tot school - letters n & o - 27 months

N WEEK

I'm a week late on posting our letter N activities and that's because, well, N week wasn't all that fun. The tot trays were a total bust and we were still trying to get resituated in our house so Ethan's mind was elsewhere (playing with the toys he'd been away from, reading the books he hadn't seen in weeks, etc.) and each day was a little more chaotic than usual.

NIGHTTIME SKY
This tray was probably the most popular one. Ethan loves gluing so I cut out some moons and stars and let Ethan create his own nighttime sky using glue.

LETTER N DISCOVERY BIN
The letter N discovery bin was filled with nuts & bolts, a notebook, nail polish, noodles, a wooden letter N and some flashcards. Ethan enjoyed the nailpolishes the most and was sporting some way cool green toenails by the end of N week. I was sure he'd like the nuts and bolts more than he did but he ended up having virtually no interest in them. He did love writing "notes" in his notebook throughout the week!

NEST BUILDING
I set Ethan up a bin with some raffia, feathers, yarn, pipe cleaners and some artificial eggs (all but one were music shakers -- the other one came from his play kitchen!). Ethan's job was to build a nest. A couple of times he was really into this activity but towards the end of the week he lost interest in it rather quickly.

N TRACING
The tracing activities have become Ethan's favorite. He expects them every week at this point and is surprising me with how well he can begin tracing the letters! For as long as he's interested, I'm going to keep the tracing activities coming.

NUMBER MATCHING WITH BUTTONS
Can we talk about how sad I am that Ethan was just "meh" at this tray? I was sure it would be his favorite and I was so excited for him to use it but, you know, that's how toddlers are. He's really into number recognition these days but I think it was the buttons that turned him off of this one. I had written some numbers on card stock and attached a string with a button to each one. On white felt, I wrote another set of numbers with a slit in them. Ethan's job was to match the numbers by buttoning them on.

NOODLES WITH A NET
This was a fun transferring activity. Ethan got to use a net to transfer the noodles from bowl to bowl.

Speaking of noodles, I also filled the water table with boiled noodles and let Ethan go nuts in the living room.

O WEEK

O week went MUCH better than N week. The trays were much more popular and then, the most exciting part, is that we now are part of a weekly Tot School group! Each week, Ethan has two friends come over (the three boys are almost exactly the same age to the week, which was cool) and they each work on their own tot trays, do a craft and have lunch. O week was our first week as our little group and so there were some hiccups, but I think it's one of those things that will work itself out in time. Eventually everyone will get the hang of the group setting. Ethan was so excited his friends were over that he was acting like a maniac the entire time, but he'll adjust. Maybe that was my key I don't invite people over nearly enough. One of Ethan's new Tot School classmates is Heather from And Then My Name Was Mama's son, Grayson, so I'm excited to have another blogger on the Tot School train!

OPENING DOORS
Instead of our magnet board, we did the new relevant "vocabulary words" via a door opening activity. Each time they opened the door, they'd find a picture and a word that started with O.

OCEAN ANIMALS
This one is an ocean scene with cut-outs of different animals. Some live in the ocean and some don't. The point of this one is to put the animals who live in the ocean in the ocean. Ethan thought it was exceptionally funny to put the monkey, bunny and tiger in the ocean so they can swim with the other animals so, you know, as long as they had fun.

LETTER O TRACING
For some reason, the letter O tracing wasn't as popular as the tracing activities usually are. Ethan barely touched this one and I'm not sure anyone used it at all during our group class.

OWL O RECOGNITION
I took an owl printable from Twisty Noodle and added some letter O's to it at random. The point was to recognize the O's and put the little poms on them. This one was obviously kind of simple so everyone was bored of it a lot sooner than the others, but it was still surprisingly popular.

OAT TRANSFERRING
Transferring is always popular in our house so I broke out some oats and created a quick transferring activity!

OPPOSITES TRAY
This one was, by far, the biggest hit of the week! We started learning opposites so this tray showed big versus small. Using the tweezers, the point was to put the big poms in the big bucket and the tiny ones in the tiny bucket. Ethan gets frustrated with the tweezers so he asked to use the tongs instead. When I gave them to him, he pointed out that the tongs were big and the tweezers were little and said "uppa-dits" and it made my day, so this activity gets my seal of approval.

SWEEPING ACTIVITY
The point of this one was to sweep the poms into the letter O using a little grout brush (or "baby broom," if you ask Ethan). Ethan ignored this one at first but suddenly got really into it later on in the week.

The group Tot School class went well, but my space is kind of cramped. Next week I will be taking a lesson from The Kavanaugh Report and eliminating the table altogether, using work mats instead. It will also be a nice way to space each child out so they're not on top of one another and wanting the tray that someone else has.

For our sensory activity for O week, I moved the water table back in my house and filled it with an ocean on one side and oats on the other. The ocean was just some blue washable marker dipped in water to add washable color with some water beads and ocean critters.

