Toddler 1 Class Party

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Pool Time with Molly

MK's cousin Molly came to visit in July, and they spent an afternoon at the pool!

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High Flyer

MK loves to flip in the air with daddy!

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MK's Animal Sounds

Paul made me a collection of MK's animal noises for my birthday. These are so cute!

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Big Girl Class!

Today was MK's first day of toddler classes. Our first goal is to learn not to eat crayons :) Goal 2 is to learn why we don't stand on tables!

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Twinkie Nursery

So the twinkie room is finally done. I'm sure I'll add some flair here or there, but, this should do it for the most part!

 

Scrapbook paper letters cut with my Cricut

 

Target bookcase - like this one because it had beadboard on the side for a little extra decor.

 

Originally made for David the first by his mom

 

Print with name and meaning and my fave verse for girls - 1 Peter 3:3-4, 8

 

David's chest - Garage sale find repainted and used chalkboard labels for each drawer. And, a copy of No, David

 

Derby cars made by Paul and David when Paul was in Cub Scouts

 

Growth chart made by mommy and her Cricut

 

Madeline's Chest - given by a friend, painted and added chalkboard labels. Madeline book and burlap hanging with outfits used in their gender reveal photo.

 

Scrapbook letters and some patterns I made and printed on cardstock cut with Cricut. The CD case on the side was added by daddy to hold wipes, etc. since there wasn't space on changing table.

 

Recycled canvases (didn't like my first idea) with modified quote from Where the Wild Things Are

 

Another recycled canvas. True origin of quote is Peter Pan (location of Neverland). Is also the ending quote to the last original series Star Trek movie, which is why it is dear to our hearts :)

 

Changing table - thrift store find!

 

Is a shame they have no clothes ;)

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Homemade Bath Crayon Review

So, I found this on Pinterest and thought it was genius. It is genius, and it works, is cheap and easy. But, what I learned in application was that this is not an activity that will be clean. This is more of an activity before bath time, then drain the tub, and let the actual washing commence.

These are made of nothing but melted glycerin soap and food coloring - right off the box recipe and Pinterest. But none of the pins on Pinterest reminded me that, duh, it's food coloring - and what does food coloring do? It dyes. It dyes the water, it dyes your child's hands, and then the dyed water dyes your child's body. Don't get me wrong - it is easy to clean up, just don't go into it thinking this is a true bath activity. The bath comes after. Then you'll want to spray some bath cleaner in case your tub looks a little colorful even after you've rinsed it out :)

MK thought it was great - and she was so entertained that I think it is worth it to do again.  She cried when we had to stop and actually bathe her. It might be best as a rainy day activity when pool or sprinkler isn't an option.

PS - yellow isn't a good color for this. Hardly shows up.

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Water Table Fun

I wanted so badly to get MK a water table and a sand table for summer playtime, but didn't want anymore stuff to go out into the yard. We already had a toddler picnic table so I found an old, long and shallow tub and turned it into a water table. MK spent an hour playing with a few cheap toys, and some old measuring cups. Mommy got a good splashing as she sat near and watched while she played with Grandpa. Good times had by all.

Hoping to be able to pull out the sand soon, but that requires more of daddy's help :)

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Future Bean Counter

Truly. I gave my child three bags of beans to play with in a bin courtesy of Pinterest, and she had a ball. Cried when it was time for dinner and she had to quit moving beans from one bowl to the other.

Word to the wise - using our kitchen helper so she could play on the kitchen counter, bean play was a disaster. While she was completely enthralled and occupied, she'd drop them and I swear one managed to bounce all the way to the dining room. Next time, I put it on her playroom table (a carpeted room), and seeing as the beans didn't have far to fall, they didn't bounce (also obviously because on carpet they didn't bounce). And, since the table was her level, she bent down and easily picked them up.  Of course, being 18 months, she did dump out the entire bin after about 35-40 minutes. But, on the carpet, they all fell in a pile that was extremely easy to clean up.

Oddly enough, she seems partial to the pinto beans :)

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The Doubly-Big Reveal

We finally know what our little twinkies will be - a BOY and a GIRL! We are so excited. When we first found out we were expecting, people kept asking us did we want another girl, or a boy? We kept saying we didn't care - a boy would be nice to have one of each, and be able to name him after P's late father, but of course another girl for MK to play with and to reuse the hundreds of dollars worth of clothes would be nice too. So, I guess since we couldn't make up our minds, God decided to give us one of each :) We can't wait for the deuce and little M to arrive :)

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Magnetic Puzzle

MK is too smart for her own good. She can do all her puzzles (whether she really understands, or just has it memorized I am not sure), she has figured out the safety locks on the cabinets, and now can unbuckle her car seat straps.

Not sure what to do about the latter, I created her a puzzle of sorts with magnetic alphabet letters and that were not the same size of "shape" of the letters themselves, thinking it would make it a bit harder for her. It did--for about 5 seconds.

So, any suggestions on how to challenge this child?

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Birthday Morning Traditions

My sweet husband woke up super early on MK's birthday to get her birthday morning festivities ready. He decorated her chair, put our her presents and got her cupcake ready. We decided to start a tradition of eating cupcakes for breakfast and opening a couple of gifts.  She wasn't too sure about the cupcake at first, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly :)

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