What's In Our Toddler Easter Basket

The Easter Bunny is hopping his way through our house tonight.  Yes, we do all fictitious people in our house.  Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc.  We also do the true meaning behind all of the holidays, but what is childhood without magic??  Kids only get to be little once, why not fill it with as much magic as possible?  So tonight I thought I'd share what we put into our toddlers Easter Basket.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, but I'm not a photographer (and also sorry for the brown carpet, believe me, we hate it!)  To start, both Sarah and Haley have the same bunny basket with their name embroidered on the ear.  I ordered them last year and still think they are so cute!  Now for the filling we stuck with mostly toys because we will be doing an egg hunt with Sarah's cousins tomorrow where they will get plenty of treats.  On the left are Snug Bugs by B. toys.  Sarah is really into putting things together and taking them apart, so I thought these would be fun for her.  Plus, they are cute little bugs and butterfly's so they are spring(ish).  Next, are some chalk-a-doos.  I picked these up at dollar tree.  We've not really introduced the whole writing thing to Sarah yet, so that will be a fun outdoor activity (If spring ever decides to show up...).  Then I picked up a little thing of bubbles from Wal-Mart.  It has a spill proof toddler container.  Since we have little miss independence, I know that she will want to carry her own bubbles to play with, so that will be fun! (Again, spring we are patiently waiting for you...)  Then are a couple of Disney fruit crisp packs (to fill the sweet treat category).  And to top the whole basket off is a little yellow duck from Kohl's.  Nothing super fancy, but all things I know she will really love!

And here is the basket all put together.  As previously mentioned, we will be doing an egg hunt for Sarah and her little cousin who are about the same age.  Here's what we put in their eggs:

 

 

Starting with the back row left and moving clockwise: Mariani Yogurt Raisins, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Colors, Gerber Graduates Fruit and Veggie Melts (Very Berry Blend), Stretch Island Fruit Chews (oh so very strawberry), and Starburst Jelly Beans.  We also threw in a few plastic necklaces and stickers.  We kept it pretty simple with tried and true toddler favorites.  We've never given Sarah any kind of candy, so we'll see if she likes them.  I plan on cutting them in half and/or smooshing them so they are easy for her to chew.  But yeah, that's what we are giving to our toddler for her Easter treats.  Hoppy Easter!!!!!!!!

Does Sarah exist?

Sarah is in complete denial that she exists.  It's laughable I know.  But really, I believe it is a conscious decision to not acknowledge herself.  Okay, we have already covered that she loves books.  So we read books over and over and over again.  Well I believe in teaching Sarah whenever the opportunity presents itself through out our play time or in life.  So with some books we go through a million times, I start going over colors, or animal sounds, or identifying objects or body parts (believe me it helps break up the monotony of reading the same book over and over again).  So if I point at the toes in the book, then to her toes, she shakes her head "no" and pull her foot away.  But if I point at toes in the book then point to my toes, she laughs and thinks it's funny and makes the connection that the illustrations are of real things.  Same thing with eyes, nose, hair, hands, etc..  But, she absolutely refuses to acknowledge that she has a body.  She is more than happy to point out things on my body or her daddy's.  But not herself.  With any other object she'll just run and get it, picture of a cup, will send her on a mission to get her cup.  You get it.

But it's the same thing when it comes to pictures of herself.  Now, I know that pictures are a harder concept to grasp than say acknowledging her toes.  But she is really into looking at pictures on our wall, or in her photo album.  But if the picture is of her and me, and I point to her in the picture then point to her saying her name.  She'll shakes her head "no".  Like her thought bubble reads "No mom, that is not me".  But if I point to me in the picture and then to myself and say "Mommy", she gets it and will smile.  I can even ask "where is mommy?" and she'll look at me and smile.  If I point to a picture of daddy and ask "where is daddy?", she'll look around for him, and then point or smile at him.  If I point to her picture and ask "Where's Sarah?", she looks at me like I am crazy.  If I then point to her and say, "There's Sarah!" I get the same shaking of her head.  It's so funny!  If I persist, that the picture is of her and point to both the picture and herself, she looks at me like I'm crazy, gets frustrated and walks away, shaking her head again.  Her thought bubble in this case is "You just don't get it mom.  You had me going with the picture of you and daddy, but you must think I'm a fool if you think I'm going to believe that baby is me".

