Crochet Baby Blankets

I just finished up these 2 baby blankets for a family member who has a cousin with twins. I used the pattern on this blog. This is a fast and easy pattern as every other row is v-stitch. I loved the way they turned out. I hope you will try it out. I have since found other uses for the v-stitch including the chunky cowl from my last post.

New Baby and Linky!

Hello all! Exciting news! My precious baby girl was born April 2. She is doing well just needs to work on gaining a little weight (She lost 3/4 lb since birth and hasn't gained any back yet). Now I need to work on a nickname for her for the blog. Let me know if you have any ideas. Also, my son needs a nickname as well. Leave a comment if you think of one!

Here is a pic of my son from Easter.

Also, I am staying home with the baby for 6 weeks, (and Summer is coming soon as well) so I am keeping my son home from daycare as well. I want him to continue learning while he's at home. If you have any ideas, please link them up below. It would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I haven't been paying him the attention he deserves with trying to breastfeed and take care of the baby. Thanks!

The Lid Game

Here is a very simple to create activity for very young children. I think I started this with L when he was about 9 or 10 months and he still loves it at 15 months. I got the idea from his school. They took a plastic container and cut a slot in the lid. Then the child can slide in baby food lids or some other small lids. For added benefit, you can add photos of family members, classmates or anyone you would like your baby/toddler to learn their names.

This was L's favorite activity for the longest time and he still plays with it once in a while.

You can also make a sort of family tree with circles just big enough for the lids so the child can match the person's name to the picture for older children or you can put a photo on the family tree for younger children. I love this idea because it allows children to see how family members are related in a very tangible way. It is hands on and hopefully more meaningful. And maybe they will even be less shy around the family because they are used to seeing their photos.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Storytime Sunday: Parts of the Body

This week, since I am returning from being on "blog leave" LOL, I am going to talk about a few things my son has been really into recently. He loves the book "From Head To Toe" by Eric Carle, and of course, I am a huge fan of Eric Carle. Since I realize I haven't even mentioned his name on this blog for a while, I decided to go ahead and go with it. He loves more than anything I think, watching mommy and daddy be silly and do all the animal movements. Some of which he will imitate, but mostly he would rather laugh at us. 

Also, though the doctor recommends no screen time under the age of 2, and we were pretty much following this rule up until a couple months ago if for no other reason than he wouldn't even look at the TV when we turned it on. But now, he is obsessed with Baby Einstein. He will even go to the TV stand, open the drawer and take out a video and bring it to one of us. Also, we have a long drive to and from his school/my work, so I have installed the portable DVD player in my car as well for him to watch.

Made out of an old pair of jeans :)

Anyways, one of the videos is Baby Da Vinci. It shows a hand drawing different body parts, kids displaying said body parts and them performing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." My son has recently taken to doing it as well. It is so funny to watch him try and do it by himself.  So in short, I highly recommend these 2 items for any baby/toddler!

Here he is totally fascinated by the baby on the screen!

Happy Reading/Watching ;)

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Saturday's Top 5 Laughs

Well, here are my 5 laughs. They turned out to be more baby related than school related because honestly, I had a few school ones, but I completely forgot them. I am so forgetful these days, I need to write everything down. Anyhow here they are!

1. The baby (L) started picking up anything that remotely looks like a telephone (I even saw him using a water bottle tonight) and putting up to his ear like a phone, then babbles away, then puts it down. If we put our hand up like a phone and say hello, he grabs the nearest item and plays like he's talking. It's soo cute.

2. L also started playing peek-a-boo with us. He will hide behind something and crack up when he pulls it away. He thinks he is hilarious. But the kicker is, instead of peek-a-boo, he kinda makes a grunting noise.

3. We found a way to entertain L. The shredder... He loves it. He was totally cracking up when we put papers in there to be shredded!

4. Yet another way to entertain L. He was laying on the bed and I yelled "mommy-quake!" and shook the bed where he was laying. Again, he thought it was pretty hilarious!

5. Ok, finally a school one. This was pretty hard one to forget. I was setting up the Wii for the kids and all of a sudden I hear my assistant teacher saying "Oh my gosh!" I looked over and in the bathroom was standing one of my little girls totally naked. She was putting on the clothes she had brought to school in her backpack. There was no reason for her to change (wet clothes, etc). She just was not pleased with what mommy put her in. We found out the little girl had packed her own clothes into the bag herself!

Wishlist Wednesday: Filling our Bucket

This week's guest blogger is from Filling our Bucket, an awesome mommy blog that you have to check out. This mommy has so many ideas and shares her everyday experiences with her family. So stop on by and enjoy!

 

A wish for for my baby boy.

I love watching my son grow and play everyday. I love watching him learn through his play as he discovers new things in the world around him. Whether it be new skills - like standing up on his own, or realizing something new about a toy - such as the fact the ball not only rolls, but bounces too, watching him learn and grow is one of the greatest joys of being a mom.

When I was pregnant, I dreamed about what my little boy would look like, be like. Would he have my chin? Would he take after Daddy and be a sports fanatic? Would he love music, like Mommy? One of the biggest dreams - and hopes - I had, was that he would be an avid reader, like me.

Reading has always been one of my greatest and most beloved hobbies. And recently, my little boy has shown more and more interest in reading and books. Our nightly reading has gone from one book to three. When he plays in our living room, after a while he will always make a crawling beeline for his little bookshelf and pull a book out to look at. Whenever he does, I take advantage of the opportunity to get down on the floor with him, pull him onto my lap and read to him. As I do, he stares in awe at the pages, the pictures. He will, every once in a while, look up at me with this big smile on his face and then, look back at the book with the same smile. With some books, such as his nightly readings, he knows when the page has ended, and he will turn to the next himself, or look at me expectantly as if to say, "What happens next, Mommy??"

My wish for my son is that he continue to grow in his love of learning, but in particular in his love of reading. I wish for him to let reading expand his imagination, his horizons and his experiences with our world. As he grows older, I wish for reading to be something we can continue to share together as mother and son. A shared love, within a shared life.

Thank you Lori, for having me as a guest blogger today!