Teaching a Toddler about Christmas

From a young age, we want Li'l Girlie to be hearing the real story of Christmas and learning why we celebrate it. She's 22 months old this Christmas, and some of her favorite things (like most kids) right now are books and Fisher Price Little People toys. Playing to those interests, I found a couple of things that would be great for her for this year, but we could continue to use as she gets older.

The children's ministry director at our church --a mom of three herself, and a children's book aficionado -- recommended Patricia A. Pingry's The Story of Christmas for toddlers and preschoolers to tell the story of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wise men and of course Jesus' birth in an easy-to-understand manner. Li'l Girlie likes it a lot, especially since there are animals and a Christmas tree in the book. It ties in why we give gifts; to show our love and to celebrate Jesus' birthday. My personal opinion is that it would benefit from adding at least a paraphrase from Luke: "for today a Savior is born, which is Christ the Lord." Something about why baby Jesus is so special. Just my opinion. Maybe Pingry left it out so that parents could fill it in.

Our other Christmas story purchase was the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set.  We have some lovely nativity sets, but none appropriate for toddler playtime.  She likes pressing the angel on the top of the stable to hear 'Away in a Manger' and she's learning who Mary, Joseph and Jesus are.  As she gets bigger, we can use the figures to act out the story.  Fisher Price also has the Three Wisemen and the Inn at Bethlehem sets, but we've also been on a tighter budget this year, so for us, those will be purchases for another year. 

The tradition that we started last year (when Li'l Girlie was too young to even notice) was making a birthday cake for Jesus.  This year, I let her squirt some of the frosting on the cake before I wrote the words.  She was nonplussed.  Oh well, hopefully seeing the finished cake and the happy rejoicing and eating will be a little more fun.  We still have yet to break out the cake today. 

I wish you a very merry Christmas celebrating our Savior

Erin

Bike!

Yes, after all my talking about the Strider Running Bike, we finally got one for Li'l Girlie.  Her Grammy and Grandpa gave her one as an early Christmas gift, and boy has she taken to it.  She knew what it was immediately, signed 'bike', did a little happy dance and threw her leg over it.

The folks at Strider say that most kids walk with the bike between their legs first, then gradually learn to trust the seat and their balance and start zooming from there.  That's pretty much the pattern we've seen with Li'l Girlie.  She's just starting to coast for a second, so we can see the real speed coming just around the corner.

We've been extremely pleased (as has Li'l Girlie) with the Strider so far.  She's learning balance that most kids don't learn for another couple of years, and she's so confident riding her bike.  She'll never use training wheels (the bane of my learning to ride a bike experience), and will transition straight to a regular bike once she gets big enough.

The bike's adjustable enough to fit a child as young as 18 months to your average 5 year old, and as an added bonus, it's a whole lot cheaper than the other leading pedal-free bike brand.

Here's Li'l Girlie in action. Look at her go!

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm most thankful for God's giving me what none of us deserve - life in Him.  I'm thankful for my dear husband, daughter, and spending time with my family this Thanksgiving.  We're all a bit off center, but then again, isn't everyone?  ;)  I hope it's a time where you can have at least a moment between the turkey and football games to reflect on what you've been given. 

Happy thanksgiving, y'all. 

Kitchen Giveaways Galore

So I've already given you the heads up about The Five Fish's Step 2 Kitchen giveaway in my last post.  Just so happens that there are several other opportunities to win a Step 2 Play Kitchen out there right now from some top mommy bloggers' sites.  You've got to hurry, though, most of them are only open until the end of November or soon thereafter.  

Here's the scoop on each.  Look for their blogs' buttons on the left as well:

First, Our Ordinary Life'sStep 2 Deluxe Kitchen and Give-a-way runs until December 1st.  Our Ordinary Life (Kristen) is a test drive mom for Frigidaire (which by the way, is sponsoring a Creative Kids in the Kitchen contest in conjunction with Step 2) so she knows her kitchens.  Her review of the Step 2 was just as positive as The Five Fish's.

Another great giveaway where you could win the Step 2 Deluxe Kitchen is on Amanda - A Stay at Home Mom's Point of View's blog.  Amanda took some great photos of her kids' kitchen to give you an idea of what the accessories and features look like.  She also remarks about the easy assembly.  Her giveaway runs until Nov. 30th.

Lizzy at Lizzy Dear's Life is holding a Step 2 Lifestyle Party-Time Kitchen Giveaway, also open until December 1st.  Her kids have really enjoyed playing with theirs, and Lizzy says that it's the perfect size for a play kitchen; not too big, not too small. 

Finally, if you're looking to win the granddaddy of all play kitchens, Two of a kind, working on a full house's Step 2 Lifestyle Grand Walk-in Kitchen Review and Giveaway is not to be missed. She takes great photos of the kitchen's amenities and talks about the ways in which her son plays with it.  It keeps him entertained for hours.  Apparently, it's not TOO big, and it even has a slighly squooshy faux hardwood floor.  Can I have that for my kitchen?

These are some great opportunities to win a big Christmas gift for your kiddo(s), but even if you don't win, I hope that you're able to get some great deals to help your gift budget stretch farther.  Check out the rest of Step 2's great toddler toys too!

Fishing for a Great Gift? Catch this Giveaway

Toys that keep your child entertained for hours are worth their weight in gold.  Ones that foster imagination, creative play and allow for several kids to play together are even better.  Another mommy blogger whom I've started following, The Five Fish, recently reviewed such a toy, the Step 2 LifeStyle Deluxe Kitchen.  She should know about the multiple-kid, multiple ages playability of this toy -- she has twin toddlers and a 6-year old who've all loved it.

And, she's giving one of these fab kitchens away, courtesy of Step 2.  Read her review and enter the giveaway for a chance at your child enjoying the cool food & utensil accessories, realistic appliance sounds and lots of storage space for all of his/her culinary creations. . . for free.

