A couple weeks of fun!

Well, it has been a couple weeks since my last post.  We have been doing lots of fun things together and trying to stay busy.  Winter has decided to hang on for a little longer, so we have been trying to find enough things to keep us busy when it is still too cold to go outside very much (even though it is mid April!)

A Visit from Cousin Lana

A couple weeks ago, my sister in law was moving and so I took Joelle's cousin Lana for the day.  They had so much fun together that Joelle cried when she left at the end of the day.  It is so sweet that they are both finally getting to the age where they enjoy playing with each other sometimes.  The day Lana came over happened to be a fairly decent weather day, so my sister came over and we went to our nearby park with the girls.  They had such a great day together!

Easter/Spring Sensory Fun

I put together some new fun tot school games for Joelle.  I had so much fun putting together her Easter/Spring sensory box!  I love making these!  I think it can be almost as fun as scrapbooking sometimes to put these games and fun sensory things together for Little Miss.  I really enjoy doing it.  Here are some pictures of our new sensory box and some pictures of Sweet Pea enjoying it:

She loves the finger puppets and the bunny ears headband!

Finger Painting Fun

We did a couple things around the theme "A is for Apple."  We did some finger painting with red and yellow paint.  Joelle really loved this!  I think most of all she loved how it felt on her hands, and of course we had to follow up with a pretty long session at the sink to wash her hands afterwards!  She had a great time with this!

She always likes to taste it too.  Thank goodness for non toxic paint!

Apple Bucket Play

We also played with a bucket of apples and sang some apple songs.  Joelle loves this bucket of apples more than anything else that I have used in this theme.  She really doesn't care for any of the printables that I tried to use with her so we are not going to use them at this time.  I think maybe she is just too young to appreciate or enjoy them.  So, we are just going to continue playing and doing informal things together- sometimes we will follow a theme, sometimes we won't.  I don't mind either way.  I just like to do activities with her because it keeps both of us from getting bored.  

I broadened the "A" theme to also include "Animals" and this last two weeks I have had animal toys out on her shelf such as Noah's Ark, a few animal puzzles, some animal magnets on her magnet board, an animal pop up game, and a bin full of stuffed animals and other animal figures that we had.  I also filled her main book basket with books about animals, and we have spent a lot of time reading them.  I may not always do a focus like this, but this is a fairly easy way to do a theme.

She enjoyed the apple bucket so much that I put it out on her toy shelf.  She plays with it every day!  Who would have guessed!

The Red Bag

We also had fun playing with all of the stuff in her red bag for the past couple of weeks.  The play possibilities are endless!

Putting on a red sock!

wearing a red hat!

Easter Tot Tray Games
Finally, I have put together several Easter themed games for her.  She knows where I keep them and asks for them often.  This is a fun and easy way to have some semi-educational things available for her to do.  It is really still learning through play, which I think is best anyway at this age.  I got all of these little games very inexpensively at the dollar tree.  I am using pans instead of tot trays for now because I don't feel like spending the money on them.  Anyway, I never use these pans so it's a good thing to use them for.

Playing bunny tic tac toe with Daddy.

Playing with colorful pom poms.  She loved this and had so much fun making a huge mess with them!

Playing with Easter eggs in a carton.  She enjoyed opening each one.

Want to know more about Tot School?  Check out Carissa's blog at:  www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

The Reading Corner

I also have tried to be more intentional about spending time reading books to her and singing with her.  One day I made a little reading corner in the living room using some blankets and her big Winnie the Pooh pillow.  Just having this "special" area has made all the difference for us.  Most days, she asks me to sit there with her and read!

Reading Goodnight Gorilla to her baby!

Joelle has been really into her babies lately!  She has been carrying them around everywhere we go.  I love that she was actually reading to her baby on this day!  

A Family Outing

This week is Week of the Young Child, and as a last day celebration they had a free dinner/play event at the High Desert Museum.  We had a fun time going there together as a family.  Joelle enjoyed playing in a swimming pool full of birdseed, crawling through a tunnel in the volcano exhibit, dancing to the live kids music, and playing in the caves for kids in the otter's den.  We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner together and had a nice evening there as a family!

Me and my love!

Look at that face!

The ride home, wearing Daddy's sunglasses!