Good "Clean" Fun!

Sometimes it's important to get messy.  Life is messy!  Why not get messy in real life?   At least let your kids do it!  I ordered a box of 12 different Tempera paints last week.  They arrived at our doorstep while Serafin had a friend over. I couldn't resist the temptation to open them up and let the girls get creative.  I think next time I might hold off on this one till spring or summer, when I can take the girls outside and HOSE THEM DOWN!  Although admittedly, bath time (all three of them) was very amusing.  Anyway, what was meant to be a painting project (on paper) turned into body painting.  Sigh, . . . apple doesn't fall far from the tree!  And yes, they both got messy.  Really messy.  And yes, we all had fun.  Parents and kids.  

Here we go!  At first I was like, "Ok, don't paint on anything else but your hands," which lasted about a minute.  At some point I just gave in, . . .

(Gave in) And watched!  Hoping that the paint would stay on the shower curtain I had laid out!

"Check me out!"

 "Hmmm, I think I need a little color on my face."

Yes, there was a ring around the bathtub.  Somehow, I don't know how, the mess was relatively contained, . . .

Until Serafin had to use the toilet.  Oh well. 

"Hey!  That was fun!  Let's do it again!"

Kids are seriously the best!

Food Fiesta!

My sweetie loves her "compartment plate", after-all, it does have fairies on it.  This morning she made "strawberry heads with big ears".  Ok.  Sounds good to me!

Serafin is not always easy when it comes to food.  When she was really little she would eat everything, EVERYTHING!  Now, she definitely expresses her dislike for certain foods, even before she has tried it (go figure!), which can be kind of frustrating.  Lately I've had a bit of a different approach to the whole food issue, . . . I'm trying not to be so darned uptight when it comes to her eating! 

My mantra, . . . "let go Jessica, . . LET GO!" (In fact, that's a mantra I repeat to myself daily in many other circumstances--go ahead, try it, it helps).

"Let go" of control, I mean.  As long as it's not getting out of hand, so what if she wants to stick her spoon in her cup and drink flavored water?  Who cares if she wants to take her Cheerios out of her bowl and make "funny face" designs out of them, who am I to discourage her creativity?  Why not put raisins on a pizza?  Although I now there are times when table etiquette is needed, there are also times when I need to just let her lead the show.  As a result,  although she isn't necessarily eating more, we seem to be having more fun at the table!  Here are a few fun food things we've done!

A meal during "Rainbow Week" when we learned about the colors of the rainbow.

I was missing the beach the day I made this--that's peanut butter in the middle and raisins for coconuts.  The trunk of the palm tree is a piece of cheese.  Mmmmm.

Peas and Sausage for breakfast, strawberry eyes and a string cheese nose.  Why the heck not?

Here's our raisin pizza face!  Serafin rolled the dough herself!

 And a picture of my little doll, I love her so much.

"Yes, I'm much happier when Mommy chills out!"

"I'm a Dish Washer!"

Sometimes the best activities are the most simple.  A little soap and water can take you a long way!   Serafin love's "washing dishes" and I consider it a nice way to teach her some responsibility. It's also a great way to keep the kiddo occupied while you chop up some veggies and put dinner together.  Here are a couple of fun photos plus a video of my little "dish washer" (please excuse the plumber's butt!).  

Play Dough Fun!

Serafin and I had fun with play dough today.  I found a great recipe from this blogging mama, it's super easy.   After making it, we had an afternoon of experimenting! 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Serafin loves to help me in the kitchen, today was especially fun because of the "pretty colors"!  Seriously, what would I do without food coloring?

We started with Aqua (above) and then moved to pink.

And of course, . . . it wouldn't be me if we didn't add orange!

After the dough cooled, I set up the table for some fun.

First, she made me "a cup of tea" (she's definitely my daughter!).

Then she practiced kneading.

"Let's try some other colors!"

And how about some "spaghetti"!

Pretty soon Silas wanted in on the fun, he wasn't so sure about it.

More experimentation and "color blending".

"Here ya go Mommy!  All done!"

"Orange Cupcakes!"

