Kyle's Craft Explosions o' Fun!

Now that Kyle is almost 18 months (OMG) we're getting pretty crafty here at the house! He's VERY active and it seems that coloring, crafts, anything of this nature seems to calm him a bit...it's awesome!

About a week ago we decided to try painting on the porch! It was our first time, so it wasn't perfect, but he sure had fun! We used flour, water and food coloring to make some paints. I used too much water as you can see, but Kyle didn't know the difference. He had a blast getting all messy! We attempted to use some white paper, but that lasted about 12 seconds. The paint washed off of the concrete...and baby...no prob. :)

Is that not the cutest face ever??

I've realized it's getting harder and harder to keep Kyle entertained. The other day when the weather was gloomy I was desperate for something fun to do inside. What did I do? Looked in the pantry. Beans...hmmm...

Yes, it was a huge mess, but he loved it! What toddler wouldn't like to play with a huge bowl of beans? He only tried to eat a couple before he learned not to do that. He isn't smiling here, but wow he was having the BEST time just making a huge mess! He was pouring the beans, sitting in them, touching, smelling them, trying to peel them, it lasted maybe 30 or so minutes! I had to continuously pick them all up and put them back in the big Christmas bowl (BTW, this isn't my bowl...if you recognize it let me know!) for him to play with all over again.

Now, THIS is by far my FAVORITE craft this week. We mixed water and corn starch, and it makes this totally weird, dry, slime gook stuff! It looks like it's dripping wet, but it's not! It's firm to the touch!

cornstarch, room temp water, coloring

This was shot just before he took his first taste of it...and it was not good! So, we got that out of the way early!

Kyle played with this for maybe 45 minutes...he loved it! We added different colors, cut it, mashed it, it was SO weird! I'm definitely doing this again on a larger scale. A huge pile of weird melting/but not really wet slime would be awesome! I took some cute video of him playing with the gook, but I haven't uploaded to our youtube channel yet.

He loved trying to swirl the coloring...we also used spoons, forks and spatulas to manipulate the gook!

We've also begun our daily coloring activity. I need to buy some white butcher paper, but until then he's loving his nightly coloring time on the coffee table...we just tape paper down and let him make his masterpieces! He even tries to copy my swirls and shapes now! Perhaps we have another artist in the family!? :)

So far, purple appears to be his fave. :)

So, I'm trying to get in 4-5 crafts a week until school/work starts in August. I'm loving how much Kyle can do now that he's getting a little older! This just gets more and more fun!

Next up...big box o' feathers and pompoms? Sounds fun!

Overambitious Mommy Thursday!

Have you moms ever had a day where you wake up feeling extra awesome and you have these awesome mommy/baby plans for the day? Yeah, that was me this morning.

I thought we'd have our first trip to the Saratoga pool. Kyle was sick pretty much all last summer, so he's never been swimming. Then, I thought we'd come home, clean up, and head to Southlake for a nice CM Cafe patio lunch together. Next, a nap, followed by playtime, coloring then dinner for the family.

But of course, great plans rarely go as expected with a baby toddler.

While getting ready for pool day, I remembered that Kyle needed a life jacket. Now, he'll be 18 months on the 25th, weighs 31 pounds, and I have no idea what type of floaty/jacket/tube thing to buy. So, we head to Academy to buy one! Fun!

No...not so fun. Who forgot to bring snacks into Academy? This girl! Who is cranky and TERRIFIED of life jackets? My son! He wanted nothing to do with any of the swimming equipment. Kyle was crying, yelling, he wanted nothing, except to be out of the basket and out of the store. He literally cried 98% of the time we were in there. A couple with a newborn son walked by us during a particularly heightened part of the tantrum, and I saw them look at each other in pure fear of their potential future. 

#fail

Well, we get to the pool, and there's a nice lady there with her two year old daughter. The lady is pregnant and laying on the chaise lounge in the 1ft kiddie pool, her daughter sitting quietly next to her, feet dangling in the water. We say hello, and I see her daughter and think...okay...I can do this.

