101 things to do with my toddler

1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10.Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music

20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39.Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other

41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari

61. Play games with lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail

101TAKE A NAP!

Color Scheme for toddler room

My initial inspiration for color was from a tiny door handle hanging art I saw on Etsy, then I found the perfect bedding (waiting for it to go on sale) from pottery barn kids. The main colors will be sage, beige, salmon, brown and baby blue. I will probably keep with the green polka dot pattern that I have now in the nursery as its followed through on the quilt and its easy enough to find in fabric stores so I can sew a toy hammock like the one made by bananafish.

Woodland creatures in an baroque enchanted forest...Sounds pretty extravagant for a toddlers room. We have had great fun in the brightly colored "robot room" but our little girl is growing up and mom has begun to embrace girly things (shocker!). I've been working on ideas for her room ever since we purchased a cute pottery barn toddler bed from a friend for a steal.

Two of my favorite books growing up were The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Narnia sounded like a place I would love to live filled with fawns, talking birds, wise owls and little homes in the trees. So delightful! The other was The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.This book too my imagination to far off enchanted places that inspired so much of my fun and games, so naturally I want to shares the delights of my heart with my precious child. I also LOVE owls so to have them in the enchanted bedroom, will be an added bonus. I simply adore this blog all about owls!

So away away we go...With a basis in Baroque and shabby chic, I will create a room of merriment and wonder :-) Some of these items I will use as inspiration and make myself, other items I will purchase.

SHOPPING LIST:
Furniture
Bean Bag, mobile, birch log cushions, bird lamp, distressed frames, distressed fleur de lis shelves, shabby side table,

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

As planned Franki has turned two months old and her room is finally completed. It could use a few minor details but overall its done. Starting from the robot pillow my mom brought out from South Africa the design and theme grew...

Kelsey made the cute crib bedding and I painted the little "F" and "B" pictures. She got so many cute toys at the baby shower that I didn't have the heart to store them in the cupboard so I have displayed them on her book shelf until she gets more books. I deliberated over the striped carpet because I mostly wanted the room in green and white polka dots like the bedskirt and the changing table cover but the colors were so vibrant and matched the pillow perfectly I couldn't resist. $70 from Target.

Over time I have been collecting cute robots. The grey little one I had made by an Etsy artist called Little Brown Byrd, the original little robot had a pink heart and scarf but I wanted red to go with other parts o the room. The retro wrestler robot I bought from Paper Source in La Costa. All the other little guys were given to my by various family members and friends. One of them is even a little Christmas tree ornament.

Forever in our heart

In celebration of the birth of our first born and most precious angel child, my husband and I went to Hagen in Cardiff and had tattoos inked onto our skin. Hubby got his written across his heart and I had mine done on my wrist where I can see it at all times. We will forever and always love our baby girl and pledge to always protect and sacrifice for her happiness and achievement. This was our way of acknowledging this. Many of our friends showed up at the parlor to witness this exciting event. Auntie Steph, Jordan, Jeff, Ruben and Auntie Danielle even got her own tattoo that day (Bruno)