Black

My little cat was not thrilled about taking pictures this afternoon. She was excited about being a cat until she got the costume on. She was ready to take it off quickly, and I don't blame her because its HOT!

Dressing Frames

I planned on making dressing frames, but when I saw this set on Montessori n Such for only 9 dollars I HAD to buy them! I really can't resist a good deal : ) I'm sure I would have spent more even if I bought the frames and clothes to make them from the thrift store. I was very pleased with how well made they are, but the buttons will need to be reinforced. O isn't quite ready for these frames, but I can't wait until my 4 year old niece comes to visit because I think she'll love them!

White

We had to really hunt around the house to find things for our white picture. The monkey was mine when I was little and was stuffed in a bag in the top of O's closet. The dress is a 6/9 months sized dress. I can't believe how well it fit her, and she was VERY excited to wear the bonnet :)

DIY Bell Bracelet/Anklet

When I saw this jingle bracelet, my 1st thought was that O would LOVE it (take some time to browse the Nova Naturals site if you get a chance. Its a wonderful resource for beautiful, natural toys). Then I quickly realized that it would be very easy to make. It was! You need a pack of wooden beads, silver bells, and elastic string. Just thread the bells and beads onto the elastic string, cut your string, and tie it in a knot (I triple knotted mine for safety). Its super simple and fast. It was very satisfying to finish a project so quickly :) If you make this bracelet for a child under 3 make sure to supervise them at all times since it could easily break and pose a choking hazard.

Unloading the Dishwasher

I had no idea that unloading and reloading the dishwasher could be so much fun! This is O's new favorite way to "elp mama." She loves sorting the forks and spoons into the right compartments. After she finished unloading them, she quickly started reloading the dishwasher with clean utensils. She was having a great time, and she was dancing to the Beatles the whole time :)

Doing the slide back to the drawer. My girl loves to dance!

Green

Here's a picture from O's green photo shoot. We were surprised by how many green things we found once we started looking. O was especially excited about taking her "big eaf" outside. I want to finish our color photo shoots next week since we'll start our marathon of vacations the week after that. Hopefully, we'll do blue, black, brown, purple, and white next week. Then who knows when I'll actually get the book made :( My goal is to finish it before O's birthday. We'll see!

Magazines for Toddlers???

I'd like to get O a subscription to a magazine for her 2nd birthday which is in July. I'm trying to decide between Highlights High 5 and Your Big Backyard. Does anyone out there in blogland have any advice or opinions about these magazines??? I'd appreciate any input/suggestions that you have. Also, if anyone knows of any other good magazines for toddlers, I'd love to know about them. Thanks!

Red

We had our red photo shoot today. Only a few colors to go!

Playing with Ice

When I saw Jo Ebi's Ice Cooking post a few days ago, I knew it was something we'd have to try. Today was a super hot day, so this was the perfect way to cool off. At almost 7 pm, it was still 97 degrees, so we didn't stay out for too long. O was REALLY excited about playing with ice, and she had a super time. I was happy because I was able to quickly cut out some pics for a book I'm making for O while she played.

Orange

O and I had fun gathering orange items from around the house for her orange picture (for her colors book). However, she was done with the orange photo shoot before I was :)

Matching Fabric Swatches

My MIL gave O a big bag of fabric swatches several months ago, and I cut a few of them into matching squares. She was intrigued at 1st, but she lost interest quickly.

A Bowl of Music

I realized a few weeks ago that O would be more likely to play her musical instruments/noise makers if I put them all together in a designated location instead of just having them here and there around the house. I was right :) She loves her "bowl of music," and she is always getting it off the shelf for lots of loud fun! Her favorites are the harmonica and egg shaker, and I really like the chachis. I think the train whistle is Elliott's favorite :)

Peek-A-Boo Book

To make a peek-a-boo book you need a small notebook, old magazines with interesting pictures, glue, and scissors. I bought this felt covered notebook from the dollar shelf at Jo Ann's several months ago with the intention of making this book. I cut out pictures that I knew that O would find interesting- babies, animals, trees, food, etc, and my mom glued the pictures on every other page one night while she was here. I put the book away for the night and forgot about it for about 2 months. Last night I "found" it and cut the pages between the pictures into strips of 2 or 3. I showed O how to slowly and carefully turn just one strip at a time while trying to guess what the picture was. I was afraid that she would not be interested at all, but she really enjoyed guessing what the pictures were. I wish that the pages were cardstock instead of notebook paper because I'm sure that the pages are going to tear very easily. She also had trouble turning the pages on her own since they are so thin.

Unplug Your Kids: Paint

We haven't participated in an unplugged project for a while, so when I saw that this week's theme was paint I thought we'd jump back in! O is painting birdhouses to give as Father's Day gifts. She LOVED mixing the different colors of paint together, and she preferred to paint with her hands instead of the paint brushes.

O briefly tried out her new tabletop easel, but she was "done!" with painting by the time I thought of bringing it out.

Sorting and Matching Shells and Rocks

A few days ago O brought me 2 conch shells, and she said "niney (tiny)" as she handed me the smaller one and "big" as she handed me the big one. I told her that was a great idea for a montessori work. I gathered several shells and rocks that were big and tiny and put them in a basket together. I showed O how to put the big shells and rock in one basket and the tiny ones in the other basket. She caught right on and enjoyed this sorting work.
After she finished sorting the shells and rocks, I showed O how to match the big shells/rock with the tiny shells. She matched them quickly and then she was "done." (she loves to announce when she is "done!")