Wednesday, September 26, 2012
FAVORITE FALL BOOKS
Being a teacher I have a couple large storage bins FULL of books...seriously. I started going through them recently and pulled some books out to add to Kensi's ever-so-growing library. I also purchased a few new favorites and we have added a few that were given to us at baby showers. Kensi LOVES when we read to her at night, she is so adorable! When we read and point to the pictures she coos and makes her little noises or better yet makes loud screaming noises and then smiles. Sometimes she'll even fall asleep after we've read a couple books together.
We recently picked up a few books for Kensi for autumn and Halloween. We just started reading them as we welcomed fall in the last couple of weeks.
Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills | Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex | The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis | Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson | Where's My Mummy by Carolyn Crimi | Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer Barrett O'Connell
Here are some of our other favorite books....
Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams
Scaredy Cat Splat by Rob Scotton
Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino
There Was an Old Lady that Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
Pumpkin Town by Katie Mcky
Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane
We received The Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett as a shower gift and oh my goodness, Kensi LOVES LOVES LOVES this book!! This book is about a little monster who visits earth and gives tickles. He tickles your foot, knee, tummy, elbow, etc. It's a very cute book to say the least.
I originally had Kensi's books stored in a wire basket and this works great for holding a few books, but now I'm trying to figure out a better way to store/display the rest of her books. Pinterest has tons of ideas, but I'm just not sure what will work best for her nursery...and yes yes I know, I STILL NEED TO POST PICTURES!!!! There's so little time now!
I hope all of you are taking the time to read to your little ones! It's amazing what reading to your children can do for their imaginations!
Monday, September 17, 2012
FABULOUS FINDS: THIRSTIES FAB WIPES
Thiristies Fab Wipes are definitely nothing less than FAB! Although these are advertised to be used with cloth diapering, we use these as washclothes for bathtime (and I'll admit I've used them to wash the makeup off my face at night as well). Much like our love for the Summer Infant Luxuries Bath Wrap, these are thick, super soft and best of all DON"T ROLL UP!
Thirsties Fab Wipes are made with super soft fabrics: velour on one side and microfleece on the other. Antoher great plus for Thirsties...they're made in the United States...come on you can't get better than that!
If you're interested, just click on the link below the picture above and it will take you directly to Amazon.
Happy Monday everyone!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
ROLLING INTO 3 MONTHS!
Age: 3 Months
Weight: 12 lbs 5 oz
Height: 24 inches long
Firsts: Rolling over from back to tummy on her own!
Events: Labor Day, 1st Husker game
Travel: Minneapolis, MN
Foods: Just Mama's milk!
Favorite Toys: Sophie the Giraffe, Mimi
Favorite Thing to Do: Putting her hand in her mouth, cooing
Sitting Up: No
Rolling Over: Yes, from back to tummy, but not always graceful.
Crawling: Nope
Walking: Nope
Smiling: Yes
Talking: Cooing and making lots of her own noises!
If talking, what words: No
Sleeping Through the Night: Yes, as long as she doesn't go to bed before 9pm
And we officially have a ROLLER!
Kensi all ready to go to the Applejack Festival!
Friday, September 14, 2012
CUTIE THIGHS a.k.a. BABY LEG WARMERS
Alright....I have had many, many, many requests for a post on how to make these adorable leg warmers for babies. And as long as you have a sewing machine....they are SOOOO easy!!!
I absolutely ADORE the gray with mushrooms and porcupines from Target in the girl's section!
I am totally falling in love with Baby Legs! The first pair I made for Halloween and they are seriously so stinkin' cute! I love them because you can use them for boys or girls. We spent a couple hours on a Saturday making these things (we have it down to less than 10 minutes per pair) and have already shipped some off to friends.
There are many many tutorials out there and some are confusing and some are very simple. I went ahead and created my own tutorial, very well knowing that most baby legs are made this way, but I thought this may make it a little easier for all you mommas out there.
A few things to keep in mind...
Kensington in her orange & black Halloween Baby Legs.
A few things to keep in mind...
- There are 10 steps for this tutorial, I tried to make the instructions as simple and clear as possible.
