Amazing "A,a" & Beautiful "B,b"

My big sis is really great w/ kids and has two adorable ones of her own. In addition to being a s.a.h.m. for them, she also watches other kiddos during the week and does tons of cool stuff with them. She creates lesson plans and thinks up lots of really neat activities and crafts. So she definitely gets credit for inspiring me to do the same with my daughter!! I started out by making up a lesson plan of my very own:

LESSON PLANS

I.                  LETTERS

A.    Monday

1.       Letter Bag

a.      Ask Peanut to identify objects that start with letter of the week

B.     Tuesday

1.       Letter-Themed Coloring Pages

a.      Ask Peanut to color pages featuring pictures that start with letter of the week

C.     Wednesday

1.       Letter-Themed Recipes or Food

a.      Make meals and snacks that start with letter of the week

D.    Thursday

1.       Letter-Themed Crafts

a.      Make crafts with Peanut that feature letter of the week

E.     Friday

1.       Letter-Themed Story or Book

a.      Read story or book with title featuring letter of the week

2.     Review

And then, I implemented it! So far it's been working out great. It really adds structure to the week and Little P is having a ton of fun learning her letters :) Here's what we've accomplished so far:

AMAZING "A,a"

Letter Bag: Plastic "A", toy antelope, Altoids box, Ace of clubs, Abby keychain,"A" letter card

Letter Craft: Alphabet Soup, Supplies: Foam paper (2 sheets in different colors, foam stickers, scissors, glue

BEAUTIFUL "B,b" 

 

Letter Bag: bread, broccoli, banana, ball, bubbles, brush, bow, bracelet, "B" letter cards

Letter Craft: Buggy Bookmarks, Supplies: bookmark card stock, rubber stamp, ink, yarn, pen, scissors, tape

As I said, I am really loving this and can't wait to continue these lesson plans! I'll be sure to keep you posted in the weeks to come with all of our letter-themed activities :)

80 Degrees and Sunny :)

Sunday was such a perfect day; lazy, beautiful, full of family and full of fun :) We ended up going to my mom's which is one of Peanut's absolute favorite places to be! She not only adores Pop Pop and Gam Gam, but she also loves their great big yard and all of their pets. It was the perfect day for visiting, 80 degrees and sunny (for the first time in a very LONG time)! It felt so good to be out playing in the sunshine again.

P spent some quality time with Simon, trying to feed him peanuts that were meant for the squirrels, LOL!! I think he would have tried one if not for the window glass in the way. She offered some to Lucy but she wasn't very interested. Soon Peanut was moving on to other things.

She got ahold of a watering can which she used to sprinkle everything from her shoes to the driveway. She eventually made her way over to the flowers!! She really got a kick out of spending so much time outside, as did the rest of us!!

It was great just kicking back and spending some time together with the fam. Although we see each other a lot we're usually all in a hurry, running around, trying to get things done. It was great to just sit back and enjoy each others company :)

My Goofy Girl :)

How many different structures can you build with 49 blocks? We're not sure but we're bound to find out soon! Peanut got this wooden set for Christmas and she and her "Da" have been busy building ever since. 

While "Da" does most of the design work, P loves to help by handing him blocks and making little stacks of her own. Although, her favorite part is probably placing the people. She really gets a kick out of that! And knocking things down is always great fun for her too!

  It's neat seeing all the different designs. This one is one of my faves. This one is supposed to be some type of jail. Two of the people are trapped inside the bars.

 

This last one here is actually one of mine. I am quite proud of it. I made it while Little P was napping so she didn't place the people for me :( She helped me knock it down when it was time for clean up though :) Oh how I love my destructive little toddler!!

Lastly, here is a random photo of my goofy girl "hiding out" in our kitchen cupboard. Ever since we cleared it out she's been climbing in and out like a little monkey. She is always doing the silliest things. I seriously cannot get enough of her :)

So Excited For Christmas!!

 The wait is almost over! Just three more days until Christmas! I can't wait to spend it with my hubby and my daughter and the rest of my family and friends :) I'm finished with all my shopping and crafting and most of my wrapping too. Now I'm just waiting for UPS to do the rest. I'm praying that some last minute items arrive before the holiday!

I'm excited for Christmas Eve at my mom's house and Christmas morning with my hubby and Little P. I'm looking forward to Christmas day at my in-laws and Christmas evening with my Dad and little sis :) We also have dinner plans this Thursday with some friends from out of town and plans with my big sis and her family early in January. It's going to be great. There is just nothing like this time of year. I can't wait to share some pictures with you! No doubt there will be tons :)

Merry Christmas everyone!! Have a safe and happy holiday!!

Turkey Day X 2 / My 30th Birthday Bash

Wow, what a busy weekend! Thanksgiving was great this year. We got not one, but two turkey dinners. We spent the better part of Thursday at my hubby's parents' house.

This year Peanut joined us at the table for dinner. It was great seeing her with her own miniature place setting eating turkey and cranberry sauce with the rest of us :) Great Gma made her heavenly sweet potatoes again, which are my absolute FAVORITE. I look forward to them every year!

We burned off some calories afterward by dancing and playing in the living room. The only sad part was that we missed out on seeing Peanut's Aunt and Uncle-to-be but aside from that Thursday was great!

Friday we all went to my Mom's to celebrate Thanksgiving part 2 and our family's plethora of November birthdays. My nephew turned 3 this year and I turned the big 3-0!! Grandpa had a birthday too so we all got cupcakes with candles. For some reason mine were really hard to blow out.

 Must be b/c I'm getting OLD (or b/c they were trick candles, thanks a lot guys)!! Everyone got lots of really cool gifts this year. My parents and Grandparents surprised me with a brand new Nikon camera! It works so much better than my old one. I'm so grateful!!

My nephew got some really cool Iron Man toys. He got a mask, some sort of weapon and a "titanium" core. He had a blast playing superhero for the rest of the night. :)

Last, but not least, we went to Wild Mango on Saturday for my 30th birthday party. Dinner was GREAT. Thirteen of my wonderful family and friends were there to celebrate with me. I felt so blessed and so loved :)

The food outstanding. My favorite thing would have to be the Pepsi shrimp! I seriously can't get enough of those things.

Being with my friends would have to be my favorite part though. I'm so grateful that I have so many amazing people in my life. Here's hoping we will always be this close :)

Dad's 60th!!

Today we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday!!We got some pizza from Panini's (Dad's favorite) and kicked back at his place. It was great having everyone together for dinner. I was just sad that my hubby got stuck working and had to miss out :( Peanut had fun playing dolls with her aunts. They tired her out for me, which was great!! Dad enjoyed his pepperoni pizza and all of his gifts. He got Season 1 of Glee, a cool Christmas candle, a heating bag, some chocolate and some tea. All in all it was a great visit but before I knew it, it was time to whisk Little P off to bed. Time really does fly sometimes! I was sad to see it end. So here's to you Dad. Happy birthday and many, many more! I love you!!

Things I Love About Peanut

Her eyelashes
Her voice
Her willfulness
Her laugh
The way she gives hugs and kisses
The way she loves Minty and "Elmo" and "Gabba"
The way she loves her dada and mama
The way she loves "nannas" and "puffs"
The way she runs
The way she brings me books and climbs into my lap
The way she loves her sunglasses
The way she dances
The way she sleeps
The way she makes me feel, so lucky and full of love :)