Working Together

We have been seeing a lot more of this over the last month or so, and I love it! E is so excited to play with O, and she especially loves playing with O in her pretend kitchen. I love having 2 girls!

We Are So Thankful...

We had a near tragedy while we were at the beach...Elliott, his dad, and O were in the ocean. O was in an inflatable boat, and they were riding the waves in water that was waist deep on Elliott. A huge wave crashed on them. When Elliott wiped the water from his eyes, O was gone. The wave knocked her out of the boat, sucked her under, and pulled her away from him. Luckily, she had on a life jacket, and she popped up about 10 feet from him, and they quickly swam to each other. I don't even want to think about the outcome had she not been wearing a life jacket.

We spent 2 weeks at the beach and saw plenty of small kids swimming and playing in the water, and O is the only child I ever saw who was wearing a life jacket. Elliott and I are known for being overprotective, but in this instance it paid off. We are forever thankful that we insist on our sweet girl wearing a life jacket in the ocean.

I'm sharing this story to encourage you to put a life jacket on your child if they are swimming in the ocean. O was with 2 adults and was in an inflatable device, but she could have easily been lost had she not been wearing a life jacket. It's amazing how quickly a tragedy can occur especially in a place as unpredictable as the ocean.

Shadow Tag

We've recently returned home from 2 weeks of vacation at the beach. We had a wonderful time and made lots of great memories. One of our favorite things was playing shadow tag on the beach. When we play shadow tag, the person who is "it" has to step on the head of the shadow of the other person. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to play tag!

We also took several "shadow shots." This is one of my favorites!


Here is a family shadow shot. I love how O is making the sign for "I love you."

Excavating Objects from the Ice

Freezing small objects in bowls of water and then excavating them is one of our favorite summertime activities (this is the 3rd year that we've done this)!

O and her cousin had a great time using spoons, salt, water, etc. to remove the objects from the ice. O eventually took her block of ice to the carport and threw it down as hard as she could. She had to throw it a couple of times, but it eventually shattered and sent pieces of ice and objects flying. She was very excited! The girls gathered the pieces of ice and put them back in the freezer...they plan to make ice sculptures with them one day :)

Picking Peaches

While we were playing "Princess Teacher" (I was the teacher who was wearing a beautiful tiara), O, E, and I went on a field trip to pick peaches (in our backyard). We filled our colander with lots of yummy peaches. They aren't all ripe, but we wanted to get them before the birds do! Luckily, O loves peaches and eats 3 or 4 a day!

Ice-Cream Sandwich Cake

Here is a simple and delicious cake for a hot day! We always go to a nearby waterpark for O and my mom's birthday, and I wanted to make something easy and delicious. This ice-cream sandwich cake was the perfect solution!

To make the cake, I put a layer of ice-cream sandwiches in the bottom of a baking dish. 6 sandwiches fit in each dish. I crushed butterfingers and spread them over the ice-cream sandwiches. I then spread Cool Whip over the entire thing. This is not at all healthy, but it was fast, simple, and delicious, and since it's only once a year, I decided it would be ok to be a little unhealthy :)

Playing "Pretty Up"

O LOVES to play "pretty up" with my mom's jewelry. While my mom was putting the baby down for a nap, O and I took turns decorating each other with necklaces, earings, and hair combs. O is always so proud when she looks "fancy." I'm sure that playing with her grandmama and grandmother's jewelry will be one of her special childhood memories :)

Moveable Alphabet Activity

Lisa from Reading with Hannah sent us 2 boxes full of wonderful activities, books, and a crayon roll. We have had so much fun with everything and are amazed by her generosity. This is one of the activities that O really enjoyed.

Each of the cards has a picture of an object on it. O labeled the object and then spelled out the word with the included construction paper letters. Then she opened the cards to check her work. I love that the cards opened for her to check her work (although she said "I don't need to check them because I know they are all right." She's a very confident girl!)

Handpainted Bracelet

O recently painted a wooden bracelet for my mom for her birthday. She was so proud and enjoyed this activity very much. When she gave the bracelet to my mom, she explained that it had 3 layers of paint and one layer of glitter. She was very deliberate in choosing her colors and thought each step of the process through thoroughly :) She has really enjoyed painting handmade gifts over the past few months...she's painted 2 birdhouses, this bracelet, a fish, a snake, and a picture frame!

A Fun Math Activity

This is another activity that Lisa sent us. O put the numbers (made out of contruction paper) in order from 0 to 9. Then she counted out the correct number of paws (foam) for each number. She's getting really good at this type of work, and she loves doing it!

Magnetic Necklaces

Magnetti necklaces are all the rage around here, and when I saw them I said "I can make that!" (and was appalled by how much they cost!) It took me a while to gather the appropriate materials and find the time to make them, but it was very easy to do. O wants a "collection" of magnettis, so I know what her handmade Christmas gift is going to be!

The necklace is a silky cord with a magnetic bail attached. I ordered bails from Amazon, but they were not magnetic. My mom finally found magnetic bails and the silky cords at Hobby Lobby...I REALLY wish that we lived closer to a Hobby Lobby...I haven't been there since before Christmas!

Anyway, to make the pendant, I used round, wooden discs (from Michael's). I painted the discs white and cut a circle from scrapbook paper to fit the discs. I decopaged the scrapbook paper circle to the discs and then covered the front and sides of the discs with a protective layer of decopauge. I then glued a VERY strong magnet to the back of the finished disc using E600 glue. (These magnets actually make me a little nervous since we have a baby who puts everything in her mouth...I only worked on this after she was asleep because I was afraid I'd drop one without realizing it, and she'd eat it before I could stop her).

I let the glue dry for a couple of days before trying out the magnetic disc on the bail. It worked perfectly, and I hope the recipient of this necklace loves it as much as O does!

A Simple Science Experiment

What to do with old inedible celery??? Put it in water colored with food coloring to see what happens, of course! O had fun mixing the water and food coloring and then watching the celery change colors. She was excited and amazed when the celery started turning colors. Simple and fun (and educational!).

"The Best Popstickle Ever!"

O loves "popstickles," and a few days ago she said "I have a great idea for a popstickle! I'll put water in a cup, stick a spoon in it, and put it in the freezer. Then I'll pull it out and have a popstickle." She was VERY impressed with her "popstickle" and thinks it is absolutely fantastic. She's made several since then. Simple pleasures are best :)

Playsilks for Baby

Playsilks are one of my most favorite toys for my girls! They are so versatile and open ended, and both girls love them. It is especially fun to play peek-a-boo with the playsilks, and E also enjoys chewing on them. Since we dyed them with kool-aid, the red one leaves her with a colorful mouth :)

Tree Trunk Crayon Rubbings

A few weeks ago when we were studying our backyard habitat, O and I made crayon rubbings of several tree trunks. I held a piece of paper on the tree trunk, and O used a flat crayon (mini muffin tin crayons made from leftover crayon bits) to rub across the paper to make the rubbing. We also made rubbings of her face and hair...they didn't turn out very well, but it was fun!