Underwear.

My 15-month-old loves to play with several items.

Keys.

Shoes.

And, her Sissher's underwear.

Anala Bears has spent AN HOUR straight quietly going though Nye-Nye's clean underwear basket. Patiently trying to put the undies on OVER her diaper. Once she has accomplished that task, then she likes to wear the rest as bracelets.

Sometimes she likes to wear them on her head.

I love this girl.

Activities for Babies: Painting with Colored Potato Flakes

My 13-month-old is in THAT STAGE. You know the "Everything-In-The-Mouth" one.

It's meant that I haven't been able to do many Art Projects with the 3-year-old for the last few months (unless the baby is sleeping).

I finally decide to try out a simple, edible paint that BOTH girls can use.

Enter Instant Potato Flakes.

All you do is add water to some instant potatoes and some food dye.

The first batch turned out to be more of a play-dough material than paint.  Honestly, the 13-month-old only played with it for about 5 minutes. But, she was very engaged for those few minutes.

It was a MUCH big hit with the 3-year-old. She spent at least 3 hours enraptured with this new material.

I would definitely call that a hit! It's nice finding an activity that they can both to together. (The peace may only last 5 minutes....but....boy is it golden.)

The Month of Joy. Grating Carrots.

Helping out in the Kitchen is big around these parts these days. Nye-Nye just learned how to grate carrots. She probably ate more than she grated. But, she was so proud of herself!

Whenever she is interested, I try and find a way for her to help with cooking.

Yogurt Cakes are still very popular!

Yogurt Cake. Gluten-Free.

In an attempt to help my daughter develop a bit more patience, we've been baking a lot.

The book, Bring Up Bebe, inspired this burst of baking.

It took a few goes, but now I think I've figured out a recipe that works for us (I combined several recipes I found).

We've been making variations of this Yogurt Cake for about 10 months now. 

Blueberry. Cinnamon. Cardamom and Ginger. Apple. Mango. Rosemary and Parmesan. Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Cinnamon and Maple Syrup. Green Tea.

Yummy. 

And so easy for this Non-Baker. 

Fool-proof, unless you are completely distracted like I was and forgot the Yogurt!

Yogurt Cake

• 2 six-ounce containers of plain Greek Yogurt (use empty Yogurt containers to measure other ingredients)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 container of Sugar or Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
• just under 1 container of Olive Oil or Coconut Oil or Vegetable Oil
• 2 1/2 containers of Brown Rice Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F

2. Use Oil to grease a 9-inch round cake pan or loaf pan

3. Mix the Flour and Baking Powder

4. Add Yogurt, Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla, and Oil

5. Add extras (Berries, etc..).

6. Bake for 35 minutes, then five minutes more if the cake doesn't pass the fork test. Almost crispy on the outside, but springy on the inside.

7. Cool and enjoy!!!

National Arboretum.

I've been wanting to visit the National Arboretum for at least two years. 

On Friday, we finally made it.

Our Family has been a "One-Car Family" for about 4 months now (which has been a relatively easy transition). But, it means that trips with the girls have only been happening on the Weekends. 

With the weather turning nicer, I decided it was time to venture past our neighborhood

I dropped off Papa Bear at work and bit the bullet and drove into D.C.. I am notorious for getting flustered and lost, while driving in D.C..

So, I wasn't surprised when it took an extra 40 minutes for me to find the place.

It's HUGE.

We had a nice time despite the mile walk to and from the parking lot. And, the baby missing her morning nap, and the 3 year-old pooping in her underwear and the overly-tired baby screaming during most of the walk back.

It was fun, I promise. 

The Capital Columns were beautiful and both girls had a blast exploring them.

We were only able to explore a very tiny part of the grounds.

There is a large Herb Garden that I can't wait to see. But, I think I'll either go by myself or wait until the girls are a little older.

There is A LOT of walking (unless you can figure out the Tram Schedule).

The United States National Arboretum is a wonderful local resource. They have numerous workshops and an amazing Plant Sale (that actually started on Friday). There are tons of Bonsai Trees and Azaleas. And, even a Full Moon Hike.

It's a photographer's Dream.

Here a few of my favorites...

A Simple Lacing Activity. Fruit. Ages 2+ and Up.

Last Halloween, when Nye-Nye got dressed up as a Fruit Fly, I created a Trash Bag Stroller for the Del Ray Halloween Parade.

My Sissy helped me created several Fruit Peels using card stock, Sharpies and watercolors. I drew out the shapes in pencil and then went over them with a Sharpie.

Aunt Mimi cut out the shapes and then I painted them with the watercolors. It took about an hour to make them. 

I liked how they looked, so I didn't want to throw them in the Recycling Bin, after Halloween was over. 

Recently, I figured out a new use for them.

