10 Months

Moving, moving, moving! That's what our Stella has been doing! Over the last month, she has become quite the explorer. She wants to go everywhere that she is not supposed to be. She has discovered that she can climb stairs, rather quickly I might add. She is getting closer to walking on her own and can cruise around furniture with ease. Gosh, it just does not seem possible that she is 10 months old and ready to walk! She is growing way. too. fast.

She's Seven!

My kids are all growing up too fast! Today my big girl Felicia turned seven! She woke up this morning super excited that she was one year older. Brandon told her that she was getting tall and she replied, "Yeah, I know. I'm seven!" After school Big Daddy took her on a very special shopping trip to buy a new bike. She was thrilled! She has never really had a big bike because we live on a pretty big hill and it makes me so nervous. (When Aaron was younger, he rode his bike off the six foot wall in front of our house and landed on his head, without a helmet!) But, she has been wanting a bike for so long and I just couldn't hold her back any longer. :)

Happy Birthday Felicia!

She's Kindergarten Bound!

Yesterday was Madelyn's big day. It was Kindergarten registration! Last year at this time Madelyn begged to go to kindergarten, but her birthday fell just a few days past the deadline to register. So, she had to wait. We decided to do early kindergarten through PA Cyber and it has been wonderful! She has learned so much and is definitely more prepared for kindergarten than any of my other kids were. However, over the last 2 months, Madelyn has been a little nervous about going off to the "big school". That all changed yesterday! She walked right in with no reservations and aced every part of the screening. We are so proud of her! She came home with a new attitude too, she can't wait to start! 

I Can't Believe He's 18!

Today my firstborn, Michael James Adams II, turned 18 years old! It's crazy to believe that 18 years ago we became parents for the very first time.

 He really was the perfect baby and has grown into a pretty good adult....most of the time. ;0) The only problem that I have been having lately is that he just won't let me get any pictures of him. I have actually threatened to take a few while he is asleep as that is probably the only way I will get any. It actually has worked out pretty well in the past...

 

 Gosh, that kid could sleep anywhere! Well, I'll keep trying to get a new picture of Michael, but until then, I'll leave you with this one from last year's prom.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Balloon Print Caterpillar

{For this project you will need}

a balloon

green, yellow, and orange paint

a piece of paper

1. Pour some yellow and green paint on a plate. Blow up the balloon.

2. Have your child dip the balloon into the paint and press it on the paper.

3. Continue until the caterpillar is the length you want.

4. Dip the balloon into orange paint to make the head.

5. Add a face and antennae and cut out your caterpillar.

Cookie Face

Little Miss Stella was extra grumpy today. She took an extra long afternoon nap so I thought she would wake up happy, but that was not the case. Instead, she was a complete bear! So, I gave her an early dinner and got her ready for bed. Just then, Daddy came home from the grocery store and before I knew it, he gave her an Oreo cookie.....

 Guess who's happy now? If I would have known cookies made her that happy, I would have given her one for breakfast!

What Happened To Spring?

Outside my window this morning.

Footprint Robin

One sure sign of Spring is the arrival of the first robin. We have already seen the first robin in our yard, how about you? Well, whether or not he's made an appearance, you can make a robin of your very own using just some paint and your feet!

1. Paint a foot brown and print it on a piece of paper. You may have to fill in the arch a bit.
2. Paint the robin's red breast.
3. Add feet, a beak, and an eye.

Welcome to Spring, Mr Robin!

Footprint Ducklings

Things are still getting back to normal around here from our busy week and weekend so I thought I would share another one of our favorite projects from Just For Fun. We'll be back to work tomorrow!

1. My favorite part, paint your child's foot with yellow paint.

2. Stamp them on a piece of construction paper.

3. We did this two times per paper.

4. Fill in the details, such as, grass, feet, beaks, and even clouds or flowers.

5. There you have it! Some cute little ducklings made with your feet:0)

Busy Week!

