tinkergarten - loom!

it was a special week at tinkergarten because bowie got to bring grandma and grandpa with her, but she was not feeling it this week - little did i know at the time it would be because she was not feeling so well.  later that night she came down with a high fever.  so i have to think she was not feeling like herself that day.  the kids had some color cards on the tarp and found nature objects to do some color matching.  then they had a fish net in the trees that they used as a loom to do some weaving.

play dough play kits!

i was thrilled when my friend reached out and asked if i would include her kids in the next play dough play kit i make for bowie.  she has a lot of camping and travel planned for summer, and this is a perfect activity to travel with!

she has the "compartment kit" from the party favors from bowie's birthday, which is great, because i was unable to find them again.  however, i made her kits large enough for both kiddos to play with and i placed the contents inside of tupperware containers and labeled them.  she could either seperate it out into the kit or use a large chip and dip tray to display all the parts for the kids to pull from.

when i make these kits, i look for craft supplies such as; pom poms, glass gems, paper straws, mini drink umbrellas, shells, erasers, tooth picks, beads, mardi gras necklaces (which i cut into pieces), candles, googly eyes, mini clothes pins, etc.  

i made her 4 different themed play dough play activities!

beach!

red, white and blue patriotic!

animal faces!

birthday!

storage for all kits!

peppa pig small world play!

peppa living her best life at the pool!

small world set ups are great for imaginative and pretend play!  i felt under the weather, so i needed a full proof activity to keep bowie busy during ryders nap. so peppa pig it is!

welcome!

it's not even lunch time yet, but i am happy to see that jarad was warmly welcomed to his new office!  he has a nice and more private work space and they gave him a cool succulent arrangement and card!

new hat!

jarad is retiring from his title of "rocket scientist" and entering a new field of work!  we couldn't be more proud of him on this new venture!

he will be working at a company owned by the railroad that makes a telemetry system to keep the trains safe.  today is his first day on the job!

wildlife!

since the weather was warmed up there have been so many signs of wildlife all around us.  we had 4 deer in our yard recently, the bald eagles have been hanging around the lake and jarad saw these 7 coyote pups at the RC flying field over the weekend.  the sound of howling coyotes gives me chills, but these little guys are pretty cute!

BBQ!

ugh...it is jarad's last day at home before he starts his new job tomorrow.  it's been a fun week together, but too short (as expected).  i am glad he got to get a good ride in today, perfect weather and we will end this stay cation at our neighbors house on the lake with a BBQ this afternoon.

(don't worry, the bottle was empty, i think every parent must have a pic like this, right?)

cereal threading!

thanks to my friend beth for the supplies and idea!

took some skewers and poked them into play dough and a bowl of cereal.

good for fine motor skills, counting, pattern making, color sorting and of course snacking!

hot milk cake!!!

another recipe by my fav food blogger laney @lifeisbutadish

this is one of her family favs, so i had to give it a try on a cold and gloomy saturday afternoon.  bowie and i put on our aprons while jarad and ryder played in the family room and we did some baking!

here is her recipe and it is just as tasty as she makes it out to be!  it resembles a pound cake but lighter and squishier, almost as if a pound cake and an angel food cake had a baby.  it was good plain, but would be really yummy with some fresh berries and home made whipped cream!  i don't think i have perfected it yet, which means i must try it again.  i used a silicone bundt pan and i don't like the way it cooked.  so next time i will use my metal one. 

**i did not have cake flour, but after some research i found you can use all purpose flour and cornstarch as a substitute.  take 1 cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 T and replace with 2 T of cornstarch**

Ingredients

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

• Lightly butter and flour (or spray with baking spray) a plain 9 inch tube pan. Set aside. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl sift the cake flour and salt together. Set aside.
• Place the butter and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed for 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the sugar in 3 additions. Blend in the vanilla. Add the flour in 2 additions.
• When the butter and milk mixture has reached a boil, remove it from the heat and carefully pour it into the flour mixture as it revolves in the mixture. Add the baking powder and mix at moderate speed for 1 minute. Don't be alarmed that the batter will be thin.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake on the lower third level rack for 45-55 minutes, or until nicely risen and golden. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-6 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Dust the top with powdered sugar. Serve and enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

loose parts tray!

set out a tray of loose parts for bowie to explore.  i'm never sure what or how she will use them, but she made a see saw for the pandas, made panda families, color matched and then asked for play dough with googly eyes.  love how this set up evolved!

11 months!

how is it even possible?  next month you will be a year old.  you have mastered lots of new skills over the last month and are constantly testing boundaries and pushing limits with your physical capabilities.  you are standing, sitting, crawling, cruising, dancing and a little mover and shaker.  you pretty much are always standing and exploring or crawling to get to something to stand and explore.  you rarely sit still and are always on the go.  your appetite is big, for both food and knowledge.  but you absolutely hate getting cleaned up after a meal. your favorite game is to put an object on top of something from a sitting position (the fire place, coffee table, sofa) etc. and then stand up to get it and then do it all over again.  or knock an object off of something and watch it fall and try to lean over the sofa or table to get it.

i'm not sure what your favorite toy is yet.  you love playing with the remotes and you also like taking the sink out of the play kitchen and removing all the items inside of the play kitchen cabinet.  you like banging the peg dolls and playing with the ball pit balls.  and of course you are interested in anything bowie has.  you love the furry mountain goat page from the mount rushmore book.

you have started to do this screeching voice that is ear piercing.  you do it a lot during meals.  we always listen to music at dinner and you will keep the beat with your head, it's so cute!  and when you hear some good dance music you have to shake it!

you are full of smiles all the time, there is little that makes you unhappy.  your toothy grin and sparkly eyes can light up a room.  your laugh is contagious and you bring so much joy to our family.  you make me so happy, thank you for being ours!

milestones:

~5 teeth (6th coming  in)
~size 18 month clothes, but fits in some 24 month clothes
~size 4 diaper
~30.75 inches tall
~approximately 23 pounds
~lots of babbling (ma ma and da da most often)
~holds bottle on own
~2 naps a day still (morning 10-12, afternoon 2-4)
~sleeping through the night (don't wanna jinx it) but we are at 7 nights in a row!!!
~blonde hair
~dark hazel eyes
~favorite song "baby shark"

tinkergarten week 6!

today was about bugs!  we started off by making nature bracelets with duct tape and nature finds and then used magnifying glasses to look for bugs and observe them in containers.  bowie found a small centipede.  i think the highlights of todays class were:

1- having daddy there!!!
2- her friend izzy was there after missing a few sessions
3- running into her friend eliot while waiting for the porta potty
4- playing at the adjacent park with izzy after class
5- trying a new burger place afterwards that closely resembled in n out!!!!!
6- BOTH kids falling asleep on the drive home and go back down in their beds for a long nap!