Halloween 2015: Wonderland

This year, our family costume was based off Alice in Wonderland. James was the Mad Hatter, I was the Queen of Hearts, and Maddie was Alice. It was so much fun to put these together this year! This was also Maddie's first year trick-or-treating. Cousins came over and we all went around the neighborhood together. It was a blast!! We are so glad they were able to come with us. Maddie got the hang of trick or treating by the second door - she would reach in, choose the candy she wanted, and put it right into her pumpkin. So stinking cute! And funny how quickly she picked it up - I guess she was watching her cousins do it! :)

Tiny Tot School: Red

Maddie is 12 months old.

Maddie really enjoyed red week! I'm finding though, that with her age and the space we have, I need to take a little less Montessori approach, and I just pull out one activity at a time, rather than let her freely choose. She still enjoys the activities, and we play with each one until she decides she's ready to move on. It works better for us.

Sensory Basket - Red

Again, just filled with different red things around the house. Maddie REALLY loved the red box - she loved to open and close it. She's very into that these days.

Tray #1 - Open and Shut

I found red gift boxes at the dollar store and place a little shiny red heart in each box. Maddie opened the boxes and found the hearts. This was probably her favorite activity - surprise, surprise, haha. She collected the hearts and would put them from box to box. At first I was a little worried, because she would try to mouth them. By day 2, she realized that they weren't for eating and she would hold it up to her mouth, shake her head, and laugh. It was so cute!

Tray #2 - Red pipe cleaners in a container

I used a washed out Parmesan cheese container. Maddie didn't really understand how to do this one, even though I modeled it several times each day. She would try to put the middle of the pipe cleaner into the jar, which just didn't work. She would take them out if I put them in, but just couldn't figure out how to get them in. She loved to pretend the jar was a glass of water, though. This one may have to wait a few more months.

Tray #3 - Red popsicle stick transferring

By the end of the week, Maddie figured out how to transfer the sticks from jar to jar and would do it over and over again. Her very favorite way to play with it, though, was to take all the sticks out and then put them in one at a time while I counted them.

Art - Red Dot Marker

We continued our "God Made Everything" book this week with red ladybugs. No picture, I forgot!

Pumpkin Patch 2015

Within one week last month, we hit up the pumpkin patch 3 times. We went to Jaker's, a little local place right near our house. This is for sure my favorite patch around here! They had a huge corn pit, a little petting zoo, a hayride, and of course - lots of pumpkins! We also went to Cornbelly's with some people from James' work - we have lots of memories of that place, so it was fun to go back with our daughter!

Maddie Turns One!

I know. I'm over a month late. Oh well, at least I'm finally documenting... right??? Okay, now that we've established I'm a slacker, here are some of the fun things we did for Maddie's first birthday. Luckily, her birthday fell on a Saturday, so we had get together with friends and family to celebrate.

First of all, she has grown so much!!

Party decorations...I made some of them. Some were from Hobby Lobby. I love that store so much.

Maddie really wasn't sure about everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her... she was almost in tears. James helped her blow out her candle and then we let her go to town. Except she wanted to eat with a fork, my dainty girl. She is just too funny!

After cake, Maddie lost it. She was just too tired, so I went ahead and put her down for a nap. She opened presents when she got up, with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Michala still here. Once she got the hang of opening them, she just loved playing with the wrapping paper from her presents! :)

Tiny Tot School - Blue

Maddie is 12 months old.

I decided to start a version of "tot school" with Miss Maddie. I'm calling it Tiny Tot School because she is still quite young. We are starting small, but I thought some structured, one on one, intentional playtime would be good for her. It's also a lot of fun for me! For our first week we focused on the color blue. We ended up doing this for two weeks, as the first week was rough - she was sick and we had a lot going on, so we only did Tot School one day.

 Sensory Basket - Blue

I filled the basket with random blue things from around the house - a few toys, a teether, a pair of socks, a towel, a plastic Easter egg, an Origami Owl locket box, a cookie cutter. I just don't feel like she is ready for actual sensory bins - everything still goes in her mouth. At first, she wasn't sure about it, but over the course of the week, she ended up spending quite a bit of time with the locket box and the Easter egg. She just LOVED opening and closing them. By Friday, she went straight to the Easter egg and spent 15 minutes putting a pom pom in, closing it, opening it, and taking the pom out. I'm thinking an open-and-close basket would be perfect for her another week.

Tray #1 - Blue Stickers on Blue Paper

I handed the stickers to her and she put them on the paper. She loved this! Her favorite thing to do was to stack the stickers in her hand... she didn't like to keep them on the paper, she wanted to keep them in her hands.

Tray #2 - Transferring Blue Pom Poms

Maddie absolutely REFUSED to touch the poms the first day, like they were sea urchins. She turned it into a pouring activity. She would try and pour the poms into the other bowl, then stack the bowls together. I tried to convince her to touch a pom pom, but it was definitely a no go. After a day or two, she decided she really liked the poms. She didn't want to transfer them from bowl to bowl, so she dumped out the bowl and then put them back in one at a time.

Tray #3 - Shape Sorter

This is a new toy she got for her birthday. I know shape sorting is still a little beyond her, but I wanted her to have some structured playtime with it. She matched up the square piece very well, then turned it into her own activity. She spent 20 minutes putting the shapes in the bowl, dumping it out, and putting them back in. I would count them as she put them in, and she seemed to enjoy that. This was probably her favorite tray.

