The Sweet Spot

When I am snuggling with Brian I will often put on a snooty face and declare, "This is my spot, no one else's!!" And I've told him that when I pass I want this put on my tombstone because I figure it will give someone a little chuckle when they need it most.

Now our 23 month old has her very own ideas on where her sweet spot is. It's in my car. And unfortunately not the seat designated for her by the powers that be according to her weight and size. We recently replaced one of our ancient cars with a Mazda 5 (hurrah)! Have you seen them? They are a mini version of a minivan with a potential three rows and more room than a sedan. We absolutely love it so far but it didn't take little mouse long to realize she can now hop over to Kade's car seat, the back storage area and even the driver's seat! It's become sort of a brand new playground for her!

With her increasing insistence for independence she likes to climb up in her seat and "help" me put her seatbelt on. When I open the door I start off telling her she needs to get in her seat and that's where I go wrong. Here's what usually happens....

Tea, that's NOT your seat!..... Also not your seat...She'll say, "Teagan's so little Kade's seat." This tells me she totally understands she is too little to sit in this booster. But everrrry day she tries all the same and even seems content to just hang out there for the day with no thought of actually going anywhere!

And now she's discovered the trunk space where she can stand up without hitting her head!

Occasionally she actually gets into her seat without a battle where she insists on "helping" me with the buckles. This takes time. A lottttttttttttt of time. She can get the top part in but thank goodness she hasn't figured out the second half or how to undo these things!

Eventually mom's warnings and patience runs out. That's when I force her into her seat and move full steam ahead to get her seatbelt secured. This is often the result. Poor thing. Guess what she does when DAD asks her to get in her seat??? Um hmmm...she gets into her seat.

This has me thinking about saying something once and only once. We're getting there but it's easier to think about than practice, isn't it? Anyone have tips on getting your little one to hop straight in (and joyfully!) to their car seat? If so, do share!! Hope you have a great day there! More adventures soon.....