The Adorable New Reason I've Been Quiet Lately...

I know it has been a while since I posted, but I have quite a precious reason why!

Miles Andrew was born on April 12 at 6:48 PM.  He weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 20 inches long.  He stole our hearts quickly - especially his big sister's.  She absolutely adores him!

We've been spending the last eight weeks getting adjusted to our new "normal" and I feel like we might finally have a little bit of a groove to our days now.  Miles is a great baby!  He sleeps well (already sleeping for 6 hours straight most nights!) and eats well.  We struggled with both those things with Sophie and so we are very thankful for a less challenging newborn experience this time around!  He is very content and flexible, which is fabulous with a two year old to take care of as well!

Yes, I said two-year-old!  My sweet little lady had a birthday a month after Miles made his appearance. We celebrated with a simple Frozen themed party with family and a couple close friends.  She seems so grown up all of a sudden next to Miles.

She is an amazing helper and has handled this transition better than I could have imagined.  She loves to kiss "my Miles" and asks to see him first thing when she wakes up.  She wants to hold him and share all her toys and snacks, so I've got to watch her like a hawk to insure she's not feeding him cheerios! 

All in all, we are so blessed!  I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me three years ago I'd be holding two precious angels in my arms.  God has been so good to us and I thank Him for the blessing of being their mom!

As far as blogging goes, I hope to continue posting our Tot School and other activities, as well as contributing at The Activity Mom, though my posts be a bit slower than they were before we had two little ones in diapers!  Very soon I hope to share our first letter of the "week" (umm...10 weeks? lol) Tot School.  Sophie has really enjoyed it, and its been great for us to still have that intentional one-on-one time with all if the new transition!  

Thanks for sticking with me during our time of transitioning to life as a family of four! :)

Our Little Man - Sneak Peek!

I realized the other day I hadn't shared a pregnancy update since I first announced we were having Baby #2!

We found out around 16 weeks that our sweet little one is a BOY!  We are so excited to have a little man in our lives and can't wait to meet him.   I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and we just had our 4D ultrasound last week.  Here's a sneak peek at baby Miles!

He looks just like his big sister did (who is finally beginning to acknowledge that something is going on in my belly and our home).  She will look at this picture and say "my Miles" and also tell us that that's who is in Mommy's tummy.  She likes to lay her head on my belly when we watch a show together and she giggles whenever he moves around under her.  So sweet!

I am hoping and praying that we will have a relatively smooth transition when he arrives in around two months.  Sophie is loving taking care of her baby dolls so I'm hoping that holds out and she enjoys helping with her brother and caring for her babies while I tend to Miles' needs.

My mom and sister are coming in a week and a half to help decorate the nursery and get things in order for his arrival - I can't wait!  I'll post pictures of his nursery as soon as it is (close to) complete.  One thing I hope to do while they're here is have my sister (an early childhood education teacher and just all around awesome person!) help me plan some Tot School stuff ahead of time so that Sophie and I can continue to have that special time together.  I think it will be really important for me to have that accountability to give her one on one time, and it will be really helpful to have some plans worked out so that I don't have to do much prep work!  We'll see how it goes!

Tot School - Triangles

Sophie is 20.5 months old.

We continued on with our shape theme these past two weeks with triangles.  Strange as it is, I had such a difficult time finding things around our home that were triangles!  We ended up spending two weeks with this theme, because at the end of the first week we had just spent so little time in Tot School.  

Sensory Bin

I pulled back out the rainbow rice this week and it was a huge hit!  She has gotten so much better at pouring and spooning since the last time we played in the rice and she loves pretending to "cook" with it. I "hid" some wooden and pipe cleaner triangles in the rice, as well as included the triangles from her shape sorter and some tweezers to play with.

Tot Trays

Her first tot tray was a felt pizza I made for her at the last minute.  She liked this one a lot at first, but it didn't get much attention after the first few times.

Her second tray was a few pieces from the Who Lives Where? game.  The game itself is still too hard for her, but she had fun playing with the wooden pieces, putting the animals in the correct spot and building "houses" for them.

The third tray was a triangle road printable from Making Learning Fun.  Sophie had zero interest in this tray.  She never has been very into playing with cars, but I thought I would give it a try.  Even with a monkey that looked like her BFF Curious George in the car, she didn't even want me to pull it out for her.  Oh well!

Her fourth tray probably got the most use, but not in the intended way!  I had a triangle printable with her counting bears.  The idea was to put the counting bears on the line or in the triangle (whichever she decided was fun at the moment).  Mostly she just loved showing me the bears.  She would hold one up and say "look" and I would act really surprised that she was holding a purple bear.  So, we talked about colors and counted the bears, but really didn't make any triangles.

She was really good at her fifth tray whenever she decided she was interested in it.  I had three cups with shapes taped to the outside and some wooden shapes to sort into the cups.  I wasn't sure how she would do, but she picked it up really fast.  But mostly, "drinking" from the cups was way more fun than sorting shapes.

Her final tray was a counting activity using the triangles from her Melissa and Doug shape stacker.  She loves counting, but has decided that "one" is overrated.  Everything is "two, three, four".  So I figured some deliberate counting with me might help show her that one is important too.  She really didn't care to count these triangles, though she did "steal" the cups for her sensory bin and kitchen. 

Overall, I'm not sure that the trays are the best approach for her anymore.  They don't seem to get or keep her attention like they used to.  I don't know if I am just slacking in my preparation, or if it's time for another approach.  I've been doing a lot of thinking about how we might try a different approach in the future.  I'll probably write a post about that as a way to process my ideas soon.

Other Activities

Music Time: We played with the triangle from her Melissa and Doug Band in a Box quite a bit this week.  She had the most fun when it was accompanied by Daddy on the guitar.  

We also sang our Shape song using laminated triangles, which is still just as much of a hit as it was the first week.

(to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat") 

Hold your triangle high,

Triangles touch the ground,

Put your triangle on your head,

Then we spin around!

Arts and Crafts:  We didn't do as much with arts and crafts this week, mostly because I had a hard time coming up with something cute for triangles!  But she did a Do-a-Dot triangle, colored some triangles I drew, and glued triangles in an outline.  

She spent TONS of time drawing and really has come to love drawing with a pencil rather than her crayons.  I cannot tell you how much of our day was spent with her drawing at her little desk.  She looks SO grown up!  I did decide to get her some colored pencils since she enjoyed pencil so much and she is a big fan.

Tot Notebook:  I added the triangle page from the  shape quiet book, though she didn't want to play with it.   She did love drawing with her "special marker" on the traceable shape book.  

Out and About:  We had the first "snow day" our Florida town had seen in 25 years - complete with school and bridge closings, which meant Daddy got to stay home with us.  (As someone who grew up in the Midwest, it was totally anti-climatic.  But I know to people around here it was a huge deal!) Here's a picture of the most ice I will ever see at our house, and the amount of ice it takes to shut down a Florida town for two days. ;)  (In all fairness, the bridges really were dangerous, and people down here are in no way used to driving in any kind of ice!)

The funny thing is, our church hosted a Snow Day event just three days before, where they shipped in snow for the kids to play in!  Here are a few pictures from our fun in the snow, 

Next week will be all about hearts for Valentine's Day! :)

For tons more ideas be sure to visit these sites I'm linking to this week!

Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1 

Teaching Tuesdays at Intentional Homeschool
Tuesday Tots at Rainy Day Mum
Link and Learn at No Time for Flashcards
Show and Share Saturday Link Up at I Can Teach My Child

Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers at The Chaos and the Clutter 
Sunday Showcase at Learn Play Imagine
TGIF at 123Homeschool4Me
For the Kids Fridays at Sun Scholars

Cookie Day - Our Black Friday Tradition

While other people are scurrying around huge crowds of people trying to get the best deals, my family has always spent Black Friday staying home with ridiculous amounts of flour, sugar, butter, and plenty of creativity baking cookies all day.  We call the tradition (very creatively, I might add!) Cookie Day.  It is probably my favorite family tradition.  Each of the kids could invite a friend and we would spend all day baking batch after batch of different types of cookies to share with neighbors and take to Christmas parties in the coming days.  Christmas music playing, we gorged ourselves on cookie dough and ordered Chinese for lunch.  I have so many sweet memories of this day and it is one I plan to continue with my own family.

This year was Sophie's first opportunity to participate in our own little Cookie Day.  (Unfortunately, my family lives too far away for us to join in the "big" festivities).  We had so much fun baking together, as we always do, but this day seemed extra special.  And the teacher in me can't help but see all the fabulous life lessons she's learning as we spend this sweet time together!

We made chewy oatmeal cookies - nothing really special or even Christmasy, but it's what I had on hand.  (Unlike my brilliant mother, I had not done a spectacular job planning for the day).

Sophie was a great helper pouring in the ingredients.  We would count the scoops of flour or sugar as we poured them in.  One day this will be a great lesson in measuring, as well!

She loved watching the mixer do its thing, and of course pushing the buttons to make it happen.

Baking is full of fun sensory experiences like smelling cinnamon and feeling flour between your fingers.

The food processor is her favorite kitchen tool by a long shot.  She's already a professional at pushing these buttons. I love the excitement on her face!

Our tradition had something my family's didn't have - a Christmas music dance break in front of her reflection in the stove.

And of course, no Cookie Day is complete without sampling the fruit of your labor!

I'm Guest Posting on The Activity Mom Today! :)

Hey guys!  I'm excited to share that I am guest posting on Activity MomThe Activity Mom today!

Be sure to stop by and check out my Toddler Thankfulness Tree!

While you are there, be sure to explore the TONS of other great ideas for toddlers, preschoolers, and kids of all ages!

Grandma's Tot School

Allow me to just brag for a second.  I have the best mom ever.  We live 14 hours away from my family, but my mom goes out of her way to be a fabulous grandma despite the distance.  If she's not dressing up for a Skype tea party or singing countless verses of "Five Little Monkeys" through the computer screen, she's cutting out felt "paper" dolls for Sophie to play with.  (More on these later!)  She's seriously pretty fabulous.

Sophie and I just recently got to spend almost two weeks in St. Louis.  Knowing how much she likes her Tot School time, my mom set up a special "Grandma Tot School" just for her.  My awesome sister helped as well (sharing from her stash of kindergarten teacher stuff!).  Here are some of the fun activities they did!

Foam Mat Puzzle

My mom found this Disney princess foam mat puzzle at a garage sale (she's a pretty great garage saler too!) and Sophie had lots of fun playing with it!  She couldn't quite connect the pieces really well yet, but she enjoyed stacking the pieces and counting with Grandma.

One-to-One Correspondence with Foam Blocks

Sophie has taken off with the one-to-one correspondence concept lately, so my mom had a bucket of foam blocks (from the kindergarten teacher's stash!) and an ice cube tray for Sophie to play with.  Also, foam shapes are fun to throw. :)

Beanbags

Grandma included the constant favorite around here - beanbags!  We mostly threw them, but stacking is sometimes fun as well. (PS. Aren't the pumpkin bins she used as her "trays" the cutest?!)

Counting Pumpkins

This was a fabulous way to introduce Sophie to counting beyond our simply pointing and counting everything in sight (which is a current favorite activity).  My sister traced some foam pumpkins she found at the Dollar Tree on three different posters.  Sophie could then put the pumpkins on the outlines and we could count together.  It was kind of like a puzzle to her and she did a good job putting them on the posters.

Fall Tree

My mom drew an empty tree on a poster board and had a bucket full of foam fall leaves.  Sophie would put them on the tree to decorate it.  We choose not to attach them so that she could do it over and over again, but we will probably do this activity again and make some artwork with it!  She also liked putting them in the bucket as well as throwing the leaves (anybody catching a theme here?).

We also had lots of other fun times including the zoo and the pumpkin patch.  She loved the large dried corn bin at the pumpkin patch!  She probably spent twenty minutes playing (with her uncles burying her legs in the corn).

I'll post our regular, back-at-home Tot School week soon! :)

For tons more ideas be sure to visit these sites I'm linking to this week!

Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1 

Tot School Tuesday at See Vanessa Craft
Tuesday Tots at Rainy Day Mum
Link and Learn at No Time for Flashcards
Show and Share Saturday Link Up at I Can Teach My Child

Titus 2sday at Time Warp Wife

Trivium Tuesday at Living and Learning at Home

Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers at The Chaos and the Clutter 
Sunday Showcase at Learn Play Imagine

More Simple Ways to Redirect a Fussy Toddler!

Miss the first ten ways to redirect a fussy toddler?  Check them out here! 

If you are like me, you can never have enough quick, easy ways to distract a toddler!  It seems we hit a point at least once a day when we just need something new and fresh to distract from being sleepy (but it's not yet nap time), recovering from the disappointment of being told "no", or just needing to survive until Daddy gets home.  

I shared ten of my go-to ways to redirect a fussy toddler last week, but had a few more in my arsenal to share with you this week!

Play with Ice Cubes.  This is one of my favorites for when I'm cooking dinner or needing to accomplish something in the kitchen and just can't do that with a little one in my arms.  I get a large plastic bowl and handful of ice cubes and let her go to town.  Yes, they melt on the floor, and yes, I am definitely going to step on freezing cold water at some point in the process, but it occupies her for a good ten minutes.  And then she wants to clean up the water.  Then she pretty much wants to clean my whole kitchen.   If you give a toddler an ice cube...

Let them stir something.  Sophie loves to stir.  She'll stir her shapes in her shape sorter bucket, counting bears in a cup, nothing in a cup.  If I give her a container and a spoon, I can almost guarantee stirring will occur.  This can be as messy or as clean as you want it to be.  

Build a tower.  This one works great with the "start without them" idea from last week's post.  If she's fussing, I can start building a tower (very excitedly and loudly, of course) and I'll see her peek from wherever she's upset.  I don't know too many toddlers who could resist knocking down a good tower.  But if she does resist, I can have the fun without her!  If she sees me having a grand old time knocking down towers left and right, she's sure to join in the fun soon.

Put them in front of a mirror.  I'll just come out and say it.  My daughter really loves herself.  There are no self-esteem issues with this little one.  Even if she's crying, she'll notice herself in the mirror and start to laugh or smile at that beautiful baby.  We make faces at each other and can fix moods really quickly.

Take silly pictures.  This one is directly related to the last - my little diva loves to look at herself.  We can either play with Photo Booth on my computer or iPad, or just take "selfies" on the camera and show them to her.  She recently decided she likes to "say cheese" and loves getting her picture taken.  Free entertainment with lasting recorded memories.  

Have a snack.  I use this one sparingly, but many times when she's fussy she really is hungry.  I know there are different schools of thought on snacking, but I know for me, if I'm legitimately hungry, I eat something!  It seems wrong for me to hold Sophie to a different standard.  A handful of cheerios may be just the ticket for a happier toddler in this house.

Wash your hands.  "Rub, rub, rub" has become the most exciting thing about finishing a meal around here lately.  Sophie loves washing her hands.  I hold her up to the faucet and squirt a little bit of soap and she's quite content to rub, rub, rub.  Teaching good hygiene and washing away bad attitudes in one fell swoop.  Oh, and the faucet is in front of the mirror.  :)

Find something fun on Youtube.  My daughter is a music girl, so music is the way to her heart, but animal videos or other silly things could work just as well for your little one!  Sophie loves watching music videos with lots of dancing with her Daddy.  "Gangnam Style" is her favorite - don't judge.  But she also really loves kids videos that are all over Youtube.  Her favorite right now is the Just Dance Kids  "Five Little Monkeys".

Go for a walk or ride.  This one requires a little bit more commitment and nice weather, but it's always a sure mood booster for mom and toddler.  A walk in the stroller or a bike ride is a favorite thing for Sophie, and a rare treat in the middle of summer in Florida.  But evenings when it is nice I try to use this one as much as possible!

Check the mailbox.  If I'm not ready to commit for a full-fledged walk or bike ride, a trip the mailbox is always a nice change of scenery.  The mailman is probably on Sophie's top ten list of all-time favorite people.  Sophie loves opening and closing the mailbox and enjoys when I let her put the mail in or get it out.  Even if there is not mail yet, the flag is a great toy and way to teach the idea of up and down.  A few minutes of fresh air and a happy toddler.  Easy. 

Again, these are some of the things that work for us when we need a change of pace.  What do you do to make it until naptime or change a bad mood?

For tons more ideas be sure to visit these sites I'm linking to this week!

Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1 

Tot School Tuesday at See Vanessa Craft
Tuesday Tots at Rainy Day Mum
Link and Learn at No Time for Flashcards
Show and Share Saturday Link Up at I Can Teach My Child

Titus 2sday at Time Warp Wife

Trivium Tuesday at Living and Learning at Home

Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers at The Chaos and the Clutter 
Sunday Showcase at Learn Play Imagine
Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings
TGIF at 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Ten No-Prep Ways to Redirect a Fussy Toddler

Want MORE simple ways to redirect a fussy toddler?  Check out Part Two!

Sophie is getting into prime tantrum throwing territory - she is gaining independence and wants to be able to do things herself, but is easily frustrated when her abilities don't match her desires (or for that matter, when the laws of physics don't match her desires...can't help you there, darlin'.)  

I really do feel for the girl when she gets so frustrated.  She can't understand why Mommy can't move the wall so she can push her walker through.  So, if it's not something I can help her problem solve (she's usually not interested in once she gets to the fit-throwing phase anyway), I move on to a different plan of attack - the diversion.  

Here are some of my go-to options for redirecting a frustrated toddler!

Climb Pillow Mountain.  I pull all the pillows from our couch and gleefully fall into them.  It's usually only a matter of seconds before Sophie chooses to join me.  If nothing else, it becomes a soft landing place for rolling around upset.


Make her the Star.  Get your phone or computer and pull up videos of your little star!  My sweet little diva loves seeing herself on the computer and thinks she's the funniest baby she's ever met.  Plus, how can my heart not get a little warmer watching old videos as well? 

Do Something Silly.  This depends on what objects are readily available, but I will usually just grab something and put it on my head.  Then I just sit there until she notices (which is usually pretty quick - she likes to make sure her audience is watching).  In the kitchen?  Grab a bowl and put it on your head.  Folding laundry?  Grab a sock and put it on your nose.  Make a stuffed animal do something silly.  The possibilities here are endless.  Even a silly face would do the trick!

Start Dancing!  Sophie is a huge fan of music.  She can't resist a beat.  If I put on some music and start dancing in the living room, she'll be very interested in joining me.  Crisis averted. 

Start a Load of Laundry.  Now, I know my child may be abnormal in this area, but she LOVES laundry.  She loves to help me pour the detergent and drop clothes into the washer.  She also likes emptying baskets of clean clothes for me to fold.  If I say the word "laundry", nine times out of ten it piques her interest and she toddles to the laundry room.  Bonus: I get the laundry started.  Win-win.

Go on a Scavenger Hunt.  Find blue things in your house.  Or find as many balls as you can.  Look for circles.  Search for a toy that you know is in the other room - Sophie can't help but join in to cries of "Curious George, where are you?"  Important note: just make sure you really know where George is.  Otherwise, this plan may backfire.  Lesson learned the hard way.  

Build a Blanket Fort.  Throw a blanket or towel over a chair or the table and climb in.  This is out of the norm enough that Sophie gets curious and wants to see what I'm doing in there.  You can also hide under the blanket and let your little one come find you.  

Step Outside for Simple Water Play.  Grab a bowl of water and a "tool" of some sort - a basting/paint brush, a sponge, a turkey baster, even just a dish rag and let them "decorate" the driveway or back porch!   She knows when she sees the orange basting brush that we are about to go have some water fun - instant mood changer.

Start a Band.  We bust out the pots and pans and some spoons and have a jam session in the kitchen.  As I said, Sophie is a fan of anything that makes noise (I think it's probably safe to assume that most toddlers are).  I have some bowls and spoons on her shelf in the kitchen, but it's much more fun when Mom joins in with the good stuff.

Start without her.  This one works with all of the above tips.  If she not acting interested when I ask her to do one of these activities with me?  I just go ahead and start playing without her!  I squeal with delight and crack up at my own antics.  I may look like a fool, but I've found that as soon as I am doing something fun that Sophie doesn't want to miss out on, she stops fussing and comes to join me.  

Want MORE simple ways to redirect a fussy toddler?  Check out Part Two!

What are your favorite ways to stop a tantrum in its tracks?  

For tons more ideas be sure to visit these sites I'm linking to this week!

Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1 

Tot School Tuesday at See Vanessa Craft
Tuesday Tots at Rainy Day Mum
Link and Learn at No Time for Flashcards
Show and Share Saturday Link Up at I Can Teach My Child

Titus 2sday at Time Warp Wife

Trivium Tuesday at Living and Learning at Home

Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers at The Chaos and the Clutter 
Sunday Showcase at Learn Play Imagine
Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings
TGIF at 123 Homeschool 4 Me