Muffin Tin Monday-Summer Theme Wrap up

So this week we are finishing our Summer theme. The first week of July we focused on Independence Day, then onto watermelon and ice cream, then picnics, and this week we are learning about the beach. The tin is an accumulation of all of the various weeks.



L to R: ice cream, watermelon-shaped pb & j, raisins (ants
picnic theme), couscous (sand) with chocolate shell (beach
theme), star-shaped watermelon and pasta shells (with
Parmesan of course!)


When she discovered the shell in the "sand"


Click on link to see more ideas

10 Months and A Father's Day Photo

Whoa! 10 months already? But I haven't even started planning her birthday party yet! I feel so behind.
At 10 months
She:
-says 3 words: hi, bye, uh oh
-uses 9 signs: up, more, milk, sleep, dog, diaper, baby, eat and tickle
-is learning the signs for car, cracker and water
-sleeps from 6pm-6am
-still has 3 naps a day, but I think it will be turning into 2 naps soon
-likes to eat black beans, mozzarella and couscous
-screams (with excitement) whenever Hattie wakes up from a nap
-crawls everywhere but doesn't want to pull herself up
-drinks from a sippy cup and loves water
-loves Cameron
-follows the commands: clap hands, jump, cough and kiss baby
-is starting to point
-can pick up pieces of food and feed herself (we needed to practice this a lot)
-has greenish-blue eyes


I forgot to share my favorite photo from Father's Day this year.

35

Yesterday I turned the big 3-5. I have to admit, I do feel a bit different. I didn't think I would. I feel "wiser." Ha! Must be all of the new grey hair I've been getting lately. Randy took the day off and I was able to spend some time by myself
(2 hours in Target without kids=bliss) and time with the family. The best part of yesterday? Hattie earned her Thomas the Train pillow. I won't tell you how she earned it (to spare the squeamish out there), but those who know what that means, let's just say I was glad to get him off of the TV :)

Muffin Tin Monday-Independence Day

An Independence Day themed MTM.



Star-shaped pb&j sandwich, strawberries, mozzarella
cheese, blueberries, yogurt coated cookies from Trader Joe's


A few photos of the girls on the 4th




I can't believe this is my 2-year old.
She looks so much older here. Sigh.

9 Month Stats

Celie had her 9-month appointment last week. All is well and she is very healthy. She weighs 17lbs. 1 oz. and is 26 inches. Two photos comparing Hattie and Celie. Do you think they look alike?

Muffin Tin Monday-Ocean

It's been a couple of weeks since I last participated in MTM. They are taking a break from the themes this summer, so I will be joining in here and there.



We are finishing our ocean theme this week, so we have an ocean themed tin.


Seahorse-shaped pb&j sandwich, Swedish fish candy, whale-shaped
cheese on top of oyster crackers, whale-shaped crackers, octopus
made out of a hot dog (her first hot dog) and blue jell-o (ocean)

Her first taste of jell-o. I think she likes it :)

Tot School-Ocean (2)

Another week of learning about the ocean. Not many photos this week as I forgot to take pictures of some of the activities AND we have been potty training. Very successful on the potty training journey. Only 4 accidents and 14 successes! Hope it continues to go well this week.
On Saturday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Very cool to see her so excited and pointing out sea animals she recognized. We had a great a time there.
Tot School







Colored an ocean scene Kids Soup



Used bingo markers for the dots Kids Soup




Stamped numbers into sand




Ate a snack with her friend Liam. Snack-crackers, blue
cream cheese and Goldfish crackers



Highlights from our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Click on photo to enlarge

Watch for Muffin Tin Monday tomorrow.

Tot School-Ocean

Every month, I introduce a new theme to Hattie. I base reading, math, concepts (both thematic and non), motor and art skills on it. This month we are learning about the ocean. I decided to start taking pictures and linking up her "lessons" to the site http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com. It also gives me an opportunity to see what activities other parents are doing with their toddlers. Here are a few things Hattie did last week. Click on the Tot School button to learn more about it.







Fishing with her pole and sea creatures

Hattie invited her friend Liam over join in on the fun.
Here they are snacking on octopus popsicles-apple juice
and gummy worms as the legs

Hattie and Liam showing off their creations-octopus made
out of toilet paper tubes and octopus made out of tiny tot
hand prints

Hattie learning one-to-one correspondence using whale
erasers (Dollar Store) and Goldfish crackers. Also, a little
taste of a cracker as a reward for all of her hard work :)
Number page from confessionsofahomeschooler.com and
fish bowl from kidssoup.com

9 Months and A New Hat

Celie is on the move! She just started to crawl, and she is loving it! It is time to rearrange some furniture and start putting gates back up.
At 9 months,
She:
-can crawl
-can pull herself up onto her knees in her crib only
-has 8 teeth
-imitates us when we clap, scream, cough or laugh
-growls...a lot
-scrunches her nose and breathes through it quickly (hard to explain, but way cute)
-still sucks her thumb
-still sleeps from 6pm-6am (though the last few nights she has been waking up at 5:30)
-looks around for Hattie
-occasionally signs milk, more and sleep, but always signs eat
-likes to eat peas, broccoli, squash, mangoes
-does not like sweet potatoes or green beans
-is still very easy going
and for this photo, it was the best one out of many. She was moving the entire time and this one was the least blurry.
The second photo is of her today with her new hat. A little big, but it keeps the sun away.

