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Friday, December 30, 2016

Merry Christmas 2016

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing
Ring ting tingle-ing too
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday.  The music, sights, smells, and FOOD :)
I hate the cold, so Christmas makes the winter season bearable LOL

I love spending time with my family and friends, making cookies, enjoying delicious food and drinks.  But what's even more amazing this Christmas is being able to enjoy it with a two year-old.   Don't get me wrong, Colton enjoyed last Christmas, and it was wonderful to see it all through his eyes.  But he was way more into everything this year.  Our family adopted an elf, who Colton named Pumpkin, Colton sat on Santa's lap for the first time, helped me decorate the tree, and learned to sing "Jingle Bells".  

His favorite presents were his Paw Patrol toys, his bike, his drum set, and his vacuum.  
What can I say, the kid loves to clean.



I hope your holiday was filled with love and laughter.
xoxo



Sunday, November 6, 2016

My favorite season

It's fall.....or should I say "IT'S FALL"!!!!!!!!!!!
Fall is by far my favorite season, we've been spending almost every day outside.  
The weather is so perfect...so cool and crisp, everything is so beautiful, the fall food is so delicious...the air even smells better!


I feel like the fall season is so short, and so we all try to soak up every minute of it.  
I swear, it goes from hotter than anything to freezing in the blink of an eye.


Really, fall is like childhood...gone in the blink of an eye.  I'm so glad that I've taken up photography.  I love catching Colton in the quiet moments.  The best pictures are when he's just playing and I'm snapping :)















Saturday, September 24, 2016

Rainy Day Activities

We have been enjoying this fall weather so much!  I swear this is my favorite time of year.  I love the cooler weather, the smell in the air, getting to layer up, sleeping with the windows open, all the beautiful new colors, and of course pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING!  Every weekend, and some week day evenings, we can be found hiking, walking, or playing at one of the local playgrounds.  The fall season is so short, I feel like we need to soak up every ounce of it before its gone.

Unfortunately not every day can be beautiful (if you find a place that is....I'm moving).  You are inevitably left with cloudy days, humid and sticky days, and the worst....rainy days.  These days with a toddler can be trying.  Just like mommy and daddy, Colton loves to be outside.  He understands that we can't play outside when its gross or rainy (thank goodness), but trying to find indoor activities to entertain him can be difficult.  He doesn't really like to watch tv or movies (which is a good thing), he's a very active child.  However, active doesn't mean hyper, he is very content sitting quietly with an activity that is mentally engaging....enter "squishy sand".


My mother-in-law, bless her heart, loves to come over on the weekends to play with Colton.  Occasionally she will also bring something for him, and outfit, a toy, some fruit, etc.  A few weeks ago she brought over this Kinetic Sand for him to play with.  I had never heard of it before, but he loves his sand box, and he loves Play-Do, so this sounded like it could be cool.

I am so grateful that she brought this wonderfully weird stuff into our house, its one of his favorite rainy day activities!  Apparently this sand is magnetized, it acts like a mix between Play-Do and regular sand. 

A few of the things I really love about this stuff is that Colton can play with it independently.  If he's playing with the Play-Do, he needs help.  He has trouble with it because it harder to work with, and he likes to cut shapes but the Play-Do has to be flat for them to work.  This sand came with a few molds that are very easy to work with.  It's also a breeze to clean up!  Because its slightly magnetized you just get a little bit and use it to pick up the rest.  The box it came in seconds as a play area and we try to keep the sand in the box.

This stuff can entertain him for almost an hour.  And I'm talking an hour of me sitting on the couch checking Facebook while he plays nicely at his table....score! (no, seriously, I usually play with him....this stuff is pretty cool)


Anyhoo...my MIL said she got the Kinetic Sand at Jo-Ann's, but I imagine they probably also have it on Amazon, and maybe at Toys-R-Us.  Seriously, its great!  My sister-in-law works with children with special needs and she said they use this sand for sensory breaks.  It feels really weird at first, but its neat to play with, and holds the molds incredibly well.



I just thought I'd share, I know we are always looking for new rainy day activities.  
What do you like to do with your children on rainy days?

<3 xoxo



Thursday, August 11, 2016

We went to the Zoo

Earlier this week my two sister-in-laws and I took Colton to the zoo.  This was his first trip to the zoo, and I have to say it was amazing!!!  



I don't think he really had any idea what we were doing until we got there.  I tried to explain to him that we were going to the zoo, and what animals we would see, and we even read a zoo book the day before we left.  But that morning at breakfast he told me he was going to "hug and hold" a giraffe.  It makes sense if you think about it...his only experience with "zoo" animals is in books, and toys.  He can't possibly comprehend just how large (or small) some of these animals are until he sees them.



It was great, to see the zoo through the eyes of a child.  I swear, he makes almost every activity more fun.  He just gets so excited about everything, and he's such a good boy! 




His two favorite animals were the flamingos (I think just because the are pink, and they were making a bunch of noise), and the giraffe.  He got to feed a giraffe which was a pretty cool experience.  We also got to see them run and play!  Seriously!  I've never seen anything like it, they were running around and chasing each other like you see horses do.  It was the most majestic and amazing thing to see.




I can not wait to take him back, we had an amazing time.  I feel like I've said this at every age, but really, two is my favorite so far!!!




















Thursday, July 28, 2016

Pickin' Blueberries

The absolute best thing about being a teacher is that for 2 months of the summer you get to pretend you are a stay-at-home mom.  I love spending everyday with Colton, the good and the bad LOL.


We try to get out and do something as often as possible.  Sometimes that is as simple as taking a walk around the block, and sometimes....we go blueberry picking!




It's been a really long time since I've been to a "pick your own" farm, and I had never taken Colton. 
Some friends invited us out to go picking with them, and Colton loved it.  I think he eat more than he put in the bucket, but it was a good time.....a HOT time, but good :)


Saturday, July 16, 2016

Beach Baby

We are lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to the beach a few times a summer.  
I love when Chris joins us on vacation, but I also really love it when Colton and I get to spend some time with my family, just us.

He is one of the best behaved children, I swear!  It makes it so you can do anything, because he's just such a good boy!  I am truly so very blessed.

We went out to dinner the last night we were there, and to say the service was crappy is an understatement.  We waited over an hour for a table when they told us it would be about 20 min.  But the whole time we waited Colton just watched the guy playing guitar in the lobby.  He actually had a really great time and enjoyed the biggest grilled cheese I've ever seen, and got some ice-cream as a treat.  Seriously....such a wonderful kid. <3