After being inspired by this blogger, I thought I would dig into my pantry and give Serafin a go.

I put a bunch of different goodies into a cupcake pan and let her go crazy. She wasn't too sure about it at first, but ended up having a lot of fun! Originally, the plan was to give her a jar and she would be able to pile everything in. The colors here were so pretty that I thought we might be able to put it on the table to admire her "sculpture" for the next few days. Boy was I wrong! It was my own fault though, I couldn't resist giving her water and orange food coloring, then all hell broke loose!

READY!

SET!

GO!!!!!

Let's experiment with our feet.

Now let's try different cooking instruments!

PRETTY!

But not for long!

Still pretty, if you like orange.

Uh Oh.

Hmmmm.

It's all over now.

Finishing touches.

DONE!

THE MESS.

When I asked Serafin what she made she said, "Orange cupcakes!

Mold and casting fun!

(Heart and foot casts! The smallest foot is Silas', it needs to be redone as it didn't come out all that great, the other is Serafin's foot at about 10 months. The mold in the background is for her current 2 1/2 year old foot which came out quite cool! You can see her painting it below.)

So I know it's past Valentine's Day now, but hearts are fun any time of the year, right? I made a mold and cast of Serafin's foot when she was a babe and thought it was about the right time to make one of Silas'. I put together the mold and had a bit of extra casting material and started to think about what to do with it. One thing I have in my arsenal of goodies is different shaped ice trays, perfect for making fun shaped ice or juice cubes for the kiddos and, in this case, perfect as a casting mold!

Serafin had fun painting her foot as well as a few hearts. I do have a project in mind for the rest of those little hearts, but, of course haven't gotten around to it, . . it involves Jess time ( VERY limited!), paint (gotta dig it out), canvas (just bought!) and a sunny day (will be coming soon.). Anyway, that will be inspiration for another blog piece! Any other fun ideas for molds and casts?

For anybody wanting to do casts of their kids, we got our kit here. Worth every penny and I think I've done about 5 molds with it so far. I think next time I may just by the mold and casting material separately and work out the proportions (might be cheaper that way), but this was a good starting point for me as a beginner.

A Star for my Star!

A little incentive for Ms. Serafin to do certain "big girl" things, . . . aren't stars fun! We haven't decided wether or not she will get a prize once she fills on all the blanks, we want to see how she reacts when (if) she manages to complete it. She seems to be warming to the idea that if she washes her hands or goes potty she will get a star, at dinnertime, however, forget it!

Fun at the Little Farm

For those of you that don't know, Tilden Park has a lot of great attractions, the Berkeley Botanical Gardens, the steam trains, amazing trails and even a little farm. Here kids can learn about the different types of farm animals and even get a chance to feed them. Serafin loves going to it. She particularly has an affinity towards the pigs, how could you not, they're so cute, "snort snort".

Unfortunately for the munchkin, the last time we went it was a bit late in the day and the "piggies had gone to bed" already. We still had fun walking around and feeding the goats and cows. If you catch them during the week on a good day, apparently you can even get fresh eggs. They have so many chickens that they are always on the lookout for a willing taker (Me! Me! Me! Nothing like fresh eggs.). Below is a video of Serafin feeding the cows, . . . MOOOOOOOOO!

Monterey Bay Aquarium!

What an awesome place! By far one of the most impressive aquariums I've been to. The fish were beautiful and even more so, was watching the munchkin's awe and excitement. "Fishies, Mommy, Fishies!" She would say as she ran off. I had a moment where I really reveled in parenthood.

I love having a family and I can't wait to see what our second child brings to us. I am truly blessed.

There are times, such as when we were walking through the aquarium, that it hits me hard just how much I love watching my daughter grow. Watching how she gets excited about things and wants to explore EVERYTHING makes my heart warm. Amazing. I love being a parent. On a side note, i'll admit, at 7 and 1/2 months pregnant, it was more than exhausting trying to keep up with her, by the end of the day I was definitely ready to go home.

Here are a few more photos of our short trip as well as a little video of my favorite exhibit, the jelly fish (I had trouble taking myself away from them, they were so mesmerizing)!