A “sweet” idea

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Lately I’ve had tons of luck with my selection of waiting room magazines.  Recently, I picked up a copy of Wondertime and I found myself reading the various articles with great interest.  Perhaps because this second pregnancy is so close to my previous one, I haven’t consumed nearly the same amount of literature about the ins and outs of gestation.  That’s not to say that my actual appetite hasn’t been as voracious as ever!

In any case, one of the activities that caught my eye was the Still Life with Kool-Aid.  I immediatly contacted all the early elementary teachers I could think of to clue them in on this cool little idea.  I’m excited to uncover more creative activities that I can do with my kids in the future. 

I’ve taken full advantage of my summer free time by exploring more blogs.  The inspiration from many of the ladies is amazing!  In keeping with creative activity ideas, Mia’s Mama has turned me onto another site that’s piqued my interest – Unplug Your Kids.  With my newfound excitement about all things blogging and trying to work on my digital photography skills, it’s a great reminder to unplug or “extract” myself from technology for awhile.

If you feel so inclined, check out some of these great project ideas and leave a note if you’ve got any others that you felt were a great fit for your family!

Leaps and Bounds

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I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it a million times more, but I swear that motherhood keeps getting better!  I am absolutely amazed at how much Calder changes each and every day.  While he’s far from a perfect walker, and still struggles a bit over rough terrain, his toddle now has a bit of attitude or expression to it, depending on his mood that particular minute. 

In the past few weeks he’s exploded with language and interaction, slowing moving from calling most things “Dis” (this) and pointing, to signing and/or attempting to say many new words.  He’s been using “more,” “milk,” “water,” and “bird” for a while now.  And now he’s also using “ball,” “dog,” “chew,” “cheese,” “Xanther,” “flag” and sometimes “tree.”  He is constantly thinking and solving, playing and pretending.  There are so many words that he knows when we say them, that I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he starts using them too. 

And not that I expect he “knows” what’s going on, but if you ask him where the baby is, he points to my belly and gives a big grin.  I’m just stunned at how much of a little boy he is becoming and how it was just a fleeting moment ago that he was a tiny baby. 

We’ve been trying to make a better effort to read more with Calder and tonight before bed was no exception.  After just a few nights of this routine, he’s quickly learned to go to the bookshelf, pick a book then snuggle in the chair for the story. 

I found him irresistably cute as he spent nearly two minutes grasping at the straw in the drink and the potato chips in one of the illustrations.  He ultimately decided that pulling the book close to his face would allow him to taste the yumminess of the treats.  He even gave his typical “ahhh” after his fake drink.  I’m stunned by his imagination! 

And if that wasn’t enough, two pages later, when we learned that the little fish was all alone, he flashed me his concerned expression and my heart surged.  I know there’s going to come a day when I’m no longer cool, and I’m begging him to open up to me.  But right here, and right now, I am totally head-over-heels in love with the transparency of his emotions. 

As he eagerly snuggled in with his blanket and paci and giggled when I said “I Love You” I knew that tomorrow would hold a whole new adventure for us.