Wow, this week has been crazy! Because Aaron is a student of the PA Cyber Charter School, we have to take him to a designated testing place for his PSSA tests which are required by the state of PA. This is the week! Thankfully today is the last day because it really is exhausting and also messes with my schedule and I really NEED my schedule to function properly! lol! On top of the driving back and forth from home to the hotel where he is testing, we still have to drop off and pick up Felicia at school. So, we have spent way too much time in the car!

On Monday, Stella had her nine month check up where it was determined that she has a double ear infection and getting two more teeth. Poor baby!  Hopefully, now that she is on her antibiotics she will finally start feeling better. Other than that, she is doing great! She now weighs 17 pounds, which makes her a peanut compared to my other kids at this age! They were all well over 20 pounds by the time they hit 9 months. Although she has been pulling herself up for a few weeks now, she has become much more stable in doing so. She can now lower herself down slowly instead of falling which makes me much less nervous! She is also now cruising around the furniture when she does stand, so I am sure walking won't be too far off. :)

Stella standing at her favorite spot.

Well, I have to run, again. Hopefully life will return to normal tomorrow and I will be able to get caught up, answer emails and comments, and visit some blogs. Have a great day!

Footprint Butterflies

This is a project that we have been doing since the kids were babies. From tiny foot prints to some big kid feet they are always cute.

1. Dip your child's feet in some colorful paint and print them on a piece of construction paper.

2. Add the body, face and antennae. Then cut them out:0)

This is a re-post from my retired blog Just For Fun.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs-Muffin Tin Monday

We decided to have a Muffin Tin snack this week, so we made some rainbow kabobs. I let the girls choose the fruits they wanted to use while we were at the grocery store and they did a great job! The only time I had to intervene was when Felicia wanted to use lemons for yellow. I didn't think that would be very tasty so I suggested pineapple instead.

I cut up the fruit and put it in muffin cups along with some of our yummy fruit dip. Then I gave them each a skewer and allowed them to assemble their own kabobs. It was a fun and tasty snack!

 

If you would like to participate in Muffin Tin Monday, click the button below.

Nice Day For A Walk By The River

After days of rain, today the sun finally came out from behind the clouds. It was gorgeous. Unfortunately, the rain overflowed the rivers and creeks in our area and there was some minor  flooding. The company that Mike works for is in the flood zone, but thankfully, the waters did not flood the plant as they have many times before. We took the girls to the park so that they could check out the situation. The were amazed to see the play equipment surrounded by water.

I think it will be quite some time before the park will be fit to play at.

...out like a lamb.

Last week, we welcomed March with our handprint lion so today I am sharing a handprint lamb. This one is fun because you can have a little snack as you are making it.

1. Trace your child's hand. Cut it out.

2. Apply a generous amount of glue to the hand, leaving the finger tips glue-free.

3. Glue popcorn to the hand. I had to crush it a little for Madelyn's because her hand is so small.

4. Glue an ear to the thumb and draw an eye and a mouth.

 ...out like a lamb!

Homemade Fingerpaint

{ingredients:}
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
cold water
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
food coloring
4 to 6 baby food jars

{directions:}
1. Stir the gelatin into 1/3 cup cold water; set aside.
2. Measure the cornstarch into a saucepan and stir in 2 1/2 cups cold water until dissolved.
3.Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir until thickened.
4.Remove the pan from the heat and blend in the gelatin mixture and the dishwashing liquid.
5. Allow the mixture to cool and spoon it into jars.
6.Stir in a generous amount of food coloring.
7. Store at room temperature in airtight containers.

Paper Plate Leprechaun

Today we made an easy Leprechaun with a few simple things that we had on hand.

1. Paint a paper plate.

2. When it's dry, glue some yarn around the outside edge of the plate to create a beard.

3. Make a hat from green construction paper and decorate it any way you like. We added a gold buckle.

4. Glue that hat on the top of the plate, add a face and your Leprechaun is complete!