Active Jack

The past few months have proven to me that Jack is growing up. He will be 3 next month. How did that happen?!  He has initiated the need for more learning activities.  So I have been searching for ways to keep his hands and brain busy. Isn't Pinterest great?!

He has been busy practicing some fine motor activities. There are the obvious reasons for participating in these activities but it has also been helpful in strengthening his finger that got injured over the summer.  He hasn't been very willing to use it since then but there has been improvement.  By the way, his finger is healing really well.  He lost his nail and it is almost all grown back and he has only a very tiny scar.  We were very blessed.

He helped sand the little book shelf I got from a garage sale for $.25! 

He built his own helicopter from start to finish.

He used a glue stick for the 1st time with some punched out circles.

Friends of ours gave us a couple grocery bags of peppers from their garden.

He was a big helper!

He probably cut 1/4 of a pepper with a butter spreader and really enjoyed it!

Using a wheelbarrow was definitely well received!

Of course, toddlers need to be active and we have plenty of that going on too!

He always has time for snuggles though. ♥

He gave me 2 thumbs up (unprompted)!

I just noticed the close up of his belt...we were in need of a belt for Mr. Skinny but certain ones are hard for potty time.  I found this one at Goodwill for $1. I cut it down, removed the buckle and sewed on some velcro. This tutorial was helpful. It works great!

So, we have been busy and I am enjoying this new learning phase full of numbers, letters and crafts!

Day 29

We had a beautiful morning here.  There was a warm breeze and a shady spot to play and relax.

I gave Jack various things full of water and the squirt bottle was his favorite.

Everything in his path got a good spray including me a couple of times!

He even sprayed a small section a few times that formed a shape.  He looked at it and told me it was a badge.  Sure enough, it did look like a police badge!  This is the same kid that told me his piece of popcorn looked like a bunny and it really did.  He has a good eye. ;-)

Day 12

This is a common place to see Jack throughout the day.  You all know he loves Curious George but his new thing is to listen to the audio version of the stories too.  I think audio books, both classics and christian, are going on his gift list this year. We like the fact that he really enjoys books and we want to keep introducing him to new ones. 

What are (or were) some of your kid's favorite books?

Toddler Boy Entertainment

Jack has been staying busy with lots of fun projects lately. Some I planned for him and others he came up with on his own. Either way it's fun to see his creativity shine through.  Most days he is happy to play with his ever growing collection of vehicles, read books or follow me around and try to do what I'm doing.  Sometimes though a project of some sort is in order.  Here are some of the things that he has enjoyed...

Water Play

Digging

Oh, how he loves to dig!

He will also spend so much time transferring grain, fuzzy pom poms, googly eyes etc. from one bowl to the next.

Googly Eyes

Yes, they get their own category! He loves them and will find multiple uses for them.  I bought pool noodles to put under our couches to help eliminate the toys that need fishing out. They didn't quite serve their purpose so I returned them but not before Jack sent every one of his plastic eyes down the hole! He also gave his metal cars a ride down them too. He had a blast!

(Yes, we are still wearing Christmas pj's. I'm working on that!)

Ironically, I'm pretty sure we had some under the couch after this activity.

Homemade Play Dough

We both really enjoyed this one.  Though, I think he liked the actual making of the play dough more than playing with it.  

He dumped all the ingredients in.

Here he is correcting himself after a little spill.  All of his transferring back and forth has resulted in quite good hand-eye coordination.

He picked blue.  I must say this dough is far superior to store bought. So soft and pliable.  So fun!

We got out his play dough kit and he played away...for awhile.

I guess the Legos in the other room were much more exciting.

Until next time, play dough!

What activities have your toddlers enjoyed?

Rainy Day Play

Our weather has been jumping back and forth between warm sunny days and cold rainy days.  On those rainy days, we have to find creative ways to stay busy.  It can be tough since Jack's attention span can be quite short.  I usually spend a lot of time cleaning up activities multiple times a day.  However, it's worth it if it keeps him busy!