For our group craft, I shaved some crayons the night prior and each kid got to make a "stained glass" O:

I also made hotdogs shaped like octopus for lunch and Ethan was more than a little confused:

All in all, I'm pretty excited about our weekly tot school class! They're great kids and get along so well together. I'm sure they'll fall into a routine eventually and we're still working out all of the details to make the transition easier.

LINKING UP WITH:

the mother of all baby showers south florida

Last night The Mother Of All Baby Showers was in South Florida at Davie's awesome Young At Art Children's Museum. Ethan is two, but it's always fun to check out how much baby stuff has evolved since the seemingly ancient times when I was compiling a baby registry. Things are always changing and it's always fun to check out the newest, hottest products on the "baby scene" as well as be able to say hello to some of my favorite baby brands when they're in town. Plus, I mean, it's always good to stay on top of my baby product game in the event I ever decide to cave in and give Ethan a sibling. One day.

Rosie Pope of Bravo's "Pregnant In Heels" was at the event sharing her expertise with all of the new moms and moms-to-be as well as signing copies of her book, "Mommy IQ".

I spent a lot of time watching Rosie rationalize with some irrationally hormonal pregnant women during my time on bedrest -- the period of my life where I discovered Bravo -- and was excited to be able to meet her in person. She most definitely has an aura about her comprised of tranquility and kindness, and it was so great to be able to spend some time with her before the show.

I attended the event with fellow bloggers April of April Golightly and Melissa of The Eyes Of A Boy. Not pictured but also in attendance with us was local mommy business royalty Silvia from FIT4MOM's Stroller Strides of Coral Springs & Parkland. That woman tortures me to the point where I'm sure death may be eminent, but I love her nonetheless.

Because I'm a total blogging geek, I was a little bit star struck when Ruth from Viva Veltoro walked into the room and couldn't pass up an opportunity to go say hello. Somehow I missed the fact that one of my favorite bloggers lived in the same state that I do -- can I blame this on mommy brain or simply being completely unobservant?

The vibrant, beautiful walls of the museum were lined with vendor tables from some of the biggest names in the business including Pediped, Stokke, Happy Family and tons more. There were also some great local vendors showing their South Florida pride, like 2 Chicks Cupcakery and Zenerations of Boca who I learned were now offering arts and crafts classes for toddlers. You know I'm all over that. The museum was filled with veteran mommies, excited first-time mommies and moms who were just beginning their pregnancy journey. It was great to come together with moms -- and some nervous new dads -- and experience all of the wonderful baby product vendors who totally have your back on this crazy journey into parenthood.

Beth from Shades Kids was there with some of her adorable clothes for little ones including some of the cutest hip little shorts I've ever seen.

Go Mama Go Designs were there with their Wonder Bumpers which may or may not be the coolest baby product I've seen in some time. Talk about innovative! I love that these (beyond plush, cozy, adorable and cute) individual bar bumpers completely invalidate the need for potentially dangerous conventional bumpers. For those with little ones past the crib stage, these also work on the shortened bars of toddler bed rails by scrunching to fit the size bar needed.

It was also super cool to meet Vicky of Mamatography. As a mom, there's nothing I love more (or find more important) than helping to support and empower other moms. Vicky is not only a talented photographer, mom and grad student (a film major, so she's a girl after my own heart), but also runs lessons locally for moms to be able to learn how to work their cameras and learn the ropes of photography. I also got the opportunity to meet Lisa of Little Trendyz who makes the cutest (and most practical) PJ's for little ones. It's always so cool to run into local mommies doing great things! Speaking of, I got to meet Tera from Biz4Moms, an organization geared towards empowering and supporting mom owned businesses and blogs. So awesome!

Another great highlight of the night for me was to be able to watch a demonstration by Baby K'Tan.

A Baby K'Tan wrap was one of the things I wish I would have had when Ethan was an infant and something that will definitely be going on my must-have list for any future little ones. You know, file that under "things I wish I knew and didn't learn until it was too late." That was actually one of the best parts of the Mother Of All Baby Showers: the ability to learn something new, even veterans moms who have been at this a while. In addition to the great new products being showcased (Baby Spa's face cream is doing wonders on Ethan's fever-flushed cheeks today!), there were also some fantastic seminars going on including one by Rosie Pope. There were seminars from everything from pre- and post-natal health to carseat safety by Britax CPST's to a session on planning your child's financial future by Charles Schwab. (My husband would have been, without a doubt, glued to that last one.) It was a great event to not just learn the ropes of the product market, but also every little nook and cranny of the parenting adventure.

My favorite part of the event was being able to meet and spend some time chatting with Jason Hulfish. To say he's "an artist" would be a huge understatement. I was completely in awe of the murals and children's rooms that he creates which completely encompass the limitless magic of a child's imagination.

Jason Hulfish's art is unlike anything I've ever seen before! Perhaps you've seen him on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition or HGTV's Posh Tots. His work is unmistakable and just so! totally! cool! I loved being able to meet him and take a peek at some of his beautiful works of art. (Just check out his Facebook page -- I bet it'll take your breath away!)

