Mommy School- Dogs

Last week was the second week of mommy school! My planner was packed with playdates, Fundamentals and Swim class, photoshoots, and "to do's" but when we had a free time in our busy day we learned about dogs! Here are some of the highlights of our week:
-Words of the week: wag, pant, tail, pet, fur, collar, paw, bark, howl, bone, puppy
- We searched for all of Weston's doggies around the house and practiced petting the dogs. We talked about how dogs like to eat bones for a yummy treat.

-We made a dog bed for the puppies. Weston and the dogs took a snooze together.

- We focused on the color RED this week. We found red objects around the room. We even put Weston's RED Elmo shoes on the RED Clifford!

- Counting to 5! Weston loves the number two. When I begin counting, he says 2 for every number! So cute!

- Weston made a bone painting. He took a bone cookie cutter and dipped it into brown paint and stamped his paper a few times. Then, he fingerpainted with red paint. 

- Doggy Collage- Weston and I searched through magazines to find dogs. When I would find one on a page, I would ask him "where is the doggy on this page?" and he would point. Or I would ask him "is this a doggy?" and clearly it was not (a goldfish cracker or car). He would look at me with a serious face, like "are you serious mom?" and then say "no!" We had so much fun with this project! I was shocked that he sat still for so long. ;)

We hung his collage by his table. He loves showing it off to his friends! :)

- I made felt doggy ears and glued them to a headband. Weston wore them around the house and pretended he was a doggy. He barked and panted like a dog. 

- Books:
Where is Spot? by Eric Hill
That's Not my Puppy... by Fiona Watt
Bad Dog, Marley! by John Grogan


- Dog Songs and Fingerplays:
(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?
How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)
The one with the waggely tail
How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)
I do hope that doggie's for sale.

My Puppy
I like to pat my puppy (make puppy with one fist, pat)
He has such nice soft fur (pat puppy)
And it I don't pull his tail (pull tail)
He won't say "GrrrR!" (make angry face)


Five Little Puppy Dogs
Five little puppy dogs, in a kennel door,
One didn't like the crowd, then there were four.
Four little puppy dogs running around the tree.
Mother calls one puppy home, Then there were three.
Three little puppy dogs playing with a shoe,
Foxy ran to chase a cat, then there were two.
Two little puppy dogs, having so much fun,
Rover went to find a bone.
Then there was one.
One little puppy dog sitting in the sun.
He went to the kennel, then there were none!


-Fun Websites to check out with dog characters:
Fun with Spot http://www.funwithspot.com/us/   interactive games, books online, etc.
PBS KIDS (Clifford books and games) http://pbskids.org/clifford/index-brd-flash.html

Pool Day!

Today was a scorcher. Soooooo hot. Thank goodness Chad put it the AC unit downstairs over the weekend. Unfortunately we have no air upstairs and it is like a sauna up there. I slept on the couch the past three nights. Poor Weston. He has been sleeping in just a onesie with the fan on above him and a floor fan blasting. Chad made sure he got home before Weston went to sleep tonight so he could set up the two units upstairs.
It was the perfect day for sunblock, bathing suits, and the POOL!!! I found my underwater digital camera that Chad and I bought for our Honeymoon and shoved it in the pool bag. Weston is cutting a few more teeth and he has been a grump lately. I feel so bad for him. He cries and says "teeth ouchy". Poor little guy. When I asked him if he wanted to go swimming he said "Yes! Splash!" So I knew this would cheer him up. 


My little fishy...

So sad that I lost his rash guard. We will be buying a new one this week. More pics of all the fishies...

And then it was time to relax and eat lunch. 

Weston fell asleep as soon as we got into the car. He actually let me put him right into his crib when we got home and then slept for another 2 hours! We will have to go to Aunt Meme's (that's what Weston call's Melissa, my sis) pool more often!

As I downloaded these pictures, I saw that there were pictures on the camera from last summer. Wow. Time flies. 

Happy Memorial Day and the phone dump of course

Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all of the men and women who have died serving our country. <3

It was SO nice to have a long weekend with Chad. He only sees Weston on the weekends so it was so special to have an extra family day. :) Too bad tomorrow is the start of the work week, but WAHOO since it is only 4 days! 

A few of last week's pictures.... phone dump:

- See the pic of my legs out the car window? Weston fell asleep (picture before) on our way home from swimming lessons on Friday. It was nice to sit back and relax and even take a little snooze myself while Weston cat napped for about 15 minutes. 

- After that pic- W and I enjoyed our first snowball of the summer! YUM! 

- See the bathroom vanity on the bottom row?! The bathroom is ALMOST finished!!!! Paint- finished! Now just a few finishing touches and maybe an Etsy purchase (or two) and then it will be complete! Yay!

- Oh and the top 2nd pic. Weston is trying to catch the stinkin' bunny who eats all of my flowers. I could kill him, but boy he is so cute! 

Mommy Confession: Stickers

So I have a teeny tiny mommy confession. Do you ever have those days when your child is stuck on your legs and screaming for you to pick him or her up? Well I do and it usually occurs right around dinner time. Weston wants me to hold him while I work on dinner and this could be quite the task. I try to have him help me make dinner, but some days it is just impossible and not safe. So what do I do?  I get out the stickers and stick them ALL OVER him. About 30 stickers are stuck to his feet, legs, arms, belly… everywhere! Then, the little man will pick them off and put them on a piece of paper. Hey… it has to be educational! I use animal, food, and object stickers so he is definitely thinking about each picture. This keeps him busy for at least 20 minutes!! The best “get out of my hair” activity! Ha ha. And that’s one of my mommy confessions.  :)

Mommy School- Cars and Trucks

Last week was our first week of Mommy School. Our theme was Cars and Trucks and boy did we have fun! Thanks to Pinterest, all my past teacher websites, and the Oopsey Daisey blog for all of the good ideas! Here is a peek of the week:
- We drove cars and trucks on the "road". Painters tape... what a great idea! The next morning we came down the steps and Weston pointed to it and said "road"! Yay!!!!!!!! We're learning new things!
- Song: Elmo You Can Drive My Car This song cracks me up. 

