Snip Snip Snow

Tot School Winter Theme: Day 2

Today we read the book, Snip... Snip... Snow! by Nancy Poydar.  

James somewhat enjoyed it.  He was a little antsy and not particularly in the mood for story time.  But we got through it and then decided to make snowflakes.  I let him check out his scissors for the first time, but he didn't do any cutting.

I cut circles and then folded them and made two snowflakes.  His patience level is pretty short at this age!

He loved throwing the snowflakes in the air and watching them fall.

He really wanted to take them outside and play with them.  

Next we had a little snack time and made tortilla snowflakes.  Very quick, easy and delicious!

We folded them.

Snipped them... and voila!  Snowflakes.

Then I brushed them with a little butter and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top.  They baked in a 400 degree oven for five minutes.  James got a little impatient during the bake time and just decided to eat one plain.

Once out of the oven I sprinkled with powdered sugar.

And then we were ready to enjoy them!  Delightful!

Our last activity was a little playdoh time.  I don't have a very large selection of cookie cutters so there weren't many winter theme options.  A tree and a circle had to do!  So we made a snowman and a Christmas tree.

Then little brother woke up and it was time to run to the store, so that was all for today!

Picture of the day

Don't you love his voluminous hair?  He is like an ad for a Pantene commercial.  He had just discovered I was taking pictures of Ethan and told me he wanted to say cheese.

Love this kid!

Winter Theme Tot School

Around the time James was born I was introduced to a website called 1+1+1=1.  The woman who writes it homeschools her three children.  Her and her husband are inner city missionaries and started homeschooling out of necessity and grew to love it.  Let me just tell you that she has some pretty great ideas on her website.  It can be a little overwhelming.  The first few times I looked at I honestly didn't even know where to start.  And at times it can be intimidating and/or make me feel like I am falling behind or not doing enough in starting the education process with James.  I have learned to take a deep breath and prayerfully consider what is best for James at this stage of his little life.  Just because something is appropriate for someone else at his same age doesn't mean that he is behind or I am failing him because he is not doing the exact same things.

I will say that her resources are amazing and wonderful and lead to literally hundreds of other sites that can also provide a multitude of great ideas and fun activities to start the learning process.  Again... deep breaths and prayer.

One of the areas of her site that I have followed consistently is called Tot School.  It's an idea she started with her middle child to keep him busy and engaged while she was working with her oldest.  She advocates that each child is different and that you shouldn't push your little one to do something that they don't like or isn't fun.  She uses a lot of montessori concepts and also integrates biblical ideas and themes.  She is super creative and provides free printables for almost everything on her site.

I have been noticing the past few months that James is really absorbing so much of the things he is exposed to and is starting to enjoy doing short activities and little projects.  So I thought why not start introducing some Tot School.

Today was our first day and I chose a winter theme for this week.  Don't you know that all the snow melted last week and today it was in the 40's!  Oh well.  I got several snow related books out of the library and we read a few this morning after Ethan had gone down for a nap.  We talked about the cold and the snowflakes and how the world is resting during this time.  Even though it looks like nothing is happening, God is actually busy preparing new life that will spring forth in a few weeks... more likely months when you live in Pittsburgh.

He loved The Magic School Bus Sleeps for Winter.  Not a surprise given his love for all moving vehicles!  

Next we worked on snowflakes in shapes.  He is not very good with shapes or colors, so I thought this would be a good one.  

This didn't last too long.  He was immediately frustrated that he couldn't fit the pieces together.  For some reason he thought they were a puzzle.

After this we did snowflake matching.  He liked this a little bit more and is actually pretty good at matching.  He kept calling them suns instead of snowflakes.  I corrected him, but he was pretty insistent that they were suns.  Whatever!  You can't argue with a two year old.

After a few minutes he announced that he was "all done this", so we called it quits for the day.  He did good with working on the tray.  We have a few more things planned for tomorrow and I'm anxious to see how the does as we keep working with these same skills and introduce some others.  

One of the things I enjoyed most was having one on one time with him and also having something planned and prepared.  Often the mornings can drag on endlessly and the whining can quickly grate on my ears like fingernails on a chalkboard.  But having just this short period of activity seemed to make our morning much more enjoyable.  I would like to be more intentional about doing Tot School with him often.  I know it won't always work into our schedule, but he seems ready to be engaged and enjoy learning.

Nine Months Old!

How big is Ethan?  So big!

Dear Ethan,

Seriously... are you this big already?!  I can't believe you are standing up and holding onto things.  Last week you turned nine months old and in only three short months you will be considered a toddler.  How is that possible?  

You are so much fun!  You are high energy, happy, loud, curious and extremely passionate about life.  

You love your brothers and are highly entertained by their silliness.  If James is in the room you are looking to see what he is doing and he is frequently wrestling with you, rolling on you or knocking you over while laughing hysterically.  Boys are a whole different ball game.  I knew this was coming, but I didn't bargain on it happening this soon!

