2012 Pumpkin Party

Another exciting thing we do every year is have our friends over to carve pumpkins.  This started when Matt and I were just dating and would have a couple or two over to carve pumpkins and just hang out.  Well it all started to evolve once everyone started having kids :)  This year it was truly all about the kids!  We had 27 people over including 15 kids.  We had a chili pitch in dinner, the kids put on their adorable costumes to do a trick or treat walk in the field, then the little ones painted their pumpkins while families took turns carving pumpkins.  The evening finished up with the kids running around wild with their glow sticks and glow bracelets, and us parents getting a little time to just hang out and visit as friends.  LOVE this time of year, and always enjoy having everyone get together.  This was also the first time we had our pumpkin party at our new house.  It was a success!  Enjoy the pics!

Fall Fun

Fall is officially here and it is one of my favorite seasons for sure!  Our family loves to do things outdoors and this time of the year is just full of possibilities!  Here are a few things we have done so far that have been free or with very little expense.  (ok except for the cabin)  but Fall is beautiful!  Get out and enjoy yourselves and enjoy all that nature has to offer for your kids! 

picking peaches with Daddy on his lift :)

hiking at Purdue Hort Park

Picnic and playing at the park after preschool.

Wea Creek Orchard and pumpkin patch.  Claire loved the little gourds!

Exploration Acres fun!

posing down by the pond at the cabin in Brown County

Time for Preschool

Such a busy summer and now it's finally happened....Claire has started preschool!  First day went great, no tears from Claire and barely any from me :)  She was so excited to be picked up from school and see us it was priceless!  Day 2 was a little harder for us.  She was super happy to be going until we got in the room.  Then she was sad and didn't want me to leave.  As a teacher I went through the seperation phase of a new school year many times, but by far it is way harder being on the other end and being the parent!  phew!  I know she will adjust and she had a great day.  I am so excited to hear all about each day this school year and watch her learn and grow!  I know we made a great choice in her school, they are so wonderful!!  Definitely makes it easier to leave knowing she's in such good hands!  Enjoy some pics.....

baking cookies

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted.  This summer has been so busy with the new house and of course lots of swimming!  We had a day inside last week b/c it actually was too rainy to swim and decided to make some homemade chocolate chip cookies!  Yummy and a fun process.  Claire is the prefect age to help measure, stir, crack eggs, and eat chocolate chips :)  Cooking is something that I try to include Claire in almost daily whenever I have something appropriate for her to do. 

Water Beads

Been so busy since the weather has warmed up with yard work and vacation so here's my first attempt to catch up some of the fun activities that have been going on in our house.  Enjoy!

The tiny tube of water beads

added them to some water and wait.....really you have to wait about a day for them to fully develop.

Of course a toddler isn't going to wait a day for anything so she dug right in and started playing as they grew, be careful though they can be squished at this point if you squeeze too hard.  When ready they are the size of a marble and feel really cool!  A very fun sensory and fine motor activity.  Claire's favorite discovery was that when she used a red spoon to pick up a blue bead it appeared to look purple :) She wanted to show everyone who came over what she could do.

These are cheap and worth the effort.  When you are done just let them sit out and they will dry out and return to their tiny size.  It really is neat!!

More Easter Fun

Easter projects just wouldn't be complete without coloring some Easter eggs!  I decided to tryout something I found on Pintrest.  We used kool-aid to color some eggs.  Super easy, cheap, smelled great, and turned out beautiful!  Simply used 1pkg of kool-aid to 2/3 cup water.  Also used another trick not sure where I got this from, but put the egg inside a wire wisk.  Great idea for helping a toddler be successful coloring eggs indendently!  I did break down and buy a store bought kit to paint the eggs b/c it looked pretty cool too.  It was a great night!!

Claire and Daddy

these are the kool-aid eggs :)  pretty good huh....

We also had another wonderful playdate with our great friends the Mason's.  The girls worked together using shaving cream, food coloring, their creative little fingers, and some cut-out papers to make tye-dyed eggs and bunny.  Drawing shapes, writing their names, or writing letters are other wonderful things that can be done with shaving cream.  VERY cheap and always a hit!!!!  This is a really good use of sensory play that has tons of learning possibilities!  Definitely add this one to your list of things to do, especially on a rainy day!

