It's been awhile

It has been awhile since I have posted about Miss Little. Seeing as how tomorrow I will officially be out of my first trimester, I think I have a fairly good excuse. We made our announcement about baby number two to the world with a Christmas card.


We are very excited and can't imagine the way our lives will change this next summer. We find out on Feb 7th if we are expecting a sister or a brother. Oh my!
Little has turned into a boisterous toddler overnight. She has been a challenge and a blast. Just today while putting away her toys I had some great flashbacks of cleaning up after toddlers at Hancock. Man I MISS my job! I still kind of feel like I've been on a crazy extended vacation. Maybe with a second one coming a home daycare is in my future. We shall see.
What you have missed if you haven't had the chance to see my amazing kiddo these days is...

A. A huge amount of language. Every time she says "okayee" in response to a question or her own needs, it melts our hearts. The other day while at dinner she said, "more more please please okayeeee". She started to say "mommy" and "daddy" on Christmas instead of mumma and dadda. So sweet. We have even noticed some 2 word phrases like "aw baby" and "sit-down". Every day I'm amazed at how well we can communicate with each other.

B. She's incredibly affectionate. She loves her family and will ask to sing songs about each family member. She finds a picture of her uncle Timmy and will kiss it and say "timmeeeee" while hugging him. She takes care of her baby dolls and is in general fascinated by babies. She feeds them bottles, pats their backs, and puts them to bed. When we recently saw her new baby cousin she was so interested in why he was crying. When I ask her, "what does the baby do?" she says "cry" and then we both say "shhhh shhh shhh." Out of nowhere she will give a hug or kiss and will sing along with her dad and I when we sing the night night song before bed. She also is starting to get attached to stuffed animals. Pierre the polar bear was a classroom favorite and now has become her favorite. He comes everywhere with us. Since Christmas she has fallen in love with a stuffed Mickey from her uncle. She hugs him so tight when she sleeps.

C. She is super independent. She eats with utensils and is becoming a pro. She steps on a little stool in the bathroom and brushes her teeth. And she reads books to herself. Of course with independence comes frustration. She hates getting her coat and shoes on and becomes a little sassafras when we have to do it ;)



D. She loves pretend play which is so cool! Her new kitchen from Santa (made with love by Papa, Nana and Daddy) is amazing. She cooks, washes dishes, and bakes cookies. She got a grocery cart from my mom and will walk around the house with it saying "shop". She also got a pretend vacuum just like mommas and when she used it for the first time she yelled, "yayee."






She is great. We are handling the winter weather as best as we can and now that I'm feeling better I think we will have some more adventures together before the baby comes. I hope to post again soon. I know how important it is for her teachers to see her growing up. I think so often about how much fun she would be having if she were still with that group. Not to mention my heartbreak that my next baby won't have those same early learning experiences. Sigh...
This next video always makes me feel better. ;)

This post brought to you by other people who have created amazing play kitchens...
Play kitchens

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It's been a while since I have updated about Little. Life has been a bit hectic. On Monday I turned down a job offer for a teaching position in Woburn. I turned it down for various reasons, it just wasn't the right fit. I did so much reflecting after spending time there and have been more positive about my situation since. If I can't use my teaching skills in a new job, I will use them to my best advantage while raising my daughter. She is one lucky kid. Every day I feel like I am able to pull something new from storage that she can play with or explore.
I decided that I want to start touring more schools. I need to start collecting information for the possibility of opening my own place one day or even just to have more of a wish list for my next dream job. Until then I am going to try my best to enjoy every day. Here are some pictures of a couple recent favorite moments.
My sister had us do some kitty babysitting and Amelia just LOVED her house.

Checking each other out :)

Using Stewie's brush as a hair brush

Cleaning Auntie's house

Exploring all the records

We went to the Public Garden to see one of Little's previous classmates and a couple of her teachers. It was THE BEST!

Hugs between old friends

Honk!

"SaSa"

Leaning on a Random Dog. 

Just like old times!

Seriously Obsessed

Running with her new dolly from Gramma and Grampa

Love this pic

Getting into stuff together. They seriously look related in this picture!

Yesterday was unbelievable out so we went outside to do a little painting in the fresh air.

Painting outside

She spotted a school bus!

Spilling the paint is much more fun

She knows what to do now when I say, "cheese!"

She has been super fun. Just yesterday I was moved to tears when I heard her say, "pease" as she signed "please" I'm realizing that I have a kid now, not a baby. A kid that creates, communicates, imagines, plays, and is down right AMAZING!

Here is a link to my latest project...
I want to start a list of our favorite Massachusetts destinations.
https://sites.google.com/site/littleslistofadventures/central-eastern-massachusetts-2

SPLAT!

