Saturday afternoon field trip

This past Saturday our family took a trip out to the retired horse farm and had so much fun! The horses were so friendly and patient with the kids and ate apples and carrots right out of our little hands. They had such dramatic little soap opera lives-- they fought over men, pouted over breakups, and hung out with their buddy day in and day out. As funny as they were, it was also touching as they are all sent their to rest and receive the best care after a life serving their owners. We can not wait to go back and visit again soon.

Healthy Baby sleep habits

Okay, I am blogging about this because I love to talk about Baby safety because thats where my background is and its so important! Here are just some really good safety tips and some pointers too:

*I have found that when swaddling the baby in a little burrito, thermal blankets work the best and last better then the flannel ones hands down

* Once your baby can wiggle out of the swaddling, its time for a sleep sack. I love sleep sacks because they are a very easy and comfortable sleep solution over; plus, they have come along way and you can even get them with sleeves now.

* If you have a cute mobile, this should leave the crib at 6 months. A better alternative altogether is a Fisher Price aquarium toy that attaches to the side. Once a bay can pull themselves up, they can get strangled in the mobile.

* Baby bumpers are cute, but unnecessary and a strangulation and suffocation hazard. Plus, as babies get bigger, they can use them to help climb out and get hurt falling out. I have never owned one and my kids have never banged their heads on the bars of the crib.

* To get baby to sleep through the night, slowly start dropping the length of their feedings or the ozs in their bottles slowly over a couple of nights. Once they're 2 or 3 months, night time feedings are more of a snack then a necessity in most babies.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now :)

Paper Flowers

This is a picture of some flower pits we made yesterday. While it is cute, it was really good for fine motor skills development. And, while I would like to say it was a pleasant experience, I am going to be honest and say it was horrible and not my big kids fault. First, I could not find our paintbrushes and I wanted them to paint the egg cartons. I finally succumbed to coloring it with markers and wouldn't you know the baby choose that moment to begin crying in earnest. Every thing was already laid out and my kids were ready to go, so I sat him on my hip and tried to do it one handed with him wimpering off and on. I was hoping to have my son cut the flower patterns out, but did it myself since it would have been harder to help him maneuver the scissors with one hand then it was for me to do it with one hand. However, they are super cute and the kids are so proud of their flower assembles that it was worth it. We used magazine cutouts for the flowers, but if you had extra fabric, you could do it that way.

Blobbie Globbie

I made this game for a class back in college and am so glad I saved it because my kids LOVE it! Its really simple I just cut two blob shapes from multicolored paper and write a capital letter on one and lowercase on the other. Then glue the uppercase ones down, laminate or cover with contact paper, and save lower cases in a baggie. The color and different shapes can be a self-check so older kids can do it on their own-- my son likes me to time him while he does it. My daughter likes to sit on my lap and have me hand her one at a time and we'll talk about whose name has what letter-- I did this with my son and now he'll say "J is for aunt Joy". Its a simple game, I think my kids also love just saying the name :)

Some hang ups and an easy game

Today all three kids napped at the same time! So, I made a little sign to hang in the bathroom behind the sink for them to look at or for Daddy and Mommy to go over with them while they brush their teeth, wash hands, etc. I figure I will switch up the signage as I am able, but here is my first one about money:
Then, I cut up little pictures with numbers on them to play a game with the kids while I am feeding the baby. I am going to hide the cards and as they find them they have to bring it to me and say what number they found. Simple, but it helps to have fun while learning :)

Homemade rolls

My sister has been baking some awesome homemade bread, so this afternoon while everyone else was napping, I made some dinner rolls from scratch and they came out great! I made 12 and there wasn't one left! I went to www.breadworld.com where they have some great and easy recipes! Happy Baking!

Mangos

One of my biggest regrets is not making homemade baby food for my older two kids because it is so easy! Baby O has been eating purred veggies for awhile, so this morning I decided to change it up and puree a mango for him and he loved it-- it was so cute to see him get all excited! In case you are nervous too about making homemade baby food, dont be: Its so easy! For veggies: steam, mash, and then puree with a little water added in to get desired consistency. Fruit is easier: just pop it in the blender, add some water, and voila: Baby food! I am looking forward to doing some fun combinations soon and blending up baby portions of our food.