Tag Archives: children

creative movement

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I registered the little birdie for a “Creative Movement” class this fall. Not that she seems to need much help in this area especially when she’s inspired by Lake Michigan’s crashing waves, but I think she’ll have a BLAST. She’s such a natural little dancer that I sometimes don’t want to dance in front of her in fear that she’ll be influenced by my movements… or lack of.

The class requires that she wear pink tights, a pink leotard, ballet shoes and pull her hair back. She is ridiculously excited about this part of the class. Who IS this girl again? Did she really come from me? Boggled.

How was your weekend, lovelies?

sunhat AND a bib!

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Lovelies, you’ve got to check this out. I wrote about Roen Design earlier this summer in regards to their Leelanau Peninsula kids clothing and Roen Design just released their newest product: a sunhat and bib in one! Not only is it pure genius, it’s a-door-bell too, isn’t it? I told Forest of Roen Design that I am not usually a bib-using Mom, especially when we’re out-and-about, but if it were built in to something else, then I would be more likely to use one (instead of relying on my stain stick…). Would you? Have you ever seen anything like this?

You can get your hat/bib combo right here.

cha cha cha changes

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You know the story, lovelies. When you’re completely immersed in life with a little person every day, most changes just creep up on you without too much notice. I often feel like a helpless frog in that proverbial pot of boiling water… One day, whamm-o! You wake up and they’re two going on fourteen. Where-oh-where did my little baby go?

Last year the little birdie wasn’t even walking yet at the Cherry Festival and this year? We walked up to her first ride and I told her that I could go with her. “No, Mama, I do it SELF!” I cried: happy | sad | proud | full of awe.

Just like that (frog talking here), the little birdie flew away. For a little while anyway. It’s like a dance we play at this age – pull away, come running back, pull away. Testing what independence feels like. Scary and fun, just like escaping into the unknown of a giant blow-up rainforest.

 

it’s a…

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thumb-sucker! Sorry, lovelies, we didn’t find out the sex of the baby yesterday, although truth be told, this Mama kind of wanted to know this time around. But Chris wanted to wait so we agreed not to find out. Plus the tech said that the baby had its legs crossed anyway, so it would’ve been difficult to find out. It was just meant to be. The surprise at delivery IS fun too, isn’t it?

More importantly, however, the baby looks healthy. All is well. Keep on, keepin’ on.

a little birdie turns 2

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Lovelies, I realize that this is not an original thought, but here it comes anyway. Where does the time go and how could I already be living in a home with a two year old little girl? Just the other day Chris and I were musing about how exciting it will be when we get to hear the pitter-patter of a little person in the upstairs hallway. I remembered this today when I was gushing to myself about a just-out-of-the-oven loaf of coconut banana bread and I heard the sound of a little birdie running down the hallway. It’s times like these I’m grateful for wood floors without even a runner to buffer the sound of 23 ebullient pounds.

It seems a bit silly to attempt to show gratitude for the birdie’s presence in our lives by baking cookies and stringing up purple balloons because it doesn’t exactly equate, but such is life. What fun to try anyway! Was it crazy to invite a bunch of two year olds over to graze on a sugar-laden buffet easily within reach of their chubby hands? And was I completely exhausted by the end of the day? Yes and yes! But I’d do it again. It sure is fun to celebrate life, isn’t it?

The day was complete with only one real meltdown involving crocodile tears and a new plastic set of golf clubs, just a few raindrops, fun-loving friends and family, lots of bubbles, sugar, and the color purple. Wren is really into purple right now so we decided to celebrate her in a rainbow of purple. Here are a few more photos of her big day.

We made an easy-peasy balloon garland that we saw over on Design Mom recently. All purple, of course…

And then there were the cupcakes, for which I take no credit! Late last year I won a gift certificate from a local pastry chef and saved it for Wren’s party. I saw an idea for some lollipop flower cupcakes and had Sweet Ashley Marie Creations make them. Lucky us! They were beautiful and added the perfect punch of color and fun that we needed.

The cupcakes echoed the invites, which most people received despite the problems. A few never got theirs (sigh), but they still came and didn’t complain, yahoo! I love Wren’s friends.

Some say a party for preschoolers is really for the parents, but Wren is very social and she had an absolute blast with her buddies. By the end of the day, she too was pooped. Pooped and happy. And this Mamma was too.

click on

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Happy Friday, lovelies. I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Here are a few links to tickle your fancy…

  • Attention, knitters! Calling all cherry lovers! And a special shout out to all expecting Mamas! All 3? Woah. You will totally flip over how ridiculously cute this pattern is. I swear I could feel my baby kicking just by looking at it. And I don’t even knit! Or know the gender. So yeah, click on.
  • Thinking of mowing down those dandelions? Stop! Make dandelion jelly.
  • Not sure what to do with all that dandelion jelly you just made? Dandelion macarons, silly.
  • Excited about asparagus season? Kick it off with this delicious easy-peasy asparagus frittata. You won’t be sorry.
  • I love when people do something special to mark a baby’s amazing changes month-by-month, don’t you?
  • I’m also amazed when people with a lot of kids (6!) find ways to make each child’s birthday special. Check out the balloon garland!
What blew your skirt up this week, lovelies? Send me a link.
XO ash

cups of grass!

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Don’t you just love egg cups? I sure do. And I also enjoy soft-boiled eggs. AND I love the idea of eating the eggs in beautiful little cups. But I hardly ever eat an egg in one of our egg cups! So what’s a gal to do…?

Turn them into little planters, of course!

Lovelies, this is SO simple and rewarding. Bonus! Easy to do with your wee ones too. Have some potting soil, a bit of grass seed and a few cute little containers? You’re set. Want cups of grass for Easter? Let’s get growing!

First fill up your containers almost to the top with the potting soil because this airy stuff settles a lot once watered and you’ll want the grass growing near the top, no?

Sprinkle the grass seed in very liberally then dump in a bit more soil. Water the little guys and place them in a sunny spot. Then watch them grow! In less than a week, we had grass. I think it’s even time for a hair cut, don’t you think?

What fun spring/Easter projects are you up to these days? Send me some links! I’m looking for more fun Easter things to do with the little birdie…

Click on, lovelies

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22 months old already, wow.

Truth be told, I’m a bit bummed. 12 and snowy is not exactly what I had in mind for Spring Break. Apparently I cursed myself by washing the little birdie’s snowsuit last week AND washing my car. I knew it was too good to be true. Sigh. I know, I know. We live in northern Michigan and furthermore, it’s incredibly boring to complain about the weather, no? Soooooo… how ’bout we get lost in the Interwebs for a while instead, lovelies?

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. XO

icy down south

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Just got back from a quick trip down south. Chicago! While we were in the Windy City, we got to see our nieces perform in their annual ice skating show. It was so much fun AND I had a great reason to try out my new camera lens. Here are a couple interesting pics for you…

Made me wonder what kind of activities the little birdie will enjoy when she’s a little older… Soccer? Interpretive dance? Basketball? The drums? What’s your perspective on kids activities? Do you like to expose your kiddos to lots of different things or do you choose one or two things and make them stick with it, ala Tiger Mom? Maybe a combination? Or do you prefer to have more of a home-centered life and not try to do too many outside activities? I’d love to hear your perspective!