Chicka Chicka Mama: The Joy of Being the Leader: Jude's Yes Day

I wanted to start off with an apology. I have been far more absent than I had originally intended. If you follow our Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen our big announcement last week. Jude is being promoted to big brother in early October. This pregnancy has been exponentially worse than Jude's. I spend my days feeling like I'm on a tilt-a-whirl ride, and all of my free time goes to napping. I am hoping for that second trimester energy spike near the end of March, but prepare for randomly spaced out blog posts. I am looking forward to sharing this journey with y'all and getting to come up to activities to amuse a baby and a toddler at the same time!

Now that we got that out of the way, I wanted to blog about something that was so simple yet so powerful that Jude and I did yesterday. I let him be the leader. We spend a lot of time socializing with other toddlers and moms, so when we are out, it's easiest that the adults guide the play and the pace to keep the peace. While Jude always has a really great time, we don't always get to do what he wants.

So yesterday was a playdate day, but when plans fell through, Jude and I headed to the Newport Aquarium with HahHah for a Jude guided adventure. We went knowing that Jude would guide us to where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. We left the Keenz in the car and just had our backpack and a smile.

It was lovely. And exhausting. But importantly, Jude was so very happy.

Jude realized quickly that he was running the show and would pull us from fish tank to fish tank marveling at the "ishies" and their colors. If he got bored, he would just head off to the next. We spent a lot of time watching the sharks and rays and going back to do it again and again. Jude touched nearly everything in the touch tanks and touched the sting rays for the first time. He picked what he wanted in the cafe for a snack. He braved the shark bridge and picked his own shark to bring home to remember our special day.

It feels so easy. Like, duh, of course you should let your kid lead, but it's something that I know personally I forget to do. It was special for Jude. You could tell that he felt in charge and independent and most importantly he felt heard. Independence is something that is so hard to help a toddler feel, especially when it's so much easier just to do it for them. Try having a yes day with your toddler. Stock up on coffee beforehand and get ready to chase, but it will be so worth it!