Legos are really fun especially when Dad makes an awesome airplane!

Switching our seasonal book basket to spring books and...

playing with his new ducks, lamb and bunny that his Gammy got him.

Playing the harmonica is a great way to pass the time!

He really enjoys sorting and dumping things like dried beans, wheat and even Bananagrams!  This is one of those messy activities!

I also pulled out 1/2 dozen wooden eggs.  He enjoys dumping them all out of the egg carton and placing each one back in.  He usually claps for himself. :-)

By the way, that is our new rug!  We have been saving up for quite a while now and recently there was a rug sale at World Market plus a coupon for 25% off!  I originally wanted a natural colored wool rug but was talked out of it due to it's impracticality. Oh well.  We found this 100% wool rug at a price we could afford and I think it will hide all baby (and parent) messes quite nicely!  Now if it will just stop shedding all over us...

Frugal Shopping

Jenny over at CJ and Family inspired me to share my latest Rite Aid trip with you.  Last month I earned a $20 Up reward for buying $100 worth of participating products.  We figured I only actually spent a quarter (if that!) of the $100 because I combined coupons with the sales and applied for rebates!  I needed to use it by the end of this month in one transaction so this week looked like the best deals for what we needed.  Here is what we got...

*2 boxes of Glad trash bags
*2 boxes of Band-aids
*2 Neosporin To Go
*2 boxes of Ziploc
*2 packages of pantyhose
*1 box of Puffs tissues
*Revlon eyelash curler
*Revlon nail clippers
*Little Noses saline spray
*Lypsyl chapstick
*M&M's Pretzel
*2 Reeses (not pictured) for filler so I could use one of my UP's

Total: $42.28  (I don't even want to think about what it would have been before sale prices!)

I only paid $4.45 after coupons and UP rewards and got back $6 to use on my next trip plus I submitted for $2 in rebates!
Thank you Rite Aid!

Also, while my Mom was here we received our huge order of tuna!  Amazon had a great deal and my stocking-up, preparedness-loving husband said we needed 3 cases!  I am still trying to figure out the best place to store them but until then Jack is having lots of fun.  His favorite toys stack (blocks, legos, ring stacker, etc.)  so that is what he has been doing!

Such concentration!

I think he is pleased, don't you?!

"Thanks for buying me these fun toys, Mom!"

Another day of fun!

That little kid's chair was purchased by my Mom for Jack...$5 at the thrift store!

It is turned around because he quickly figured out how to climb on and stand up on it, ugh!

Isn't frugal shopping fun?!  

Oh by the way, does anyone have any yummy tuna recipes? :-)

This Moment ~ Laundry Basket Rides

 Gammy is so fun!

Surprise Weather

Jack has transitioned to 1 nap a day within the past few weeks.  It isn't always easy since he still gets tired sometimes towards lunch.  I try to keep him busy with interesting things but it usually doesn't last long.  Out of desperation the other day,  I pulled out my ribbon jar and let him rip all the contents out of it explore it!

I walked out of the room and returned to find this!

I saw a lump under his shirt and I couldn't figure out what it was!

Under his shirt and his undershirt, I found this...baker's twine!

I'm really not sure how he managed that one.

Boy was I glad when it was 65 degrees Thursday so we could enjoy the warm weather at the park!  It was Jack's first time and he really seemed to enjoy himself.  I stuck him in a swing and gave him a brisk push...big mistake.  Poor boy.  He really doesn't like feeling out of control and he had the same reaction to the slide.  He finally relaxed and began to show his adventurous side.

The swing death grip!

"Hey Dad, there's an empty one behind you."

"Okay, this is fun!"

"There is something else to do besides this. Right?"

"Now we are talking..."

"Hold on.  I found something really fun!"

"Rocks!"
(very exciting to a 1 year old boy!)

He likes sitting on the slide just not sliding down the slide.

Time to play with the rocks. again.

Snuggling Dad by the pond

Adoring his Dad

Laughing in the sunshine

What a fun family time!