Catching Up!

Oh my, I have been in such a slump lately with this!  I've started a couple of specific posts but can't seem to get past the first couple of sentences so I'm just gonna ramble here for a bit.  I've never really done general life updates on here but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Howie just started back to school in August, he's got 2 years of pre-req's before he can apply to the radiology program.  Thankfully he can do a lot of them online which is super convenient with Sam and my work schedule.  He might also be starting a job next month, which will allow me to cut back a little at work!  And it will still give him time for school, praying it works out like we're hoping:)

In other news, we're headed to Missouri next weekend!  We will get in sometime Friday the 30th and going to be in Osceola until Thursday when we are planning to go to St Louis for a couple of days with my mom and sister until we leave to come back home.  We'll be at the fall festival at my mom's (Living Waters Ranch) on the 1st all day so hopefully we'll see a lot of people there!  We haven't been to Missouri in almost 2 years so it will be nice to catch up with family and friends there!

Sam is getting so big:(  She has really started putting words together, making full sentences.  Although usually just Howie and I know what she is saying.  We haven't taken her to the doctor recently so I have no idea her height and weight but she's into mostly size 3T clothes.  She still has a pacifier and has a sippy cup of milk before nap time and bedtime.  Both of those things we hope to wean her from once we get back from Missouri.  The sippy cup should be pretty easy but I have a feeling the pacifier is going to be a battle!  The other big change is we put a lower side on the crib to make it more like a toddler bed, she can get in and out of it on her own.  She has done really well with the adjustment!  Just shows how big she is getting:)

Week 6 of Tot School

This week actually went pretty well, Sam recognizes and says letters A-G so far!

On Monday Sam added the letter H to the wall.

She loves her puzzles.

We made handprints for our H.

She wanted to do it herself.

On Tuesday I just let her practice with her glue and scissors.

Then headed to the library for story hour which ended up being cancelled so she played for awhile.

On Thursday we made cookies and then I took Sam to Chick Fil A to play while Howie was at class.  He has a math class on Tuesday and Thursday nights now.  The rest of his classes are online.

On Friday we had a movie night, pulled out the couch bed and watched Beauty and the Beast.  We've started checking out a few movies at the library each week along with books:)

This week was a little more lax than the previous ones but I'm just going by her cues.  Some days she's really into sitting and doing the things I have planned and sometimes not so much.  

One thing we do pretty consistently is at breakfast we point at each letter on the wall and she says what it is.  If we forget to do it she'll ask "a,b,c?"  

Toddler beach tips!

It's getting to the end of summer and we have made so many trips to the beach!  I put together some tips for taking your toddler to the beach.  

1.  Be prepared to run around!  It's not relaxing but it sure does make it more fun.

2.  Dig a giant hole and fill it with water.  Some people say to take a baby pool and fill it which might be good for a baby but Sam loves the sand and water but still isn't a giant fan of the waves.  So the first thing we do is start digging:)

3.  Take snacks such as pouches so you don't have to worry so much about sandy hands and food.

4.  A five gallon bucket can have a few good uses.  It holds all the sand toys, Sam likes to sit in it to rinse off, and we use it to fill the hole we dig.

5.  Lots of sturdy sand toys.

6.  We always take a gallon of water to use when we're leaving to rinse Sam completely off.

7.  If you don't stay all day find a favorite food place nearby.  We always stop at our favorite Taco Shop for lunch, it's only about 10 minutes from where we usually go and we're starving by the time we get there!

I'll be back with more Tot School posts next week!

DIY Chalkboard Table

I'm really excited about this project that Howie took on this last week. My sister in law passed this table along to us, and it turned out perfect for this project.

Before

Howie sanded and primed the table twice, trying to take care of the spot in the middle.

Stenciling the letters and numbers

Sam wanted to help:)

Then 2 coats of chalkboard paint and spray painted the chairs.

Week 4 of Tot School

This week was a struggle people!  Even trying to get this post written.  I volunteered to work Saturday which is 6 days in a row and it messed with me all week!  But we did some stuff:)

On Monday I wanted Sam to try out some of the fine motor activities I had found on Pinterest but they were a little much for her.

She did enjoy eating the Cheerios though!

This one might work better with maybe a large spoon until her grip is strong enough for the tongs.

She still loves putting the pipe cleaners through the strainer holes.

We also introduced the letter F and number 4 and did a little painting.

On Tuesday we did our letter craft and then headed to the library for story hour.

Wednesday was rough because the first Wednesday of every month is potbless at church so we go earlier.  So besides Howie doing the calendar and letters that morning that's all we did.

On Thursday we did our weekly baking, it was a chocolate chip brownie dessert I saw on Pinterest.  Sam has really figured this baking stuff out!  She can open the butter and run the mixer all by herself.

Since I had Friday morning off, we decided to go to the zoo for a couple of hours.  Sam is really enjoying it more and more.  She knows so many of the animal sounds now, it's really fun to watch.  We bought the membership last November and have really got our money's worth out of it.

On another note, I'm torn about continuing the tot school posts.  It's the only thing I've posted about in the last month but it's getting harder to keep up 

with.  Let me know if you're enjoying reading them or if I should move on to other topics!

Week 3 of Tot School

Another week in the books!  It's so fun watching Sam learn!  Here was our week:

Over the weekend I bought a calendar/weather set (better explained in the picture below).  

I actually put the calendar on the other side of the felt board I made last week and then bought a small trifold.  I laminated as much as I could of all the parts so hopefully they last awhile.

So that's how our Monday started, we checked the weather outside and  put our new letter and number for the week up.  

And she made Elmo out of an E.  She really enjoys using the markers instead of crayons now.

We have a few different puzzles like these that she likes to do and also stacking her blocks:)

Tuesday was a pretty busy morning even though we skipped the library since story hour doesn't start back until next week.  Started off the same as Monday, she's starting to get the hang of it:)

Then I took advantage of her love for googly eyes and glue, E is for Eye!  Although as I'm telling her this I realize she might get confused when it comes to the letter I😂

We went outside to play and ended up playing with colors.

When Howie got home we decided to build a fort, she wanted to read the belly button book to ALL her stuffed animals, so fun!

On Wednesday, since Sam's schedule has changed recently she's been sleeping in pretty late this week so I haven't had a lot of time with her on the mornings I open at work.  Howie does a good job at keeping the same routine minus the crafts lol. Since I was in the nursery with her at church it was easier just to do her story and craft there than try to fit it in between work and church.  This week it was David and Goliath.

We made a slingshot and rocks.

Thursday was our baking day and we made this delicious Amish Cinnamon Bread!  Sam loves tasting all the different ingredients that go into the bowl😬

We also took Sam skating for the first time Thursday night with our church group, she had a lot of fun except when we tried to force her onto the skating rink😄

And once again Friday came along and I was ready to relax so after work we just played and watched some Doc Mcstuffins before heading to church to watch a movie.