Go to the Zoo

So the first item to cross off our Summer Bucket List is....

 The day started off pretty wet and rainy...

 A little rain didn't stop us.

 This guy came running (full speed) towards us. I wish I had got it on video but I was to busy ducking in the corner. Didn't seem to phase daddy or AK.

 Snack time in the Gorilla Viewing Room.

 Just some Zoo porn for you.

 Our family :)

 I think these guys were AK's favorite... 

 The goats were so friendy. They liked it when we would scratch under their chins.

 We rode the train after lunch.

 The sun finally came out as we were leaving but we had a blast despite the rainy weather.

Yours Truly

Playdoh and Dry Pasta

This is a good activity for a 1.5 year old. I only had to tell her twice that, "playdoh is not food so we don't put it in our mouth." I used adjectives to describe the playdoh as she played...

Soft

Squishy

Purple

Yellow

Flat

Smooth

She loved it! Have fun!

Yours Truly

AK's Summer Bucket List

I saw this idea on Pinterest. I personalized a list of 20 things to do with a 1.5 year old before summer ends. Take a look!

AK's Summer Bucket List

1.  Eat Breakfast Outside

2.  Plant a Seed

3.  Try a New Fruit

4.  Paint Rocks

5.  Make Popsicles

6.  Go to a Braves Game

7.  Go Camping

8.  Go Fishing

9.  Make a Fort on a Rainy Day

10. Go to the Farmer's Market/Farm

11. Play in a Sprinkler

12. Blow Bubbles

13. Make Homemade Ice Cream

14. Wash the Car

15. Go to the Zoo

16. Do Messy Outside Painting

17. Have a Teddy Bear Picnic

18. Play with a Hula Hoop

19. Make a Leaf/Flower Collection

20. Swim in a Lake 

Fun with Flowers

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! My sweet mother sent me these beautiful flowers and as they began to wilt AK and I decided to have some fun with them!

First, using contact paper we made a pretty flower petal collage to hang on our back door.

We added the leftover flowers to the water play bucket and made flower soup! :)

Till next time....

Yours Truly 

Tulip Sensory

When my red tulips from Valentine's day started to fall over I decided it was time for AK (16 months) to do some sensory playing. I cut them off and put them in a bin and let her explore the texture, fragrance, and colors.

You can just see the little gears turning. This is a fun age!

Yours Truly

Try-it Tuesday...Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

My friend Sarah posted this recipe on a Facebook page made to share recipes. This was delicious!!!

Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

1 lb ground beef

3-4 bell peppers cut in half

1 can of seasoned black beans

1 tsp Minced garlic

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 egg

1 32oz jar spaghetti sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Cut tops off green peppers and slice any extra peppers from the tops.  Brown ground beef and cut up green peppers in black bean liquid and add garlic. Drain beef and then add black beans, garlic, egg (scrambled), and red pepper flakes. Heat for 2-3 min then add spaghetti sauce. Spoon meat mixture into cleaned out pepper letting any extra spill over into the dish. Cover with foil and cook for 30 min at 375. Uncover dish, add cheese (to your liking) and bake uncovered for another 15 min. Serve over cooked pasta.

Modify by

Yours Truely

Color in a Bag

From what I hear from others, my addiction to Pinterest is quite common. There for I am coining this phase for all us pinheads...As seen on Pinterest (ASOP).

So ASOP I did the "Color in a Bag" activty with AK.

The point of this activity is for toddlers to smack, poke, and pound this concoction till the colors mix to make one new color. Well AK didn't get to that point on her own. I had to help her. 

She did enjoy playing with it. I think it is a great sensory activity for the littlest of toddlers. 

Here is the recipe to create this cornstarch mixture. Pretty easy to make and clean up was not to bad.

Happy playing!

Yours Truly 

Materials

• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 cups cold water

• Food coloring
• 2 gallon-size ziplock bags
• Duct tape

Instructions

1. Over medium heat, combine the cornstarch, sugar, and water in a saucepan, stirring continuously.
2. Once the mixture begins to thicken, remove the pan from the heat and stir for another minute or so until it thickens to a pudding like consistency. Let it cool for 30 minutes.
3. Spoon the mixture into two bowls, stir a few drops of food coloring into each (we used red and yellow), then divide the colors between the ziplock bags. Seal the bags with duct tape and let your child mix and mash the colors (they'll keep for up to a week).
   
   
   
   
   
   

Try-it Tuesday...Bento Box Lunch

We are a little behind on blogging so here are a few post to catch us up...

On this particular Tuesday Avery tried a Bento Box Lunch. For those of you not familiar with the bento concept here is the definition from dictionary.com.

ben·to

   [ben-toh; Japn. ben-taw]  Show IPA

noun, plural -tos; Japanese -to. Japanese Cookery .

a meal, usually served in a lacquered or elaborately decorated boxthat is divided into sections for holding individual portions of food.

I try to keep AK's meals as healthy and well rounded as I can. This box consisted of blueberries, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, tangerine slices, turkey meat, and cheddar cheese cubes.

She started with the tangerine and blueberries and worked her way around the box. She ate most of it but left behind a few tomatoes and cucumbers (of course). My AK is not a fan of veggies so I have to find fun and creative ways of sneaking them into her diet. 

Overall, The bento box was a huge success!

Yours Truely