Life on Pioneer Trail

2.07.2014

Random Picture Friday

Happy Friday, all! Hope you have a blessed weekend and it is warm where you are! I have not seen 30 degrees in awhile, but it's on the forecast for next Wednesday, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Here are some random pictures from the past week...

luke, kaden, kolton

i love these girls!

grandpa gary and luke during the super bowl

luke after eye surgery

i love this picture...playing with daddy

2.05.2014

Luke at 15 months

Luke turned 15 months on Monday. I can't believe my baby is a toddler...it just doesn't seem possible. I know every Mom says this, but it is truth. Somehow the first year just gets away from you and your newborn baby is jogging around the house with a sippy cup (tear).

ANYWAYS...

Luke is 15 months and surprising us with what he knows everyday. Here is a snapshot of Luke at 15 months:

Luke uses a straw sippy cup independently. He hands it to us when it is empty, so we can give him a refill.
He had his 2nd tear duct surgery on Monday and had a small tube put into his tear duct so that it can heal open. He was a trooper and we are praying this is a permanent fix.
Luke can give a high five, wave bye-bye, point to what he wants, clap, and is finally, finally starting to (kind of) give kisses. (We had a breakthrough last night.)
Luke is infatuated with wheels, tractors, and trucks. He loves to watch out the window as the trucks load grain and looks to the window every time he hears a truck go by. Maybe, just maybe, he will be more into tractor rides this spring.
Luke loves going to Grandpa Gary and Grandma Diane's house. He usually doesn't let Grandpa Gary out of his sight. His favorite things to do are play with their cat, Chet, move the tractor around in the basement, and climb up and down the stairs.
We read the same books over and over everyday. Luke's top picks right now are Little Blue Truck, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Moo, and Roadwork.
Luke loves to climb, trot around the house, watch Daddy make the cars go down the hall, climb the stairs, and sort, sort, sort anything and everything he can get his hands on.
Luke loves it when Daddy chases him around the house and plays hide-and-seek. He is definitely a Daddy's boy.
Babbling is one of Luke's specialties. He loves to tell a story when looking at a book.
Luke still sucks his two fingers and sleeps with one of my shirts and one of Daddy's shirts. He has started to go and get them from his crib and carry them around the house.
As far as language goes, Luke goes in spurts on what he will say. He has said 'Dada', 'truck', 'Mama', 'Papa', and 'baba'. None of these words are consistent, but he uses them when he wants to.
Luke knows where his belly is and will look down when we ask him 'where's Luke's belly?' He will also try and lift up my shirt and Daddy's shirt when we ask where our bellies are. So cute.

Here are some pictures we attempted to take of Luke at 15 months. It's a little bit harder these days, now that he is super mobile.

my favorite one...our little man has a rat tail

Want to take a trip down memory lane? Here are some past posts about Luke:

2.04.2014

Valentine's Day Sensory Bin

The Big V-DAY is almost here and what better way to celebrate than with a Valentine's Day Sensory Bin. I know I am the ten-thousandth person to post about this, but I am going to join the masses and post about it anyway. This was on the agenda for Tot School today and, boy, did Luke love it.

I filled his bin with many red and pink items I found around the house and in his playroom, as well as some items I picked up from the Target One Spot (dollar bin) including: poms, a rubber duck, felt hearts, foam hearts, pipe cleaners, a ball, bubble wand, and ribbon. I am planning on using many of the items in other Tot School activities this week, since our theme is Valentine's Day.

Luke's favorite items were the bubbles in the wand, the Valentine's Day rubber ducky, and the red ball (which he plays with every single day). This was such a fun thing to do with him today, especially since heavy snow is falling here on the Trail.

This activity helped Luke use all his senses at once to explore what was in the bin. We talked about what color each item was, how it felt, what it tasted like (everything goes in his mouth). I used vocabulary such as: red, pink, soft, rough, bumpy, hard, pop (with the bubbles), squishy. By talking and playing with Luke during this activity, he was exposed to lots of language.

first touches

throwing the ball

he was laughing at the bubbles

2.01.2014

Tot School: Week 2 at 14 1/2 months

Now that we're back in the swing of things and all settled in after vacation, we started in on Tot School again. I can't believe how much I learn about Luke just by planning specific activities and observing and talking with him. Observing is the big 'aha' moment for me this week. Don't get me wrong, I 'watch' and interact with Luke all day long, but Tot School gives me specific things to look for and notice or observe. I love that.

Here is what Luke and I were up to this past week:

Winter Sensory Basket

Skills:
Sensory development

Activity:
Luke and I did this activity during his first week of Tot School as well. I was surprised how into it he was this time versus last time. We explored scarves, hats, gloves, and socks with all our senses. Luke's primary goal during this activity was to hand me each and every item and have me put them on...and of course, I did. Oh, and he also enjoyed climbing in the basket.