Add a drop of food coloring on different sections of the tray and then mix it with your hands.  Take a paper (any shape) and lay it down flat on the tray, pick it up and "ta-da!" 

Easter Craft Time

 Not only does art help to develop the right side of the brain, it also cultivates important skills that benefit a child's development.  Life skills developed through art include; communication skills, problem solving skills, social and emotional skills, fine motor skills, self-expression and creativity.  

(The Importance of Art in a Child's Development by MaryAnn F. Kohl)

 

Painting an egg shape for her Easter chick's body.

Painting her hand to make prints for the chicks wings.  She has her tongue out consentrating just like her daddy :)

Glueing on some eyes :)

Finished Easter chick.  So cute!

While waiting on the paint to dry on her little chick we got out a glue stick, foam squares cut into egg shapes, and foam stickers all from Dollar Tree and Claire decorated Easter Eggs.  The girl loves to use a glue stick!

One of her many, many eggs.  A super cheap, and fun activity that develops creativity while working on fine motor skills, sorting, and verbal expression :)

Remembering Baby Jason

Today, February 18, 2012, is the one year anniversary of the loss of our precious baby Jason.  He was born into the hands of God at 11:47a.m. one year ago.  He was later diagnosed with having partial monsomy 18 and partial trisomy 19, a rare genetic chromosome condition.  Our world was turned upside down.  Through it all we know that God is in control and that everything happens according to God's Plan for us.  Claire is definitely our miracle child!  We continue to remember, and include Jason into our lives as well as Claire's.  She has such a sweet, unfiltered grasp on all of this.  Today there were tears, for sure, but also we spent the whole day as a family and celebrated the short amout of time we had with Jason.  One goal we have with the start of our tradition this year is to instill a giving heart in Claire.  We were blessed by so many during this journey, and we feel compelled to continue to give back to others who are going through similar heart wrenching experiences. Thank you to everyone who remembered us and Jason on this day! 

 Your kind words and thoughtfulness means so much to us!

 Claire brushing her teeth getting ready to leave for our day in Indy.  She is such a big girl!

Claire choosing a heart to put inside her puppy at Build A Bear.  Claire chose a puppy for herself and chose a bunny to donate to the Pathways Program at IU Health.  When Claire came to the hospital to see Jason and us last year the grief counselor from the Pathways Program brought Claire the same bunny she was making today.  She was so excited to get this and we were so thankful that they had thought of her during everything.  This program is funded through donations and we knew immediately that we wanted to return the kindness of others by donating ourselves.  We plan to do this each year as we always remember our sweet little boy. 

Claire and Mommy brushing the bunny and puppy we just made at Build A Bear. 

Claire sitting by the bunny she made on our way up to the OBICU. 

She thought this window was pretty cool.

Us at the nurses desk at the OBICU at IU Health.  The same place we were a year ago delivering.  As you can see from the picture Matt and I were overcome with tears, and this caused Claire to be a little sad too.  She asked the nurse for a kleenex because she said her eyes were watering.  This bunny is being donated to the Pathways Program so another child like Claire who loses a sibling can be comforted by this cuddly little bunny!

Claire wanted a piggy back ride from Daddy as we were leaving the IU hospital in Indy. 

 She can sure put a huge smile on my face even when I'm feeling so sad!

Claire and I walking out to release a balloon for Jason.

Claire saying, "happy birthday baby Jason" while releasing the balloon.

Claire's watching Jason's balloon float up to heaven. 

My heart was melting from the sweet, sincere words Claire was saying. 

Claire got a special pink flower balloon for her to keep.  She had shared with me earlier this week that she was sad last time we sent balloons to baby Jason during the rememberance walk in the fall. 

 She said she wanted to keep some. :)

We sat down as a family and went back through the baby book I made for Jason using snapfish.com. 

 I love having all these pictures together in one book!  I am so glad I took the time to capture all these memories and organize them in this book!