Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!!!

Although we didn't wear our costumes today, that didn't stop us from having a great Halloween Day!! 

We finished our Great Big Pumpkins!!
"Does it look scary Shell?"

"It looks like me!!"

You just have to love that tongue!!  Every time she concentrates that tongue comes out!!

My children were home from school today (not sure the reasoning, I think they should have the day AFTER Halloween off, not the day of)  and Luke wanted to make a Great Big Pumpkin too!!  Roo is helping him by telling him exactly how to do it :)

Lil Bit here loves the sticky glue!!

Don't they look cute!!

Then we played Pin the Face on the Pumpkin... an all time FAVE!!!

I can't believe how big my baby is getting!!

He thought this was pretty funny!!

Sprout was trying to move her head to see around the blindfold... I had to explain that she wouldn't be able to see until she took it off.

She was a little apprehensive... but she did great!!


"I got the stem Shell!!!"

Even Lil Bit got a turn!!  She was sooooo cute!!!

Here's how our pumpkin turned out... love it!!!

You can't have Halloween with out yummy, sugary, sweet treats!!!

messy faces come with the territory Roo!!!

I have been a little behind the ball this Halloween, so my boys were carving pumpkins today... better late than never , I always say :)

We learned that pumpkins make the WHOLE house smell like pumpkin!!!

These too used words like slippery, slimy, stinky, and gooey!!


Can't have a party without Pass the Pumpkin!!!

Yeah.. Roo got the pumpkin!!
(We play you WIN if you end up with the pumpkin)

Freeze Dance Anyone???

"Oh Yeah, I got the groove!!!"

And no Halloween is complete without the sticky, stretchy guy that your child MUST throw up on you ceiling... which not only leaves a terrible grease mark on the ceiling, but takes forever to pull down!!!

YUCK!!

We try to counter the sweet stuff with some healthy stuff...
Grapes, Homemade Meatballs, Pasta with Pink Sauce!!  Yum!!

These two loved it!!
Mondays are always hard... but when Halloween falls on Monday it seems to take the edge off!! Now, to gather all the paraphernalia for taking my own boys out Trick-or-Treating tonight!!!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Art with Toddlers

Art with toddlers can be quite challenging.  I have looked for different ways to incorporate open-ended art into our daily routine, but find it to be very hard.  I need to give the children that sensory exploration, in a space that is made for mess.  The key though is to be able to control it when the little ones are around.  Dumping, tasting, and investigating is how little ones learn, so that means paint in the hair, belly button, floor, etc... as well as the water from the water table, sand from the sand box, glue from the glue bottle... ok, I think you get the picture :)   Anyone who knows me, knows I don't mind mess.  I don't mind cleaning up a mess... but with 3 little ones, it happens that while I am cleaning one up, the other 2 are creating messes I wouldn't have dreamed about.  While I am cleaning up that mess... 2 more messes pop up on the other side of the room.  I'm not talking paint only, it could be anything.  I am making the effort to make messy fun available everyday, but it doesn't always happen.

I took out the easel this week.  We painted great big pumpkins.  It was a great experience for the little ones. Using the paintbrush, figuring out how to get it in the little opening on the paint pot, and then moving it on the whole sheet of paper (which didn't really happen without a lot of examples).  But, they had a great time.  Of course it was on their hands, on my floor, at the corners of their mouths from when I turned my back for a mila-second, and a little bit on the paper.  







I also let the kids put sticker spiders onto their little marble painting webs.  The little ones loved the stickiness of the stickers!!  Another sensory experience they love.  




I am going to try and get this art thing under control and make a messy area in the playroom.  I think its time.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!!

Getting Ready To Go!!!
We're ready Miss Michelle!!!

The lady at the register was so impressed by us!!  She wouldn't let us get on the hayride until she got a photo of all of us together. 

Yay, the Hayrides about to start!!

 Can you believe how much I have grown from last year??
Here piggy, piggy, piggy!!

This guy wanted to give Scamp a kiss!!

"Hmmm.... I don't know Lil Bit, you think you can carry it??"

"Oh yeah, I am all over this one!!"

"Come on you silly pumpkin!!  You are coming home with me!!"

Can you believe this!!! I GOT IT!!!!
This was Little Man last year... Wow, he's grown!!
This one's mine!!!

Look at me!!!

All our Loot!!!



Monday, October 24, 2011

It's Monday!!

Don't you just love my outfit!!!!



The photo from above was from last week... isn't that the cutest outfit ever!!!  I had to include it today, since I have been slacking with my posts.

It's Monday... what did we do today??  We played, colored, inspected and admired Little Man's new shoes, which I can't believe he didn't make me take a picture of :)  and we read silly, scary, long, short, and even absurd Halloween stories!!!

Cheese!!!

Playing Peek-a-Boo!!!

Friends!!!

ME TOO!!!

The little turtle sandbox (meant for Lil Bit & Scamp) was a huge hit for some reason...

Being outside is Lil Bit's favorite thing to do and her favorite place to be!!!


We sang the silly song, "Stirring the Brew" which isn't really a song, but more like a chant.  I introduced it last week and the kids have made me sing it over and over and over again.  The love it when I yell BOO!!  at the end, even though they know it is coming, it hasn't lost its "Scariness"  to cute!!!