Art - Blue Crayon on Paper

We are making a "God Made Everything" book (idea from teacherturnedmomma.blogspot.com) with our colors. This week the page is about blue birds. Maddie is still learning how to color... she tends to just hold it in her hand and scream at me because she is so excited. :)

All in all, Tiny Tot School went really well these last two weeks! I think we will continue doing this. :) I am loving having intentional time with her, and I can tell that Maddie enjoys it too. She gets SO excited when I open the closet and ask her if she wants to play Tot School.

Day in the Life, Fall 2015

James is 32, I am one week shy of 26, and Maddie is 12 months 6 days.

Friday, October 9, 2015. We live in Utah County, Utah.

7:16 I drag myself out of bed, after snoozing the alarm for 45 minutes, ugh. Bad choice, that always makes me more tired but I just can't help it some days! At least it's Friday! I realize Maddie slept all night. This is cause for celebration, as she has been having a tough time lately!

7:40 I eat breakfast after showering and getting dressed. Lucky Charms today, and I'm like a child and leave some of the "yucky" parts still in the bowl. I probably should grow up a little. :)

8:10 Maddie wakes up, later than normal. I get a scowl, as she seems a little grumpy this morning. I make her bottle, decide to go easy on the Miralax today and see what happens. She sucks it down in record time, then we go to get dressed. She acts like I am murdering her as I put on a clean diaper and clothes. Apparently she would prefer to go naked. Sorry, kid, Mom wins!

8:30 I head out the door, leaving Maddie with Grandma. I love her Grandma days, so much easier for me! I know she's happy and having fun at home, and I don't have to pick her up or drop her off. I call that a win, for sure! Check the weather on my way out, 77 today. Way too warm for fall in Utah! I'm ready for cooler weather.

8:46 I arrive at school, gather my supplies. Mr. K is observing today for his teaching degree. I am always grateful for the help!

9:15 Start the day with 3rd graders. Rough hour. They don't feel the need to listen, plus one of them stuck a crayon in my pencil sharpener, the rugrats. This is a tough class, and I am still struggling with them, even after having them for four weeks. There are some good moments though, and I need to learn to focus on those.

10:30 4th grade! They are easier. Plus, they are super impressed today with my drawing skills. We are drawing a Wild West town with one point perspective.

11:20 lunch! Chat with faculty, start to pull out my leftovers. Sweet! Someone brought pizza so I don't have to eat my leftovers! This day is just getting better. I will totally take free pizza for lunch! Yum! Head back to class to gather painting supplies for the next class.

11:50 Poppy paintings with 2nd grade!

12:45 I ask a child why he didn't do his project. He "doesn't feel good," and yet felt good enough to chat with his friends the whole time. Broke the news that his recess next Tuesday will be spent in my room doing the project. Child is not happy, I tell him too bad. Make a better choice next time. Feel like a mean teacher, but must be done. That's how it works in my class.

12:55 Finally! A 15 minute break sans kids. Run to faculty room to use restroom and check my box. A PPC coupon! Day totally made. We love that place. Check Instagram. Yay! Tot School ideas! I remember I need a few supplies to start tiny tot school with Maddie next week. Breathe. Anticipate flex time. Not my favorite time of day... usually is chaos.

2:05 kids are gone! Flex turned out to be way fun today. Just a few kids and the older kids and I spent the time cracking jokes. Perfect for Friday! :)

2:20 I leave early to go to district office and turn in some paperwork due Monday. Yeah, I procrastinated. Oh well, at least I remembered on time!

3:07 Yay, finally home! Until I walk inside and realize we need a few things to make dinner with. Head back out to Walmart. I'm feeling grateful it's just across the freeway and I don't have to go far. I'm feeling lazy and just want to hang out at home.

3:40 Home again, watch a little Dance Moms while pinteresting until the babe wakes from her second nap.

3:55 Maddie wakes up! This is my favorite time of day. We have some time just the two of us. We play with some of her new toys, have a few minutes of snuggles, and turn on some dance music to jam to. She is really crawling a lot these days! And she shakes her body to dance, it is so funny! I also pulled out the finger paints, but she put them right into her mouth, so that didn't last long. 

5:15 I start dinner - Hawaiian Haystacks tonight. Super easy, and yummy.

5:36 Maddie melts down and so she starts dinner early. I realize the balloons from her party still look like new - a week ago! That is some crazy Hi-Float they put in them!!

6:00 We finish eating dinner and FaceTime dad - who is on a trip to Las Vegas for Xyngfest 2015. 

6:15 Our downstairs neighbors and their son & his family stop by, bringing a late birthday present for Maddie - a pink ball. She loves it, but is concerned about having company and scowls to everyone.

6:40 Bath time! This is hit or miss lately. Maddie is obsessed with her baby rubber duck tonight. She also finds her reflection and kisses it, so cute! She doesn't fight when I wash her! This is a big deal and the first time that has happened in days.

6:55 I decide it's time for an impromptu first haircut to get rid of her mullet. I cut it about 1/2 inch too short and almost cry. Console myself that it's just hair and will grow back. Once it dries, it's short but cute, so it's okay.

7:03 FaceTime dad to say goodnight. Conveniently forget about too short hair... I know I'll have to fess up to that later but don't want to now while I'm a little emotional about it.

7:08 Maddie and I read a story and she drinks her bottle and goes to sleep.

7:25 My time! Come out to the living room, eat a little dessert, watch Kelly File with my MIL. People are crazy these days and I'd almost rather not know some days, to be honest. At this point I forget to take any more pictures.

8:00 Time for a new Shark Tank! Start working on this post while watching.

9:45 It's early, but I'm exhausted, so I head to bed. I get distracted by a book I am reading and end up staying up until 11 finishing it. By 1:00 AM Maddie is up crying and ends up sleeping in my bed. Oh well, at least it's just the two of us so I don't get kicked in the back all night!