But this isn't always the case with the mirror.  Now, most of the time she still denies that the baby in the mirror is her.  But she will smile and kiss the baby every time.  The ONLY exception is if I put something on her head, like a bow.  If I put a bow on her and she starts to take it off, I'll walk her over to the mirror show her her reflection and say "how pretty" or "how beautiful".  When she sees herself in the mirror with the bow or hat, she will immediately leave it alone and start flirting with herself.  So I know that sometimes she gets it. 

What's even funnier, is that we have taught Sarah baby sign.  We did this because we wanted to cut down on the frustration of figuring out what she wants or needs.  But as of right now, she feels the need to do the signs on me rather than herself.  If she wants a bath, she'll run up to me and start rubbing my chest.  If she wants to eat, she'll come up to me and pat my mouth.  I think it's part of the self denial of her existance.  This part of her non existance is cute and I definately know what she is trying to tell me when she comes running up to do a sign.

I know that developmentally, she just may not be at the age where self awareness happens, but she's so quick when it comes to pointing out things around her that I think it's funny she won't acknowledge her toes.  She'll acknowledge her shoes and socks, but point to her naked foot and it's like they disappear.  I have a feeling that she is about to outgrow this phase of her life, so I wanted to be sure I got her quirkiness down on virtual paper.  I hope you enjoy!

P.S. - This whole thing goes out the window when we are playing peek-a-boo!  There is nothing that thrills her more that to reveal herself from under her blanket, or from behind our sheer curtains (which is her favorite place to play).  You should hear the giggles that come when she thinks she is invisible for real.  She's still too young for Hide and Seek, but that will be a fun game to teach her.  I'm pretty sure she'll be that kid with a bowl over her head thinking that it's covering her whole self from view.  Ah, I love playing with her and am looking forward to new games we'll get to play down the road...

Sarah's 1st Birthday

Okay, in a burst of sudden blogging motivation... I bring you another blog!  Want to know how Sarah's first birthday went down?!  Me Too!!  Just kidding, I was there, but I'll share it with all of you who weren't here to celebrate with her...

So first things first.  In order to have a party, there have to be invitations...

 

 

 



 

I went through a website to order her custom invitations and decorations.  I've included the back of the invitation in case this design tickles your fancy and you want to use their website for any future birthday's you may be planning.  They have all kinds of stuff, and after using them, I can highly recommend!

We wanted to keep her birthday pretty simple.  Mostly family with a few friends.  I heard a rule about kids birthday's that the number of kids should equal same number as the child is turning.  So Sarah was turning one, and we had one other baby attend.  I think it kept her from being overwhelmed.  It was really sweet actually, because as people arrived, she didn't know what to do with all her favorite people in one place all focused on her!  I know she felt special!

The night before the party I set about decorating the space we would use for her party.  I don't know why but the night before her party I got so excited.  There is just something about a child's first birthday that is so incredibly special.  It's the first day just for them, to celebrate the little person that they have become, and to insert a little more magic in their childhood.  I still get teary eyed still when I think about it.  Anyway, I wanted to decorate after she went to bed so when she woke up, it would be transformed magically into a celebration... I'm not very good at the documenting, but I did get a couple of set up shots...

 

 

We also had colorful table clothes on all the tables and some things dangling down around the food, but in true-to-me fashion, I didn't take pictures.  I really need to work on remember the camera.  Anyway, the next morning I blew up a bunch of helium balloons and made four low bunches that I put around the room.  I made them just long enough that from Sarah's view point they were high, but that she could pull down and play with.  It was her first exposure to balloons, and I wanted it to be a fun experience. I also didn't get a shot of those or the finished product... drats!

