It's easy to say YES!

Every day's we look for ways to say yes to Maya's requests....big and small. Sometimes those requests are simple..."I want salami with mayo".....and sometimes they are a bit more complex...."I want it to be my birthday NOW!" In the last day or two, we have had the following requests, and managed to meet all of the "needs"

1. Maya (totally into birthdays....mostly the cake and singing) wanted it to be her birthday....we explained that a birthday was only one day a year, but that we could have a pretend birthday with candles, cake and singing...she was thrilled. I then realized that the following day (today) was her "Birthday minus 1 month"....so we celebrated that all day. Lots of singing, lunch with grandpa, cupcakes and a cookie (her choices). She had a lot of fun explaining to us that her birthday was actually in "vember" (November)...but also had lots of fun celebrating all day.
   
2. We were heading home from dinner with my grandma lat night and drove by a park with kids playing...Maya expressed an interest in going, and I told her YES, when we pass by from some errands and dropping off grandma we can go...as we kept driving, and were about 2 blocks away, I realized that in 15 or 20 minutes there might not be kids there, and that we were not all needed on the errands...I had Haim turn around to drop us off, and Maya got to play in the park for 40 minutes while we waited for Haim to return. Heading into the park Maya said "this is so good"....so simple and accurate!
3. At Maya's "Birthday minus a month" lunch, we were at a beautiful bakery counter to choose a cake or sweet...first she chose a black and white cookie....and then a box of 4, beautifully decorated mini-cupcakes. Why not...it was her choice. At the table, she chose the first cupcake, ate the frosting off of the top, and handed the cake part back to me (i ate it, it was delicious!). She happily shared one with her grandpa, knowing that we would get more if she still wanted them after the box was empty. Next, she chose a second and requested that the frosting be removed, which I did, and then happily ate about 1/2 of the cake and handed it back. She left the remaining cupcake "for later" and asked for the cookie. She split it into several pieces, had a nibble of each, and asked that it be put back in the bag. Knowing that she could have it seemed to be enough...it took me about a year in Spain (and 30 lbs) to figure out that I could order a pastry without eating it all, and that I actually liked looking at them more than eating them, and she knows this already.
4. Driving to grandpas to wait for Haim to pick us up, we passed by a park that offers pony rides. Can we visit the ponies please, was answered by a turn into the park. The big smile on Maya's face was worth the 20 minute delay in getting back to the couch to rest (at 39 weeks pregnant, exhaustion is frequent)

Why not say yes whenever possible...even if that yes is followed by an explanation of when the yes will occur, if it cannot be immediate. Our daughter knows that we will do whatever is within our power to meet her needs and desires, it doesn't mean that a "yes, later..." isn't sometimes met with a meltdown (she's not even 3 yet)...bit I do think with each day we are building an intrinsic bond and trust that is invaluable.