- With anything, make sure you read ALL the instructions and once you got it down, these shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
- These are simply made from girl's, women's or men's long socks. When you buy your socks, be aware of how wide the sock is.....this really isn't that big of a concern, just some socks are a little wider--making them a little bigger on your baby.
- If you find socks that are super long (made to wear with high boots) you will just want to trim the long part of the sock shorter to fit your baby.
Alright so here we go....Baby Legs!
Step 1: Start with any pair of long socks.
(Men's can be used too, these are just as cute for little boys!)
I have found adorable socks in the girls and women's section at Target for as low as $2.50 per pair. What a STEAL!
Step 2: Cut off the toe and heel.
Make sure you use scissors or a rotary cutter dedicated to fabric. The more you use scissors on paper the more dull they become, making it so much more difficult to cut fabric.
This will become the cuff at the bottom of the Baby Leg.
Step 4: Flip the foot piece over so the 'right' sides are together.
Step 5: Use a basic stitch and sew from one end to the other.
Then do it again between the first seam you just sewed and the edge of the fabric.
This will help stabilize your cuff so you won't have stitches coming out later on.
Step 6: Now fold the cuff in half with the 'right' sides on the outside.
Step 7: Flip the long part of the sock inside out.
Step 8: Now place the cuff inside the tube of the sock where you cut it off in the beginning and line up all the edges and pin around the edges.
This is the trickiest part of the whole thing....socks tend to roll up A LOT and the fabric really likes to slide, especially when you're sewing. It's so important to pin around your sock.
Step 8: Sew all three layers with a basic stitch.
You will sew in one big circle, pulling the fabric as your sew.
Step 9: Trim any and all loose threads so they don't get stuck or wrapped around your baby's sweet little toes.
Step 10: Flip the whole sock right side in and you're done!
Now you have inexpensive, adorable baby legs!
If the Baby Legs are a little long for your little one, just scrunch them up....and oh so cute!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
LEAVES ARE CHANGING
After being up in Minneapolis last weekend and seeing the leaves just starting to change color, made me find the motivation to find some awesome activities for our little ones.
I'm so excited for Kensi to explore with some of these activities...I seriously can't wait!
Songs:
Leaves Are Twirling
(Tune: "Frere Jacques")
Leaves are twirling
Leaves are twirling
All around
All around
They are falling softly
Very, very softly
To the ground
To the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Leaves
(Tune: "Ten Little Indians")
1 little, 2 little, 3 little leaves
4 little, 5 little, 6 little leaves
7 little, 8 little, 9 little leaves,
blow them all away. WHOOF!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Books:
- Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
- The Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
- Let it Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
- It's Fall (Celebrate the Seasons) by Linda Glaser
Sensory:
- Go on a nature walk. Talk about the colors you see changing, the noises you hear and the new smells that come with the change of seasons.
- Encourage your child to step on dead brown leaves and listen to their crunchy sound.
- Pick up some leaves from outside and let your child explore with them. You can also put leaves and small sticks in a plastic container to create a sensory table.
Math/Science:
- While on your nature walk, talk about why the leaves change colors and collect other items associated with autumn: acorns, berries, twigs, corn husks, etc. When you are done, sort the leaves and other items according to shape, size, and color.
- Discuss the birds flying in the sky. What formation are they flying in (v-shape)? Why are they flying? Will they return? If so, when?
Art:
- Paint the backside of different sized leaves and use them as a stamp.
- Make a leaf rubbing.
- Paint a picture using orange, yellow, red and green paint to represent the colors of the changing leaves.
Motor Skills:
- Scoop a bunch of leaves into a pile and jump in them.
- Toss a bunch of leaves in the air and try to catch them as they float to the ground.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
HOW TO: FRAMED ART
While we were designing our baby nursery, we knew we wanted to have framed art on the walls. You only need so many pictures of your baby up to begin with and although there are darling art prints out there you can buy, some of them can be a little pricey. So in order to fill some of our frames, we hit up our local craft store.
You know there are dozens of different scrapbook papers that so many stores offer. We found some adorable paper that we felt fit our nursery design well.
Use a mat and rotary cutter to cut the paper to the size needed for your frame and BOOM...beautiful and inexpensive artwork!
You can also personalize it to fit your needs as well. Here we used a black permanent marker to write in her name and birthdate. Simple.