If you're not in South Florida, you still have an opportunity to catch The Mother Of All Baby Showers when it heads your way! Tampa Bay, Arizona and Philadelphia shows are all set to happen soon and, of course, I'd keep an eye on the event website to make sure you catch when the showcase heads your way in the future!

you're the name of the place where time stands still

Sometimes I feel a little lost when it comes to the direction of this blog. I began it as a place to write. I have always been a writer and somewhere on my journey from books to blogs, this little piece of the internet happened. If I can be honest, I much prefer it -- this blog, this outlet -- when it comes to being able to write. And say what is on my heart. And, of course, remember the flecks of magic in these days that are passing too quickly. I am a writer, of course, and I am a mommy. These two things are equal parts my identity. It's hard to ignore the small walkways, the tiny, meandering paths that bring me off the main road a little bit: the healthy living, the recipes, the crafting, the Tot School. These are all part of my journey, these are all part of my family and so they, too, end up on this blog. It all does. Every bit of it. The good, the bad, the covered-in-paint, the if-my-husband-works-until-midnight-one-more-time-I-might-scream. The run-on sentences that I lust after, the dreams, the fears, the look-what-I-stayed-up-until-midnight-making. It's all me. It's all here. I find it hard then to answer what kind of blogger that I am, or what kind of blogger I strive to be. There isn't much striving going on. I blog as an honest documentation and representation of life, of my life -- all of it. Sometimes this means Tot School, sometimes this means craft projects, sometimes this means longwinded, meandering narratives because these things are all of me. I am always grateful for this space and those who frequent it.

Today I am also grateful for the same sticky weather I've spent so much time complaining about; grateful for Florida insisting upon making summer stick around a little longer. Ethan and I have spent the past three consecutive afternoons in the pool swimming -- really swimming -- and I've told him how proud I am of him so many times that he repeats it himself each time he pops up out of the water. "Mommy so proud you! Mommy so proud Ethan!" I mean, he's swimming and I feel like a gift card to Starbucks wasn't enough of a gift to his swim teacher in exchange for what she gave him. I don't just mean the ability to swim, but the confidence that comes with it. The love for the water. The pride in his eyes as he jumps in and kicks his way back to the steps, the wall. Wiping the water from his face with a giggle and letting himself belly flop back into the blue water.

Tonight I rocked Ethan to sleep for a little bit longer than usual. I half-sang, half-hummed our usual repertoire of nighttime songs (which includes Guns 'n Roses because, let's face it, I'm a pretty cool mom like that) and then just rocked. Silently. The room dark and quiet aside from the soft hum of his favorite lullaby CD that a friend sent from Australia. Sometimes I feel sad that Ethan is growing up so quickly and other times I just want to breathe it in a little longer, every moment of it, because I love it so much. This stage is one of imagination and storytelling, of strong opinions and asserting independence while still ensuring mommy isn't too far behind. It is one that keeps me guessing, laughing and in dire need of a second cup of coffee by noon. And I love it.

halloween crafting

"I will stop using my iPhone as a primary source of photo taking," I said. "I will get better at remembering to photograph all of our activities," I insisted. "I will somehow render myself unable to function while my husband is working around the clock and I'm trying to keep my head above water with all of the activities I've excitedly planned," I should have said. You know, with no one to remind me to replace the batteries in my flash or charge my camera batteries or clear my memory cards, I've been coming up a little short. And unprepared. And grateful for just remembering to prepare dinner so my always-hungry two year old doesn't starve and I don't have to wince when my husband walks in at midnight and asks what's for dinner because he's starving, too and I've got nothing. Things are a little hectic around here these next couple of weeks but I'm adjusting as best as I can, even if it means breaking out the iPhone last minute to attempt to document our adventures. Speaking of adventures, October is a month of many. Something about having kids making Halloween ridiculously fun and exciting. I end each day covered in glue with scraps of construction paper stuck onto my jeans and that is so just the way I like it.

SKELETON BUILDING

Ethan is big into skeletons these days. He picked out a skeleton skull at Target for $2 the other day and it has gone everywhere with us. He calls it Skeleton Pirate Boy and says it's his friend so, naturally, every skeleton he sees is also called the same. And because it's October, he sees a lot. I drew and cut out a skeleton skull and let Ethan glue it wherever he wanted and create the rest of the bones from q-tips. Since, to a two year old, little is cooler than using glue, he had a blast with this one.

SPIDER & SPIDERWEB

Because I can't not do one piece of handprint art (at least) per year, I thought this would be a fun activity, too. I picked up some yarn at Wal-Mart and Ethan got to work making a spiderweb. Once he was satisfied with his web, we painted his hands and made a handprint spider. His favorite part was gluing on the eyes (and, boy, did he choose a lot of eyes). When the spider was dry, we cut it out and glued it onto the web.