Winter Fun with Sidewalk Chalk
I feel like these past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Somebody hit the light-speed button and in no less than a month the munchkin has sprouted into a little boy who sleeps in a toddler bed (bye bye crib), uses a booster seat (see ya high chair) and insists on picking his own outfits (most of which include trucks or camo).
Oh yes, and he turned TWO.
I don’t know how much more of this growing up business I can take. Slow down kid!
It’s all pretty amazing though. I love how he enjoys making decisions and asking for things, even if we can’t always do exactly what he wants. For instance, he spotted his summer sidewalk chalk yesterday. “Chalk! Want do chalk! Outside!” he pleaded. And no it did not matter to him that it was 20 degrees F outside.
But you know what? If you wet dark-colored construction paper with water it becomes a great indoor canvas for sidewalk chalk.
So we grabbed a few sheets of black construction paper, laid them on his Step2 activity table and used his jumbo paintbrushes to paint (read: soak) the paper with water. Then the munchkin went to town with his chalk, making all sorts of colorful scribbles and saying “digger digger” half the time, which I assume means he was drawing a digger. :)
It was an easy indoor activity and one that let us bring a bit of summer inside in the midst of winter. Win-win.
I couldn't resist.
Note: If you try this activity on a porous surface like wood be sure to put a plastic placemat under the construction paper because the color from the paper can bleed. I usually just use one of our Crocodile Creek placemats when doing art at the kitchen table.
DIY Toddler Treasure Box
Today was cold and snowy, but not the fluffy kind of snow that’s good for playing or snowman making. So instead of heading outdoors we spent our day making a toddler treasure box. :)
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili
My parents gave us a slow cooker for the holidays and I think I’m in love. Because not only is the food delicious, but dinnertime is a whole lot easier.
Good Idea: Painting with Toy Cars
Yesterday the munchkin and I made a set of paintings for my husband’s office using multi-colored canvases, paint and a toy dump truck.
Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate (For Grown Ups)
It’s starting to feel like winter here in Vermont. My weather app says it feels like -3F outside and there’s a howling wind rapping on the windows. Brrr! Is there any better time for Grand Marnier spiked hot chocolate?
“I See” Bottles (I Spy Bottles)
I made an I Spy bottle for the munchkin last week and I’m kicking myself for not doing this sooner. He loves it! The bottle you see above is holiday/winter themed and took all of 5 minutes to put together. He calls it his I See bottle.
Song of the Week: A, You’re Adorable
Here’s a song that’s great for practicing the alphabet with your toddler while also telling them how much you love them. We started singing it this week and already the munchkin enjoys shouting out the letters when they come up.
Boredom Buster: Wrapping Paper Tube Car Chute
The munchkin has been pretty sick for the past few days and now that he’s getting better, he’s going stir crazy. So this morning I taped one of our leftover wrapping paper tubes to the couch, placed a canvas bin beneath it and showed him how to send his Matchbox cars whirling into the bin.
