Tot School: Water Play {19 months}

It's the perfect time of year for water play.  Luke and I have been spending lots and lots of time outside playing in the water.  These are some simple water activities we have done the past few weeks.  Our Tot School 'schedule' has been much more flexible this summer.  Hope you and your little one are having a fun and wet summer!

Transferring Water

Rating: 5/5

Skills:
Fine motor development
Sensory development

Activity:
Using a few old yogurt containers and a small plastic tupperware container, Luke practiced transferring water from one container to another.  Luke mostly poured the water out on the deck, but he did get a teensy bit of water from one container to another. 

Watering Plants

Rating: 5/5

Skills:
Fine motor development
Sensory development
Practical life

Activity:
Luke loves watching me water the flowers.  His Aunt Hillary gave him his own watering can for Easter and he loves watering plants right alongside me now.  He might water them a little too much, but no flowers have died, yet. 

Washing Cars

Rating: 5/5

Skills:
Fine motor development
Sensory development
Practical life
Counting

Activity:
One of Luke's favorite things in life are wheels.  I brought out some of his favorite toy cars (with wheels) and let him go to town washing them.  He didn't really get it at first, but Kevin and I modeled for him and he picked up on it towards the end of the activity.  We counted the cars as he put them in the yogurt container and also counted as he took them out.

Sprinkler Fun

Rating 4/5

Skills:
Gross motor development
Sensory development

Activity:
What kid doesn't love some good sprinkler fun?  Luke didn't quite know what to do at first, but he sure got a kick out of the sprinkler.  Kevin ran through with him a few times and there were lots of giggles.

Baby Pool

Rating: 5/5

Skills:
Gross motor development
Sensory development
Practical life
Social development (on playdate days)

Activity:
Luke loves his little pool.  He likes to take his rubber ducks out of the pool and put them back in, as well as pour water in and out of small plastic cups.  Luke especially likes it when he has a friend to play with in the pool!

Watercolor Painting

Rating: 5/5

Skills:
Fine motor development
Colors
Art

Activity:
This was the first time Luke painted with a paint brush.  He was very interested in the marks he was making and also the cup of water we were using to rinse his brush.  The picture he made was put in a journal for Kevin for Father's Day.  This activity kept his attention longer than I thought it would.

Linked up at:
http://www.icanteachmychild.com
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net

Happy Daddy's Day

I am blessed to have some pretty amazing Dads in my life.  Happy Father's Day, guys!

My Father-in-law
Where to start with Gary?  When I started dating Kevin, Gary always made me feel welcome and comfortable.  He is a gracious and generous man and I knew if Kevin was anything like him, I would be lucky to be in this family.  As the years have gone on, I have learned that he is an incredibly hardworking man.  There have been so many times he has dropped everything to come help us at the farm and I am so SO glad they decided to build so close to us, because I don't know what we would do without him!  Have a wonderful Father's Day, Gary, and thanks for all you do for us!

My Dad
I grew up with a loving, caring Dad who coached me in sports and always supported me no matter how many mistakes I made.  He was my Dad, my coach, and my hero.  As a little girl, I remember him as this tall (he's not that tall), strong, penny-pinching, YMCA-loving man that snuggled with me and loved me unconditionally.  Now that we're both older, he is not that tall, but still pretty strong, still penny-pinching, and my Dad still loves the YMCA and all things sports.  I am sad I cannot be with him today because I want to give him a hug and tell him what a great Dad he has been to me.  I love you, Dad, and I hope you have a wonderful day!  

My Husband
I might be a teensy bit bias, but I am pretty sure Kevin is the greatest Dad ever.  (I hope every wife thinks that of her husband today and everyday.)  But really, Kevin is the greatest.  I never expected him to be so loving, so playful, so invested in Luke.  Don't get me wrong, I had pretty high expectations going into this parenthood thing, but Kevin has completely surpassed them.  God has given me such a blessing in Kevin and I have to sometimes pinch myself to remember that he is mine. 

Some of my favorite memories of Kevin as a Daddy (so far): 

Luke sleeping on Kevin's chest when the days and nights blended together during those early days.

Kevin giving Luke a bath (this is still one of my favorite parts of the day...to watch them together).

Luke sleeping on Kevin during airplane rides.

Luke's 1st time at the Quarry with Kevin.

Kevin making Luke giggle all. the. time.

Random Picture Friday

Do you have a problem deleting pictures and videos from your phone?  Me, too.  It is probably one of the hardest things I have done today, besides resisting a second doughnut at Hy-Vee this morning (a glazed doughnut without frosting doesn't count, right?!).  Gosh, my pregnancy logic is just ridiculous.  Anyways, back to the pictures.  I needed to delete some items on my phone so I could download some new software I'm only a month or two late downloading.  I literally went through my phone and trimmed/edited every video of Luke, so I could keep as many videos and pictures as possible on my phone (please note all of these videos and pictures are saved on our computer).  I ended up saving most of them and only had to delete a few...and it only took me an hour!  Geesh.  An hour of my life gone.  