 

After I got everything set up, (and Sarah had her morning nap), we took her over to see her party space.  Like I said earlier, it was important to me to not overwhelm her too much, so I tried to ease her into her party, rather than have it hit her in the face all at once.  I have a video of her coming into the room, but I haven't had time to edit it and get it up, but it will be coming soon. 

 

Not long after I introduced her to the space, people started showing up, and it was time to get her dressed in her special first party outfit.  I started her out in a headband, but quickly changed that out for her party hat, which she happily wore the rest of the time.  Here are a few shots of her outfit...

 



 

And now for a photo bomb of pictures from the party... Ready... Go!!!





(Obviously me and blogger had a war over photo placement, and I believe I lost.  Grrr...)
Moving right along we come to the all important photo's of her cake(s).  I commissioned Publix to do a custom design that matched her theme.  I think they did a fantastic job!  Plus Publix cake is so yummy.  The big cake was chocolate with whipped icing, and her smash cake was strawberry with whipped and butter cream frosting.

 

Yay for 1st birthday's and cute birthday girls!  I know she had an absolute ball!  She opened all of her presents herself, was surrounded by people who love her dearly and got to eat lots of ice cream!  (She didn't really care for the cake, but she got sneaky and was getting ice cream from me and her two grandma's ~ she LOVES the stuff!)  I think the party lasted the perfect amount of time, and boy did she sleep good that night.  I love this little one so stinking much and I can't wait for next year's party.  I already have idea's rolling around in my head of what we will do!

 

 

Whoops!  What party is complete without a goodie bag!?  Here's what we put in Sarah's bags and what the presentation looked like...

 

 

Inside there was a sheet of stickers, two rubber ducks with a "1" on them, a party blow out, bubbles, and crayons shaped like cupcakes.  All fairly age appropriate and fun for 1 years olds to play with.  I also had lots of snacks available for toddlers, so they had their own section on the food table.  Again, I failed to document.  Well guys, I think this is it for me tonight.  It is way too late for me to be attempting to blog, so forgive any mistakes you see!  I love you all and will be back for more mommy blogs soon!  Happy Birthday Sarah!





Favorite Toys at 12 Month's Old

Hiya Friends!  So we meet again!  I know I'm the squeaky broken record that always comments about how I should be doing more blogging, but really life gets busy and I'd rather live than worry about what I take the time to send into cyber space (how's that for a 90's reference to the interwebs ~ ha!).  I should document more, I should share more, I'm a bad blogger... blah blah blah.  So just know that I love you if you still checking in on us and I'll try to do better.

So today, I want to do a quick update on Sarah's favorite toys at 1 year.  The last time I did an update like this she was into completely different toys.  So here are her top 10 toys as of today...

 

1. Books - Sarah is obsessed with books!  Seriously the first thing she does every day is run to her book shelf, pick out a book and run back to you with it.  And her favorites?  You will read them over and Over, and OVer, and OVEr, and OVER again.  Yes it gets tiring and I often find myself hiding certain books that just can not read again that day.  She loves them, and if she can't find someone willing to read to her, she will sit and read them to herself.  All day, every day we read books!  Any waking hour is story time in Sarah's world. (It's actually cute, because she'll hand you a book, and if you don't respond she will sit down right in front of you and encourage you with sweet noises.) (Of course, if that doesn't work, she has been known to take it from you and shove it back into your belly and yell at you, if she feels like being sweet isn't getting the job done ~ toddlers eh?)