"A Lacing Activity."

All I had to do was use a hole-punch around the edge and then tie a ribbon around one hole.

I say "all I had to do is" but honestly, those little suckers are hard to punch. As you can see, I haven't finished the Banana Peel or the Apple Core. The paper was closer to cardboard weight and hurt my hands to punch through...so spending 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there may be the way to go.

I can't wait until Nye-Nye expresses more interest in lacing. Then, I'll create some more with a different theme.

I think this is such an easy, cheap Activity for Preschoolers.

The possibilities are endless!

Cute Wordless Birthday Book. "Carl's Birthday."

Okay, so the first page and the last page both have a few sentences - making this book, technically, not wordless. But, all the other pages are just illustrations. Very sweet, charming illustrations.

The story is about a Toddler (Madeline) and her dog, Carl, who are sent to their neighbor's house for a nap, while their Mama gets ready for a Birthday Party.

Madeline and Carl sneak back home and discover lots of yummy and exciting surprises at their house.

It's been a hit at our house for the last 6 weeks. We keep renewing this library book.

Now, that Nye-Nye is turning THREE on Friday, it's been handled even more. I've been observing her sitting on the couch or her chair, telling the story in her own words.

This is BIG because she is NOT a kid, who wants to sit still and read books all day. 

I think we'll going to have to get our own copy.

This book is great, especially, if your family includes a special canine member. 

 

Marshmallow Snowmen.

In honor of Northern Virginia's Last Snowfall of 2014 (hopefully), I wanted to share these cute little Marshmallow Snowmen.

Nye-Nye made them way back in December, but I never shared them. My Mama was visiting and had great fun making her own.

All you need is a bag of large marshmallows, tons of tooth-picks, pipe-cleaners, markers and some white glue. Cloves are optional.

We stuck a tooth-pick (or 2) connecting the head to the belly. Then another tooth-pick (or 2) from the bottom up to the belly. 

More tooth-picks became the arms. 

Cloves made nice eyes, noses and nipples (totally my then 2 1/2 year old's idea).

Nye-Nye had a terrific time wrapping the pipe-cleaners into scarves and adding details to each face. 

I twisted pipe-cleaners into a loop and stuck the on top of each head, so we could hang them from our Christmas Tree. 

They kept coming apart when we hung them, so I just added some glue between each marshmallow. Problem solved.

Can't wait to make another set next year!

Making Valentines With a Toddler. Electrical Tape.

Red, Black, White.

One of my favorite color combinations.

So classic.

So perfect for Valentine's Day.

This is a card that Nye-Nye made last year, when she was 23-months-old. It was so simple to make with her. 

All I had to do was cut some tiny white Hearts and some squares of red Electrical Tape.

I cut a ton of squares and gently stuck them to the edge of the table. She had a blast carefully picking each one and placing it down on the card. 

When it seemed like there was enough squares down, I then started adding glue to the Hearts and passing each one to her.

I could see this working with a Kiddo as early as 18 months. I love it because you can't necessarily tell a Toddler made it.

Too bad we are out of Electricial Tape right now, otherwise, we'd be making some tonight. Hope this inspires you!

Marbled Valentines Out of Shaving Cream and Food Dye.

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! How did that happen?

If you are stuck inside and looking for something to do, this is a very easy and incredibly fun activity.

You probably have all the ingredients necessary.

"Marbled Valentines out of Shaving Cream and Food Dye."

Shaving Cream.

Food Dye.

Paper.

Tooth-picks or a butter knife.

Cardboard.

Paper plate or pie plate.

Be prepared for a big mess! 

Directions

1. Cut some Hearts out of paper (make sure they fit in the envelopes you are planning on using...giant envelopes cost more to send, which I forgot about last year).
2. Lay out either newspaper or an old table cloth or better yet do it in the tub.
3. Fill plate with shaving cream (about an inch thick).
4. Squeeze a few drops of food dye into the shaving cream (fun for little ones to do).
5. Swirl around with tooth picks or a butter knife (my 3-year-old particularly liked this part).
6. Squish Heart onto shaving cream.
7. Scrape off with a piece of cardboard (I ended up doing this part, you may go through several pieces of cardboard depending how thick your pieces are).
8. Let the Heart dry (it only takes a few minutes).

It's like Magic, how the marbled effect appears! 

Yup, I enjoyed the process as much as my 3-year-old.

I would say this activity would work from age 18 months and up (as long as they are no longer putting things in their mouth). 

What a terrific Sensory Activity! 

Very small ones will love to just squish and squish their hands, particularly if they have never played with shaving cream before.

Nye-Nye loved to pretend she was making peanut butter sandwiches with the butter knife. 

I have a feeling this will be a MUCH requested activity over the next few months!

I found the idea for this project right here.