These are some pictures I did delete from the past week.  (Yay, me!)  Hope you enjoy...and have a blessed weekend!

Farm kid

Cuddling with Mommy after church.

Luke and Amelia chomping on some Cheerios after swimming.

A leftover picture from Chicago at the doughnut place.  

Chicago 2014

I love the city of Chicago.  It's probably my favorite big big city.  It is clean, there is great shopping, my awesome friend, Anne, lives there, Starbucks is five steps from every corner, and you can find yummy food wherever you go.  We made our annual trip to Chicago last week and it was a calm and relaxing few days.  Kevin did his thing at the conference he was attending and Luke and I explored the city and spent a lot of quality time with Anne.  

Being the pregnant lady that I am, I took advantage of having every possible food option available to me at all times.  I gave in to pretty much every craving that came upon me and it was good.  Biscuits and gravy, doughnuts, decaf lattes, Nutella, pizza, gelato, Ghirardelli chocolate, shrimp risotto...I did it all.  I'm not sure our unborn child knew what to think, but if Momma is happy, baby is happy...right?!  The three days of splurging on delicious food was good for my soul, but I came home ready to get back in the kitchen and eat some good old fashioned peanut butter and jelly (we eat a lot of those around here) and burgers on the grill.  

A huge thank you to Anne for taking so much time out of her days to come and visit us.  We were able to catch up and chat about everything as well as see her new apartment and go out to a delicious dinner (the risotto was perfect).    

Until next time, Chi-town...

Playing in the fountains at Millennium Park

Family photo opportunity

At the bean (Cloud Gate)!

Super-Luke loves water.

Luke crawled right up on Anne's lap and barely left her side every time we saw her.

Luke likes pretty girls that like to cuddle.

Luke's 1st Cubs game with Daddy.

Luke rode the 'L' train.

Luke absolutely loved playing at the Lego store.

Family photo at the Cubs game.

Random Picture Friday

It has been a stormy week on the Trail.  Our area encountered some weather that devastated crops, houses and buildings, cars, and trees.  Kevin, Luke and I are currently in Chicago and missed the dangerous storm.  We were so happy when we got word that friends and family were safe.  When menacing weather like that occurs, it is obviously terrible to lose crops and undergo damage to property, but it is also amazing to hear that friends, neighbors, and family members are safe.  Today I am thankful to God for keeping so many people safe that were in harm's way.  If you get a chance, please pray for the people of our area as they clean up limbs and trees as well as repair windows, cars, and buildings.

The pictures from this week are mostly from last weekend and the beginning of this week.  I will post pictures from Chicago soon.  Have a blessed weekend everyone!

7th Anniversary Date Night

Luke wasn't interested in taking pictures, he just wanted to play with Grandma and Papa.

Our dessert course at dinner.  A beet candy bar.  The chocolate was good.

Luke and his first sprinkler experience.  Classic.

Amelia came over for a swim.  

Best friend wagon ride.

 Take 1...typical Forristall men picture...eyes closed.

Take 2...much better.  Love my boys!

Memorial Day

We were blessed to have Kevin's sister's family come visit over Memorial Day weekend.  Hillary, John, and sweet Baby Kathryn came over to eat and play and eat some more.  Having family in town gave us a reason to sit back, relax, and enjoy the quiet, country living we so often take for granted. 

Saturday evening we made it back from Ottumwa just in time for pizza night.  Diane had homemade pizza dough ready, as well as various toppings for us to try.  Each couple made a pizza and it was fun to sample the combinations everyone tried.  We even learned how to 'officially' stretch the pizza dough with our knuckles. 

Use those knuckles

Yummy toppings

Hillary getting her dough ready.

Luke enjoyed pushing Kathryn around in her walker.

Sunday we watched church online and had brunch at our place.  Kathryn and Luke played with Luke's toys and they both entertained us.  Pete Hise was the speaker at church and his message titled, 'What Life Are You Waiting For' was not only inspiring, but really funny.  If you click on the link above, you can watch it from your computer.  

The guys smoked a brisket all day, while doing various chores around the farm, meantime, the girls played with the babes and might have snuck in a nap or two.  We figured out the kids had matching bib overalls, so we jumped at the opportunity to have a cousin photo shoot.  They were quite cute.

We feasted on a BBQ style meal of smoked brisket and ribs, coleslaw, beans, corn casserole, and rhubarb crisp for dinner.  Yum! The rest of the night was spent entertaining ourselves with Luke getting himself wet with the hose...oh how things change once you have kids!

These two.

Best part of our weekend.

We always head to the Macedonia cemetery on Memorial Day to put flowers on graves and attend the ceremony to honor the veterans.  It was a crisp summer morning and turned out to be a beautiful day for a potluck at Gary and Diane's.  There was more food than any of us could eat and we all headed home stuffed and ready for a nap.  It was a fun-filled weekend and one I look forward to every year.  Cheers to the start of summer! 

Both Luke and Kathryn love Brown Bear!

Grandkids and Great-Grandkids with Grandpa Gerald and his tractor

The Forristall clan 

Such a cute little family