Lego Lab at the Library. Since she just turned five in May, my little girl has discovered a whole new world of Legos: Cats, ponies, mermaids, horses, houses, surfboards, and kitchens. Like most kids, though, she follows the instructions, makes the building, and is on to the next thing. The great thing about the Library’s Lego Lab is the possibilities are endless. They provide you with a large bin of random Legos and the kids go to town using their own creative minds to build their own inventions. What’s more, the Children’s Librarian selects Lego themed books for the kids to peruse for inspiration. Extra bonus for me: It forced my daughter to look beyond the pink and purple to a whole new world of ninja-themed creations.
Watch the video of the first time she crawled together. Am I the only one who thinks crawling is the first step to independence? Before that, baby is almost entirely dependent on her parents. Likewise, Kindergarten marks another transition toward my hearing more “I can do it myself, mom!” I want to capture and relive that moment so she will never forget how tiny and precious she will always be to me.
Go to the pool (and spend as much time there as she wants). We spent almost the entire month of June in the pool because, let’s face it, nothing says summer like swimming in the refreshingly cool water. Once the weather hits 100 degrees, though, mom loses interest. That doesn’t stop the 5YO from asking every day. So, for the simple fact that we probably won’t go to the pool much until next year, I’d like to take her there for one last huzzah.
Visit the Nature and Science Center. Of all the things we’ve done together before her entering public school, our mutual favorites and the most memorable have taken place outside. The one place we have not been, yet, is the Nature and Science Center in Zilker Park. Baby girl would go there for the butterflies alone!
Attend the Austin Summer Musical for Children. We’ve seen ballet together, made art together at the Blanton, trekked through the Dinosaur Park in Bastrop, splashed at about a thousand different splash pads, and toured the Zilker Botanical Garden fairy houses. Oddly, we still have not seen a musical despite the fact that I am barraged (ahem, serenaded) daily by my daughter’s singing on a daily basis.
One down today! Four more to go!
Dawn M. Ambuehl-Sadek is a work-at-home mom of two girls: Maya, age 5 and Lila, 7 months. She has been writing in various mediums since she was in elementary school, including poetry, short stories, newsletter articles, and business writing. She currently authors a blog focused on parenting and poetry.
