I Spy Something Fun

I've seen this many times all over the internet and I knew it would be a hit with Miss Amelia.

I took an empty plastic water bottle and filled it with about 10 small objects (penny, paper clip, button, eraser, plastic french fry, pine cone, wine bottle cork, even a picture of Amelia's beloved Belle) and then filled it about 2/3 of the way with sand (you can also use salt, sugar, bird seed, rice or beans).  After gluing the top on, we went to town "spying" objects in the bottle.  

Very easy and it was a hit as I suspected it would be (due in part to Belle's appearance, I'm sure)!

Non-Dress Rehearsal

Amelia is already "practicing" her trick-or-treating skills.  Yes, that's Jason in the house armed with yogurt bites and gummy worms for each knock on the door!

Tying the Knot

Amelia and Michelle, Feb. 2007

I was so excited to get a call on Monday from Jason's cousin, Michelle, relaying some very big news.  She and her long time boyfriend, Adam, became engaged on Sunday night while on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride on Main Street in St. Charles. 

Michelle also happens to be Amelia's godmother AND she has asked Amelia to be the flower girl in their wedding!  Jason informed Amelia of this information this morning while taking her to my mom's house.  When I picked her up after work (not realizing that Jason already told her), I began to try to explain to Amelia that Michelle and Adam are getting married (I think I may have compared them with Beauty and the Beast) and that she was going to get to wear a pretty dress and then Amelia cut me off mid-sentence and said, "and then me turn into flower!".  

Amelia and Michelle, May 2008

This is especially funny because, as you know if you are an avid reader of this blog, Amelia is very, very into Beauty and the Beast right now and for a long time her favorite part was when the "beast turns into a guy".  Then, when she decided to be Belle for Halloween, she began to say, "On Halloween, me turn into Belle".  And now, to her anyway, being "flower girl" equals "turning into a flower". Hopefully she won't be disappointed!

Under the Weather

Its hard to believe that Amelia has already caught her first virus of the season.  But, three different times on Wednesday evening, the little one awoke saying, "Mommy!  Mommy, tissue please!".  Sure enough, by the time Thursday morning rolled around, she was pretty stuffed up (with a runny nose, no less) and running a slight fever.  

Much of the next few days were spent on the couch resting, reading books, and watching movies. However, by the time Saturday came around Amelia seemed to be feeling much better--although she didn't sound much better.  She seemed ready to do something other than lay around (ie--run around the house at top speed, harass the dog, play her drum for what feels like hours on end) and actually requested to paint.  I thought it might be fun to try finger painting with pudding and thought we could even have some for a snack.  

Amelia loved the making part and the painting part, but immediately proclaimed, " Me no like pudding! Me no want it"  Huh? Since when?

After awhile, it all kind of looked the same so I started showing her how to make shapes and letters in the pudding goo.  It reminded me of the method preschool teachers sometimes use when teaching letters by letting the kids form them in shaving cream, so this might be good to remember for the future!

Costume Update

Well, since Amelia will tell anyone who will listen that she is going to be Belle for Halloween, I decided I better get moving on it.  My mom, Amelia and I spent one morning working on her costume and I feel like we got pretty far! It is currently in two pieces, but at least it actually looks like a dress to me, which has already exceeded my I-don't-know-how-to-sew expectations. For the record, I did ALL of the sewing on this dress so far.  True, my mom was standing right beside me telling me what to do, but that's just a minor detail.  My favorite part so far was learning how to gather the fabric so that there are pleats at the waist.

I had to show a picture of the zipper working properly.  Its my first zipper I've ever sewn and although it is far from perfect (and had to be torn out once and started over again), it works!

New at the Zoo

Here is yet another post about going to the zoo.  I am sure you are wondering what I could possibly have to say about the zoo that I haven't already mentioned.  Amelia still likes to see the hippos, monkeys, and penguins.  She still is enthralled with the fish in the hippo tank.  The train and the carousel and still favorites as well.

But, this time when we went, we DID discover something new and different different!  Thanks to my friend, Susie, who joined us for our day at the zoo, we learned about a new area in the Living World called the ZOOmagination Station.  The area is free, but we had to get a ticket to reserve our time slot when we arrived at the zoo.  Each session is 45 minutes long.  

The area reminds me a bit of the Museum of Transportation's Creation Station, with many different "stations" and the kids have free roam of the room to spend as much or as little time at whatever they choose.  Obviously ZOOmagination is more animal focused, whereas the MOT is more, well, transportation focused.

Amelia was immediately interested in the water table filled with oceanic creatures.  A large squid, various sized fish, sun and star fish, and seaweed held her attention for quite some time.  

Up next was the moon sand table which was equally as fun with large cacti and various other animals to play with in the sand.

One of my favorite parts of the room was in the center and was called "Build-A-Habitat".  There was a crazy tiger-print rug in the middle and long benches all around the perimeter of the rug.  Each bench had three drawers on the bottom.  The drawers were filled with either animals, wood pieces, strips of blue felt cut to look like lakes/rivers, animals, plants, and food.  The kids could take a little from each drawer and build a pretty elaborate habitat for all sorts of animals.  Amelia liked it, but was probably on the young side for fully appreciating it.  I, on the other hand, thought it was incredible!

Amelia's favorite area was the playhouse (no surprise here).  It was surrounded by a garden that housed various plastic insects, worms, etc.  Binoculars, watering cans, bug cages, and magnifying glasses were available for the kids to use to explore the garden area.  The section also included a fun recycling center, a bird bath, a fruit/vegetable garden where food could be harvested, and some caged pets that could be taken out and put back into their crates (Amelia did this over and over again).

