What we've been up to lately

We've been super busy the past couple of weeks. Days upon days of crafts, playing & baking! 

I have tried mixing up our crafting sessions...independent painting normally happens only in the bathroom, but I decided to see how well she would do on the kitchen floor. It was quite surprising to see her paint so quietly and so focused.  

Ahhh the joys of baking.I LOVE baking for others & LOVE that Berk can now join me! When things get complicated I simply give her a bowl of water, a whisk and she's quiet for the next two minutes. She then spills the water on purpose and continues to hit her water puddle....kitchen water table...she's so smart!

Let's not forget the most important part of the day..playtime. Ya'll Ben has caved and I will be getting the one thing on my wishlist...a playroom! I am beyond thrilled to have a place just for Berk's toys & a clutter free living space!

               

Little Cowgirl

Years ago when my nieces were born, my parents bought a horse. My parents have had racing horses for as long as I can remember and wanted their love my dad's love of horses to rub off on them a little. Berkley is my "little cowgirl". She adores "Moose". She calls her horse by his name and other horses "horse". Such a smart baby. Now when she sees a real moose, I'm not sure what we will do!

 

We take a couple trips out to the stable a day so that she can see & feed him. She loves feeding her carrots because she can hold them by the end, unlike apples. She does not like feeding him apples, because he has to go straight to her hand. Yes this frightens me a little, but he is so wonderful with children.

After a visit, we normally go on a walk. By walk I mean our driveway. The one bad thing about living in a rural area, no walking trails :(

Berkley is in love with the movie Spirit. She screams at it for about a minute then it's on to playing!

National Fun Day

We have declared today as National Fun Day! The weather is gorgeous & Berkley can't get enough of it!


             

She finds Rambo's dog cage so interesting! 

 Playing with her beloved basketball...no she's not a tomboy! Need proof look at our previous post here

Please watch this. Now go play!

Pinterest Fail

My beloved pinterest has failed on me for the 1^st time! A couple weeks ago I found an edible pumpkin play dough recipe and knew it would be the perfect fall sensory activity. Well, I thought wrong! The play dough recipes that we use are all edible because Berkley still puts everything in her mouth! I also wanted to use a no-cook play dough recipe for a change. I like to cook, but I don’t like cooking up play dough. There wasn’t  a “recipe” we used the website just stated to use 1 can of pumpkin, add pumpkin pie spice, and enough cornstarch to thicken. I did all of the above and it ended up being the exact thing we started with. So what did I do….throw it away? Heck no, I am no waster! I dumped the entire batch of mushy pumpkin onto her highchair. Seriously, this chic is so not into the “mushy texture” which is why I continue to do them. She touched it with 1 finger….really?

 

I laughed so hard that I may have snorted, but who cares it’s just the 2 of us. After realizing that it wasn’t the best texture she held out her hands and screamed. Again insert another snort/laugh. 

                                           

I then took her hands and dug right into the center. She calmed down a bit and played for another minute. By play I mean trying to pick it up and throwing it on the floor and saying “uh-oh momma.”

                                          

These are the times when my Type A personality is kicked to the curb, my teacher instincts come into play and most importantly my mom emotions rage. I’d rather spend every second playing, making messes, exploring and soaking up every minute with her! This is my little rant for the day. I do have to remind myself that she won’t be little for long and that I know I will miss these days when she’s older and wants to play with her friends more than her momma. Now I am off to cry a little!

Colorful Sensory Play

Sensory play with a 14 month old is so much fun! Yesterday we tried out the colorful spaghetti and it was PERFECT! I knew Berkley wouldn't love it at first because she doesn't like pasta. She won’t eat it because of the texture. I thought this activity would be a great way for her to become accustomed to the texture of pasta.

            

 

1 pack of spaghetti

food coloring

I boiled the noodles until soft. Drain and let dry. I made them in the morning and let them dry for 2 hours. Separate into separate bowls. I used 4 different colors so I had 4 bowls. Squirt a couple drops per bowl and toss with tongs. Let dry for 2 hours.  PLAY TIME

I hope you have just as much fun as we did!