You are still wearing mostly 6-12 month clothes and some 12-18 month.  You wear a size 3 diaper and size 4 at night.  You nap twice a day from 9-10:30 and 2-3:30 or 4.  Some days we get very long naps out of you and some days hardly any at all.  But you sleep through the night consistently from 7pm-6 or 7am.  You have just started to wake up and entertain yourself naturally rather than crying immediately.  The other day I left you in your crib for about 30 minutes after you woke up because you were so content in there entertaining yourself.  It was lovely!  

You are still not crawling, but you roll absolutely everywhere.  No matter where I put you down, you don't stay there.  It's quite entertaining to watch you go across an entire room!  You go from sitting into a crawl position, but then just fall down on your belly and surf.  When you realize you are not going anywhere you start rolling.  You love to stand holding onto something and are starting to cruise a little bit around the furniture.  You like to walk around while we hold your hands.  You still love the walker and are content to spend time in there rolling around exploring or chasing the dog or your brother!  I love when you become determined to get somewhere.  You tuck your head down and rip across the floor on a mission and then bang forcefully into a cabinet like you're playing bumper cars.  If I open the dishwasher, the fridge or any other type of door, you are there in a flash ready to explore.   

It is so interesting to see your personality emerging and realize that you are so different from your brother.  Just now I caught you in one of the kitchen drawers chewing on something.  When I came over to take it away from you, you took off in a mad dash and then pitched a fit when I grabbed it away from you.  I have a feeling I am going to have my work cut out for me!  You love "non" toys.  Your absolute favorite thing to play with in James' room is his noise machine.  I shove it under the bed and no matter where I put you in the room and how far under the bed it is, you usually still manage to get it.  You are very determined and I have to say, I love this about you.  I'm sure it will get you into trouble a time or two, but I can tell you are going to be a hard worker who doesn't give up until he achieves his goal.

You're eating like a champ and we are starting to work our way off of purees and into more table foods.      You still drink four bottles a day and love yogurt melts, cheerios, puffs and mum mum.  You will eat a banana if I hold it for you and you have just discovered cereal bars!  This month we are going to try eggs, yogurt and cheese.  

Ethan, you sure can tire me out, but I absolutely love you!  You are one of a kind designed by God and  sweeter than anything we could have ever imagined.  You bring such joy into our lives each day and we are blessed because of you.

The boy grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.

~Luke 2:40

Winter Days

This winter has been exceptionally long and dreary.  It seems like almost every day we wake up to bitter cold and snow.  It really is very pretty and peaceful and it makes you just want to stay in and cozy  up by the fire.  But, as we near the end of February I am longing for warm, sunny days and the ability to run outside with no coats!

We have been staying in a lot between morning and afternoon naps with my littles, so we have to find things to pass the time.  We have been baking a lot and playing a lot of cars!

James has gotten out to play in the snow a few times, but he doesn't last long.  You know it's cold when  Daddy wears a down jacket with a hood.  He calls this his George Costanza coat.

James likes to play with our homemade playdough, except he smushes all the colors together, which is really hard for my OCD personality!

He has also been doing a little paint with water, which is another activity that mommy finds frustrating. I have a really hard time letting him paint like a two year old.  I have to hold myself back from grabbing the paint brush and painting the pictures the "right" way.

There is lots of "free"play.  James has recently taken to wrestling with Ethan.  Most of the time he likes it, but it usually ends in tears as Ethan gets rolled on, stepped on or knocked over.  I am learning how to let these little guys be boys.  It's very hard for me!

Ethan spends most days in his jammies.  Wouldn't you love to be this cozy?

It has been a long winter.  But in many ways, as I look at these pictures, I can't believe how fast the days are passing.  Ethan turned nine months old this week.  How is that possible?  I am so grateful to be at home with these boys... having the opportunity to enjoy them this way.  It is a true blessing.  

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands.

~Psalm 90:17

Valentine's Day 2013

I am woefully behind on posting once again!  I'm not sure where the hours of my day go, but it seems as though there are never enough and I often feel like I am trying to catch up.  There are so many things that need to be done, should be done and want to be done and usually once I am finished with the things that need to be done, I am either out of hours or out of energy.  But, today I find myself with a bit of quiet time and the opportunity to sit down at my computer and tap away.

Valentine's Day was really fun this year!  I found myself getting caught up in crafts and little projects that I don't particularly love to do, but they turned out so cute and so I ended up enjoying the process.

I made oreo truffles and chocolate cookies dipped in candy, which were both surprisingly easy and delicious!  Pinterest sucked me into all sorts of darling ideas that were seemingly easy, but for this non-crafter nothing is ever that easy!  I made these cute tags that I attached to Strawberry Crush drinks.

We made a picture for daddy.  BTW... I still have red handprints on my bathroom floor!

James made handprint valentines for Nan and Nana and Pop.

And the kids woke up to a few little Valentine gifts.

James loved his new cars!

And Ethan loved the wrapping!

Thanks for the great snacks Nan!

Later Nana stopped over with a few gifts...  Ethan was sleeping, so he missed the fun.  But James and Nana got to goof around.

Drew didn't get to see his until after school, but I got him tickets for him and I to see a broadway show together.  It was a musical with all the smash hits of Green Day, which is one of his favorite bands.  So, we went downtown last night and had a great time at Heintz Hall!  

Here are a few other pics of my little Valentine's...

Happy Valentine's Day... a little late!