bowie asked to play with play dough and stamps today. she also asks to listen to christmas music while she plays! her enthusiasm has me in the holiday spirit!!!
i set up a tray with red play dough, holiday stamps, snowman hats, jingle bells, wood pieces, mardi gras beads, christmas erasers and acrylic diamonds.
she barely touched the play dough but used all the loose parts in her own way to stack, balance, sort, organize and make families. she loved using the erasers for imaginary/small world play. this has me thinking that she is due for a loose parts/tinker tray. watching them play like this is imagination and creativity at its finest!
lining them up and sorting
snowman families
stacking and balancing
look at that concentration!
she eventually brought out her unicorn and wanted to decorate it with
the cut up mardi gras beads, but they kept falling off of the unicorn.
she was getting frustrated and decided to drape the unicorn in a blanket
of play dough and stick the beads to the play dough so they wouldn't
fall off, talk about great problem solving!
i've been taking this for several weeks now and i probably should have started taking it when we moved here, i am noticing a positive difference. i like this brand as well, they make high quality supplements, i used to take their prenatal vitamin. and bonus, it can be easily found on amazon!
this is our first year since moving to washington that we will not be hosting thanksgiving. we will be spending it with extended family and i am bringing pumpkin pie and green beans. this is the recipe that my mom has used since i was little and that i have been using and hopefully bowie will continue the tradition. the kids seem to love it as much as i do and i think it is the best!
yah, we kinda love play dough around here. it might seem repetitive, but it works for us! so today is a tray full of fun loose parts to decorate snowflakes!
tray includes: light blue geo links, dough stampers, cookie cutter, cut up mardi gras beads, blue pattern blocks, acrylic diamonds, pearls and glass gems!
i set up a sensory bin with black beans and tucked in acrylic gems and coins. i set out a dish with little people pirates and each one had a different treasure. bowie had to use some fine motor tools to collect the treasures and put them with the corresponding pirate. then we counted the treasures to see which pirate had the most. it was fun and silly, she loved it!
in our dining room that is. i couldn't wait to put out the buffalo plaid table runner and one of our christmas trees. i didn't have any plans to decorate this one, but bowie had other ideas. she immediately ran to the play room and collected all of her grapat rings and started to hang them on the branches! how i love this so much!!! i know i have said it a million times, but that is the benefit of open ended toys, they can be ANYTHING, and this time they are christmas ornaments, so creative!
i have been wanting to learn how to do some felting crafts. i'd love to make a beautiful play mat, but i will start small with creating some felt pom poms. maybe once i get enough of them made, i will make a garland out of them???
so...to get started i got a pack of wool roving in 36 colors from amazon. it looks like this:
to make a pom pom, pick a color and separate the wool fibers so that you have a small section of wool to work with.
then dip the wool into water and roll in the palm of your hand with light pressure. after a couple of minutes of rolling, they look like this! and that is it! it is so easy once i perfect my technique i will teach bowie, this is definitely something we can craft together!
working on something special for the month of december! this will be delivered to bowie from our elf on the shelf "cookie."
i am SOOOO excited for this! it is a christmas tree making kit! it is big and loaded with lots of goodies!
i am using a container from ikea with a styrofoam cone as the tree, a rolling pin, plastic candy canes, presents, tree cookie cutter for flat trees, acrylic gems, gold mesh tubbing, mardi gras beads and lots of gems for ornaments! oh yah, and a huge ball of home made squishy play dough! i think i could sell these right?!?!?!?
styrofoam cone for tree, rolling pin and plastic candy canes!
i tried to find miniature presents with no luck. i made my own, by wrapping blocks!
different mini gems for ornaments!
mesh ribbon and mardi gras beads for garland!
cookie cutter for flat trees and acrylic diamonds!
when i look at you i am seeing less baby and more big kid and it kinda breaks my heart a little. BUT...you are growing happy and healthy and learning so much! one of the biggest changes over the last month is watching how you engage in "play." you particularly love your "little people" and peg dolls and of course your beloved stuffies "moose" and "rocky racoon." you have some favorite "little people," the pirate and the superman figure, you actually call superman "dada." you love to put your figures in the barn, airplane or line them up on the stairs and then sit next to them. you also love bowie's peppa pig toys, and "peppa" is one of your new words you can say. and i love that you can sit with a book and flip through the pages, you especially love the "first 100 words" book. the baby doll and stroller are also a big hit with you, and of course toy cars!
i think i have lost count of how many teeth because you have been teething constantly for a couple of months now, and you keep getting more molars. ouch!!! your appetite is getting better, but you are kinda picky. you love to go in the fridge yourself and grab a string cheese to gnaw on. your current favorites are ground turkey (however i have it seasoned for dinner), zucchini and bananas with peanut butter. you love your milk and will only drink it out of a bottle "ba ba." dad keeps trying to give it to you in a sippy cup, but you will throw an epic tantrum over this. i can't say that it really bothers me, it is a pain to wash the bottles, but you are our last baby and if you are not ready to give up the bottle i am okay with it. you love to "cheers" everyone over and over and it is adorable. saying "cheers" is also another one of your new words this month.
you love having your own time with dad and i alone. i can't blame you. sometimes at night after we put you and bowie to bed, you will complain or fuss so we will bring you downstairs to play. we will sit in the family room and you are so content just casually playing and then go back and forth giving dad and i a "snug." you are so affectionate and loving. you give cuddles, kisses and big hellos and welcomes! to hear your voice excitedly say "mama" or "dada" when we walk in the door is one of the sweetest sounds!
you are starting to transition to one nap a day, which will open us up to do more activities or classes in the morning. we have been testing out going to toddler time and you seem to like it! over the last couple of months you have had some separation anxiety when i leave, even just the room and you are hanging out with dad. you know how to turn on the charm and can really ham it up and be the life of the party. you are entering such a fun phase in "toddlerhood," you are able to communicate well and even use a few signs to show us what you want or need.
ryder lee...to know you is to love you! you are so special and so incredibly loved! you are the golden boy!
