Homemade Book: What Was Life Like When Mommy was Pregnant with Me?

One thing I really enjoyed about the time I've been pregnant with this little one is all of the walks M and I have been able to take around the ranch. Many times I took my camera and photographed all of the spring flowers that popped up around here.

Once we returned home I researched the wildflowers on the internet to find out their names. I decided that it might be fun for little G to have a book about "her flowers"- the ones I saw while she was "blossoming" inside of me.

Along with a picture of each kind of flower I have written the name and also sketched a little picture that might help her remember it. (for example, for Queen Anne's Lace I have sketched a simple picture of a queen)

It occurs to me that there could be lots of other possible themes for making keepsake books for children about what life was like when their mommy was pregnant with them. Any fun ideas?

Easychair Ride

We've found that the leg rest on our rocking chair makes a great horsey ride for M. What else allows you to read a book and entertain a 23 month old at the same time?

Easy and Cheap Suncatcher Craft

Here's a great craft for toddlers from my aunt and cousin. It requires a lid from a margarine container (or I imagine that a yogurt lid might work too), a large amount of Elmer's glue, a piece of string or ribbon, and items to decorate the suncatcher.

First fill the container with Elmer's glue and decorate with shells, etc.

Let the glue dry completely. The glue dries clear and can be popped out of the lid.

With a sharp point make a hole in the suncatcher and put a string through it.

Hang it in front of a window and admire!

Last Day of School Tradition

A lot of families have fun first-day-of-school traditions; my cousin's family has a cute end of school tradition as well.

They take a picture of their daughter stepping over the threshold of the classroom of each elementary grade. That way they capture the very last moment of "kindergartenhood" etc.

As she stands at the threshold, my aunt says something like. "This is the last moment of your being a kindergartner. When you step through that door you'll be first grader. Are you ready?...One...two...three- step through!" (Hugs and excitement!) "Now you're a first grader!"

Isn't that fun?

Does your family have any fun traditions/ activities you do on the last day of school? I'd love to hear about them!

Same and Different Activity

We've been working on a new concept lately- the concept of "same and different." To practice, we've been playing a little game.

I made a set of picture cards out of halved index cards. I drew four simple pictures and made four copies of each. Then I shuffled the cards and turned over two cards in front of M and asked her what the pictures were.

I then asked her "Are they the same?"

If they were different, I would say, "No, they're different," and we would shake our heads sadly together.If they were the same picture, I would say "Yes!!! They're the same. Let's clap!" and we would clap our hands together. M loved the clapping- got very excited. Understanding the concept is still a work in progress, but she has fun with the practicing!
I suppose it's also good preparation for eventually playing the memory matching game together.

Our Memorial Day: Peach Picking

I just love the opportunity to discover fun, family-oriented day trips around Austin! This Memorial Day we took a trip out to Fredericksburg, a rural, historic German area known for their delicious peaches.This peach season was a little sparse due to a bad freeze earlier in April, but we were still able to find Pesnik Farms, a u-pick orchard with plenty of peaches to pick. M carried the basket and thoroughly enjoyed picking the peaches that were low enough for her to reach. Once she discovered that she could also EAT the peaches, her enthusiasm knew no bounds! (It was hard to keep her from taking a bite out of each and every peach in her basket)I'm very much looking forward to making a juicy cobbler out of these peaches.
After we had picked our peaches and chatted with the farmer for a little bit, we headed into town to an old German bakery for lunch. With our stomachs full of German pancakes, reuben sandwiches, and German pastries, we sauntered back out into the town and of course, couldn't resist stopping in at into a used bookstore where the books were all 30% off.
A very nice afternoon for our family!

Sorting Letters

I still had a lot of foam sticker letters left over from another project, and the other day I found a new use for them. I labeled several disposable cups with common letters, separated those particular letters from the rest of the foam alphabet and let M sort them.

For some reason, sorting is still more of a challenge for M than simple, one-to-one matching; so this activity took a little work for M to catch on. In the end, though, it seemed worthwhile.