Fall Bucket List: Play in a corn pit

We have made a lot of progress on our fall bucket list. One of the very first things we checked off was to find a corn pit and dive in. I don't know if anyone else has one something like this near them, but I wish I had one in my backyard. Logan loved jumping in it, rolling around it, and playing with all the toys they provide. 

By the time he got out, he was covered in dust from head to toe, and had a great new fall memory. 

Every Tuesday

Tuesdays have become a day for adventure at our house. Logan has no other activities or classes that day, so we usually pack a lunch and head out for part of the day. This past week, we stopped at an art museum which was featuring fairy houses inspired by the book, The Wizard of Oz. 

Each display shared a brief overview of a chapter in the book and then asked you to find something special hidden in the exhibit. The kiddo loved it all. Here is some of the pictures I snapped: 

Following the yellow brick road....

The munchkin land was his favorite part. He kept calling it "chipmunchkins" even after I corrected him. It was adorable. 

Remember the poppy fields? I never understood that part when I was a child. I love that they made the stems from garden hoses. 

He is never one to pass up a opportunity for a photo. 

This was the one of our first visits to an art museum. I can't wait to go to more. I already have our next art adventure planned. It involves glitter and unicorns, some of my kiddo's favorite things. 

How We Play Wednesdays

Stickers are fun. Logan has a gigantic sticker book that has pages continuously being added. Sometimes though, paper just won't do. 

Fall Bucket List: Monster Cupcakes

Take one box of cake mix, some frosting, candy eyes, and lots of sprinkles. Add a little imagination, and you get lots of different kinds of monster cupcakes! 

The best part was seeing them all turn out so differently. We had Logan's older cousin from Hawaii visiting with us, and the activity spanned age divide. Everyone had fun, kids, tweens, and adults alike! 

Fall Bucket List

1. Play in a corn pit
2. Have a neighborhood Halloween play date
3. Slide down a giant slide
4. Paint a pumpkin
5. Go apple picking
6. Pick out your favorite pumpkin
7. Jump in a pile of leaves
8. Make leaf rubbings
9. Paint with acorns
10. Mad Science Lab
11. Go on a spooky nature trail hike
12. Hayride
13. Have a spooky dessert
14. Leaf art
15.Go to the zoo
16. Make a Halloween costume
17. Make Halloween cupcakes
18. Visit a children's museum
19. Celebrate Logan's fifth birthday
20.Go trick or treating
21. Make a gratitude tree
22. Drink cider
23. Play with autumn play dough
24. Play with slime
25. Make art for the grandparents
26. Celebrate Thanksgiving

Wordless Wednesday: A quiet morning

Fly Swatter Painting

We have been very busy this summer with lots of outings, play dates, and adventures. We are out of the house so much, that I have had to make sure to give us some down time and just relax at home. One such day, L requested that we paint outside. I added fly swatters next to the paint colors, and he did the rest. 

I really wish I had learned from my painting with feet activity, and moved the fun down into the grass. Luckily, I used washable paint and was able to hose off most of the paint from the deck. This was noisy, colorful, messy fun. 

L first used his hands, and then quickly decided to experiment with the different pattern fly swatters. He was so engaged in the activity, that he didn't even notice that his bandage was falling off. This is normally very upsetting to him even though we are well stocked with all the Angry Bird, Mickey, and Hello Kitty bandages a house could possibly hold. 

Providing him with different tools to use in place of a brush, really made him attentive to his selection of color and placement. He loved to see the layers that formed, and the colors that blended. His favorite swatter was the flower, which left large swirly prints on the paper. He loved that smacking the swatter down made paint fly in all directions. 

This is more of a process piece, and we used a large piece of paper, which was completely filled by the end. Logan was still quite proud of his finished work. It is hanging on our refrigerator currently. 

Dress Up

As he is getting older, Logan is starting to develop a style all his own. For a long time, he really didn't care what he wore. He never was one of those kids who didn't liked a certain material or color. He wore whatever I picked out, because clothes were inevitable. They were a fast way to get out of the house and get to making messes, seeing friends, and having fun. 

It started with his shoes. He suddenly became resistant to certain shoes, and no amount of talking/ pleading/ bribing helped. He didn't care that they were brand new. They were not for him. In his life there are only two types of shoes. Gray shoes with white stripes that can only come from Target all-others-are-impostors, and Crocs. This kid with the Crocs, always with the Crocs. I sometimes have to pry them from his cold frozen feet since he wants to wear them until it is almost winter. Okay.... that is an exaggeration. He wants to wear them with socks when it gets cold, but you get the point. 

Anyway, now he has definitely become more vocal with what he likes or doesn't like. Pink and bright colors are in. Black and green are out. Green is okay for me, because that is the color of my eyes.  Accessories are generally a must. I have been trying to get him to wear a baseball hat since forever. He declined, or would simply oblige for about two minutes before yanking it off and discarding it on the nearest counter. So when we walked past a display of fedoras, I thought they were cute, but didn't say anything. He, on the other hand, fell in love. So, his current signature style piece was born.

