Don't Buy This Sand Box!

O was given a Play Wonder sandbox from Target for her 1st birthday, and we have been very happy with it for the past 10 months. 2 days ago we decided to move it to a different place in the yard. When we picked it up we saw that it had been infested with hungry termites. They did a terrible amount of damage, and if we had not picked up the sand box and seen the damage, they probably would have destroyed it beyond repair within the next few months or so. Luckily, we discovered the damage, and hopefully we've put a stop to it. We'll see!

Yep, She's Still Backwards

At 22 months old and about 26 pounds, O's car seat is STILL in the rear facing position. We've recieved lots of disbelieving looks and raised eyebrows over this, but Elliott and I both feel strongly that rear facing is the safest position. I've always planned on keeping O rear facing until she reached the maximum height and weight for her car seat, and Elliott was finally convinced after watching this video. I was excited to read in Parents magazine that the recommendation is changing to encourage parents to keep their children rear facing for as long as possible instead of turning them forwards at 1 year or 22 pounds. Yay! We aren't neurotically overprotective parents after all (well, maybe just a little bit!).

O's Earthworm

O found her 1st earthworm on Saturday morning while Elliott and I were laying sod in the front yard. She was VERY impressed and spent lots of time calling for more earthworms. She eventually figured out that earthworms don't come when they are called! We were surprised and pleased that she wasn't scared of the earthworm, and I think she would have carried it around all day if we'd let her.

Our Visit to a Local Montessori School

I found out that we have a Montessori school about 20 minutes from our house when O was about 3 months old, and I immediately called and put her on the waiting list. The lady at the school said that they were full for that year, but she would be on the list for the next year. There was a shocked silence when I told her that O was only 3 months old, and I wanted her on the list for 2009! She said she would create a list for 2009, and O would be the 1st one on it. I'm sure she thought I was a little crazy :) Last Tuesday I saw an ad in the paper stating that the Montessori school was having an open house for parents and children ages 3,4, and 5. I wasn't sure if we should go since O is not yet 2, but I called and left a message. The preacher (the school is run by an Episcopal Church) called Sunday morning and told us to come. Elliott and I were excited and a little nervous. We were VERY impressed with the school. The teacher and the preacher were very friendly, and I loved how everything was set up. It was great to see all of the Montessori materials "in real life" instead of just on the internet (I'm definitely planning on getting the sandpaper letters and metal insets very soon). O was shy at 1st, but then she was a little overstimulated and was into everything. I was a little nervous because she was grabbing everything, and I was afraid she would break something. I was also surprised because she is not normally like that at all. However, it was an unfamiliar environment, and her nap was cut short since we had to wake her up to go to the open house. O loved the live turtles and gerbil best of all. Good thing we have a lake FULL of turtles for her to love and observe (sadly we never found tadpoles, but we'll try again next year). The school currently has 10 students ages 3 to 6, and they will take up to 18 students. O MIGHT go to this school when she is 3, but I am not sure since its a 5 day a week program. We do not want her to go 5 days a week when she is 3. The teacher said they may work with me on setting it up for her to go just 3 days a week, but I'm thinking that I would like for her to start with just 2 days. I'm also hesitant about sending her because we are both loving homeschooling so much. I can't stand the thought of that ending. However, I know it will be good for her to go to a "real school" for a couple of years and make friends. She'll also have access to a lot of materials that we don't have at home. Then she'll be back home when she's 6 for more Montessori Homeschooling.

Over/Under

O constantly reminds me how the simplest things can be the most fun learning experiences. Our neighbors keep their pedal boat tied to a tree, and we have spent LOTS of time going over and under the rope. O definitely knows the conceps of over and under now!



Going under the rope

Now TRYING to go over the rope...she usually needs a little help to get over it!

Learning to Sweep

O wasn't very excited about learning to sweep at first :)


But she got over her hesitation fairly quickly. She doesn't normally dress up so much to hang around the house, but our neighbor, Erb (Irv), is in town, and he was wearing a blue shirt today, so O HAD to wear "boo like Erb." She's quite a fan of "Erb" and his wife, "Bahb."

Are You Planning on Turning Your Blog into a Book?

I am!!! I 1st started blogging when I was pregnant with O, and my other blog is a VERY detailed account of O's daily life. My intention from the very beginning was to somehow turn it into a book. In fact, that was the primary reason that I even started blogging. I love to take pictures and document O's life, and it so much easier to do that on a blog instead of in a traditional scrapbook. I've made several photo books using Snapfish and My Publisher, but both of these methods require lots of time and uploading of photos. Imagine my excitement when a highschool friend started her own company, Scrapbook Blogger, which slurps your blog and makes a book for you! I've already uploaded most of my 1st blog and some of Chasing Cheerios. After trying Blurb (and finding it very complicated and time consuming for this time strapped mama), I was amazed with how simple Scrapbook Blogger is. Its also EXTREMELY affordable. Its much less expensive than traditional scrapbooking, and I believe its cheaper than Snapfish and My Publisher (although I haven't actually calculated it on paper). O LOVES to look at photo albums each night, so I really can't wait until we have books of the blogs to read with her. I'm also excited to have the blogs turned into books because I think it will be a great memento for O when she has children of her own. I hope that she'll see the different activities that I've done with her and try them with her own children. Check out this interview with Ashley, founder of Scrapbook Blogger, at More Than Just a Mom.

