Good Things

We’ve had a rough few weeks in our family so for this post I’m highlighting all of the fun times Owen has had with his friends this past weekend.

We were able to go into the kitchen of a local pizza place on Friday and see how they make their pizza. Owen was very excited to see the big pizza ovens, walk into the refrigerator, and sample all of the toppings, especially cheese his favorite.

On Saturday we had back to back birthday parties, which was tiring for mom and dad, but the best day ever for Owen. Owen loved running around the gym, playing/tackling his friends, bouncing around as well as singing them happy birthday, and of course enjoying the sweet treats.

Advertisements

Making Valentines

Oh, Pinterest. How you always have great ideas. I pin and I pin but I usually don’t make the crafts, but this week I actually did. Owen and I started making crayon hearts on a snowy Wednesday to recycle Owen’s old broken crayons. We’re making them for Owen’s preschool class. Shortly after we started I realized that we didn’t have enough crayons in the house to complete them all! Amazon to the rescue!.

If you are going to try this craft out, for Valentine’s Day or just a snowy day craft, here are a few things that I learned. You will want to get smaller silicone trays. I couldn’t pass up the ones that we got from Aldi because they were super cheap, but the hearts were a lot bigger than I would have wanted. Also peeling crayons is not fun. To speed the process along, throw the crayons in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. It really helps! Also, Crayola brand crayons work best. So if you are crunched for time I would recommend spending the extra money.

Here are the directions if you want to try the craft: https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-recycle-old-crayons-into-new-crayons-1388486.

I found the printable labels that I used here, https://cherishedbliss.com/you-color-my-world-valentine-card.

Museum Fun

I’m writing this as Owen is already in bed (5pm). He got sick this morning, and he didn’t eat much today. I hope it’s just a 24-hour bug. It’s so hard to see him sick. I feel so helpless.

This year we decided to get a membership to the Carnegie Museums instead of renewing our Children’s Museum membership. This past week we were able to visit both. The Carnegie Science Center has been around since we were kids, but a lot has changed and continues to change. We also went to the Children’s Museum before our membership ends this month.

Owen really enjoyed the Science Center, and he was even able to participate in one of the shows that they had going on. We also went to Sports Works which is part of the Science Center. I was surprised how many things Owen could actually do. He really enjoyed doing the ropes course (with Tony nearby). We look forward to checking out the other 3 Carnegie Museums this year.

At the Children’s Museum Owen had a blast playing with his cousin Emma. They played in the art room with clay, explored the toddler floor, played with the water, and climbed through the kid ant farm.

The Art of Listening

Lately, Owen has not been listening to anything that I’ve said. It’s like he is in his own little world of dinosaurs and cars. His not listening almost got him very hurt last week. We were leaving the library after story time, and he ran outside and down the ramp without me. He ran toward the parking lot, and almost got hit by a car. I’m very thankful that the driver was paying attention, and that I was able to  grab him by the hood. I was so upset that I cried while yelling at him. He began crying as well, and has since actually been holding my hand.

Here are some happier times at the Heinz History Center on Monday:

 

 

 

No more Home Alone

Since it has been single digit temperatures for the past week and Owen had been on Christmas break from school we’ve been pretty much hibernating and watching the movies that Owen got for Christmas. I think we watched Home Alone about 10 times last week, and I’m pretty tired of it. I tried to get him to watch Polar Express just to change it up, but he didn’t like it as much as Home Alone. When he was not laughing loudly at Home Alone we were able to fit in some crafts and play with some new toys. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when he went back to school today.

Anyone have favorite toddler activities while you are stuck indoors?

Happy New Year! It seems Owen has a thing for wearing New Year hats. The one where he has a noise maker is this year and the plaid shirt is last year.

Clips from Christmas

We, like many others, have been going nonstop since before Christmas, and we were really happy to stay home tonight and try to find the floor again. Christmas is such a crazy busy time, but it has a new meaning when you are watching it through your kid’s eyes.  Owen had a blast this Christmas, and we continued a few traditions as well as started a few new ones.

A tradition that we continued from last year was to decorate Ugly Sweater cookies with the family. This year we even got to make some gingerbread cookies as well. Owen liked helping roll out the dough and cut the shapes out. By the time he was done helping he was covered in flour along with the kitchen floor. On Christmas Eve, Owen left some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. He also spread some reindeer food on the lawn so they could find their way to our house. I totally forgot that I wanted to make some of this food, so I’m glad Owen’s teachers made him some.

Of course we opened presents on Christmas morning. We limited Owen to a few toys because we knew he would be getting so much from other family members. Along with opening his gifts, he wanted to help open everyone else’s as well.  One gift that we got him was a roll up car track carpet. While opening it he said, “I think it’s a yoga mat, that would be cool”. He’s too much with yoga these days. The other night when I was reading a book for him before bed he told me to sit half lotus. He said he learned that from school. I should really look into getting him into yoga classes.

 

Christmas Fun

Owen has had two opportunities to see Santa this year, and he has started to understand that he is the guy that you want to tell about the gifts you want. He is still set on getting an airplane. So, hopefully, the one we got him is what he had in mind. Now he just needs to kick this cold he has had for the past couple days so we can keep celebrating the season.