Advent Calendar

As I mentioned in my last post, we have been working on an advent calendar. I had great plans to be a very crafty mother and make a nice quilted calendar with pockets which I could use each year but I'm not the most organised person in the world so if I start it now it might be ready for next Christmas.
In the mean time I decided to make something quick and easy which Junior could help me with. We decided on a mini bag advent from the Kid's Craft Weekly Advent issue. We used cake bags left over from our wedding, rather than mini envelopes and they worked fine.
We added some red stars with potato prints, numbered them 1 to 24 ...
... and then I had to think up a Christmassy themed activities to do each day.
I added a little surprise to each bag and then used mini pegs to attach them to a Christmas ribbon. Very quick and easy.

It's beginning to feel a bit like ....

......... Christmas!

Over the last couple of weeks Junior and I have been slowly preparing a few little things for Christmas. Lots of painting, cutting, gluing, drawling and creating has been happening.
Cards and decorations are the main things to be made so far but this week we have been working on an advent calendar as well (I'll post some photos when it is finished).
Hope it is starting to feel a little Christmassy for you too.

Do half birthdays count?

This week Junior turned three and a half and I made the mistake of wishing him a happy three and a half birthday. The mention of a birthday led to an immediate request for a birthday party.
This request was declined but we settled on making a cake to mark the occasion.I have been thinking about trying to make a Rudolf cake for our Annual Christmas BBQ at the end of the month so this gave me a chance to give it a quick trial run. Just as well because I think it will need a bit of tweaking so my reindeer doesn't look so anorexic next time.
The cake did at least passed the Junior taste test - although I think it did that before I even got it in the oven!

The Potato People

As I have mentioned before, Junior just loves books and one of his many favourites is "The Potato People" by Pamela Allen. This morning it was raining so he suggested that we make some potato people, just like in the book - so we did.
Our creations weren't quite as lovely as the gorgeous illustrations in the book but we had fun all the same. Our little man and little woman have now found a home on the living room window sill.
Now we just have to wait for them to grow "horns"

I Robot

Last weekend Hubby and Junior enjoyed a little bit of creative time together converting an empty beer carton into a robot.
I think Hubby enjoyed the construction even more than Junior did with lost of cutting, colouring, sticking and stamping.
Junior even took on a robot persona to model it for me complete with jerky arms and robot voice.

Breakfast at Stickybeaks

This morning was the perfect spring morning for a family outing. Bub still has two naps a day so we decided to go out for breakfast, and the perfect place for breakfast and a play is Stickybeaks cafe in the Kings Park Family Play Area. It fulfils everyone's idea of a good start to the day - Mum got her coffee fix, Dad got Eggs Benedict and the kids got to play to their hearts content - what a perfect Sunday morning.

Off and racing

For weeks now Bub has been practicing his climbing and standing with a little bit of cruising thrown in for good measure. Then in the last week or so he has really taken to cruising around the house with the block trolley for support. He can actually go quite fast like this (which he loves) but he gets very frustrated when the trolley gets jammed in a corner or up against the sofa. He is getting a little better at steering the trolley (or highchair or kids table or anything else he chooses to push about the place) but now he has decided he doesn't need any of that.
Bub has started taking his first few steps (just shy of 11 months). He can only manage about 4 or 5 before plonking down on the floor but his philosophy is "practice practice every waking moment" so I'm getting a little worried he will be running around in no time.
Junior didn't walk until just over 13 months and was a little more cautious about it all. I'm a bit concerned about how many accidents Bub might have over the coming months but he doesn't seem to be concerned at all - just very happy with himself.

Pasta making

Last week I didn't manage to do any cooking with Junior at all. We were going to try a chocolate cake but hubby had finished off the eggs so that canned that idea.
Luckily we went to a friends house for a playdate on Thursday and she made us some yummy egg pasta for lunch. Junior loved helping with the rolling and cutting and then cleaned up his plate full of pasta with home made tomatoe sauce. A reminder that I will have to try this again sometime.

Recipe for a great Sunday

A train trip to Fremantle for Ice-cream ...
... and a little sparkler magic to finish the day.

Peg dolls

This morning Junior and I made some peg dolls while Bub took his morning nap. I think I was being a little ambitious because they were a bit fiddly for little hands and Junior just gave me instructions on what he wanted and I had to do most of the cutting although he did enjoy the gluing bits. I think next time I will have the clothes pre-cut and just let him "dress them" as he pleases.
I was thinking of making our family but Junior's requests were for A) an astronaut! and then B) a pirate. I passed on the astronaut and made a poor attempt at a pirate but Junior did enjoy trimming the girl's hair.
Once they were finished he whisked them away to a treasure bag in the cubbie (a sure sign that he thinks they are special).

Brush brush brush ...

At day-care Junior's carers have been doing lots of activities to encourage independence. This week they have been looking at personal hygiene including reading lots of books about brushing teeth and washing hands.
Consequently Junior, who we used to have to almost drag to the bathroom each evening to brush his teeth, now wants to brush after every meal (and in between times as well some days). Oh the power of peer pressure - sure seems to be more powerful than mummy or daddy at the moment!

Anything you can do

Nowadays Junior has an extra little shadow everywhere he goes. The cubbie used to be Juniors own special place but not any longer. Bub is so determined to everything his big brother can (much to his mum's distress) even climbing up the ladder into the cubbie ....
If Junior can do it Bub will give it a go.
Up...
Up .....
... and away .....
Aren't I clever mum!