Hoptoch mommy!

I made this hop scotch on my deck with sidewalk chalk. Sophee calls it "Hoptoch"-- gotta love it! She can't hop on one foot yet, so I had her jump to each number in order 1 to 10 or I call out a number and she runs to it! I always loved doing hopscotch at school when I was a little girl and I am happy she loves it too! I am always thinking of ways to fit in using large motor skills and this a great way! 

Shapes, shapes, and more shapes

I am always looking for ways to teach Sophee, but in a fun, quick way. I bought some construction paper and cut out shapes (circles, squares, rectangles, diamond, hearts, stars, ovals and triangles). I love this because I have many shapes in variety of colors. I had her sort the shapes by shape (next time I will do color), but I would hold a shape and ask what color and she says it! It was funny, I would pick a square and say it was a circle and she would correct me and say "hmmm no mommy" with her finger on her chin and say "it is "sware". After sorting, she made a picture and I helped her glue down the shapes! She wanted to keep doing more and I love knowing that she enjoyed it! This activity took under 15 minutes and eventually she can do it by herself!

This picture is all the shapes cut out. 

DIY water play

I saw a similiar water play idea on Pinterest and I loved it! I used drawers from my plastic organizer and filled it will water and toys! The girls loved playing and splashing in the water. It is a great alternative to going to the pool, but still want to get wet on a hot day! Sophee says "water pay, water pay" when she wants to have water play! Love it! I did it again when we had a playdate with god-brother, CJ can to visit yesterday! They had a blast! There are some pics below of Sophee and McKenzee playing with god-brother CJ.

1st day of summer...in the pool!

We visited our community pool today, first day of summer. It was a great day...just enough heat to need a cool down but not enough to make you feel like you are cooking...lol! The girls had a blast. We went into the kiddie pool and that was perfect for them. They both sat and splashed around. I was right there next to McKenzee, just to make sure she did not fall over unexpectedly. We were in the pool with another family that had a 17 month old. He kept falling into the pool, so parents put his life jacket floater on. When his dad put it on, I hear Sophee say "Mommy, he got his life jacket on?" The man's wife was like, "wow, she knows the word life jacket?" I was just as surprised as she was, I had not heard her say that before. Hey at least it was the right context! Another example of how kids brains are like sponges, they absorb all whether taught or through observation. Below are some pictures from our pool day!

Come on Mommy, play!

Sophee is almost 2 1/2 years old. Like any toddler, she has to be doing something fun to engage her for long period of time. I have made some learning activities and games that are fun and exciting to her and keeps her engaged. I wanted activities that take no more than 5-10 minutes and to be played throughout the day. Eventually, after doing them with me she will then be able to do them independently. She loves these activities and wants to do them often...more often then I expected...lol! Below are some videos of her doing some of the activities. The first one is her matching upper and lowercase made from felt. The second one is her making her name with popsicle sticks with letters on them. These were super easy and cost under $5 for all materials!

Library fun!

Sophee remembers everything I say, I mean everything. Before she went to bed last night, we say our prayers and I tell her what we will do the next day. Last night I told her we were going to the library and sure enough when she woke up this morning she says, "Mommy we going library?" I love that she loves books and enjoys our library visits. As you might have guessed, we did go to the library. When we got in the car she asked for her library card. It is a cute card for kids that says "My first library card". She loves to walk around with it and give it to the lady when time to check out books.  Sophee's cousin, Lauren, went with us and was a great help. She stayed with Sophee and I walk around with McKenzee. We had a great time! Stay tuned!