Routine

It is amazing how quickly little ones pick up on routine. If you do the same thing more than once or twice it becomes almost set in stone to them. For example these are things my 19 month old does:

*If we put on a movie for the kids, Morgan grabs his pillow or blanket to sit on and wants some popcorn. He will not sit still until he has his little dish of popcorn, never mind that half of it ends up on the floor.

*When I put Kendle to bed at night, Morgan has the ritual down pat. He comes in her room while I read to her, we say prayers, he rushes over to her CD player to turn her music on, and then he blows her a kiss just like I do.

*If Kendle is brushing her teeth he runs to the bathroom and grabs his little tooth brush and points at his little tube of toothpaste until I squeeze some out for him so he can brush away.

*When he has a dirty diaper he helps me get a bag to throw it away in, and then runs to his room so I can change him.

*If I'm unloading the dishwasher he is there in two seconds flat to try and "help" me put things away.

*When Riley is outside working or taking care of our dog, Morgan will rush to his room and get his boots, coat, and usually a hat and stand at the door begging to go out.

*When it is time to clean up the toys, I will sing the clean up song and he always knows to help and sings with me.

*When I take him shopping with me I usually have suckers in my purse for him so we can make it through the store without any fits. So now, the second we walk in the store he starts pawing at my purse. This is not such a good one. Ditto on church snacks. It's a necessary evil.

What I've learned from this is that it is never to early to start teaching my children good things, and also I need to be more careful about the not so good routines we can get into. I was just reading an article the other day that talked about the small window of time we have to teach our children good habits. We have to start when they are young enough to be teachable so that those things become part of their everyday lives. This year I'm all about trying to improve in areas just like this and do things to make our family's foundation a strong one because there are many areas that I'm lacking in and can do better at.

*On a random funny note this morning, Morgan is putting dish towels over his head and walking around bumping into things pretending like he can't see. He thinks he is so hilarious, when I laugh it just encourages him even more. If only he could always be this easily entertained!