Toddler Truth Tuesday

It's been a month since I posted!?! Oops! I have a LONG list of posts I want to do with recent crafts/DIYs, etc. that I've done, but this blog always seems to take the back burner. Hopefully more to come soon.

For now, here's a little toddler truth for your LOL enjoyment: 

Jacob was playing in the laundry basket today, and he handed me a bra, saying “Here, Mommy, you need this.”  

I said, “I don’t need it right now, but thanks, honey. Do you even know what that is?” 

He responded, “You use it to hold up your shirt!” 

 ;)

Toddler Truths Tuesday

So, this one is the greatest!

The other night I was saying prayers with Jacob at bedtime. I said, "Thank you, Jesus, for everything we have -- our family, our food, our house..."  He stopped me before I could continue, saying, "Huh?? But, our house is made of bricks. It's too big; Jesus can't carry it!"

How do you explain to a 2 ½ year old that Jesus didn't have to carry our house in order to give it to us? Lol. Like I said, the greatest :)

Toddler Truths Tuesday

I've been a serious slacker with this blog lately! We've had SO much going on -- travel, weddings, baby showers, house projects, church activities, preparing for my first craft show for Eastwood Eclectic, etc. And on top of that, Jacob has been sick FOUR times in the last two months! Poor buddy. Our ped. thinks some of it has been seasonal allergies (she says he has "allergic shiners" under his eyes), but he's passed the bugs along to several family members, so I know he's had colds, too.

Anyway, I just had to sneak on here and post a Toddler Truth for today :)

Last night, he was sitting on Daddy's lap, ready to watch "George" (Curious George is about all we watch in this house lately!). Hubby asked me to find the remote for them, and as soon as he heard this, Jacob scurried down off of the recliner and rushed toward the kitchen, all business. Daddy asked him, "Where are you going, buddy?" His response was: "I'm going to see if Mommy needs some help finding the 'mote." Seriously, that whole sentence.

This is a good little anecdote to remind us later that: 1) Jacob's vocabulary and grammar are so amazing for a 2 ½ year old! and 2) He is in a stage where he MUST be personally involved in everything, and usually it's that he must "DO IT BY MYSELF!" Even it if takes 1,000 times longer. It's exhausting, sometimes frustrating, but also endearing ;)

Happy October!

I just love this quote from Anne of Green Gables because I love October! It's such a beautiful month here in the Midwest, and for those of us who are already dreading the predicted brutal winter (again?!?), we have to remember to savor this month -- the sunny days, crisp air, chilly evenings, changing and falling leaves, pumpkin patches, cider, fall flowers, football games, soups...okay, I could go on, but I'll stop! You get the idea. Yay, October.

I designed a little chalkboard art print to celebrate the month; I just learned how to turn my own handwriting and doodles into digital chalkboard art (I'm not limited by available fonts and graphics anymore!), and it's pretty fun. If you use the coupon code BLOGOCT, you can get it here for only $2! It's an instant download, so just print, frame, and enjoy.

Also, here's a song ("Ode to Autumn") about October, by this young artist I saw at our local farmer's market last fall. I love her sound and the lyrics to this song, so just thought I'd share :)

Toddler Truths Tuesday

Just a super quick one today, so that I don't forget this cute little stage Jacob is in:

His most frequently used response to every question right now is "maybe," Or, "Maybe, but..." Picture virtually any question you could ask a two-year-old, and think about how the answer "maybe" would sounds. It leads to some funny moments.

For example, yesterday he was giving me a "check-up" during a play date at his friend's house, and I asked if I had a heartbeat.  He goes, "Maybe, but I don't think so." Ha! I told him I'm pretty sure I do ;)

He also uses "maybe" and "how about" to give commands disguised as suggestions, like, "Maybe you should clean me up." Or, "How about we go outside." It sounds so cute and polite, but he's really trying to become a tiny dictator in this house!

