Jumping Beans

For the first time in YEARS (probably since we were in school) Tony has President's Day off! Weird, right?  We're certainly not complaining, though.  Three days of Tony is pretty exciting for Audrey and me.  It seems like our town is pretty empty because most people go to St. George for the long weekend.  I don't blame them, it's a lot warmer down there!  We took advantage of everyone being on vacation and went to Jump On It in Lindon.  They have a kids-only area so it was nice to have a calm place to let Audrey explore.  She LOVED bouncing and playing with all of the soft balls in the foam pit.

The last picture says it all.  We had lots of fun!

My Valentines

While I know Valentine's day is a retail-hyped holiday, I still love it.  I love having a day to make heart-shaped treats and crafts.  I think it's a fun holiday, and its always good to take a special day to appreciate your favorite people.  (Plus, I really like chocolate.)

These two goofballs to the left are the best valentines a girl could ask for.  Through thick and thin these two have my back and always show me unconditional love.  They help me get through the day and bring so much joy into my life.  

What's even better than me having these two as my valentines is seeing the love they have for each other.  Audrey's #1 hero is her daddy.  She loves him so much sometimes I get jealous ;).  They are truly best buddies and they just seem to "get" each other.  Audrey and I are so blessed to have Tony in our lives.  He is everything a good dad should be and works hard to provide for us daily.

Happy Valentine's Day to my favorite valentines!!

Crib Talk

I thought it would be interesting to get some of Audrey's post-nap thoughts on camera.  They are usually pretty funny, and this will be neat to have in the future.

February Fun Day #2: Painting!

I had some finger paints on hand from when I bought them on clearance at Michael's a few months ago, so we busted them out for some colorful fun!  I had her wear one of my old t-shirts so she didn't ruin any clothes and she thought that was so awesome.  She kept calling it her "shirt pants."

I gave Audrey the option of paintbrush or finger painting, and she did a little of both.  She started with a brush and ended with her fingers, causing a huge mess.  It was fun, and she loved it.  It was a really good sensory activity, and she also got to practice colors!  I only got pictures of the brush painting portion because my camera battery died, but they are still good ones.

Here's a short video of Audrey painting.  It ends rather abruptly because, like I said, my camera battery died right in the middle of filming. 

So far, so good!  Yay for February Fun Days!

"Fun" February

It's been ridiculously cold here in Utah this winter.  I'm talking highs in the teens cold.  When it's that cold it means Audrey and I are stuck in the house together.  Audrey is the type of kid that needs to get out and do something or she turns into a terror.  She's just so active and when she gets too bored her destructive side comes out.  Crayons on walls, whole bags of bread in the toilet, you name it, she's done it.  It's hard to be mad at her, because I completely understand her boredom.

I was browsing on Pinterest and found a ton of ideas for activities with toddlers and pinned a bunch of them for future reference.  I also know a lot of fun and educational/developmentally appropriate activities from my preschool teaching days, but in the "heat of the moment" I don't think to do some of them with Audrey.  I know she'd love them, I just never think to do anything like that for some reason.

So, I've declared this month FUN FEBRUARY!!!  All it means is that at least 2-3 times a week, I have an activity to do with Audrey.  It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive, just something to keep her busy and help her explore things a bit.

Since yesterday was February 1st, we had our first February Fun Day.  It was easy and simple.  Blue Play Doh.  Audrey loved it and impressed me by making "circles" with it!  I think if I follow through with this, February could be a really awesome month for the two of us. 

Putting in play doh and then launching it out of the container was super fun. :)

I'd say she liked it!  (And she's got her Pacers shirt on just for you, dad)

Our next activity:  Finger paints!  I've got some other fun ones planned involving sorting, fine motor skills, and physical fitness.  My mom told me about this cool website called Adventure to Fitness and I'm going to try it out with Audrey one day.  Anything to get those wiggles out!  I'm excited to try these new things with Audrey!