 

 

2. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home - Okay, so we got this as a hand me down from Sarah's cousin who had outgrown it. Some of the pieces were missing, but a quick inquiry to fisher price and for a whopping $5.00 I got all the letters, balls, shapes, key, and door knob.  Sarah loves this thing.  She loves to crawl through the door, turn the light on and off, open and close the window and mailbox and listen to the radio that is on the back.  I love that it teaches while she plays and honestly it's not that annoying for being an electric toy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Playskool Poppin'Park Roll 'n Pop Express - Okay, so this little train comes with three balls that when being rolled about will pop out of engine.  Sarah doesn't really like the ball pop part of this toy so much as she loves to push it around on the floor.  She moved so quickly from crawling to walking that I think she missed out on a lot of the joys of pushing something around, so she loves to push this around.  Now I will warn you that this toy gets annoying fast.  It has a little song that it plays as well as it makes monkey sounds and it's so repetitive that when she gets to going with it, it can drive you a little crazy.

 

 

4. Hangers - Yes the child still loves to play with hangers.  I have no idea what the draw is for these.  But she gets super excited if she can get her little hands on one of these to play with.  I try to not let her take these out of her room, but they are definately a favorite to find one lying about.  You should see her face light up if I put a bunch of them on the floor while I hang her laundry.  She is in hog heaven!

 

 

 

 

5. Tupperware - Sarah has access to some of our lower cabinets.  I purposefully put things in there that she can play with.  So she loves to get into the tupperware, pull it all out and run off with one (or more as the day goes on).  There are several reason I think she likes tupperware. First, she gets to play with something of mine that I don't take away from her.  Second, she likes to practice putting the top on and off.  Third, she can pretend to drink from them like daddy does when he's finished with his cereal.  Fourth, they make good hats. And fifth, they are colorful.  I mean what else could a kid want!?



 

 

 

 

6. Rice Box - I made up a rice activity box for Sarah to play with.  She is really getting into sensory activities so I wanted to make something for her that she can squish her hands in, fill and spill different cups and containers and generally manipulate.  I went to the dollar store for most of the items I put in the box and it just so happens that it's Easter time right now, so found some carrot shaped eggs that we like to "plant" in the rice and then harvest.  I got a great tip from a YouTube vlogger to put a cheap plastic tablecloth under the box to catch any overspill, that way it's safe to play with outside because all the rice can be easily put back into the box, thus saving the birds.  I haven't been brave enough to let her play with it inside yet... but maybe when she's better at keeping it in the box we'll attempt that.

 

 

 

 

7.  Music - Okay, so not really a toy, but I have this CD/album downloaded on my phone and iPod.  When I need to distract her and get her to play by herself for a few minutes, I will play this CD/album (what do you call a former CD that is now a collection of mp3's...?) and she will happily walk around just listening to it and dancing.  She LOVES music and loves to be able to hold my phone.  So it's a win win.  I keep it locked so she can't get into it, but her picture shows up on the when she tries, so her and the baby on the phone listen to her favorite songs.  On a sidenote, the song "If You're Happy and You Know It" is her all time favorite song right now.  She knows how to do all the motions and is a favorite play activity.

 

8.  ........

9.  ........

10.  ........

 

Okay, so I totally thought I was going to do a post of her top 10 toys, but seriously, she really doesn't play with that many toys.  Not that she doesn't have a ton, because she does!  But she would seriously be happy with just her bookcase most days.  All the rest of the things listed here are a far cry from her love of books.  And I just have to go on record, (mostly because it is really bugging me...) that I really don't like to buy Sarah character things yet, i.e. the Dora book pictured above.  That was a gift from Mike's mom to Sarah but the child has worn that book out, so I couldn't not include it!  Our copy has already had the batteries replaced and had to be taped back together from where she has loved on that book just a little too aggressively.  (We also may or may not have bought a second copy of Brown Bear Brown Bear because she loved that book so much too...) And no, it's not that she's being destructive with them, she literally reads them and kisses them and totes them around everywhere and they just can't withstand her baby lovin's....

 

So yay for toys and toddlers!  What do you little toddlers love to play with at one year old?