Toddler Truths Tuesday

It's Tuesday, and I've got a couple of good ones to share! I'm bummed because I know there at least two more stories that were SO funny, but now I can't remember them! Which reminds of why I like to record these little snippets of Jacob's toddlerhood here. Enjoy!
---
I was putting Jacob in his carseat and somehow he started talking about my tummy and how he used to be in it (I think he was thinking about this because we had looked at some of his newborn photos the day before)...
I said, "Yep, you were in my belly."
He then jumped in and exclaimed, "Then I was borned. Like Baby Jesus, in my book!"
---
Over dinner, we were singing songs Jacob likes (like Old MacDonald) and making up silly versions with different words. He wanted to join in the fun, so he said:
"I have another song. It's about...(long pause while he thinks)...me, me me, me, MEEEEEEE!"
A perfect example of toddler egocentrism ;)

Fall Fun: A Mommy & Me Craft

Here's a full disclaimer to start! I got these ideas from the blog Housing a Forest, and I followed her great tutorials, found here and here. I'm just sharing my own photos of the process and result! It was a really fun way to get excited about fall and start decorating our home, with Jacob's help :)

Okay, here are the steps:

Make paper pulp! Have your little one help rip up construction paper into tiny pieces, put them in separate containers (by color -- we combined some red paper with orange paper to make a darker orange). We used about 4-5 sheets of paper per color, but it was much more pulp than we needed! More fun for playing in, though ;) Pour boiling water on the pieces and let them sit for at least an hour (a couple would work even better) to break down the paper fibers. Then, blend the wet paper pieces (one color at a time) in the blender to create the pulp.

Find some sticks and rocks (or mulch) in the yard; this is another fun step for getting little ones involved! Arrange them in an empty, clean soup can (or a mason jar, vase, basket with floral foam, etc....up to you!). 

Our "tree" and my little helper ready to go! I knew the pulp would be messy, so I layered Jacob with a smock-style bib and his little apron. I was glad to have done so ;)

Testing out the pulp -- he wasn't sure at first! This part is why this craft is perfect for toddlers and small children. Even if they can't quite make the "leaves" on the tree, they get to tear up paper, search for sticks, and PLAY in the wet, mushy pulp! 

He quickly warmed up and got his hands dirty (SO literally)!

I didn't get pictures of the actual leaf creation, because I had to either help Jacob make his leaves or make them myself while guarding the tree from him ;) To make leaves, just squeeze little bits of pulp onto the ends of the sticks. Squeeze out enough water that the pulp stays on the sticks (this part will be messy!). Try not to be "perfect" in size or color distribution -- your tree will look more realistic if it's random.

What the finished tree looks like while wet. Ideally, place it outside in the sun for several hours to dry. If it is cloudy and/or windy, just set it somewhere out of children's reach. It will take a couple of days to dry fully. 

Once the tree is dry, you can spruce up the can by wrapping it with burlap (or fabric, ribbon washi tape, etc.!). 

The paper "leaves" look really unique and beautiful when dry. 

a close-up view

And, here's another part where I couldn't take photos because I needed to help! After making our tree, we used more of our paper pulp to make these cute leaf hangings/ornaments. All you need is the same pulp colors, a leaf-shaped cookie cutter (could also do a pumpkin, etc.), and a cookie sheet covered in waxed paper! The tutorial from Housing a Forest recommends using a squeeze of glue in with the pulp for this craft, but I decided to try it without. I pictured the messy, sticky pulp becoming even stickier and wasn't brave enough! It still worked just fine, though. Simply have your child squish the pulp into the cookie cutter (no pattern or order needed!), and help them flatten it down and squish out as much excess water as possible.  Use a skewer, lollipop stick, or something similar to make a hole in each leaf. Then, let them dry on the wax paper -- this will take a LONG time (several days to a week). You can sop up a little excess water with a paper towel to help speed up the drying. Finally, tie on a hanger (use twine, ribbon, or yarn), and display as desired!