Toddler Play = retro toys

This toddler day was a great old fashion fun day.  We spent a lot of time playing in the water (while giving the dry grass a much needed drink) and in the sink inside and later in the backyard wading pool with some neighborhood children.  Playing with some retro toys pulled from storage that belonged to my adult son proved to be a lot of fun too.  The Mattel train was especially a big hit.

Toddler day 7 healthy cookies

Another beautiful day in Texas, only 82 F. at noon!  Great Grand is feeling active today too.  We started the morning with baking some toddler approved healthier cookies.  I adapted a cowboy cookie recipe to sneak in some additional nutrients (dried fruit and grated carrots).  The 2 year old dumped the ingredients in the bowl and stirred as best he could.  He sampled the dried fruits and peanut butter bits nodding enthusiatically that they were "DELICIOUS".  The carrots...not so much.

Toddler day 6 texture collage

7/12 Texture.  Love this rustic Americana art in my Sister In Law's junk garden.

Big Girl Grand accompanied Great Grand today.  We took a field trip to Pet Smart to look at the fish, guinea pigs, dogs and cats.  They were grooming 3 dogs that great grand found quite interesting.  We ate  lunch at Rosa's Cafe.  They have good taco's, but the tortilla's are the prized food there... and the Peach Tea!

After nap time we explored textures and created a fun collage and chased balloons.

glue, assorted beans, cereal, stickers, pre inked stamps for the collage.

DIY Super Kid Cape

7/11 Letter.  For our little Super Hero

Great Grand doesn't care too much for clothes, but he absolutely loves his Spider Man boots!  So I found an old t-shirt and we cut it up for a NO SEW super hero cape to go with his boots.

• First we laid a shirt out on the floor.
• Cut an A shape starting at the hem and ending where the neck band meets the shoulder. DON'T cut through the neck band yet!
• Cut over the shoulder and down the other side of the shirt all the way to the hem, 
• create  2" wide ties by cutting back up to the neck.  Now you can cut through the neck hem leaving the 2" strip attached to the cape back. Do this on both sides of the neck.  It should resemble a cape.
• Now, the part that will make Dad proud...a Duct tape Super Hero Letter.
• K for Kaydon.

A little hint:  To keep the tie from choking your little person, first tie the ends together.  Holding the big loop to their back, slip the arms in at their side (leaving the bottom of the loop at their back-not in front of their neck.  Kind of like a sleeve.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoyed your visit!

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Every other Friday the cuffs come off



Toddler day 4 paint birdhouse

7/10 A favorite color.  Apple green and all shades of pink.

A reprieve in the hot weather allowed us longer outdoor time today.  We gratefully dodged a few sprinkles and showers and managed to play with bubbles and paint bird houses.  We found small wooden birdhouses at Micheal's craft stores for a $1 each and used craft paints I already had on hand to splash on a lot of bright colors.  I've been saving some garden rake handles and pieces of lumber to lift them up in the garden.  They add a bit of fun and whimsy to the garden that a toddler really appreciates. : )  He and I especially love the bright apple green color.

We set up a paint station in the sand pit area and removed shirt & shorts to avoid stains...but had to keep the spider man boots on!  Craft paint, paint brush and bird house in hand, let the crafting begin!

Planted them in a planter needing some color.  A few more - and who needs blooms in this spot!

By the way, I made sausage balls today.  Great Grand LOVES them.  Here is the recipe I used:

Sausage Balls

1/2 pound mild ground breakfast sausage

1 jar Kraft Old English sharp pasteurized process cheese spread (5 oz)

1 1/2 cups flour

Knead it all together using your hands.  Form little 1-2" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 F for 15-20 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen balls that can be stored in an airtight container for a week or frozen for a month.  Add a dot of jelly to the top when you serve them. 

Here is a recipe I found via Google for a pint of fresh berries.  It makes just a small amount, which is perfect for a pint of fruit from the produce section.

1/2 Pint Jam

 Rinse & dump a pint of berries into a measuring cup and smash them.

Add half as much sugar (If you have 2/3 cup of mashed berries add 1/3 cup sugar).

Stir to combine.

Move mixture to a small saucepan and cook until it thickens. (5 min)

Makes about half a pint of jam, perfect for a little mason jar!  Store in the fridge.

                                     

Toddler day 3 stringing straws

7/9  Big boots on a little boy.
photo a day July

What little boy doesn't like to play in mud?

After the morning walk and a little muddy play in the back yard, some string art was the thing for enticing the great grand inside out of the heat.  After a short distraction using the kid safety scissors to cut up an old envelope, we got down to business making "stuff".

Cut a length of string (ours was 2' long). 
Wrap a piece of tape around one end to form a "needle".
Tie a big loop or knot in the other end to keep the pieces on the string. 
Cut several straws into short pieces. 
Let him string them up.