Last week, Mike, Kensi and I, took a little trip up to Minneapolis, MN. This was our first trip we've been completely on our own since Kensi arrived in June. Sure we've gone to Kansas City, but we were very fortunate to have a very close family friend living there whom we stayed with. Now this last little trip to Minnesota was a WHOLE different story!
Kensi helping me (un)fold laundry as we were trying to pack.
Road trip breakfast...Thank you Starbucks.
Morning snuggles.
Good morning.
Let me tell you, we were somewhat... scratch that....we were NOWHERE NEAR as prepared as we should have been! Let's begin.... I completely underestimated a 5 1/2 hour driving trip with a 3 month in the following ways....
1. I forgot to pack a cooler for drinks, snacks and wait for it....breastmilk.
2. Never thought about the hours upon hours Kensi would have to be in her carseat...even when we shopped at MOA and Ikea because her carseat latched into the stroller....she was not happy.
3. Never brought the canopy for the stroller as a backup option.
4. Forgot to bring our Baby K'Tan wrap.....major NO NO!
5. Kensi's bath supplies. Although we were fine and didn't need any of it, it would have been nice to have in case one her explosions took place.
Things I actually did right....that I will do for every trip from here on out....
1. Packed each of Kensi's outfits in their own Ziplock bag for each day. Saw this on Pinterest and it keeps everything much more organized. This consisted of socks, outfit, extra outfit & jammies and then labeled as Day 1, Day 2, etc.
2. Breast pump....I pumped in the car and fed her the bottle.....avoided extra stops which was a big plus.
3. Packed Medela Steam bags for cleaning all the breast pump & bottle parts.....HUGE LIFESAVER!!!!
Now we had a great trip, don't get me wrong. I loved spending the time with Mike and Kensi and can't wait for our next mini vacay....but if I had actually noticed the things I was missing before-hand, our trip would have been a bit easier and even more relaxing....I'm just thankful I realized this on a mini weekend trip and not our week-long trip to California in November...phew!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
SLOW-COOKER APPLESAUCE
This applesauce is so delicious, we kept sneaking spoonfuls out of our Crock-Pot! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do ;)
**We only use the Vietnamese Cinnamon from Penzy's Spices......this flavor is so much better than generic spice cinnamon. You will be shocked how good the flavor is! We use Penzy's for almost all of our spices and it makes a world of a difference. Check them out!
http://www.penzeys.com
http://www.penzeys.com
8-10 peeled, cored and chopped apples (any kind will do)
1/4 cup apple juice or apple cider
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 strand of lemon peel (use a vegetable peeler)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Toss apples and lemon juice together and place in crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, give it a quick stir. Turn on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours. When apples are very soft and mushy, use a potato masher to mash remaining apples to get an even consistency. Remove lemon peel and cinnamon sticks and serve.
If you decide to make a double or triple batch, you can freeze it or can it.
This can also be made into babyfood, just make sure you run it through your food processor or blender to get out any lumps.
Does anyone remember the Apple song/rhyme we sang on the bus going to summer camp???
Apples, apples, apples,
On a stick they make me sick,
They make my heart go 2 - 4 - 6,
Not because they're yellow,
Not because they're green,
Just because I kissed a boy behind a magazine,
Hey girls look over there,
There goes ______ in their underwear.
They can wiggle, they can wobble, they can do the splits,
But I bet you ten dollars they can't do this.
Close your eyes and count to ten,
If you mess up then do it again!
(FYI there are many versions to this song)
Oh my gosh, my niece (who is actually 6 months older than I am) and I had SO much fun learning that song when we were little....ah the memories!
Okay....Sweetness for September being here!!!! Although Autumn doesn't officially begin until Sept. 22nd, I always welcome Fall over Labor Day weekend. You know darn well my first stop on Saturday morning was to Starbucks to pick up my Pumpkin Spice Latte to kick off the season!
There are SO MANY great things Fall brings......Pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, College Football (GO HUSKERS!!!), cooler temperatures (hopefully sooner than later--we're still battling the 90's+), cozy clothes, boots (shopping is NEEDED), pumpkin patches, apple picking, hayrack rides, soups and crunchy confetti colored leaves.
