Feet and Hands

Activity #3 from the Everything Toddler Book was a simple one: trace hands and feet for all members of the family. I knew Miss V would enjoy this because she loves shoes. I figured if she could play with/carry around mom and dad's "feet" she would be thrilled. The difference in sizes of her prints and ours I thought would spark curiosity too. We started with card stock and a sharpie. Turns out V was most curious about the sharpie; naturally. I cut out the prints and labeled them last.

Tracing was a tad difficult because V tried to grab the sharpie! This worked much better with Dad helping too!

I want to try!

We moved on to feet. I am a little surprised we actually go these done since V kept moving and wanting a turn at the sharpie. I did notice several green marks on her toes during bath that night :)

Once complete and cut out, I just laid them all out and curious V took over. 

She just had to play with the scraps too. Every fun project has good scraps LOL!

These will not be thrown away, Mom!

There was a suggestion in the book to also trace any family pets' feet/paws too. I imagined Auntie Kellie trying to do this with Remi and Atticus. I couldn't quite picture it but I'm sure Miss V would have been right in on that action! 

Tropical Oasis...in Milwaukee?

No..this is not a post about our Florida trip. However, after coming back from Florida we are really DONE with cold temps so we took a morning adventure to the Domes. They have three "exhibits" including a tropical dome, the desert and in the showroom there were one of Miss V's favorite things: trains! 

The wood chips freaked her out a little: will have to get used to them for spring/summer playground season coming up (hopefully soon!).

If standing on these means I can see trains I will do it!

She really liked just walking on the paved paths around and around and back and forth in each of the three Domes. She liked the trains and would stop if they were going by but she went right back to her laps after. It seemed like she had a mission. Since it was not too busy, I let her roam.

She really liked the koi pond in the tropical dome, especially because it had a bridge to walk across. She was introduced to bridges at the outdoor mall we went to in Florida.

V did ride in the stroller for a bit...but it didn't last long once she saw how cool the paths and bridge were to walk on.

I love the GREEN in all of these pics! 

I heard a lot of "that?" in her curious voice. She just had to touch a few plants to make sure they were real. 

The desert was pretty cool. I liked how the fences were really low and seemed almost at perfect height for V to stand at and see over. Thankfully she did not try to touch any cacti! 

There was a lizard with a viewing platform for kiddos but V was clueless as to what I was trying to show her. It was very well camouflaged. 

This trip made me anxious for the spring yard work season. 13 days until daylight savings!! We can't wait!

Our Gathering Place

This post has some similar themes to "Sweet Tooth."  Violet has a general love for all things KITCHEN! It is the hub of our house and we spend a lot of time there. Our counter tops were redone before V was born and our island is now a gathering place/work space/Violet-watches-what-we-are-doing viewing perch. 

These flour/sugar canisters were full and heavy but V was determined to stack them in order! You can see "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies" one of V's favorite books, which includes recipes in the back we just had to try. Sometimes Mom is curious too. And has a sweet tooth!

Got it!

V is also lucky enough to have inherited a play kitchen that we put right next to our island! She LOVES it and started playing with it as soon as she could stand. She likes the beeping noises the microwave and oven make. The cabinet doors get opened and closed 100 times a day. Her real cups get stacked on the counters. The silverware drawer was a mystery for a long time and she has now mastered how to pull it open from underneath. Maybe Miss V. will be a chef some day! 

She often blows on the food that comes out of the microwave to cool it down :)

Just needed a little more height to reach...use the open oven door LOL

Another favorite game in the kitchen is to take out the cups from the Violet shelf/cabinet. She carries empty cups around the house and we find them everywhere. She pretends to drink out of them. She takes the lids on and off. All in all, a great distraction while we cook! 

Hmmm which lid goes on which cup?

So focused!

Lastly, the most fun thing for V to play with is the garbage can. Really?! Today I threw an empty bag of Doritos in the garbage and she kept going over to it and saying, "all gone?" with a sad voice because she wanted some :)

I have great memories of gathering in the kitchen of my childhood home for meals and card games. I'd do my homework while Dad cooked dinner and watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. My mom would spend whole weekends canning applesauce or salsa. I am glad to be passing on similar traditions to Miss V!

Sweet Tooth

Violet has an unfortunate gene passed on from both her parents...a love of all things SWEET! I craved doughnuts while I was pregnant so this could be part of her sweet tooth. She is curious about anything Mom and Dad eat, but when she sniffs out sugar, she better be getting some or else she will let you know how unhappy she is! Relentless leg tugging or constant "More! More!" while also signing it ensues. 

MMMMM...FroYo!

When she was only 3 days old and we got discharged from the hospital we took our first family outing to Menchies and FroYo! She pretty much slept through it but I know she could sense that her future would entail many trips here.

First taste of Dunkin Donuts! 

We tend to frequent Dunkin on occassion especially in the summer/fall for some reason. On this trip, a cashier brought these munchkins over for free for Miss V. She thoroughly enjoyed them!

I'm ONE!

We just had to have two dessert options on V's 1st birthday. I made some Minnie cupcakes with Oreos as the ears as well as a sheet cake shaped into the number 1.  Violet pretty much got as messy as possible with the chocolate frosting from her cupcakes!

Shark attacking the spoon

I'm guessing we are not far from V trying her first ice cream cone on her own. Probably on the hottest day this summer :) 

What's this for Mom?

Along with a love of sweets comes a curiosity about baking. You can't have the sweets unless baking occurs. V is starting to grasp this concept. She likes playing with the measuring cups when I empty the dishwasher. She somehow got a hold of the beater attachment for my Kitchenaide mixer and seen here...peered up at the counter wondering what I was baking.

Now I can get some work done on this dessert!

She just had to come up and take a look and "help" pour the salt in...or all over the counter...She and I will have many baking lessons in the years to come I'm sure! It's something I have always enjoyed doing with my Mom! This Christmas, Grandma Diane helped us bake and decorate some cookies for Santa. And of course we had to sample them.

Sprinkles lover like Dad

Can I fit this all in my mouth?

I'm pretty sure those are Santa's cookies...Sorry V

These last few pictures really show how strongly our little Miss V feels about her desserts. We visited my Aunt Janet and Uncle Chuck in Florida last weekend and it happened to be Uncle Chuck's 50th birthday. He wanted a big cookie cake to celebrate. Violet has only met him once when she was 3 weeks old so he was pretty much a stranger to her until this trip. And she usually shies away from men/strangers. We had all finished our cookie and Uncle Chuck got a second piece. V had already shared Mom and Dad's but when she saw seconds come out on Uncle Chuck's plate... she marched right over to him and demanded he share. "Cookie! MORE!" He was kind enough to share and this led to a great bonding time and new friendship. Even after the second piece was gone, V kept looking at him and pointing to the kitchen where the leftovers were- LOL! 

Mom and Dad will have to get crafty about where/when we eat our desserts or else half will most certainly go to Miss V!  I'm already thinking of 2nd birthday party desserts...hmmmm....YUM!