Pre-preschool and preschool tots are genuinely interested in anything fun and bright!
1. Wooden Drum Set - lil' rockstar jam sessions. $50.00
2. Colored Cubes - blocks have never been more fun! $40.00
3. Stuffed Max Doll - for your little wild thing. $10.00
4. Nuchi Figure 8 Train - a nice modern leap from Thomas. $39.99
5. Crocodile Creek Water Bottles - H²o goes bright, green, and chic. $9.99
Tried getting a good shot of Freida for a birthday invite photo, but all I got was a fit. How appropriate for her 2 year old birthday... :)
Heaps of thanks to my awesome brother Yossi (over at YossiGraphicDesign) for turning a terrible tantrum into an artistic and inspiring invite!
Nothing deserves more celebration than acknowledging their trials and triumphs as they navigate their little way through life as they know it. A tantrum is never fun, and it's difficult to stop and think about what is transpiring in your little person while they are in the middle of chucking food across the room; but when you take a moment to think about how much development is going on inside of them, and how much independence is being explored - it really is quite the cause for celebration....
We had an "art party" for Freida on Sunday. I totally thought I would end up feeling like the stereotypical mom who made the party for themselves and the kid is not even enjoying it, so I went with Freida's current favorite activity: art. And she loved it every bit as much as I did. I know there are plenty of people who think it's totally ridiculous to throw a party for every year a kid advances, but growing up my parents always had a party for each of us - every year, and it really came to mean a lot to me. I felt special every day of the year because of that one special day when they'd pause to celebrate me.
I always have fun with the invitation (having a graphic designer in the family makes it even better!), can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted her 1 year old invites! Added to the party theme by opting for stamps by famous artists while at the post office...
This is by far the most fabulous idea for a kids Thanksgiving table I've ever seen! Featured on One Charming Party (the very best spot for party inspiration!), this popcorn-filled paper turkey is sure to keep the kids table occupied until the actual meal is served up... For those of you hosting a Thanksgiving meal with little ones on the guest list - check out this easy step-by-step, and up your neighborhood status to hippest mom on the block! :)
This is also a wonderful in-school craft + snack for you preschool teachers out there who need to "cover" Thanksgiving...
And don't forget to give thanks for all the wonderful little people in our lives!! Here's to the ones who keep us forever young and playful... The carefree, the innocent, the imaginative... Here's to the children!
A while ago I posted some photos of our Crane humidifier, and got quite a few inquiries about the "pom-poms" hanging above the changing table. I'm in the "pom-pom" phase again at the moment (conjuring up some multi-colored poms for Freida's art party on Sunday), and wanted to share the simplicity of this whimsical craft.
Pom-Pom DIY (via Martha Stewart Wedding):
1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.
2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.
3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.
4. Tie a length of monofilament to floral wire for hanging.
In addition to these making for lovely decor, there are ways to get the kids involved in the process! I've done this in the Pre-K classroom and the kids find the whole thing (especially the outcome!) really incredible. I used white tissue paper, and gave the kids spray bottles filled with liquid tempera paints and water. When they sprayed it onto the tissue paper the color "spread" and it made a pretty tie-dye effect. After the sheets have dried you can follow the steps above, and watch the childrens expressions! :)
I did another version of this with Freida (on a much smaller scale) we used coffee filters (white would have been better), and Do-A-Dots to create a similar look. She had fun stampin' away, and after the filters dried she was dumbstruck when I showed her how to "open" up the pom. I left it hanging from her door-knob for a while, then stuck it as a ceiling pendant in her little sukkah.
If you like the look but are more keen on skipping the process, you can get yourself some perfectly-ready-to-assemble, beautiful, whimsical pom-poms through the original "Pom-Pom provider": Kirsten Hadley of PomLove over at Etsy. The shop features the most fantastic tissue pom options, and Kirsten is an absolute pleasure to deal with! She's dubbed the shop with the tagline, "happy, floating. paper", and it delivers! Here's a little glimpse into what she offers:
Happy Pom-lovin'!!
This port-a-potty (Ma Cacabane) got an early morning laugh out of me! An entertaining 4 walls provide your little one with a private zone to do what they gotta do. Plant a potty inside and you've got yourself a full on pee-wee port-a-potty stall. Pretty darn cute...
