Logan and Kalia's Blog

Monday, February 7, 2011

Visiting Lola Sr.

On Friday Kalia made a visit to Lola Sr. and her Aunties...

Friday, February 4, 2011

Special Day With Mommy

They were calling for a huge storm to hit us, so I thought it would be nice to keep Logan home from school and have a "Special Day with Mommy"

Since it was a Special Day, everything we did I just took it up a notch. Logan wanted to play with his zoo animals...

Once he was done with that I got some of his animal books so he could match them to the pictures and make the book 3-D! Wow! This was pretty awesome for a toddler!

The lying down for a picture was pretty neat for him too LOL

Since we were talking about the animals, where they lived and what sounds they make --why not be an animal? Here's Logan in a Halloween costume.

Logan can say his ABC's but I'm working on getting him to recognize the letters when he sees them and to spell. So we played some games where we would call out a letter and then both run to that letter and stand on it. Logan is pretty competitive! We also collected the letters to spell his name out.

Craft time! Logan putting every single sticker on a paper for Kalia

We then did a Quatchi craft...which involved putting Quatchi stickers on paper and then attaching the paper with ribbon to a coat hanger to make a mobile.

Logan really liked cutting the ribbon and was really good at it. So since this was Special Day, I rolled with that and got him to cut up as much ribbon as he wanted. I used the "magic bottle" idea from Bloesem Kids and put all the bits of ribbon he cut into a plastic bottle. Logan got to use a measuring cup at the sink and fill up the bottle. Once it was full I tightened the lid and Logan had "snow in a bottle" to shake

Reading books to Kali

Logan got to even make lunch! We did a "ready to eat" canned soup so he helped with the can opener, poured it into a glass bowl and pressed the numbers on the microwave. He also put margarine on bread for us. Not the most fabulous lunch but he was so happy that he got to make it all.

Nap time on a special day with Mommy? Nope. Instead we brought up the "special matt" AKA the futon mattress from downstairs. We cuddled, watched the Chipmunks movie and gave Kalia her bottle.

Logan's new favorite game: What time is Mr. Wolf?

He played it last week in gym class and really liked it. After playing it a million times we came up with our own version. Logan starts at zero and each time he asks what time it is, I say the next number (1 o'clock, 2 o'clock) and he jumps on it until he gets to nine and I eat him for lunch/tickle him. I thought it would help him connect the verbal and visual numbers together. But now when he gets to about six he is laughing and often runs back to zero so I can't eat him.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Challenge: Go to the market for just one thing

So I'm no longer a Rookie Mom but I'm doing their challenges -this one is go to grocery store for just one thing. I've been wondering how to do this with a newborn in a car seat as I only went with Logan once he could sit in the grocery cart and it's too cold to put the baby in and out of a carrier in the parking lot. Going to the store for just one thing took the pressure off of me and I figured the worst that could happen is that I carry in the car seat, grab something and leave.

Ready to brave the cold and go!

And why didn't anyone tell me this is the best way to carry a car seat? I was trying to hold the handle in my hand; resulting it in feeling heavy, it banging on my legs and me walking kind of lopsided. Pop the car seat handle over your arm like this and it's a breeze. Why didn't I know this before?

Tip: The parking spots by the entrance designated for those with kids are great but not so much if you have a cart. I always park beside the cart return so you can put the child safely in the car, unload, get rid of the cart and go. If you park close to the store but then have to walk across the parking lot to the cart return and back to your car with your kid, then that spot isn't so great.

I wasn't comfortable about putting the car seat on the top toddler seat so I was wondering if it was going to fit into the basket---I was happy to find out that it fits perfectly into the bottom basket spot! This grocery store has the toddler seat and little basket up top and then the full sized basket below with a lower edge around it. The edge around the bottom basket is high enough to keep the car seat secure and safe but low enough that I won't hurt myself trying to lug the car seat up and out of it.

It went so well that I ended up getting more than one thing! Grocery shopping with Kalia is do-able! Phew! Good to know!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Weekend Stuff

Sunday mornings we do Kindergym with Logan. It's a bit less structured than what we had expected but Logan is loving it and has been excited to go to every class.

Getting stickers after circle time...

Logan has been asking for Hunter to teach him how to skate and asking to watch Max and Hunter play hockey. On Sunday we went to see one of Max's hockey games.

Afterwards Allan asked Logan: "So, do you want Max to teach you how to skate and play hockey?"

Logan: "No, not yet. When I'm big."

Phew! While very Canadian, hockey is a bit too cold for me to sit around and watch!

I've been getting Logan to help out with cooking and baking more. One thing he loves to do is make pudding. He can pretty much do every step himself. I just help open the package and I pour it into three smaller plastic bowls. Logan even puts the bowls in the fridge and after dinner he likes to deliver dessert to the table.

And while the package says to use a beater for two minutes, giving him a fork to stir seems to work find. Kind of hard to screw up instant pudding, so this is great for a toddler.