Since he has started wearing it, I have learned something new. People love kids in different hats. You don't believe me? Stick your child in a hat, and suddenly your kiddo is the most popular kid around. He should be shaking hands and kissing babies..... except for the fact that we don't talk to strangers. 

He just might think he is too cool for you. 

These days, pretty much anywhere he goes, so does the hat. He's definitely a fan. 

I am too. 

Stuff my kid says #26

A few of the latest:

Our dog and I were playing with a dog toy and he tried to nip me. Logan looked at him and said, "Teddy! Don't bite Mommy! Mommies never hurt, they just love."


"Mommy, I think I'm falling in love with you."

Summer Bucket List: Visit a Rose Garden

The Secret Garden was my very favorite book. I read and reread my copy until it was falling apart. I would spend hours in my back yard with my middle sister setting up our very own pretend version of a secret garden. Some of those hours involved me bossing her around since she had never read the book, but I still have many happy, vivid memories from playing outside among the flowers and plants. 

When we arrived at this rose garden, I couldn't help but think about those days in my childhood. There was even a gate to go through to get into a completely enclosed area full of roses. This garden was in the middle of the woods, and we were almost the only people there. It felt just like a secret garden should, private, peaceful, and beautiful. 

There had to have been thousands of roses of all colors and varieties. Logan visited each and every one ohh-ing and ahh-ing over the scents and colors. 

He is definitely a lover of all things involving flowers. He knows more types of flowers than I do. 

Here, he would raced around for a while and then would pause to appreciate nature. 

Of course, he requested lots of pictures. He loves to pose. His poses generally are copied from the characters he saw at Disney in October, but occasionally, he tries something new. 

Or just plain silly.

Since the rose season is not over, I think we will visit again soon. Logan loved it there and combined with our butterfly visit, he said it was "the best day ever." 

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Summer Bucket List: Visit a butterfly house

Butterflies are L's favorite animal EVER. At least, that is what he always says. Well.... butterflies, seahorses, and horses (including: land ponies, Alicorns, Pegasi, and unicorn versions). Since we see lots of seahorses at the aquarium, and lots of horses on episodes of My Little Pony, we decided to go visit some butterflies. Actually, a couple of weeks ago, I saw that a little greenhouse in a couple of towns over hosts an annual butterfly pavilion for a weekend, and made a mental note that we absolutely had to go visit. 

The second that we went entered the greenhouse, butterflies flocked to us. There were probably hundreds of butterflies. Typically, they said they have a thousand, but two of the types had difficulty surviving the cold temperatures of the past year. So, we were able to walk among painted ladies and monarchs. 

The owners provided us with sugar water and instructions about how to approach the butterflies. They said you could not squash them or try to grab them. "I'm very kind to nature," Logan reassured them. And he was telling the truth. He was very patient and gentle. The painted ladies were much more friendly than the monarchs, but Logan loved every one that he encountered.

We stood at the butterfly pavilion for about an hour and a half. They also had some other activities for the kids to do, like planting seeds and wandering around the other greenhouse, but playing with the butterflies was by far the best part of his day. 

His smile made it all worth it. 

Summer Bucket List 2013

I just love summer. The past couple of years we have been creating a summer bucket list full of family activities to do together. By all  means this is not the only stuff we have planned, but it gives us a good start. Here is some of what I hope to do with the kiddo this summer: 

1.  Feed ducks -Completed-
2. Visit a splash park -Completed-
3. Jump around in an indoor trampoline park
4. Make popsicles -Completed-
5. Dig for dinosaur fossils in the sand table
6. Play with the kid wash we created last year
7. Make a water blob
8. Sparklers -Completed-
9. Have a barbecue -Completed-
10. Make smores -Completed-
11. Paint with mud
12. Ant experiment
13. Slide painting
14. Squeeze sidewalk chalk 
15. Have a messy play date
16. Make our own ice cream
17. Draw on a sheet with fabric markers
18. Have a themed movie night
19. Host an ice cream party
20. Eat a tomato from the vine -Completed-
21. Visit lots of tall ships
22. Zoo play date -Completed-
23. Paint with rocks
24. Pick strawberries -Completed-
25. Pick blueberries -Completed-
26. Practice riding bikes
27. Learn to swim
28. Run through the sprinkler -Completed-
29. Revise our fairy garden -Completed-
30. Create nature bracelets
31. Great playground hunt
32. Jump rope
33. Play hopscotch
34. Glowstick dance party
35. Blanket fort
36. Make a mud pie kitchen
37. Tie dye shirts, pillowcases, everything
38. Shaving cream slide
39. Search for seashells -Completed-
40. Make paper airplanes -Completed-
41. Mentos and soda experiment
42. Watch fireworks -Completed- 
43. Go to an outdoor concert -Completed-
44. Go to a movie on the beach
45. Make rainbow oobleck
46. Go fishing -Completed-
47. Get a library card
48. Have a breakfast picnic
49. Make sun prints
50. Make a solar oven
51. Pop painting
52. Try a new fruit
53. Visit a rose garden -Completed-
54. Create a lava lamp
55. Camp out in the yard
56. Blanket fort -Completed-
57. Go to the movies- kid's choice -Completed-
58. Visit a new botanical garden
59. Go to a butterfly house -Completed-
60. Glow in the dark hide and seek
61. Farmer's market -Completed-
62. Our annual trip to the sunflower fields -Completed-
63. Give the kiddo a camera and let him take pictures
64. Make a volcano
65. Play with frozen jello

I'm very excited to start crossing things off! I am hoping to spend much of the summer enjoying the outdoors and nature. We love exploring new places, and I'm hoping that this list will help motivate us to try new things. What is on your bucket list this summer? 