This is our new form of "hold mommy's hand". Notice my death grip...and right after I got this shot to show his daddy, he freed himself and ran straight toward the pool. Did I give birth to one of those strong man guys?

WHOOOAAA. As SOON as I sat my bags down, Kyle was trying to dive head first into the pool. Going limp, pulling away, he was so excited to get in! I got in with him, sans the floaty, thinking he'd walk around in the little pool for a few minutes, waving his arms back and forth, and slowly get used to walking on the bottom of the pool. 

#fail

As soon as we got in, he throws his body forward, out of my arms and dives underwater. Really?! My child is afraid of nothing! I was happy he was so excited, but geez! The next 15 minutes I was trying my hardest to keep his face/head above water. He was jumping, thrusting, pulling away from me, etc. He wanted to swim like he's 20. He wanted nothing to do with me, the floaty, my hands, nothing. He's a little independent, wouldn't you say? I blame this on his father. I used to cling to my mother's leg in complete terror at those swimming lessons growing up.

My grip is somewhat loosened here, as Kyle was playing in the mushroom waterfall. Immediately after this picture he attempted to jump into the waterfall, and landed face first in the water. He loved it though! Chlorine anyone?

Anyhow, we tried the floaty, it just enabled him to flip forward or backward more easily. Then I thought, okay. I'll take the floaty off and take him into the adult pool. Yeeah...I'm smart. I would just walk around with him in the deeper pool while he's in my arms. 

#fail

Kyle wanted to swim all by himself. I was struggling thinking, how do parents do this? How do I hold him without braking my arms or drowning him? I had a little success, keeping him on his tummy and letting him paddle and kick, but OMG I had no idea what I was getting into! I was completely exhausted and winded from trying to keep my crazy active toddler above water.

And what was the other lady and her daughter doing? Watching our hot mess. She was very sweet, and her daughter was afraid of the water so she just wanted to sit quietly on the side and let her toes get wet. It blows me away when I see moms and these quiet, dainty little daughters who just sit still and look cute. I can't imagine lol. Meanwhile my son thinks he's Michael Phelps. Kyle did have a blast though...and I'm so glad we went! Here's a shot of us before we left! He's just a little upset we were leaving. :)

We went home and just as we're walking in and thought, phew! I made it! I need to sit down! We're walking into the house from the laundry room, I'm shutting the door behind me, and I feel resistance. I immediately push the door back open, look down and see Kyle's two little fingers in the door. NOO!

My heart broke. There's nothing worse than the feeling you get when you accidently hurt your sweet baby. Especially when your accident took the skin off of two little fingers and he's screaming! 

#fail 

After a short nap to recover from the door incident, we take a shower, get ready, and decide on Jason's Deli instead of Southlake. Kyle's track record for the day isn't great, so the closer the better. And what happens when we get there? Sleeping baby! I thought about going back home, but he'd probably just wake up. I thought about driving around, but I really wanted a wrap. So, voila!

Sleeping baby, hungry mommy. I loved my turkey wrap and veggies, and he was sleeping soundly. Ahhh...just what I needed after my "pool workout". But, of course it didn't last. Kyle woke up and wanted lunch too. I got him a turkey sandwich and apple. This was his reaction, right before his explosion of turkey and cheese hatred. 

#fail

Anyhow, we finished up at Jason's Deli, and he actually ate most of his food. Glad he did, as he's lost a little bit of weight. I'm not ready for the fat rolls to dissapear just yet. :) On the way home he seemed happy and content, and to end on a happy note, mommy had to stop and treat herself for an overall, pretty good day.

White chocolate mousse flavored yogurt with coconut topping, anyone? YUMMAAYY

#success

Woohoo for "Overambitious Mommy Thursday"! Now, when does that hubby get home....?

Love this!