- I picked up paint color cards from the paint store, taped them to a piece of cardboard, and wrote "Weston's Color Matching Parking Lot". This was definitely over his head, but it does not hurt to expose him to the color names. He seems to pick up so much stuff, so who knows maybe he was listening?! The 4th pic below on the collage shows his diaper and shorts. The stink pot ran to the bathroom to use the potty. I helped him take off his bottoms and then he sat on the potty. Nothing. Well not even a minute later he sat on the parking lot and peed right on it. Thanks kid.
- Pretended to drive Mommy's car

- Read lots of cars and trucks books!

- Made ramps out of objects around the house and watched to see how fast the cars would go down them! (sorry... no picture for this one)
- Car finger painting 

We had so much fun last week learning all about cars and trucks!
This week our theme is Dogs and we will also focus on the color RED!! I spent some time yesterday morning gathering some ideas for this theme and cannot wait to see what fun we get into. Just a peek of what we were playing with yesterday...

Last Week's Highlights

Phone Dump 

A few of last week's highlights:

- We played with Toby, Jayden, GG, and Gaga on Monday. 

- Weston now loved to clean his big boy table with wet wipes. He will purposely drop bits of applesauce on the table just so he can clean it all up. :)

- Norma let Weston sit on top of her for the first time. Now it happens at least once a day. What a nice and gentle big sis.

- I finally put away all of my fall and winter clothes and got out all (which is like nothing) of my spring and summer clothes. Weston hid in my closet. So sneaky. 

- We played with cars and trucks a lot and learned so much during mommy school! 

- Weston is becoming a lil' daredevil and will stand on chairs, tables, etc. And he makes that "whatcha gonna do about that, mom" face (thanks Diane C.... loved your fb comment).

- On Saturday I went to a few yard sales and found a very colorful crochet blanket. It will be perfect for my photoshoots!!! And for the house too! 

My favorite photo from last week:

Best Friends

The weather was calling for the whole day yesterday to be a washout -rain and thunderstorms all day. Well the weatherman was wrong again! From 11am and on it was beautiful out. Of course I had canceled all three of my photoshoots before then so Weston and I had the day together. After his nap, we headed outside to get our wiggles out. I decided it was a good idea to paint the shelves that Chad made for the bathroom. Later I realized it is never a good idea to paint with a toddler around. When I was not looking, Weston walked over all of my shelves and left a few footprints in each one along with some dog hair and dirt. I was not a happy mama. Anyway I had my back to Weston while painting  (of course I kept checking on the little man). Then I heard a little chuckle... Weston was sitting on Norma's back! That was the first time she has let him sit on her. He has poked at her eyeballs, hugged and kissed her, pulled her tail, patted her, but never has he sat on her back! I was so happy that my phone was right on the bench next to me playing my Pandora radio station. I quickly grabbed the phone and started taking pictures! Best Friends...

Love.

Play

The container full of toys for outside was one of the best ideas! It is filled with animals, cars, bubbles, sand toys, and sidewalk chalk. I love to sit back and just watch him. He is like a little sponge learning so much everyday and the best way to let him learn is through play!

All of the animals took a ride on the truck.

Shhhhh....

Now everyone (and everything... notice the orange car) is sleeping.

And then he found the puddles. Weston loves water. Go ahead kiddo.

Lucky Mom

Mother's Day felt extra special this year. I had such an amazing day home with Chad and Weston. We spent most of our day outside mulching the gardens, finding the perfect hanging baskets for around the home, and simply playing with each other. I enjoyed every minute second. I love my life. I am the luckiest mom. 

Chad made me delicious waffles for breakfast.

Chad and Weston mulching the garden.

Chad and I took several breaks from mulching (we had a lot to mulch since it has been about 3 years since the last time we did it) and sat back to watch Weston interact with his two favorite furry friends...

Weston woke up from his nap super grouchy. So we knew what would make him happy- the water table. :)

And then of course the swing. He sure looks happy now :)

 The backyard. Love the hanging baskets and window boxes. 

After showers, we headed for my sister's house. We only stayed a bit, but this definitely made my day...

And now it is Monday. Last week I started a new schedule. I now work early in the mornings (replying to emails, packaging, and editing) for about 2-3 hours. Then the rest of the day (unless I have a photoshoot planned) is for me! I LOOOOVE it! I am not as stressed out and I am enjoying it so much more. It is the perfect schedule. And then if I do not quite finish everything I had planned, then I will work at night. So far I haven't had to though. :) I am also starting to gather a few ideas for a new logo/watermark, packaging supplies, a new layout for my website, etc. I want it all to match and reflect my personality! I hope to have it all ready by September. I am also considering trying to do a photography blog again. It just takes a lot of time so we will see about that. 

Today Weston and I began "Mommy School". When I was a teacher, I came across the Oopey Daisy blog. Alison (the queen of Oopsey Daisies) used to be a first grade teacher and now stays at home with her adorable son. When he was 18 months she began mommy school and would have a theme a week. I absolutley love this idea!  My three favorite things-  Weston, teaching and taking pictures of all the fun activities. I am planning to get some ideas from her blog, but also come up with my own ideas. This week the theme will be Transportation. Weston is obsessed with anything that has wheels so he will be in his glory. I cannot wait to share what we learn throughout the week! We had a blast today! Did I say I am the luckiest mom?!

Enjoy last week's pictures from my phone: