We painted pumpkins today! And guess what, this year I could actually take photos of the process because I wasn't having to hold her up and stick her hands in the paint like last year ;)
I set up Makaela's little work station in the kitchen and she was anxious to get started!
We used the same Crayola washable fingerpaint from last year, it makes for easy clean up off her skin!
She alternated between using her paintbrushes and her hands...
Look at all the colors! Would you believe that the mess never left her "workstation"? I was shocked (and thrilled).
It didn't hurt that she ADORES washing her hands...
The final product is super cute and she sure was proud of her work!
We are letting her masterpieces dry over night, but we just may get wild and crazy and add stickers later this week. Take THAT Pinterest.
Would you look at how much that little pumpkin has grown since last Fall?!
XoXo.
Update: I just noticed that Google created a .gif using the photos I uploaded....annnnnd it's kind of hilarious.
Lately, Makaela has been all about putting things in containers and taking them out. She has a couple toys where she has to put a ball into hole, and basically it's the most exciting thing in the world to her.
She gets VERY proud of herself when she does it, and so do we :)
Earlier this week, I decided to make a lil somethin' somethin' with that concept in mind.
All I did was take one of the toilet paper rolls I've been hanging onto and covered it in the left over felt I had from her sensory station. I just used the hot glue gun to make sure it was on there good (enough).
Then I bought a bag of pom-poms in assorted colors and sizes. I picked out a few that were small enough to fit through the toilet paper roll and just grabbed a plastic container to store them in.
The idea is that Makaela can drop them through the "chute" and into the container, or wherever.
I can't get over the look of concentration on her face. Too. Adorable.
She loves dropping the pom-pom down the chute and watching it fall out the other end.
Sometimes it gets stuck mid-chute and she has to flip it around and check out the other end, or give it a little shake.
It's a great quiet time activity or a good game to play when she is getting restless with whatever else she is doing. This really seems to capture her attention and calm her down.
Sometimes if we're feeling ambitious we even "practice" our colors. In other words, I say the color of the pom-pom and she looks at me like I'm interrupting her concentration :)
I don't store this game with the rest of her toys because I'm worried she'll stuff a pom-pom or two in those chipmunk cheeks of hers, or that the dogs will eat one and ain't nobody got time to be sitting in the ER or at the vet for a silly pom-pom related incident.
It's no secret that around here we love a quick and easy project. Bonus points when it's super inexpensive. Double bonus points when it is Valentine's Day related, because even though I could care less about the holiday, for some reason I love crafts related to it.
We made magnets again!
I understand that you are insanely jealous of my high-end white refrigerator. I get it. Really I do. Please try and control your envy so you can focus on the craft at hand.
I picked up a package of felt hearts that also came with a bunch of felt lovey-dovey themed cut outs. I think the package had something like 12-16 hearts, but 4 seemed like the right number for our fridge.
I used my hot glue gun to attach the cut-outs to the front of the heart, and the magnet to the back. I used the same magnet roll from the snowflake craft we did, and just cut the pieces to a reasonable size.
Even though the magnet is fairly large, we all know kids are cray and fit the most bizarre things in their mouths so it is still a "supervised play" kind of thing.
This is definitely an easy, inexpensive project that provides lots of entertainment. Makaela plays at the refrigerator for a decent chunk of time daily. Happy baby = happy mama.
She loves sliding them around on the fridge...
And pulling them off and putting them back on....
And stacking them and passing them out to Mama, Daddy and of course Rocky and Ginger :)
Excuse the blurriness of the above action shots. For some reason, Makaela doesn't stop and pose for photos when I ask her to. Hmm. Weird ;-)
Finally! After months of nagging (seriously the better half of Makaela's life) my wonderful husband, whom I absolutely adore, helped me to complete MikMak's sensory activity station earlier this week.
It was inspired by a lot of online research, and although it took Tim a little while to get on board (see what I did there...har har har) he now thinks it is the coolest thing since sliced bread and is proud of his work. And I'm obsessed with it. Oh, and the kid likes it too. And double oh, Makaela had a 2 year old friend over that loved it even more...yay!
What's that you say? You want details and close up images? Oh alright, fine.
The hardest part of this project was narrowing down our options and choosing what to mount on the board. The possibilities really are endless and boards can be tailored to all sorts of skills or ages.
When it came to the carpet remnants (free from Lowe's), Tim had the awesome idea to mount them behind light switch covers. Just enough touchy-feel, and a clean appearance....
We also snagged a chain lock. Makaela likes to play with the chain and bang it against the drawer handle that is mounted below it. Her 2 year old friend, was able to "lock" and "unlock it."
A sensory board just isn't complete without a mirror or two, especially when your child loves to kiss the baby in the mirror. We also have another drawer handle mounted on this side at a different angle. Makaela likes to pull herself up with it.
Toilet paper holders are tons of fun and super versatile. We mounted this one and then covered a roll with fun felt that we got at Hobby Lobby for 50 cents.
Below the roll is curling ribbon, and below that is a small block of backsplash. The backsplash makes a cool noise if you ting it with your fingernails.
Makaela has been playing with this push-light for awhile, and now it lives happily on her activity board. Below that are some colorful strips of velcro. They are fun to pull apart and stick back together.
The last "column" has a plush, scrubby pad that we folded in half so it can "open and close." We covered a cardboard "M" with more felt from Hobby Lobby and stuck that on there. Lastly, we hung a door knocker. Every time Makaela plays with that one she blinks as it slams down. It's adorbs.
Tim securely attached all of the items to a pine board he also got at Lowe's and then mounted it to the wall. We tossed a fun, super-cushy rug in front of it and bada-bing-bada-bang the little lady has a cool new hang out spot.
Makaela's first Christmas was perfect, if I do say so myself. We enjoyed a nice, relaxing family day....basically my dream holiday scenario. Many times Tim is overseas for Christmas, so it was extra special that we could all spend Makaela's first one together!
She must have made the cut for Santa's nice list because she received some super fun gifts, and it is obvious that her family and friends definitely love to spoil her rotten because they sent very generous and thoughtful presents as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you all. We appreciate it so much.
Rumor has it Santa l-o-v-e-s slightly undercooked chocolate chip cookies....and since he is such a swell fella, we made a plate for him.
Then we followed our normal bedtime routine, but in footed pajamas, of course. They are a non-negotiable holiday must. Makaela wore her "Merry Grinchmas" ones and I wore my (not so festive) shark ones.
On Christmas morning when the little one woke up around 730 we scooped her up and took her in to open presents. I full anticipated that she would loose interest after two gifts or would be fixated on the wrapping paper only, but boy was I wrong! She was TOTALLY into it. I'm not kidding when I say she was fascinated by EACH gift she received and took time to touch and explore them all. What.a.little.doll.
She got such a great variety of gifts. Not only are they all fun, but they challenge her in different ways...doesn't get much better than that. She got LeapFrog learning toys, sensory balls, blocks, colorful Melissa & Doug caterpillar and butterfly gears, animal and car push toys, an animal see and say toy, a lion Scentsy buddy, books, stacking cups, magnets, adorable TinyToms shoes, a plush rug, a car-shaped activity center and some music makers!
In an effort to keep things fresh and exciting and not let any toys be forgotten, we try and pull out a variety of toys daily. We also keep them in different rooms, so she has new things to "discover" in each room. It's a blast and a half to see her light up with excitement playing with or snuggling her new goodies.
Miss Makaela also "picked out" some special gifts for Mommy and Daddy. Daddy got some clothes, gift cards and electronics, along with this handmade coffee mug stuffed with coffee treats...
I traced Makaela's little hand onto paper and then cut it out and taped it onto the mug and used a sharpie to dot an outline. Once I finished doing that, I removed the paper, and stuck on a "d" and "a" sticker. Next, I picked out three sharpies (I wanted to create an ombre effect) and went to town dot-ing away. After I was done, I removed the "da" and tossed the mug in the oven at 425 for 35 minutes. I put the mug in the oven while the oven preheated, to allow it to adjust to the gradual heat. I will most likely go over this with ceramic markers so that this little guy becomes dishwasher safe, but for now we don't mind hand washing him!
Makaela got Mommy some clothes, a massage gift certificate and these fabulous rings...
They are custom made and say "Tim" and "Makaela." I first saw these on one of my favorite blogs when I was pregnant with little miss, and have had them on my wish list ever since. I looooooove them.
All that gift opening caused us to work up an appetite. I'm a sucker for traditions and told myself I want to have a special breakfast that I make Makaela every year. Behold the Rudolph pancake...
It's a good thing I plan to make them every year, because I sure do need the practice! Perhaps by her 10th Christmas I'll have it down. The antlers are made of turkey bacon, and the eyes are whipped cream with a craisin in the middle. His nose is a Rolo because someone (me) forgot to buy strawberries at the grocery store - dang!
This lady loves her some pancakes...
And now that Christmas is over I may or may not be starting to plan someone's first birthday celebration...
