MMM...Smells Good!

I recently found a set of 6 glass spice jars at the thrift store, and I could not resist buying them to set up a scent sniffing activity for E.

To set up this activity, I put a cotton ball with a different scent in each bottle. (I plan to change the scents every couple of weeks). Right now the bottles have the following scents: vanilla, apricot oil, banana flavoring, pineapple flavoring, tea tree oil, and rubbing alcohol. O, E, and I sat in a circle and passed the bottles around and talked about the scents. O and I described what we smelled...she said the rubbing alcohol smelled "horrible," and the vanilla smelled "sweet." Matching scents is one of O's favorite Montessori activities, so she was very excited that "baby sister" has a similar activity for her shelf.

An Easy, Healthy Dinner

I don't have much time to cook, so I try to make things that are fast, simple, healthy, and don't require many pots or pans. This meal met all of my requirements, so I make it often :) I'm not sure what to call it...maybe Veggie & Chicken Couscous Casserole.

To make Veggie & Chicken Couscous Casserole, you need frozen carrots, frozen brocolli florets, whole grain couscous, and precooked rotisserie chicken (I love buying cooked rotisserie chickens from WM...one chicken usually lasts several days and makes my life so much easier). I saute the brocolli and carrots in olive oil and garlic. Once they are cooked, I pour in whole grain couscous and water (I don't measure anything...I just add couscous and water until it looks right). I shred the rotisserie chicken and add it in. This is a quick, easy, and healthy meal, and it's also great for mashing into baby food :)

Imbucare Box

We gave E this Imbucare Box for Christmas, and I introduced it to her last week (I found it for around 5 dollars and could not resist buying it for her). She LOVES it! I think I may have another Montessori girl on my hands!

E's Velcro Board

E is always right with us when O and I do Montessori work, but last week I laid out a rug for her and set her up with her own activities. She was so excited that she was practically vibrating :) Her arms were waving, and she was kicking her feet. She loves to be included in everything we do, and she felt like a big girl with her own rug!

I introduced the velcro board, and she thought it was fun (and tasty!). To make the velcro board, I put 2 strips of sticky backed velcro on a board. I put velcro on the bottoms of several objects for her to stick on the board. She loves to pull the objects off and immediately taste them. I watch her very closely and frequently check the velcro to make sure it is not getting loose. Also, I took off any small objects that could be choking hazards. (I made the velcro board for O when she was a toddler). I'll be setting up E's activities on our Montessori shelf soon, and we are all (O, E, and me) very excited about it.

Homemade Yogurt Smoothie

O and I recently made a homemade yogurt smoothie drink as suggested by a commenter. To make the smoothie, we poured milk into a glass bottle along with several spoonfuls of plain yogurt. O put the lid on the bottle and shook it to mix the milk and yogurt. She tasted it and declared that it had no taste and needed something more. She then mashed a banana and added it to the mixture (she loves to make concoctions and almost always includes mashed bananas in her recipes). She said her smoothie was delicious, so hopefully our days of buying yogurt drinks are behind us!

1st Embroidery Project

O recently completed her first embroidery project! She was so proud and excited, and I loved watching her intense focus and attention. For her first embroidery project, she chose red thread and did not want to follow a pattern. She just wove the thread in and out to make lines on her cloth. She was very engrossed in this activity, and we are both looking forward to more embroidery projects for her.

Planting E's Tree

We FINALLY planted E's Pear tree last weekend! We plant fruit trees for each of our children when they are babies, and I was relieved to get E's tree planted before she turned one! We planted a peach tree and a fig tree when O was a baby, and we planted a plum tree on the due date of the baby we lost. We now have trees full of peaches, figs, and plums, and we are so excited to have fresh, organic fruit picked straight from our yard this summer. I can't wait to have pears next summer! Elliott and O worked hard to plant the tree. E and I held it steady while they shoveled dirt, and E really wanted to get down and eat some dirt!

Sick Kids

My girls are sick, and they've both just had their first antibiotics EVER! I know we are so lucky that they have been so healthy so far, but the last 2 weeks have been rough. We've been trying to fight their colds naturally, and they were both doing better for a while. Then they both started coughing more on Tuesday and last night was terrible. We took them to the doctor this morning...it was O's first EVER sick visit to the doctor, and she is almost 4 years old. I'm hoping that the antibiotics will work their magic quickly, so my girls can feel good again very soon!

Exploring a New Basket of Treasures

I gave E a new treasure basket this week. It's filled with coral that her grandmother brought over for E and O, and she loves it! I watch her carefully since she puts everything in her mouth. I don't like for her to gnaw on the coral, but I let her put it in her mouth to experience the taste and texture (and I even tried it myself to make sure that the coral wasn't too abrasive for her tender gums).

I love to watch my girls play with natural objects, such as rocks, shells, and coral, and it's nice to know that they actually prefer these things to junky plastic toys (usually!). I love how E has her sweet feet propped on the basket as she explores the coral!

Playing Drums

After playing What's Inside? E enjoys playing the tin like a drum. We make drums out of empty mixed nut containers and other random containers. She also thinks it's hilarious to slap my stomach like a drum :)

A few days ago I took out several pots and pans to use as drums. I enjoyed playing these drums even more than the girls did!

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Snack

We've recently discovered dark chocolate almond butter, and O loves it! She's spreading it on whole grain Wasa crackers to make a cracker/almond butter sandwich in this picture. Right after I took the picture, she started intentionally smearing the almond butter on her fingers as she spread it on the cracker so that she could lick her fingers. Silly girl!

Finger Update

I just wanted to post a quick update on my finger since several of you have asked :) It has healed completely, and I was so glad that it healed before our mini vacation a couple of weeks ago so I was able to enjoy the pool with the kiddos. I can't straighten my finger, but I'm not too worried about that. It looks strange, but I'd much rather have a bent finger that won't straighten than a straight finger that won't bend! It's only a problem when I try to put my hands in my pockets, and it just doesn't quite work :) Thanks for all of the well wishes...I'm off to chase my newly crawling baby now!

What's Inside?

E loves to play What's Inside?!!

To do this activity, I put a toy (block, rattle, lamb, etc) in a tin and shake it up and ask "What's inside?" E gets SO excited...she grins, waves her arms, and kicks her legs. I then help her open the tin to see what is inside. We talk about the concepts of in/out and open/closed. O joins in on this activity and guesses what is in the tin. This is a fun, simple, and quick activity for babies and toddlers!

Touchy, Feely Books

Several people have asked about the different activities that I do with E (she is 8 months old), so I am going to try to post more baby activities.

Our primary activity with E is reading books aloud to her. Lately, we've been reading more touchy, feely books. She touches the texture, and we talk about whether it is soft, bumpy, etc. O also loves this activity :) In addition to reading aloud to her everyday, we recite nursery rhymes and do fingerplays with her daily. She especially loves "Itsy, Bitsy Spider," and she has even made the sun motion a few times.

Fabric Pillow Matching

Here's a fun and simple activity I made for O a few months ago...I made small fabric pillows out of differently textured fabric for her to match. I made 2 pillows using each of the following fabric...fleece, flannel, satin, corduroy, velvet, and cotton (a couple of pairs of pillows are missing from the picture). O wears a blindfold to match the pillows. (I originally planned to make beanbags, but I decided to stuff them with pillow stuffing rather than beans so that the texture of the beans wouldn't distract from the texture of the fabric). These tiny pillows were simple to make and fun to use!