Animal Puzzles

Skills:
Animal identification
Fine motor development
Problem solving
Spatial awareness

Activity:
Puzzles are so good for the brain! I love them for this reason and also because they are just plain fun (especially when there's animal noises involved). These Melissa and Doug puzzles that we have are perfect for little hands and, although Luke isn't quite able to put them together yet, we are working on it. He really enjoyed putting the puzzle pieces into piles.

Poms

Skills:
Sensory development
Color identification
Fine motor development

Activity:
Poms are such fun, little, fuzzy, round all-purpose poofs. I picked up a bag at Hobby Lobby and Luke loved tasting them and, of course, making piles with them. The purpose of this activity was to get him to place the poms in the container. He did this a few times, but then just wanted to only take them out. For older tots, you could have them move the poms from one container on the left to another container on the right and work on directionality.

Magnets on the Whiteboard

Skills:
Fine motor development
Numbers 1-5

Activity:
We did this activity during Week 1 of Tot School as well. Luke loves magnets, when he can figure out how to get them to stick to the board. He loves taking them off, but is working on putting them back on. We worked on the vocabulary 'on' and 'off' and I counted for him as he worked with the number magnets, but I know he is probably not internalizing that just yet. It never hurts to introduce it!

Straws In and Out
***Luke's favorite of the week

Skills:
Fine motor development

Activity:
This was another reused activity from Week 1. This was Luke's favorite, so I thought we would give it a try again. And again, he loved it. This time there was a box laying around that he decided to put all the straws in. This kid loves making piles.

Play Food Mix-Up

Skills:
Fine motor development
Sensory development

Activity:
I grabbed some of Luke's awesome play food and a mixing bowl and spoon. I showed him how to stir up the food. He tried it for awhile, but he really enjoyed exploring the food more. I try to rotate toys for him and he hadn't played with this food for a long time. They were like brand new toys to him!

Linked up at:

http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2014/02/show-share-saturday-link-23/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2014/02/tot-school-gathering-place-week-56/

http://rainydaymum.co.uk/blocks-learning?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blocks-learning

1.31.2014

Pinterest Love: Make Ahead Meals

I don't know about you, but I have been feeling a little cooped up these past few weeks. It has been pretty darn cold here on the Trail and I need something to keep my eyes on spring. I have this grand idea of having a meal preparation day to get multiple meals ready to go for our super busy spring and summer. I know many of you already do freezer cooking and I absolutely LOVE the idea, I am just lacking the motivation and organization to do it. So, I thought if I shared some great pins for freezer cooking, maybe it would motivate me into action. We will see...

16 Freezer Crockpot Meals from The Hats of a Homemaker (grocery lists included!)

31 Things You Can Freeze by One Good Thing by Jillee

Crockpot Freezer Meals by Baked in the South

Freezer Meals on the Cheap by A Turtles Life for Me (recipes not included)

101 Summer Freezer Meals by Once a Month Mom...a huge list!

If you have any other links that have recipes or tips for freezer cooking, please send them my way!

1.29.2014

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Okay, I have not baked since Christmas...for good reason. Kevin has sworn off everything sweet to eat healthier and after eating a whole batch of cookies myself, I decided it was time I put the baking aside for awhile. But, I have a reason to bake...yippee! Our friends, Todd, Kara, and Amelia popped over last night for dinner and I wanted something yummy to complete the meal...enter chocolate peanut butter bars.

These bars are similar to my deep dish oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars minus the oatmeal. I found them over at Amanda's Cookin' and they turned out super-dooper peanut buttery. (Have a glass of milk handy.) I'm still trying to figure out who I can pawn them off on so I don't eat the entire batch. Any takers? Hope you try...and please let me know how they turn out!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 bag of chocolate chips (or 1 1/2-2 cups)
2 T creamy peanut butter
2 T butter
2 t vanilla

chocolate chips or peanut butter chips for topping

Directions
1. Mix butter in blender until creamy. Add brown sugar until combined. Add eggs and mix to combine. Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix to combine.
2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the wet ingredients slowly.
3. Meanwhile, heat sweetened condensed milk, bag of chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on low heat until melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
4. Place foil in 9x13 inch pan and spray with cooking spray.
5. Make a thick layer on the bottom with the peanut butter mixture, be sure to leave about 2 cups of mixture for the top. Top with the chocolate mixture. Complete bars by laying a thin layer of peanut butter mixture on the top and adding chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.
6. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes.

luke was able to 'lick the spoon' of peanut butter

1.22.2014

Aruba

A January Vacation. Something I have never, ever done. Kevin hadn't either in a long time. Being a teacher has the benefit of summer vacation, but also has the drawback of a calendar being set with specific vacation days. This January vacation was one of the many perks of staying at home.

We headed to sunny Aruba with Kevin's family for a week and a half and it was absolutely glorious. We lived in our swimsuits, visited the beach everyday, read books in the sun, and taught Luke about the ocean and sandcastles. I will let our pictures do the talking...

Sunset champagne toast on Eagle Beach where we stayed