GRANDPARENT WARNING: Take this with a grain of salt. He is 2 after all.
A tradition in the Motylinski family has been advent calendars. When we were kids it was a great way to tide us over until Christmas. Every morning before school we would get to open another door and enjoy the bits of chocolate inside.
My parents have passed the tradition on to Riley. Being responisble grandparents they chose to fill some of the days with little trinkets, cutting down on the daily sugar intake. As parents we have appreciated it. Riley’s sugar spikes tend to lead to fits so the less sugar the better.
We’re 10 days through the calendar and I thought I would break down the trinkets and Riley’s reaction.
| Day | Trinket | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A piece of chocolate | Phrase “I LIKE IT!” repeated all night |
| 2 | Mini Slinky | Plays with it daily. Currently lost in his toybox |
| 3 | Wrist Band | Refused to wear it. So I wore it. |
| 4 | Another piece of chocolate | Peaks his interest in calendar. Wants to open more days |
| 5 | A sticker | Carried sticker around until it tore. Resulted in fit when he realized it was broken |
| 6 | A car | Gave the “That’s it?” look to us |
| 7 | A ball covered in suction cups | Resulted in a throwing frenzy in the bathroom when Riley and I both could not get the ball to stick to the tile regardless of how hard we threw it |
| 8 | A candy cane | Another night spent with our son walking around chanting, “I LIKE IT! I LIKE IT!” |
| 9 | A sticker | Riley realizes that he’s getting shafted if it’s not food. Throws sticker on the ground and says, “NO! NO! NO!” |
| 10 | The complimenting wrist band | Riley’s impartial to it. I’m thrilled that I now have 2 to wear |
So far the candy and the slinky have been the big hits with him. Which anyone with children could have guessed. But I do appreciate the wrist bands.