There was also a place where the kids could dress up like all sorts of things.  Amelia chose the bee, but other options were a ladybug, lion, zookeeper, frog, veterinarian.  Once outfitted, the kids can x-ray animals, mend their wounds, squeegee the aquarium, and even sift through scat.

I am only touching on a small part of all that is available here.  I would guess that we explored less than 50% of the room during our 45 minute session and I am eager to return for more!  

When we got home, we took a few minutes to unwind before heading up for nap time by looking at the felt zoo animals I picked up with the felt board.  We decided to put the animals in two groups--the ones we saw at the zoo and the ones we did not see.  Looks like I am going to need to make some more animals!

Wedgie Free Ward

I am not proud of this fact, but I have been putting Amelia in the same way-too-small onesies to sleep in for far too long.  She outgrew the height and weight limitations months ago, but somehow I still am able to close the snaps between her little legs.  I have gotten lots and lots of grief from family, friends, and especially Jason.  

After causing the world's worst diaper wedgie, I decided enough was enough.  While out shopping with a friend on a hunt for larger onesies, I told her my terrible parenting confession.  She mentioned that she had an extra 3 pack of plain white onesies that she wasn't using and offered to donate them to the cause--pathetic, I know.  So, I found myself with 3 plain white onesies last week, begging to be painted on.  Yesterday, we decided to give it a try.  I saw this idea somewhere and thought it would be a good introduction to fall.  We've been reading books about fall and talking about how leaves change colors.  Right outside of our family room window is a large Burning Bush that has already started to change colors.  Amelia likes to check it every few days and point out the few red leaves among all of the green.

Before painting on the shirt, I stuck a piece of cardboard inside to keep the paint from leaking through to the back of the shirt.  I also stretched the shirt nice and tight and secured it on the back with duct tape.

The first thing I did was paint Amelia's entire forearm and hand brown for the tree's trunk and branches.  She was thoroughly confused by this! I wish I could have gotten a picture of her face   while I was painting it, but I was scared to let go of her hand to snap the shot.

When the trunk was dry, it was time to add the leaves.  We did one color at a time and she used her finger to make each "leaf".

Here's our end result!  I love how Amelia added leaves not only to the branches, but falling from the tree and on the ground too.

And, just for you Aunt Amy, here is Amelia in her paint shirt--no more topless girls on this site!

An Apple a Day

Cooler weather is finally upon us here in St. Louis and with the cool down comes a host of fall activities to do in the area.  First up for us is the St. Louis tradition of apple picking.  We headed out on Sunday to the Eckerd's orchard in Grafton, IL.  Normally, we head to Millstadt to get our apples, but this year we thought it might be kind of fun to take Amelia on the ferry (actually, two!) across the river.  We were lucky enough to have both GG (my mom) and Grandma (Jason's mom) join us.

We enjoyed a pretty quick and uneventful trip across the first ferry and then stopped en route to the second to pick up some pumpkins at a tiny roadside store.  Of course, the real reason I wanted to stop was because the iced coffee I downed for breakfast was quickly demanding an exit.  Jason's mom assured me this particular store had a restroom and she was right--an outhouse, double seater no less!  (I still cannot figure out who would be comfortable enough to "sit" right next to someone else in an outhouse and use the restroom in such close proximity).  Along with our steal of a pumpkin ($2!), Jason picked up some pumpkin butter too.

After another uneventful trip on the second ferry, we finally made it to the orchard.  Immediately, Amelia began "posing" with various characters around the grounds.  Posing to her, means going right up to the character, standing in front of it, looking at us and smiling until we realize she would like her picture taken.  

Amelia enjoyed the tractor ride out to the field and was insistent on having her own apple picking bag.  She immediately scored prime seating on Jason's shoulders and picked up quickly which apples are good choices to pick.  She also told us that we should not pick them up from the ground!

Amelia snagged an apple while in the field, stuck with it, and had eaten practically the entire thing by the time we re-boarded the wagon.  However, she was so tired from all of that apple picking that she "fell asleep" on GG's shoulder while we were waiting for the wagon.  (Note to self: enroll Amelia in acting classes).  

When we'd had enough picking for the day, we headed into Grafton to find a spot for lunch. Its a cute little town with some restaurants, ice cream shops, and shopping.  We decided that the "Rotten Apple" restaurant went well with our theme of the day.  The food was delicious and we had a nice view of the river too. 

 

Stay tuned for some more fall festivities ahead!

Heart Felt

A felt board is something I've been meaning to make Amelia for some time now. Unsure of the best way to go about it (here's where my annoyingly indecisiveness comes in), I kept putting it off.  However, I few weekends ago I spotted one at a garage sale for $1!  The felt on the board was a little rough (for whatever reason, I am having trouble uploading the "before" picture of the board), but I figured I could recover it inexpensively if need be.  Along with the board, I also scored a ziploc bag full of various felt characters, furniture, animals, and letters for an additional dollar.

Once home, I decided that the board definitely needed to be recovered and was able to purchase more than enough to do the job for a mere $1.20.  

The after picture.  The board was pretty worn and slightly stained in one spot prior to the facelift.

I also decided to pick up a few sheets of various colors of felt to add to Amelia's props.  She asked specifically for Halloween characters.  So far, I've made a haunted house, a moon, some clouds, 5 pumpkins, 3 ghosts and a witch with removable hat and dress (I think I'll add some undergarments for the poor girl!).

The board will be hung in her playroom and I am so excited because the possibilities on how to use it are endless!!

Tis the Season

Don't you just hate it when parents try to impose their political views on their children??

Me too!