Mike, Kensi and I started some of our traditions this weekend and had so much fun. Of course we baked our special Pumpkin Bars (a recipe my mom found in the newspaper years ago and make every year). But not only did we make our pumpkin bars, we also got all of our fall decor out and decorated my parents house (I hope they didn't mind too much) and I pulled a few fall baby activities for Kensi. We started singing 10 Little Apples to her (see La De Dah for the words) since of course it is September and apple season.
Yesterday morning we made homemade applesauce together from our very own apple trees. And let me tell you, the applesauce was incredibly delish! We ended up making more today and canned it. I did give Kensi a little lick from my finger....she wasn't too sure about it :) Our applesauce recipe is posted under Bon Appetite.
Back to the baby and toddler activities....some of the ideas we found on Pinterest and other sites and some were my lessons that were modified. Also, if I was doing this full time and didn't have to work for part of my day, I would have one activity from each category for each day. However, there are more than one activity listed per category so feel free to spread them out through the week.
So this is what we have so far....we most likely won't get to each and every one of these activities, but we will try to do as many as we can. They can also be carried into another week.
Of course a few of these activities are better suited for older children, but everything can be modified. If you need help just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you out with a modification :)
Weeks One/Two
Apples
Songs:
One little, two little, three little apples,
Four little, five little, six little apples,
Seven little, eight little, nine little apples,
Ten little apples in the tree!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Criss Cross Applesauce
Criss cross applesauce,
A cool breeze,
A tight squeeze,
And a tickle tickle as you please!
Criss Cross Applesauce
Criss cross applesauce,
A cool breeze,
A tight squeeze,
And a tickle tickle as you please!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arm up high)
Two red apples smiled at me (hold up 2 fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (make a shaking motion)
Down came the apples, (make a downward motion)
Mmmmm--were they good! (smile and rub tummy)
Cooking:
- Make Applesauce
- Apple & Pear Butter
- Apple Pie/Streusel
Sensory:
- Baby girl will touch and explore an apple. We will tell her the color of the apple, shape and size. We will also talk about how it feels and that it can roll.
- Explore with our hands in applesauce.
- Taste Test
- TODDLERS AND OLDER!!!
- Have your child taste different forms of apples: apples with skin, apples with no skin, applesauce, baked apples, etc.
- Visit an apple orchard. Talk about what we smell, feel, hear, see and taste.
Math/Science:
- Make a graph or chart what everyone's favorite apple treat is. Choose 2-3 apple treats such as apple pie, caramel apples & applesauce. Have your child ask each family member which is their favorite. Help your child make a simple bar graph to show the results.
- Discuss where apples come from, how they grow, what colors, size and shapes they come in.
- Count apple seeds and practice grouping them in different ways; such as by 2's, 3's, 5's etc.
- Apple Fractions
- Cut the apple up and work on fractions; 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc.
- Apple Symmetry
- Cut an apple in half width-wise and length-wise and do a comparison. Are both halves the same (symmetrical)?
Art:
- Slice an apple in half length-wise, so the seeds are showing, use the apple as a stamp and paint a picture using fall colors. (Red, orange, yellow, brown and/or green)
- Paint with applesauce
- Baby/Toddlers can use their hands.
- Old children may want to try using a spoon, fork or brush, helping with their fine motor skills that they need for writing.
- Make sure to place newspapers on the floor for easy clean-up!
- Create a picture by gluing red, green and yellow scrapes to represent apples.
- Older children: have them practice cutting out cirlces in these colors and glue them on paper. This helps build their hand muscles and build on their fine motor skills.
Pretend Play/Dramatic Play
- Pretend to work at an orchard.
- Grow and harvest apples, bake and sell them at a market.
- Act out the story of Johnny Appleseed.
Sign Language:
Motor Skills:
- Tummy Time
- Practice lifting our head
- Pretend to give your baby an apple.
- When he/she reaches out for it, move the apple away. Move it in front of him/her, to their side, above their head, etc. They're practicing their hand-eye coordination.
Other Activities:
- Go on a Red Treasure Hunt.
- Look for items around the house with your baby. Anything red can be used. Help your baby find red apples, red books, red toys, red clothes, etc.
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