 

Let Them Be Little

One of my favorite quotes when thinking about my kiddo growing up is "Let them be little cause they are only that way for a little while. Give them hope, give them praise, give them love everyday. Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle! Oh, just let them be little!" 

Covid-19 gave us the opportunity to stop and experience life in slow-motion, but as things resume the "new normal," it's easy for us to get caught up with extra-curricular activities, work schedules, zoom meetings, preschool pick ups and soccer games that we forget we don't get these years back. One day, they are in a Toddler room crying at drop-off and next thing you know, they are driving their cars off to college. I know we all have those realizations that our babies aren't babies anymore, but I think sometimes, we need reminders to slow down.

To put things into perspective, if your kiddo was born in 2015 then they are headed to Kindergarten this year with some of our 2016 kiddos and the rest only have 1 more year of preschool before they are headed off to elementary school. All the babies born in 2019 are turning 2 this year! All you have to do is blink and they are potty-trained, independent, grown-ups. Take the time to absorb these tiny years. 

With all that being said, take the time to let them be little. Let them curl up next to you even if it's past bed-time, let them have one more scoop of ice cream and let them laugh when its not even "that funny." Praise their good days and guide their hard ones, but don't forget to love them extra hard through it all.