Almost an Artist

We actually did this a couple of weeks ago, aaaaannnnnd I’m just now getting around to telling you about it.

I have been trying to come up with things to do with Nathan during the day, though I think it’s more to keep me entertained than him, because he really does seem quite content to pull everything from every accessible shelf and drawer and spread them throughout the apartment and to walk around carrying random objects he has acquired from his path of destruction. He just wants me to watch him do it. So I’m usually sitting on the floor monitoring the mess ;) Any time I try to get something done while he’s ‘working’ he immediately wants in on whatever it is I’m doing. Once I sit back down on the floor to watch him, he’s back to business. It can get kinda boring to be honest.

So I thought we’d try an art project!

I kept it pretty simple, I had some fingerpaints on hand, but instead of doing some full-on fingerpainting (I think he’d just try to eat it) I put three different colors into a gallon sized baggie and taped the bag to a piece of white paper, and then taped that to the floor. I added the paper because our flooring is really dark.

Then I brought Little Man over and we tried to paint.

It lasted all of 15 seconds.
Isn’t he so adorable?! That face!!
He did get pretty into it though
Then he just wanted to grab my camera…

We had tried it in the morning, so I left it taped there for most of the day, hoping he’d be interested enough to go back and try again. Mm…not so much. He went back maybe…once on his own? I went over there a couple of times and he would follow me. We did manage to mix up the colors and it looked pretty cool. Then later he came by with a wooden spoon and started whacking the bag and created a couple of holes. Out of which the paint started to leak. Then art class was over.

Oh well. We’ll try again when he’s older. ;)

More Felt Fun A Quiet Book

So along with all those fun foods, I’ve also had a quiet book in the works. This was something else I’d seen forever ago, vowing I would also make at least one quiet book for each child I end up having.

We were certainly in the market for one; we desperately needed something to entertain Little Man at church. He actually does pretty well for the most part, but now that he’s really walking, it’s harder to keep him contained and happy for longer periods of time. Like at church.

Something I hope to establish in our family is that when our kids are young enough to need toys/entertainment at church, those toys/items that entertain will be as church-related as possible. So as you will see, most of the pages in the book try to incorporate something with church/the gospel.

I bought this book several months ago (it’s awesome!) and used it to get inspiration (along with some other ideas on pinterest) for the different activities and then gave them a ‘religious twist’ ;)

So, here we go! I used book rings to hold all the pages together and then attached them to my cover:

I am a Child of God/Mirror – Lift the flap and see yourself! Little Man really likes this page ;)

Popcorn Popping! The ‘popcorn’ comes off the buttons. Little Man can’t quite do this one yet, but that’s okay.

Genealogy Page – matching up the right people to the right places on the ‘pedigree chart’. The pictures were printed onto iron-on transfer sheets, then ironed onto the felt and attached to velcro. This page (along with the other velcro activities) has gone over really well so far.

Scripture Flaps – Just some flaps to lift up and look through. There is a second page (not pictured) in the Book of Mormon with some words on it as well. The Gold Plates just have scribbles though ;)

Some zippers just for fun. I need to add some ribbon or yarn to the pulls though, right now they are just a little too small for little fingers to get a good grip!

Liahona Puzzle – On the left is just a pocket to hold the puzzle pieces so that they don’t get lost when not in use.
Here’s the puzzle all put together!

Build The Temple – More velcro and we can work on counting later.

I-Spy Bag – I loved putting this one together. It was fun to go around and find random things to put in it. The googly eyes are my favorite.

BYU Football/Lacing – Because everyone knows we’re true blue! ;)

And that’s it! Most of the pages are a little advanced for Little Man at this stage, but I love that it will be able to grow with him for the next little while. We used it for the first time this past Sunday, and it kept Nathan occupied for quite some time! I’d call that a success!!

Because I Totally Needed Another Hobby

Seriously? I know. ;)

So a couple of years ago when Pinterest was still pretty new and I wasn’t even thinking about having kids, I stumbled upon a blog/etsy shop of this cute girl who made felt food and toys for her kids. I thought “Oh my gosh, that is so stinkin’ adorable, I totally have to do that when I have kids.”

Fast forward a couple of years…I have a kid (in case you hadn’t noticed…) and though the blog I had found isn’t really active anymore, she came out with a BOOK! And it just so happened that I got a Barnes and Noble gift card from Nathan for Mother’s Day ;)

So I have been in a felt frenzy, making little play food for my little man. Granted, he’s not really old enough to know what to do with them, but they are nice and soft and can withstand the banging up against random surfaces that Little Man so thoroughly enjoys.