I wanted to share my love for my Splat Mat in this post and update some of the fun things that A and I have been up to. My mom gave me this wonderful mat...

to put under the baby's highchair for Christmas last year. It has stayed there and has been a rug and hardwood floor saver. It is awesome. Now that I have this Giant Kid and more time on my hands than before, I decided to take the mat out from it's hiding spot on occasion and use it for messy/sensory activities. Amelia has been having a blast.

For our first adventure she helped make some Apple Crisp. Recipe here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Crisp-II/Detail.aspx I got everything set up and tried my best to pay attention to the recipe, let Amelia explore to her hearts content, and take pictures. It was a juggling act. Here are some favorite shots...

Adding oats.

Mixing.

Tasting flour.

Loving the cinnamon and sugar

 

We had such a nice experience using our mat for a baking activity that the next time we took it back out to paint! She hasn't painted since her teachers explored paint with her in school. She was very unsure about the texture and what she was supposed to do but once she started exploring she loved it. I added some mini dinosaurs for even more texture. Of course like all activities with a one year old this didn't last long and I had the tub filled and ready to go once she decided she was done. Trying to stand up and walk away caused many giggles. It was a lot of fun!.Here are some favorite shots...

Lastly, just the other day I was going through the THOUSAND things that I have boxed up from my classroom and found some soap paint. I always loved using this with the kids because it wipes away nicely, smells great, and will clean toys! I thought that her cars could use a little bath so I put her collection on her mat. She loved it. When we were done all her cars got to get in the tub with her. 

Doesn't taste as good as it smells.

I'm considering making Splat Mats of my own. I've found some really great fabrics and ways to iron on vinyl. Anyone tried making something like this? Thoughts?

We are missing our JHCCC friends but we are keeping super busy. Until next time... :)

Boston Daze

So I decided last week to spend a day in Boston. It was a particularly warm day and I wanted to take Little there to enjoy a nice Boston day before the cold settles in. I wanted to be a tourist instead of what we used to be...a frantic mom and baby running down Stuart St; trying to catch trains and dodge the crazy man that threw change at us.
When working as a teacher I used to go to The Public Garden on a regular basis with the kids. It was such a great place to observe nature, get some exercise, and enjoy the city.  How lucky were we? Every time I would walk around and wonder how all those people there got the luxury of laying around and enjoying the sun when I had to run back to work. There were always families with babies taking sweet pictures and people napping by the water. It seemed like something that I would never get to do (just lay around enjoying the sunshine and ducks). Well here was my opportunity. I decided to take Amelia to The Beloved Garden. I knew that doing it alone might be difficult and I was really hoping to maybe get together with some of her old teachers or classmates. No-one was really available but we went anyway.
It has obviously been awhile since I have taken a train because we were late and missed the one out of Westborough. So I decided to drive which worked out in the end. First reason it worked out was that after I parked and left the garage with Little, I turned the corner to see two buggies coming right at me. The site of buggies alone reminds me of my job and these two happened to have two of Amelia's former classmates in them! Oh my Goodness, we were excited. Maya and Maddie were both smiling ear to ear at us and Amelia was squealing with excitement. I introduced myself to the teachers (who seemed very nice) and wondered if they thought me to be a bit insane. I was gushing with affection for those two girls and adoration for their families. I walked them all the way to the door of the school where my daughter proceeded to grunt and point, like she wanted to go inside. Break my heart why don't you! As we waved and blew kisses to her friends I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I had NO IDEA I would be that emotional. Man...I miss those kids,  I miss those families, I miss my kiddos teachers, and I miss that school. After a tearful phonecall to Lynne, we pushed on and had an excellent (but exhausting) day. I liked being a tourist for the day and getting to take those adorable pictures I always wanted to take. Next time I hope that some friends might be available to play with although Amelia makes fast friends. She tried to take money out of someone's flute case and was making elephant noises at a man snoring during his nap. :)
Here are some highlights. Out of about 230 pictures it is hard to pick which ones to share.

Ready for our day in The Garden!

Always wanted to get a pic with the ducks.

She wanted to visit them all.

Helping Amelia to give money instead of taking it away.

Amelia loved dancing to her music.

My favorite trees.

Playing Peek-a-Boo!

Favorite!

Her first Frosty was a hit!

Auntie met up with us and tried teaching Little how to blow bubbles.

She tried so hard!

The Borders next to Aunties job had MASSIVE amounts of toys!

After a long long day we took Amelia to the Christian Science Fountains.

She LOVED it!

We got to go to Dave's work and he came to dinner with us. It was such a treat to see daddy!

And we wanted you to know about...