Not to be a downer, but more as a caution...or atleast something to think about...

Has your child ever SEEN people in costumes?  If you run with people who really get into stuff like this, you might have some very elaborate costumes.  Is there a chance that your child will be afraid of their guests?  I've heard that aversions to clowns usually start at a young age.

hmmm...now that got me thinking. Thank you for this insight. I never thought of the possible effect of this. Well, my son has been into Halloween costume last November but I think he was too young to remember it.I think he was only 5-6months at that time. !

Anyways, thanks for the advice.   

First, I strongly believe that there is no 'right' and 'wrong' way to read to a child.
the rule of thumb should probably go something like this: If your child enjoys it, no matter what 'it' is, continue.

I think a wonderful compromise would be to have "staples" in your literary diet, but read variety also.
For example if she's enjoying hearing and even anticipating coming parts in; The Cat in the Hat, Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon, then continue to read them for as long as both of you are interested. But you might, also read several other books throughout the day/week.

As time passes, you may 'phase out' one of the 3 staple books and replace it with another story, and slowly but surely change all 3 'staple' books to 3 more staple books and rotate them like that.

Or you can simply read whatever it is that your baby is enjoying when they enjoy it.

Seems like a win-win or win situation to me...Hopefully someone else with more experience can say with more certainty.

This is a very good idea mom2bee. I usually read my baby 1 same book for like 2-3 days then change it to another book or it depends as long as I see him enjoying and interacting. I agree it's a win-win situation. 

Since we do not live geographically close to family, it just worked out that we have not had birthday parties. We tried once, almost all of DD's friends got sick and one had a family emergency (we only invited 3-4 other kids plus their parents). We spent a lot of money getting everything ready I decorated the house for hours. After that experience, I said forget it until they're older. We do something special at home like make a favorite dinner of choice and them them help make a birthday treat. We'll probably take them out for dinner at a restaurant when they're older. We also take them somewhere special like the inflatable jumpy place. Maybe that makes us "scrooge" parents but they don't know the difference yet! From what we have seen other parents do (spend huuuuge amounts of money renting out these kid zones like the private gyms or entire jumpy places, and then "make" an uninterested child go through all the motions at one or two because they are overwhelmed, not in the mood, cranky, etc), I don't know. I'm sure some kids love it, but It just didn't seem like the right choice for our family/kids. I would rather spend that money on school supplies with a much longer lasting impact!  I also might be sour on them because DD's birthday is on or within 2-3 days of thanksgiving (depending on the year) and DS was born 4 days after Christmas. It's a BAD time of year to have birthday parties. We decided when they're older we might let them have 1/2 birthday parties in the summer, when they're old enough to understand and appreciate it.

If we lived near family, it would be different and we would have small family parties with the grandparents/aunts/uncles. Familiar people in familiar settings along with a little birthday cake. Yes, commemorate the occasion in some way but definitely keep it simple like it was suggested! Your baby will thank you.


In regards to your question- what is your child interested in? I would build the theme and party around that.

The birthdays of your children comes very close to occasions eh. 
As of now he likes watching cartoons, especially Disney. That's why I'm thinking of a costume party.

I think that I recall another thread on this same topic and the general consensus was KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Grandparents, aunties & uncles (OR two or three friends) - that's it.  And - keep it short: 1 or 2 hours.  Be sure to plan around nap time.  Morning is best.

I can tell you from my experience that things can get crazy for your child.  I found this to be even more true for his 2nd birthday.  So, this year (his third) we're having separate events on three separate days - dinner with my husband's parents, two friends and their families for a Saturday morning snack, and my parents for dinner.  I think that next year we can have a larger event. 

Do a search for that thread - you might get some more concrete ideas.

Thanks for the info. I'll just search the thread for more ideas. Yeah I really wanted to keep it simple with just close family and friends.  Thanks again. 

This is great. Thank you for sharing.

Hey guys. I just need ideas for the birthday party for my 1 year old son. Any themes in mind? I'm thinking of a costume party? Pool party? 

My son had its tooth came out at 8 months. We were so happy to see it coming out that we forced to open his mouth just to take a picture of his teeth that he kept on crying. He was really irritated by us trying to open his mouth. It was really a funny experience. Now at 10 months he has about 6 or 7 teeth. 

Our doctor also said that but I didn't what our doctor said. Our kid uses walker now and starts to walk on his own. I think there is nothing wrong with walker. Me and brother also used walker way back and even our nieces and nephews use it as well now.

Wow! Congrats! Keep up the good work. So happy to hear such good news.

To avoid hiccups as much as possible, we should always let the baby burp after eating or after breastfeeding/bottle feeding. And if the hiccup is there, let the baby drink water.

There are a lot of memory games in the internet that your kid will surely enjoy.

http://www.thekidzpage.com/freekidsgames/memorygames.htm
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/memory_games.html

There are a lot of things/activities that you and your kid can do at 2 year old.

Construction toys like building blocks, Lego and the like.
Drawing. Be ready with drawing materials as toddlers tend to be creative and imaginative at this time.
Matching games or flashcards. Puzzles.
Push/pull toys.
toys trucks, cars, trains

Loving, Caring, Sharing, Giving, Joyful, Appreciative, compassionate, generous, kind, helpful, supportive, Grateful, happy, courageous, sympathetic, understanding

Congratulations on another member of the family.

I suggest Chutes and Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Boogle Jr.