So here’s a little bit of what I’ve been working on. Forgive me my poor staging abilities…

We have a cake, complete with frosting.
To be sliced into 6 pieces – to share with friends :)
An ice cream sandwich and an orange dreamsicle
Sugar cookies and an almond scone (the cookies seem to be a favorite – they fit perfectly in Nathan’s hand, so those get carried around a lot)
Lest you think I’m only making dessert, here’s some manly food: T-bone steak and baby back ribs!

And I have plans for lots more! By the time Little Man is old enough for a play kitchen, his pantry will be fully stocked! ;)

13 Months!

Try not to get too excited, I’m so done wrestling my crazy little man onto that blanket to take monthly pictures. An he destroyed all my cute numbers. But when I realized today that it had been 1 month since his birthday, I just really couldn’t help myself. So here are some updates on Little Man.

*He is WALKING! He started about 2 weeks after his birthday. And within 2 - 2 1/2 weeks, he’s walking more than he is crawling, can stoop down to pick up a toy and stand back up again, and just today started standing up from a sitting position without grabbing onto anything for assistance. We’re amazed at how quickly he’s picked it up. He already goes a little too fast. So we are no strangers to bumps and bruises. He usually has a little collection all over his head.

*He loves blueberries. LOVES them. Would exist on a diet of only blueberries if we let him. Even if that were healthy, it wouldn’t happen. Blueberries cause an unnatural number of stinky diapers. ‘nuff said.

*He totally tricked me into thinking he was ready for just one nap last month. FALSE. He definitely still needs two. Which is fine, because I really wasn’t ready to give up one of my breaks during the day. ;)

*He’s on a bib boycott. Seriously impossible to keep a bib on him. Does not help that he knows how to get them off, and will not eat until he does. Most days I just don’t bother, or he eats shirtless.

*He has started to dance when music is on!! And it’s hilariously cute. He bounces up and down, and waves his arms around like a crazy person. Which he is ;)

*Intensely interested whenever I’m working on something in the kitchen. I’ve learned to do a lot of things one handed, at least until my left arm feels like it’s going to fall off. Then he either flips out when I put him back on the floor, or if my head is screwed on tight enough that day, I put him in his high chair so he can see what’s going on up on the counter.

*Loves to go outside! He has figured out that when I put his shoes on, we’re going out, so as soon as those shoes are on, he’s over banging on the front door. “Let’s go, Mom!!!” He loves going to the playground here at our complex. He doesn’t play on anything yet, but he loves to walk around and explore, splash in any puddles, and watch cars as they drive by. Trucks are the best.

*Everything is a drum. And making noise is favorite. It’s amazing how toys designed to be quiet suddenly become noisy toys when Little Man gets his hands on them. That really loud banging noise you hear at church? That would be us.

*We have lever door handles in our apartment. And Little Man is barely tall enough to get them open. He’s just too clever. We’re probably getting baby gates this week.

*Loves playing peek-a-boo. And has started to play it with us, rather than us doing the peek-a-boo-ing. After his bath, Little Man will pull his towel over his face and then yank it off and totally expect a reaction from us. When we are playing, he loves when I surprise him with a big ‘BOO!’. The more startling, the harder he laughs. It’s so fun.

*Getting so big! I can’t believe it’s already been a whole month since his birthday! Love you little man!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

Any weekend John gets an extra day off is a weekend to celebrate in my book ;)

We finally made the trip over to Annapolis – John has been wanting to visit since we moved out here – and got to spend most of the afternoon there.

Our first stop was the state house. (Where I need to go to bug the state government to pass a cottage food law)
The interiors are beautiful.
The rotunda
Nathan loved the brochure we picked up.
Where’d it go?!
A very important letter, I’m sure…(It’s been a week, and I’ve already forgotten. I’m pretty sure it’s from George Washington…)
A pretty view as we were heading toward the water front.

We walked along the waterfront for a little bit – John was loving all the boats :)

Then we stopped at a place called Chick and Ruth’s Delly. It’s the home of the ‘world’s largest milkshake’. We almost bought it. But I stopped us, because it’s SIX POUNDS of milkshake and I knew we would just end up wasting most of it. We saw a couple of them served though – HUGE. We got regular sized milkshakes. I’m glad we did because while they were good, they weren’t life changing good, but the atmosphere was really fun. And can you really complain when you are having milkshakes for lunch? Nope. Nathan tried some and thoroughly enjoyed it.
He also enjoyed his snack of raspberries and blueberries while we were there.
Slimy hand! Ah!

By then we were pooped (Nathan especially), so we headed home and I tried to stay awake while trying to keep Nathan awake. I failed there during the last 10 minutes… At least Nathan stayed awake and still went to bed on time. ;)