Big Sister

Lauren is so lucky to have such a wonderful big sister!  And we are lucky parents to have such an amazing helper!

Hands Through Time

To mark another year, we made a hand print fossil to add to Emma's collection.  I still remember doing it the first time when she turned one.  The mixture was a little too wet, so her print kept disappearing.  We tried again and again, each time washing a one-year-old's hand.  It took hours for the plaster to reach the right consistency.  There's just one more year to go and the hand print kit will be complete.

Keepsake Blocks

Lauren received this unique and special welcome to the world gift from a family friend.  I was so impressed with the craftsmanship and composition that I had to order one for Emma.

Side 1 - Letter of first name
Side 2 - Child's full name
Side 3 - Date of birth, time of birth, weight, length
Side 4 - Proud parents' names
Side 5 - Day of the week, footprint graphic, city and state of birth
Side 6 - Optional name of giver

The 2-inch wooden block is small enough to sit on a shelf or dresser.  And one day when the girls are "too old" for these types of decorations to be on display, it's small enough to become part of a keepsake box.  Craft-E-Family sells these personalized blocks for $17 with free shipping.  (Pottery Barn Kids sells an identical item for $99!)  Visit Craft-E-Family's website to see all of their products.  Now that you've read this blog, you want to order them for your own kids, right?  I don't blame you.  What a deal for a special keepsake!

Bend, Bounce, Balance

Here are a few pictures of Emma during summer gymnastics lessons--hopping on tip-toes, balancing heal to toe, bear walking on parallel bars, and handstands!  She had such a blast and was an excellent listener! I was the only mom who EVER took a picture, so I didn't feel comfortable taking many, . . . but I was able to get some.

Sunflowers - Part 3

Numbers:  On this workbook page, Emma identified the number of items, found the matching number card, and wrote the number on the paper.

Missing Addends:  The third grade math teacher in me refrained from using the terms addend and sum, but I gave Emma the answer and asked her to find two numbers that could be added to make it.  She had to use sunflower seeds to count up to the total, making sure to put some on each of the two flowers.  Then we said, "____ + ____ = ____."  Sometimes I would keep the same sum and ask her to find a different seed combination to show that there is more than one way to get the answer.

Seed Letters:  Emma used the seeds to form various alphabet letters.  It was tedious work, so we only did a few.  You could also form shapes or numbers.

Seed Dissection:   What's inside?  Emma noticed that a few sunflower seeds were splitting open.  She pried them apart to reveal the "baby plant" before it starts to grow into a plant.  Again, the third grade science teacher in me wanted to use vocabulary such as seed coat and germination.  All in good time!

Story Time:  We enjoyed several fiction and non-fiction books about sunflowers.

Sugar Baby

Here is Lauren at 3 months!  She was smiling at her big sister, which is one of her favorite activities.  Emma can do a dance or make a face and Lauren just lights up.  This comes in very handy!