Garden Theme

In May, we learned about plants, flowers and gardens. Hattie planted several types of seeds, made lots of flower, veggie and fruit art projects, and tasted some new veggies and fruits. This month we are learning about oceans, and I hope to upload our projects weekly.

A Tasty Flamingo

*Background info* I always have a bag of dried mangoes from Costco at home. It is a favorite snack of ours.
Hattie and I were watching tv, Mama Mirabel I think-a cartoon about animals.
H: Mommy, that's a mingo
Me: Yes, that's a FLAmingo
H: (with a bewildered look on her face) Mommy, I eat mingos?
Me: (with a straight face) No, you eat mangoes.

I Take So Many Pictures...

that I take pictures of other people taking pictures of other people.


I still haven't even shared Easter or Christmas photos. Eek!

Congratulations Aunt Karen!

Auntie Karen passed the bar! We are so proud of you.

Congrats!

Muffin Tin Monday-Peter Rabbit's Garden (no theme)

No theme this month for MTM, so I decided to wrap up our garden theme with this idea I used from Gourmet Mom on the Go-Peter Rabbit's Mixed up Garden. The card says:
"Peter Rabbit’s seeds got all mixed up this year and now he doesn’t know what has grown in his lovely garden! Will you help him eat his yummy treats and figure out what they are? Help Peter by digging in each hole, nibbling the food, and deciding what it is. Use your taste, smell, and sight to figure out this mystery! Good luck!"

When Hattie tore through the paper, she found grapes, carrots (which surprisingly she ate), bananas, apples, a flower-shaped sandwich and a cupcake with a flower on top. OK, so those things aren't necessarily things one might find in a garden (not ours at least), but close enough. She even tried feeding a carrot to her rabbit.

Muffin Tin Monday-Plants and Flowers

Another fun theme this week. Works out nicely with our garden theme we are doing at home this month. Her favorite this week: the gummy worm, least favorite: pudding. A little surprised with that one. I think because she thought it was dirt (well, that was the idea anyway). She did try the broccoli, but then decided she didn't like that either.


L to R: flower-shaped cheese on a cracker, chocolate
pudding with cookie crumbs (to resemble dirt) and a gummy
worm (non-edible flower :0 ), broccoli (mini trees), flower-shaped
pb & j sandwich (painted with blue food coloring and milk,
then toasted), cracker with the words, dirt, water and sun
spelled out using Alphabits cereal (something we are
learning about in our garden theme this month) and a flower
made out of strawberry slices, banana and Veggie Stick chip



First thing she grabbed was the gummy worm, and she
said, "Look Mommy. This worm is dirty." Notice how she
started on the opposite side of the worm?


Click on the link to see more ideas

8 Months and Happy Anniversary!

Our little cuddle bug is 8 months today. I love to watch the two girls starting to play together and enjoy each other.
At 8 months
She:
-has 6 teeth!
-is sharing a room with her big sister
-sleeps from 6pm-6am without any wake ups
-sits up on her own
-can get up on her knees and rock back and forth
-is not yet crawling (relief)
-is starting to sign "sleep"
-is learning the signs for "cat" and "more"
-likes squash!
-picks her arms up when she wants to be held
-still sucks her thumb
-smiles when Cameron walks into the room
-still wears her 3-6 month clothing
-takes 3-4 30 minute naps a day
-claps her hands when we do
-"dances" when someone sings or she hears a song

and Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad! 36 years!!!

Muffin Tin Monday-Birds and Nests

This week's theme is Birds and Nests, which to be honest with you, was a little more difficult to come up with ideas. Hattie seemed to enjoy it, and I enjoyed the leftovers.


L to R: bird (I couldn't think of a 6th food item), egg salad
sandwich and B for "bird," Cheerios in plastic eggs,
deviled eggs, gummy worms (birds eat worms!) and nests
with Jelly Belly jelly beans (chow mein noodles and melted
chocolate)


I asked Hattie to give me a thumbs up if she liked her
lunch, and this is what she did


Click on the button to see what others came up with.

My Favorite Thing Right Now...

At least 5 times a day, in the middle of nowhere, Hattie will say, "Mommy, wanna nuggle?" She wants to snuggle on the couch. So I stop what I'm doing, clear off the couch (there is always stuff on the couch), and we nuggle. Love it.

Muffin Tin Monday-Mother's Day (no theme)

No theme this week since yesterday was Mother's Day, so I made a Mom's theme: I spelled out the word, "mommy." This lunch also helped with sound/letter recognition since we are learning that the letter M says, "mmmm." BTW, this could also be used as a brown and orange theme. LOL!


L to R: half of a p-and-b sandwich, half an orange, other half
of p-and-b, pretzels and pb, cheese, snickerdoodle cookie


Pointing to the mmmmm sound :)

Finally! She is "Peas"ed

Sorry about the corny title. I had to do it.
Little Miss Celie does not like to eat solid food. Nope. She likes her milk and nothing else. I've been making a few things, and finally found something she likes-peas! The first few bites were kind of "eh", but then she got a huge smile on her face and opened her mouth whenever the spoon came near it. A big relief.