saying goodbye to grandpa...

ugh, we get so excited for family to visit and so sad to say goodbye. 

play tray ideas...

my blog was never meant to clog up your feed with kids activities, and now that i am posting on instagram i am going to continue to post them here, but maybe with less detail.  so here are a few of our recent play trays and other activities!

color sorting

more color sorting

water transfer into lids with eye dropper

play tray with kinetic sand, rings, pom poms, peg dolls and flower "toobs"

train tracks with magnet tiles

play tray with play-doh, craft sticks, magnetic bingo chips and geoplay links

outer space play tray/small world play

train table with rainbow stacker, train tracks and zoo animals

train table at play

blocks blocks blocks!

play tray with "pets" toobs, rainbow pebbles, craft sticks, rings, stacking cups, craft sticks, beans

bird house play tray!

play tray with safari toobs birds, corn, doll houses and wooden rings.

new park!

tried out a new park in auburn.  well actually we went to go to toddler time, but the program doesn't start until next week when school goes back in session.  so luckily there is a beautiful park attached to the community center.  we had a great time at the park, checking out the splash pad and the library!

2 month check up!

ryder was actually 9 weeks and 3 days old at his 2 month check up.  he is hitting all his developmental milestones and thriving!  he is measuring in at:

12 pounds 11 oz (69%) height (i checked bowie was 11 pounds 4oz)
24.75 inches tall (95%) bowie was just about the same
15.5 head circumfernce

he had 3 shots in the leg and one oral one.  he cried and felt pretty crumby that evening and for a couple of days after.

his hair is thinning out, eyes are a blueish/gray color, size 6 month clothes, about to go into size 2 diapers, lots of smiles, cooing and tracking with his eyes.  he is sweet and mellow and starting to grow out of his reflux.  he loves to be held and snuggled.

treasure hunt!

set up a fun treasure hunt activity in a dish pan sized container with pom poms, baby dinosaurs and magnetic bingo chips with some black beans.  gave bowie a magnet wand, spoon and chopsticks to go hunting!

good morning!

mornings like this melt my heart!

little people merry go round...

i love having bowie be involved in the process and always ask her if she has any requests for her activity set ups.  she recently got some new fisher price little people and wanted them in her activity bin today.  so i made what i am calling a little people merry go round.  i put a figure in a cup and into each compartment with some black beans.  she will probably spend an hour transferring the beans back and forth and "feeding" the little people.  this is her favorite set up and to keep it interesting i will switch up the theme, so instead of little people next time i may add bugs, dinosaurs or sea creatures.

drip drop...

love ryder's expression as he watches daddy make funny noises!

mornings with grandpa!

so happy to have grandpa here for the week! 

magnetic bingo chips!

we use these for counting, sorting, pattern making, magnet play and treasure hunts!  a bag of 300 from tapp collections bingo on amazon for under $12!

play tray with animals and egg crate...

bowie is loving putting things into the compartments of an upcycled egg crate, so this has been a theme in a lot of our activities lately.  todays play tray has our safari toob "animals," egg crate, pom poms, beans, wooden rings and clothes pins.  i love the subdued color scheme here and it looks inviting and calming to me.

blackberries!

more blackberry picking!  yum!!!

invitation with ducks and magnets!

today we played with rubber duckies, ice cube tray and bingo chips and magnet wand.

we used chopsticks to transfer the duckies into each ice cube compartment and explored the magnet chips and wand!

creating our own sunshine...

the wildfires, smoke and bad air quality make it impossible to play outside so we are exploring the colors of the rainbow one play tray at a time...