The 2 yr old is creative too. 
He asked for his fruit loops and quickly discovered they fit on the string too!

Gr Grandad joined in the fun too.

Later we discovered the straw pieces fit onto the little flag pole from the July 4th celebrations.

Toddler day 2 FOIL art

Who knew foil was so entertaining?  Gram Sissy needed a piece of foil so I ripped of a piece for her when she dropped off great grand. The curious toddler (I may start calling him Curious George!) wanted to know what it was.  When told it was aluminum foil, he studied it closely.  So I ripped off another sheet and offered it to him.  For well over an hour he played with it.  He looked at his amusing reflection, drew on it with crayon, tossed it in the air and watched it float down and we shaped it into objects he could guess what they were. 

New definition of foil art!

Bauble bottle.  Let toddler fill with glitter pom poms & 1" pieces of curly ribbon & water. Shake shake shake and watch.
A piece of foil becomes a mirror, art paper, parachute or dragon fly. 

If it has a string, it will take a walk!
7/2 photo a day July.  Best part of the day.
http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july-see-the-list-join-the-challenge/

Toddler Play Day #1 water painting

First day keeping up with great grand was BUSY!  I was so excited I met him outside when his Gran Sissy dropped him off.  While it was still cool, we walked the 6 blocks to a school playground only to be turned away.  They are having summer school and the playground is closed to the public.  Bummer.  That's a bit hard to explain to a 2 yr old.  A slow walk back home and a hat full of nature finds, we hopped into the car and drove to a city park where he had a great time with 4 other little kids enjoying the cool morning.  Snack time was picnic time under the trees.  

7/1 photo a day July...Busy
http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july-see-the-list-join-the-challenge/

Back at home, lunch and a nap out of the way, some more outdoor playtime in the sprinklers (it's only 90 degrees today-wha hoo).  Who doesn't enjoy playing in the sprinklers on a hot day?  While the water is on for the alloted 30 minutes, chalk and paint brush in hand an artist emerged.  Whether it was  drawing a truck or painting rain puddles for the truck to splash in and sometimes Gr Grandad's legs...it was fun.

Celery stick fishing pole with peanut butter bait catches goldfish crackers.

Babysitting a toddler chart

With the next room ready to transform I needed to make storage space in the garage available.  So a spot near the door was cleared and the boxes of "sell or give away" started filling up.  We also were successful in filling severl boxes for storage that will go with us in the move.  With the temperature rising over the 100 degree mark before noon, that project was replaced with another cooler, inside one.  Keeping with my goal of cleaning or clearing at least one shelf/closet/drawer or cabinet a day, I tackled the area under the kitchen sink.  With that done I sat down to do some fun planning.

During the month of July I get to baby sit the great grand while everyone else goes to work.  Ahhhh, this is what I retired for!  With my obsessive organization habits in full force, I put together a plan for the first week.  Pinterest and I got real close today.  There are so many talented people out there, I had a blast.  Here is what week 1 plan looks like for the 2 year old:

play time supply bucket

                         

Breakfast	Pancake w/sausage, blueberries, milk	Cereal w/peach slices, milk	Sausage balls w/melon, milk	Egg/potato/bacon medley milk	Oatmeal/apple, milk
AM play	Take a walk Paint blocks	Back yard play Paint rocks	backyard play, sand box, water can	Water painting	Nature designs
Snack	Cheese stick, crackers, flavored water	Deviled egg, flavored water	Pretzels & yogurt, juice	frozen yogurt, water with frozen juice ice	Orange slices, water
Quiet learning play	Finger paint in zip lock bag on window 2. make a book photos	Puzzles, color, draw w/pencil	string art	Build Bird nest supply hanger	High chair Food dough (peanut butter/flour)
Lunch	Turkey/lettuce wraps, carrots, raisins, milk	Ham slider sandwich, green beans/dip, strawberries, milk	Pasta w/meat sauce, broccoli w/butter,  milk	Hot dog, cheese, baked sweet potato fries, milk	Zucchini pizza, milk
Read/Nap
Creative play	String fruit loops Stack/match color blocks	Count rocks Glue on eyes	Make roads, drive cars	Sticker art	Orange rind Bird feeder
Snack	Fruit popsicle, cream cheese/jelly tortilla, water	Celery/peanut butter for gold fish fishing, juice	Peach smoothie, gold fish	Bean dip/tortilla roll, juice	Fruit popsicle, cheese quesadilla
Active play	animal walk	hide/seek	action songs	glow in the dark sword play.	music/dancing

(the high lights are the items I need to shop for)
Here is a jpg. you can open and print or save to your computer.