So when are YOU going to have another?

Can I get all personal for a moment? It is no secret my little is not so little anymore. He turned four in November. It seems impossible to turn four the day after you are born, but he managed it somehow.

Logan goes to a lot of activities: tumbling, a nature preschool, story times, and play dates. You name it, this kid usually loves to do it. I've made lots of mommy and daddy friends through these classes. Most of my friends, who I met when Logan was a baby, are now parents of two or even three. There are a couple of friends who have decided to stop at just one. They seem sure that their families are complete. Most of them know that I would like more children. So needless to say, I often get asked by family, friends, even complete strangers, "So when are you going to have another one?" 

I am completely in love with my child. He was the very best gift I have ever been given. I adore being a mother, his mother. I am truly blessed. I know this. And I want another baby. I want Logan to have siblings and experience that special relationship. I love seeing all my friends with their new babies. New babies whom I love so very much. I am happy for them, AND I want that too. 

After I had Logan, I went through a very serious bout of postpartum anxiety. One which I really never recovered fully from. I am much better now than I was, but it has never completely gone away. At first, I just sought out therapy, but it wasn't working. All the visualizations and thought stopping in the world was not effective. I finally gave in when I thought I was having a heart attack. It was actually severe anxiety, and I knew despite my ability to keep up happy appearances while my son was awake, I had to do something. I decided to try medication, and since that decision  I have tried lots of different kinds. Some had serious side effects for me; some did not work. I am currently on one that kind of works most days. This combined with therapy has been a very positive change in my life. However, all of this stress and medication changes have left me heavier than I have ever been, and my hormones completely out of whack. Therefore, as you can imagine, after many many visits to my ob, it has been determined that having a little one will not be as easy as I wish it could be.

I am hopeful that I will have another child. It might just be a longer journey to get there. So the answer to the question is hopefully soon. In the meantime, I have been soaking in every single moment I have as a family of three. I am cherishing the moments when it is just my special little kiddo and me. I am appreciative. I am grateful. And I am so very much in love. 

Giving the Kids the Camera

I know that I have been quiet lately. It isn't because we haven't been having fun or playing. We have. Lots. The kind where  you look at your kid at the end of the day and see their faces smudged with dirt, and paint on their clothes, and that you kind of look the same way, kind of fun. 

While we are out there doing all of this, I occasionally take pictures. But every once in a while, I let Logan have the camera. I love to see what he finds picture-worthy. Here are just some of the pictures that he took one sunny spring morning. 

His sensory bin of shredded paper, bugs, and bug catching supplies. 

Scout, one of our indoor cats enjoying the sunshine. 

His fairy garden from last year was the perfect spot to release his insects. 

Smudge, our other indoor kitty. He adores his pets. 

I was in there too, unfortunately I was moving at the time when he took it and I look like a scary blurry object. He looked at the picture and shrieked with laughter, "What happened to you?" See? Fun was had by all. 

Easter 2013

I have always loved holidays. All of them. I am always looking for a reason to celebrate. When I look back at my childhood and think about holidays they always felt special and magical. I hope to recreate that for my little guy. 

It can be as simple as bunny tail pancakes for Easter. A little sprinkle thief got to the plate before I could snap a picture. 

This year, Logan was very excited for Easter. He had been to egg hunts so he was ready to find some eggs when he woke up very early Easter morning. Every time he found an egg, he would gasp in excitement. He did this sixty-two times. I know because we counted the eggs the night before. Then he would look inside to see what treats were inside. The bunny filled most of the eggs with jelly beans and mini eggs. The bunny must know that mini eggs are really loved at our house. 

My grandmother lives out of state, and Logan wanted to take this special picture for his great-grandma so she could see the egg he made for her. She is quite the expert on her iPad, so we enjoy keeping in touch through that since we can't see her everyday. 

As far as Easter baskets go, this year was a particularly good one. The bunny brought two bunny related books, a bit of candy, bubble wands, some My Little Pony stuff (his fav), and a stepping stone kit. And then he was able to go to my inlaws who had another Easter basket waiting for him with his much anticipated Crocs. I foresee an autumn spent trying to get him to wear normal shoes again before it snows. 

As for his Easter outfit, he pretty much told everyone and anyone about it before Easter itself. He had picked out a pink plaid shirt and gray skinny jeans to wear. He found them in the store, and he was so happy to see his very favorite color available in the new spring line of boys clothes! I had to stop him from throwing every pink boy's shirt in the shopping cart! He looked quite dashing in his outfit. He has worn it numerous times since then. 

He rounded out his day playing with two of his cousins. Honestly, this may be my little Logan's very best Easter yet.