Felt Faces

For months I've been meaning to post about a really great blog that has gillions of activity ideas for toddlers.  It's called Play Create Explore, and if you have little kids, it's definitely worth checking out.  (I will admit that it can make me feel a little overwhelmed at times because this lady is constantly doing amazing projects with her son...).  If the blog itself is too much, she's also created a list of 120 activities for ages one to four.  So much fun!  I'm hoping to try more this summer, so I don't have the mess in my house.  :)

Last week, I discovered her "felt face" activity and decided I had to make some straight away.  Madi's third birthday was a good excuse to get me going.  I wasn't able to find any templates to trace, so had to free-hand it all (not my strong suit).  Here are a few examples of what I made.

Ag Fest 2012

The Ag Fest is always the last weekend in April.  Thankfully a friend mentioned it on Facebook,  because we never hear about these things until it's too late.  Since it was another nice Saturday, we headed out for a few hours.  We could've spent a lot longer, so will plan accordingly next year (assuming someone reminds us it's happening :).

Anyway, there are all sorts of fun agriculture-related exhibits and activities: pedal tractor races, planting trees and plants, watching baby chicks hatch, petting zoo, free (!!) pony rides (Judson wasn't interested :), sheep shearing, and many, many more.  It really was a lot of fun.

Just his size!

They had this very old steam tractor running.  Fascinating!

Ice cream from the Oregon Dairy Farmers.  So good and so cheap!  We always get it at the State Fair, too.  As soon as he was done with his cone, he wanted to share mine.  :)

A weekend in the sun

We thoroughly enjoyed our first WARM weekend of the year.  It was three weeks ago, but I forgot I had some pictures I wanted to post.

On Saturday we went to Silver Falls State Park for a little hike and to play at the playground. We had a fun lunch in Silverton afterward.

After church on Sunday, we got the pool out and ate lunch AND dinner beside it.  Judson was in heaven.  He spent HOURS spraying the hose and going down the pool's slide.  His shorts didn't stay on for long.  :)

Love this kid...and his cute ears!  :)

Cooper's Dedication

We had Cooper dedicated at church yesterday.  My parents and Macy came down to be with us, and then we had a very fun afternoon in the (chilly) sun.  Cooper's been happy to have anyone hold her lately, so I wasn't too worried about how she'd do.  But shortly before we were going to take her up front, it became very obvious that she was hungry (and tired).  Thankfully she didn't cry when Nate handed her to the pastor.  She did want her dedication to be memorable, however.  You'll have to watch the video to see how.  What you don't see in the video is Nate making the "touchdown" sign with his arms after the incident.  Memorable.  :)

Here are a few pictures.  I had hoped to get a nice family shot at home, but that wasn't meant to be.  Judson was exhausted and Nate hauled him off to time-out before we ever got one. 

Laughing after the crash

Scootin' around

We got Judson a balance bike with part of our REI dividends this year.  We didn't want to wait for his birthday for obvious reasons (RAIN).  (For anyone who's not familiar, it's a bike without pedals for little kids, so they can learn to balance.  Once they get the hang of it, they can really zip around!)

We really talked it up before it came and he was so excited to get it.  The first night he just walked around the yard between the seat and the handle bars.  Nate had to cut part of the post off the seat to get it to fit him.  It's still slightly tall for him, but in a matter of a few "rides," he is so much better.  It's amazing.  Last night, Grandma (Becky) came and he rode clear to the end of the asphalt at the back of our property.  He even coasted a few times.  I foresee lots of bike rides in our future.  And hopefully not too many bad crashes.  (Now that he's not just riding on the grass, he has to wear his helmet.)

On an unrelated note, while we were in Bandon, I discovered that one of Judson's front teeth was turning grey.  I couldn't think of how it happened, but Nate remembered Judson bumping the counter.  He went to the dentist last Monday, and nothing has to be done about it.  We have two other two year old friends who've recently had more serious front teeth accidents (one had to have a double root canal and one had to have both teeth pulled), so we're in good company.  :)

A few not-so-great pictures of the new "scoot bike," as we call it around here.

Just a little excited :)

Blurry, sorry.  Don't mind the high-water pants.  He usually just naps in them.  :)

Just a little mohawk

Cooper loves to sleep with her head smashed into the corner of her crib.  Sometimes she wakes up with the craziest hair.  Like this mohawk. 

Judson's New Room

We got the last of Judson's wall art hung last night, so we're officially done with his new room!  We all love it!  It's so nice to have most of his toys out of the living room, and to not have his clothes all crammed into one drawer in the nursery.  (I forgot to take a picture of the closet.  Nate put a new  organizer in there - three long shelves and a clothes bar.  It holds SO MUCH!  There's still a lot of empty space, which is terrific.)

Judson has done really well in his big boy bed.  He stays in it until we come get him, except for the two nights when he apparently wasn't tired and got up, turned on his light and lamp and his CD player, and started playing.  :)  He has been waking up really early lately (anytime after six), but I'm not sure if that's because of the time change or new bed.  The blue curtain below is a black-out curtain, but I don't think it's the best.  I may have to try another one.

Now, please keep in mind that I am not a great decorator.  I chose a theme that had some matching wall art, and voila!  We think it's pretty cute.

Standing by the window

Bess Goddard painted this for Judson when she was first recovering from the accident that almost took her foot.  (The log has his name on it.)

Judson helped with this.  He really wanted to stick the road, shown below, but settled for this.  :)

Mandy Compton recently made this for Judson.

Close-up of the wall stickers

More eating

Cooper is definitely a fan of food.  She is such a sweet, even-tempered little thing...except when she's hungry and thinks she's not going to get any more food.  :) She's currently eating brown rice cereal, bananas, avocados (not her favorite), sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, green beans, pears, and applesauce.  I've made it all, except for the applesauce.  Since I had some no sugar added, all natural stuff, I put off making my own for a few more days.  :) She's also eating puffs, and I'm excited for her to be able to feed them to herself soon.  It'll buy me a little time during meals.

These pictures are old, but cute, and it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  So, here you go.

 And the first messy face.  I gave her some prunes and she wasn't a fan, though it's hard to tell in the pictures.

The start of her funny little "scrunchy nose" face