So I Checked My Site Meter Tonight...

and I thought it was broken. My blog had 485 visits today!!! What! That's just crazy. I was sure it was broken or that I was reading it wrong, so I decided to check the referrals. The vast majority of the hits are coming from this link http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/scanimation Cool! If you haven't seen this book, you REALLY should check it out. Its truly amazing! We haven't read it since I posted about it in February, but I need to see if our local library will order it for us. It would be even better if one of O's grandparents bought it for her birthday... hint, hint :)

Phonics Pouch - m

My mom introduced the m phonics pouch to O yesterday, and we also did the work today. She seemed to enjoy it. I was a little hesitant to introduce her to phonics since she is so young, but she's shown such an interest in sounds and letters that I decided to give it a try. We'll stick with m for a while, then we'll try either a or t.

Sewing Block

I ordered this sewing block from Montessori N' Such, and O really loves it. This morning she said she was going to "sew like Duggie" (my mom). She's been watching my mom sew the knots on her I Spy quilt for the past month or so, so she's ready to sew by herself.

Counting in Spanish

O surprised us a few days ago by counting in Spanish. I used to count in Spanish with her everytime we counted in English, but I stopped once she started counting independently (about 6 months ago) because I was afraid she would get confused. While we were camping, I was reading her a book and decided to count in Spanish to see what she would say. I said "uno," then she said "dos, tres, cuatro." I almost fell over! All those months of counting in Spanish and listening to Spanish cds paid off :)

Thrifty Thursday

Today was a slow day for the thrift store! O and I have been out of town since Friday morning (we just got back home last night), so I didn't have time to find things to donate, and I only bought 1 book (49 cents). It was a board book that O is probably too old for, but I really liked it, so I couldn't resist.

"What are you thinking about?"

A online mama friend had the idea to start asking her kids what they are thinking about just because its fun to hear their answers. I thought this was a great idea, so I've been asking O lately. I thought it'd make a fun weekly blog post, and I'll love looking back on the things she's said and how her answers have changed as she's grown. I've also videod a few of her responses. This is how the 1st conversation went...
Mama: What are you thinking about O? (my mom was holding her, and we were standing in my mom's hallway)
O: Hmm?, hmmm? (while looking around the room)
Mama: What are you thinking?
O: night-night! (she was ready for a nap!)

After her nap... (we were outside with Sophie Socks & my mom. We were hoping that the fresh air would help SS feel better)
Mama: What are you thinking, O?
O: grinned and looked down almost shyly
Mama: What are you thinking?
O: night-night (grinning)

I asked her again today, but my brain isn't working and I can't remember what she said. I hope I'll remember to keep asking her. I think this will be fun :)

O's 1st Camping Trip

Writing "name" in the sand with Dada. O announced that she was writing "mama, dada, O, Grace, Socks," and she was very proud. She kept saying "write name."

Helping Daddy put the tent stakes in the ground
Unrolling the air mattress
Taking her own picture :)

For Mother's Day, I requested that we go on a camping trip. We almost didn't go due to bad weather, Sophie Socks, and a full campground. However, the weather improved, my mom promised to take care of Sophie Socks (and I knew she'd take even better care of her than I would, although I'll always feel bad about leaving her), and the campground had cancellations. We had a great time (until we got the bad news about Sophie). O really enjoyed helping set up the tent, and she loved running on the beach and playing in the water. She also really liked "writing" our names in the sand.

In Loving Memory of Sophie Socks

Our cat, Sophie Socks, who adopted us 3 and a half weeks ago died today. She showed up on our doorstep 3 and a half weeks ago, and I expected her to go back home at anytime. She decided that we were her family, and she stayed. She was the sweetest, friendliest cat we have ever met. She loved O, and O loved her (although O often did not know how to handle all of the attention Sophie gave her). On Tuesday night Sophie was her typical friendly and fun self. On Wednesday morning she was lethargic and had labored breathing. I called the vet and made an appointment for Friday, but I was fully expecting her to just get better. We gave her water with a dropper Wednesday night because we were afraid that she hadn't been eating. On Thursday, I had to go to work, and my mom was worried enough about Sophie that she decided to go ahead and take her to the vet. It was our 1st experience with the vet in our town, and my mom was not impressed. We brought Sophie to my mom's house on Friday, so her vet (who comes to her house) could see Sophie. Since he doesn' t have an office and therefore no x-ray machine, he couldn't make a definitive diagnosis, but he did give Soph a vitamin shot. On Saturday Soph seemed to feel better. She still had labored breathing and we had to continue feeding her about every hour and a half with a dropper, but she was walking around and seemed to want to be near us. I really thought she was going to get better. My mom took care of Soph while O, Elliott, and I went on our Mother's Day camping trip. We have an appointment for her at a different vet for tomorrow, but mom felt like she needed to take her today. The vet today told her that Soph was really, very sick and since she's such a small cat that she would probably not survive surgery and it would cause her more suffering. She recommended that we put Sophie to sleep. So Sophie Socks is no longer suffering, and we miss her terribly. We are so thankful to my mom for helping us take care of Sophie Socks and for taking her the vet for us. I am devastated by her loss, and I can't stop crying. We had such plans for this wonderful, sweet cat. O loved playing with her in the yard, and Soph even rode in the pedal boat briefly with us. Elliott and I were looking forward to taking her out in the ski boat in a couple of weeks, so she could be our boat cat. O incorporated her into our family, and whenever she talks about "mama, dada, O, Grace," she always includes "Socks." O even tried to write our names in the sand at the beach this morning. She wrote "mama, dada, O, Grace, Socks." We are so thankful that Sophie Socks came into our lives even though we didn't get to have her long enough. We'll miss her for a while and remember her forever.