Snowy Day Ideas

Man has this been an incredibly hard winter for us here in New England! Amelia and I have been dealing with being stuck indoors for days with no ability to see any friends. No outdoor time means a toddler who is a bit more cranky and bored as well as a mommy who may just go right out of her mind. :) I have been trying to make the best of it and counting down the days until April 1st (because even March is not reliable). Fifty Seven more days by the way!

1. Bake Bake Bake
I know this girl is mine, she loves to bake. If she sees me taking out the measuring cups, she runs for her apron and says, "Bake!"
I have been finding that during baking I need to put a smaller container with spoons in it for Little otherwise I can forget about the measurements in my bowl because she will throw it all out. The BEST baking activity we have done is frosting because I don't have to worry about her eating any raw eggs. And of course Amelia loves it. Frosting is super easy to make too. We recently made peppermint frosting for Daddy's Birthday cake.

 We just recently discovered that we don't always have to bake food as well. Just yesterday we baked some homemade play-dough. I added glitter to it and made it purple. It was very easy and a bit shocking as to how much salt goes into the recipe. We haven't played with it yet. That is the plan for this afternoons snowy indoor activity.

2. Climb til you can't climb anymore
I know how important it is for a toddlers to move their bodies. We can only have so many dance parties! We needed a change so I started to drag out some giant tupperware containers, boxes, and pillows. I have tried to place these items in all kinds of different ways to challenge her body and add some fun to her day. She now requests them when they are not in the room by saying, "Cimb".

3. Have a tea party!
We read a book called "I know a Rhino" by Charles Fuge. It is super cute and the little girl in the story has tea with the Rhino. Amelia picked up on this and now plays with her tea cups and says "sugar". I decided when we were cooped up to let her practice pouring water and gave her a little tea party at the table. It was a hit!

 4. Ride a bike
This was my mom's idea and although it didn't last long it gave us yet another gross motor challenge. Her tricycle is a bit big for her but she was brave and tried it out. I put a rope on it and pulled her through the house. Then of course we had to see if Minnie would enjoy a ride.

 5. Paint
With this freezing weather I could have a warm tub every day so of course I think Amelia would enjoy one too. But before taking a tub we have to get as messy as can be! We have been doing a lot of painting. I miss having all the colors of the rainbow to choose from at work. We make the best of the few we have and she has created some real masterpieces!

6.Create a new toy
We had a great cardboard tube lying around from Daddy's birthday and I created a new ball/car/toy slide. She has really enjoyed it and will put Buzz and Woody down it saying something that sounds like, "And Zoom" for To Infinity "And Beyond!" Too cute.

7. If the snow lets up...Go Outside!
There have been a few days that we have braved the snow to go sledding. It was especially fun at Grandma's and Grandpa's because they have a large yard and some hills. I think she takes after me. She likes to sled as long as she stays in the sled but playing in the snow is really not her thing.

And if the weather doesn't permit outside play...Bring it Inside!
Although a bit confusing Amelia seemed to enjoy bringing the snow indoors. She liked it best when I told her she could taste it. Maybe we will have to make some snowcones soon.

 Until we can have a little more of this...

 I will settle for this...

As long as we are staying happy. I'm trying to talk Amelia into enrolling into college in Hawaii.
This post is brought to you by the website that taught me how to make play-dough...
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Playdough-Play-doh/

Fear

Yesterday morning I woke up to this news...
Link between siblings close in age and autism
Being pregnant with baby number two who will born before Little turns two, I was intrigued. I'm also an Early Childhood Educator and have great respect for studies that are attempting to find answers about Autism and ways to ensure that we see a decrease in the diagnosis of Autism in years to come. However, all I thought of after reading this is how many parents out there will read this and feel so much fear. Fear about their decisions in having children, fear for their second child, and fear that autism is their fault. It made me think of my own fears that I have battled over the years.
I will never forget when I was fifteen and first diagnosed with Diabetes, talking to my friend Andy. I was touched and a bit distraught to hear him ask with tears in his eyes, "can you have kids?" I knew the source of his asking me this question was...Julia Roberts.


Shelby from Steel Magnolias was a movie I loved and many kids my age had watched and loved. Shelby was a diabetic who's doctor told her she couldn't have children and did anyway. She becomes ill in the movie and dies. We never really now exactly what happens. We never see Shelby test her blood sugar, take insulin, eat a good diet, or have any conversations with her doctors about how to care for herself. But at 15 I didn't know how to answer Andy's question. Movies like Steel Magnolias and carelessly surfing the Internet to get answers just led me to more fear. A few years later I was being interviewed for an article about stem cell research and when the photographer came to my house she was shocked that I didn't look "sick." She too had fears about Diabetes and obviously didn't know what to expect.
Over the years I have overcome my own fears and try not to let every movie, article, and news report throw me off my game. It isn't always easy and doubt, guilt, and that fear will sometimes creep in. At age 29 I was blessed with a great pregnancy and a healthy happy daughter. Of course I still have fears. I hope to GOD she never has to deal with this...



But if I let that fear overwhelm me than I could never enjoy this...



So I'm going to approach this new Autism information the same way. I'm beyond excited about this next baby. I was a second child born less than two years after my sister and I'm pretty happy with how I turned out; diabetes and all. Whatever lies ahead for baby number two, he or she will be loved.
Here's a sneek peek :)




This post brought to you by...
The best place to get diabetes information
And
A great Autism resource

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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

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad