Happy Halloween!

We've got some pumpkins carved and are anxiously awaiting some Tricks and Treats.

Have a safe and fun Halloween night!

~MJ

Push Pin Geo Art

A few weeks ago, I saw a great picture of a push pin geo board using a cork board, push pins and rubber bands. I wish I had the link.  It was such a simple idea, that I thought I'd give it a try with my kids.

I purchased some cork trivets from Ikea, some push pins and a mega bag of assorted rubber bands.

I laid the materials out for the kids and before I could show them how I wanted the activity to go, they had already started making works of art on their own. I swear that 9 times out of 10, I have a very specific idea in mind for an activity and then the kids totally change it. I have had to learn to just roll with it.

This was a great activity. I worried that Jellybean was a little young to be messing with push pins, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. I can see us breaking this out regularly. They'll also be fun to use in conjunction with Buddy's kindergarten curriculum. Right now they are working on shapes.

Teddy Bear was pleasant as usual and just hung-out in his high chair while we played. Sweet boy, I can't wait until he is big enough to play too.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Teddy Bear 6 Months

We've reached 6 months with this little fellow. One half of a year. As always, the time has just flown.
Boy has he grown. We went in for his 6 month doctor's visit. He is 20 lbs 11oz (92nd percentile) and 27.5 inches (86th percentile).  He's really shot up even from the last visit.

Some things about Teddy Bear now:
-He's rolling with ease, all directions and even will roll across a room to reach a toy.
-He would dearly love to crawl, but can't figure it out. He'll get his front half up, then he'll try to get his back half up, but he can't do both at the same time. He laughs when you "help" him crawl by moving his back legs forward.
-He is so close to sitting on his own.
-He still loves music and being sung to. He especially enjoys the ABC song and "Shortenin' Bread".
-He finds me hilarious. I'm especially funny if I put random objects on my head.
-Also, a dancing Jellybean is an extremely funny diversion as well.

I love that, in these photos, he has a red mark on his forehead from sleeping on D. 

-We discovered that he dislikes Shrek masks.
-We've started him on solid foods. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem that in to them. He's willing to try anything I give him, but his expression is one of "eh, I could take it or leave it."
-He's a terrible sleeper. His longest stretch is about 5 to 6 hours. I think a good old fashion cry out is in his near future.
-By far, he is my most social baby. He is very aware of everything going on and for most of the day has a ready smile for anyone.

This kid is incredibly lucky. He has two very devoted siblings. They really love him and enjoy making him laugh. He laughs easily and it is a delightful sound.

Teddy Bear is just the sweetest, happiest little guy. We certainly love him.

That's one more month to add to the monthly progress pictures:

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Booin' in the Barnyard

One of our favorite October traditions is to head up to Farm Country and go to the annual Barnyard Boo.  There are a few things that we have to do every year.

Look at goats.

The goats standing on rocks were weirdly funny.

Pretend to be in jail.

Yell out of random windows.

Enjoy a wagon ride.

Throw fake spiders and read all of the crazy signs.

Ride a pony.

Buddy refused to ride this year.

and, of course, pretend to be frightened of the spooky decorations.

Same thing, different year, but always fun.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Taking It For Granted

Subtitled: A post in which I vent (with cute pictures of my kids).

I won't lie. I'm really and truly bone tired these days. I swear that Teddy Bear has been going through a growth spurt because he was doing a little better during the night, but things have gone down hill as of late. If that weren't bad enough, the extra weight he's putting on is taking a toll on me physically as well.

Late one night (or really early one morning) I got to thinking about a few things that I took for granted when I worked full-time outside the home:

-There was a clear start and end to my work day.

-I didn't receive work related calls at 2AM, 4AM or 6AM.

-I could drive to and from work in silence or listen to whatever I wanted to on the radio.

-Occasionally, I needed to carry a heavy load out of a storage area. I was never asked to carry that load around all-day-long.

-Sometimes my boss acted like a child.  Then again, I only had one boss, not three.

-When I visited the restroom, no one followed me into the stall or shoved things under the stall door.

-Finally, nothing in my job description was poop-related.  Seriously, I'm not sure there is anything more demoralizing than having to clean four separate outfits and the baby four separate times due to blow-outs.

Anyway, not much purpose to this. There's also a huge list of things I hated about working full time outside the home, I won't go into that. In all honesty, I wouldn't change a thing (other than getting more sleep) about my life. Now, I need to work at not taking for granted the time I get to spend with these three amazing kids. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ 

Halloween Lanterns

My awesome sister gives the best birthday presents. This year she gave me a bunch of jars, some orange paint, a roll of masking tape, foam brushes and some flameless candles. She also gave me the instructions for a fun halloween jack-o-lantern craft to do with my kids.
I'm always amazed by the creativity of my children. I broke out the materials to make "jar-o-lanterns" and Buddy asked for green paint because he wanted to make an ugly-doll lantern.

Jellybean asked for purple (but she was sadly out of luck.) She decided to stick with the jack-o-lantern theme since orange is her favorite color. She was very specific about the shapes she wanted for the face. Inspired by Buddy's thinking, I went with black paint for a cat lantern.

A couple of tips on this cute craft: First, I found that putting the paint on thickly and evenly does make the end result nicer. Not always possible when small children are doing the painting though. Also, be very careful when peeling up the masking tape. The glass jar is very smooth, so the paint has a tendency of coming up with the tape.

They are so cute on my table with the lights inside. Both of the kids were thrilled with their lanterns.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Brother Time

I'm so thrilled with the relationship developing between my boys. Buddy loves Teddy Bear and the feeling is mutual.

Buddy enjoys reading to his baby brother. He also enjoys hugging and kissing "Little Chubbers." No one can resist Teddy Bear's sweet, kissable cheeks. Buddy is especially talented at keeping his brother happy. That is a skill I'm am more and more grateful for these days. Teddy Bear is awfully lucky to have such a great big brother. I wonder if their loving relationship will outlast a mobile baby who can steal toys. Another few months and we shall see.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Teddy Bear Picnic

Several weeks ago, Buddy got an invitation to participate in a teddy bear picnic at kindergarten. The night before, while Buddy was carefully choosing his teddy bear (he picked Wooshie Bear btw), I could tell that Jellybean was extremely upset that she was not going to get to go to the picnic. So, I decided to invite her to a teddy bear picnic at home.

First thing the next morning she discovered an invitation.

She was so excited! I laid out my stoneware tea set from when I was a child and we brewed up some chamomile tea together. Then we spread out a blanket in the "soft room." It's one of the only carpeted rooms in the house. It should be a formal dining room, but we love playing in there instead.

She brought her Christmas Bear (a gift from her Great-Grandma) and chose a bear for me, too.

We enjoyed our tea, cookies and grapes and practiced our tea time etiquette.

Christmas Bear enjoyed his tea, too.

I decided that we should have some teddy bear related activities as well. The first was a color by number sheet. She is working on her number recognition right now, so it was perfect.

I spent a while the night before coloring this cute paper bear set. She didn't appreciate my effort, but I thought it was adorable. I cut it out for her and let her dress the bear.

And what was my little Teddy Bear doing while we were drinking tea and coloring?  Napping and then playing on his mat. Cute and content.

If the whole experience hadn't ended in a complete melt-down over my not letting her watch television, the morning would have been completely wonderful. It was still lovely spending some one on one time with my sweet little girl.

If you are interested in the color by number sheet or the paper bear cut-out, here are the links to both. I found them through a quick teddy bear picnic activity google search.

Color by Number Bear
Regency Paper Bear Doll

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