Li'l girlie is already interested in kitchen play; she empties out her cupboard in my kitchen daily and one of the few recognizeable-to-the-general-public words is 'bowl'.  She loves bowls, especially the one on our salad spinner.  I could see her going nuts over this kitchen and its play food and dishes, and I'll probably play with it a ton too if we won, truth be told.  I love to cook, and am excited to continue fostering a passion for it in my daughter.

Thanks for giving away one of these awesome toys, Five Fish!   We all love the opportunity to get free cool toys like this for our kids to foster their imaginations.

Coupons - this girl's new best friend

Blue Coupons
Originally uploaded by kyz

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be searching the internet for coupons and actually like it. There are several reasons for this newfound passion -- other than me being off my rocker -- but that's another topic for another time. ;)

This started with the fact that I've been looking for something to help bring in some money that I could do from home. On facebook, my friend K often posted about the great deals she'd been finding and how much money she'd been saving by couponing. Not just $10 per grocery trip, but around 40% or more of her grocery budget. Plus, she was getting some items for FREE. I dig free.

After an evening's tutorial from K, I got the gist of what was involved in saving all this $$$, and it's become a motivating challenge to see how much I can save each month and how cheaply I can get stuff that I'd normally use. It's the thrill of the deal.

On top of that, I've figured out that so far, as I total up how much less money I've spent by using coupons and sales together and stocking up on items when they're dirt cheap that I'm saving around $50 for every hour I've spent on couponing. Much better than most part-time super-flexible jobs than could be done around a toddler's nap schedule. The amount of time I spend is really doable for me too.

I'll tell more about my adventures in couponing and share what I've found to be helpful. Would love to help you save the big bucks too. For now, I'm off. It's pizza night in my house and I'm starving.

2 hour vacation

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  Lately, I've felt like it, though.  I've had a lot on my plate lately with learning to coupon to save tons of money on my grocery bill (more on that in an upcoming post), preparing to move and lots of other life stuff that I won't bore you with.  It's been really easy to feel under the pile.  The state of my desk lately has been a visual representation of that feeling.  ha.

Even when things are rolling along smoothly, (remind me, when does that happen??) one of my favorite times of the week is the 2 hours on Saturday morning where my husband plays with li'l girlie and I go to my yoga class.  Not just any yoga class, mind you, but a small community class (read:  affordable) that's held outside in a gazebo in a lovely wooded area.  The combination of being outside, having time to myself and doing strengthening and stretching that is both relaxing and challenging refreshes me mind, body and spirit.  As my breath and movements are focused, it's a time where I can let my mind dwell on the beauty of creation around me and be thankful for what God is doing in my life, even if that has been tough as of late. 

While yoga itself may not be your cup of tea, I bet there's something else --a bath, a trip to a coffee shop by yourself, etc.  -- that would recharge you and help you keep your sanity in the hectic pace of life.  Take a couple of hours (or as much time as you can spare) to do to take a little 'vacation' to refresh your spirit, even when it doesn't feel like you have time.   Do you have time to burn out and crash?  I don't either, and I'd rather take the enjoyable time away to prevent that. 

Plus, it's great to see the smile of your child when you return with renewed energy and joy in your life.  Li'l girlie's face when I come home from yoga is a picture of wide-eyed sunshine as she snuggles up to me in greeting.

Strider Running Bike -- another giveaway!

I know I just told you about the Strider Running Bike the other week in my Giveaways post, but just had to mention it again because agiveawayeveryday.com is now holding a giveaway for one!  The moms running this site find some of the best mom/kid gear to review and give away.  Check out some of their other giveaways while you're at it. 

Because Strider bikes don't have pedals or training wheels, they help teach kids the most important skill of bike riding -- balance in such a fun and effective way.  I'm trying to win the giveaway, but if I don't, maybe Samantha's grandparents will get her one for Christmas.  (hint, hint, Mom ;)  )  In addition, me losing might mean you winning!  Here's a video of Strider Running Bikes in action to give you more of an idea of how kids use it, even before age 2!


A big brother teaching his younger brother some moves...

Top toys for 12-18 month olds

Fun with the Fisher Price Learning House
Originally uploaded by bunnyfabulous

How did it get to be halfway through October? I haven't seen a Christmas ad yet, but I know they're coming; lurking out there in the way-too-near future. Usually I'm trying to get gift ideas together by now so that I don't feel pressured to think of something at the last moment. Does it always work? No, but at least I get my gift shopping list somewhat organized. :)

I know I appreciate idea lists for different categories of people for whom I'd be buying presents. So this year, I put together a list of top toys for 12-18 month olds for you. I know, it's only one age group, but I've got to start somewhere. This is the most recent stage that Samantha's gone through, so it's fresh in my mind. So, if you're doing toy shopping for a young toddler this will hopefully give you a bit of a head start in thinking of a fun, age appropriate gift. 

Have another toy that your 12-18 month old has loved to play with?  Let me know! 

O-Ball

This is one of those toys that'll last a kid from infancy all the way through their teenage years. It's a few bucks well-spent. My daughter has been playing with her O-ball since she was around 6 months old. Here's what the play has looked like at each stage:

6 months:  Mostly chewing on it and batting at it when I hung it above her with some plastic links.  It was easy for her to grab and shake too.  Daddy also liked mindlessly throwing the ball in the air and catching it repeatedly as he was thinking or talking.  Samantha liked to watch.

Crawling:  it's easy to chase and get a good handhold.  Throwing the ball and giggling when it bounced was popular.

Just starting to walk:  throwing the O-ball down and chasing it.  Liked holding the ball and gnawing on it during diaper changes.  Pointing to the circles in it.  Smooshing the ball down and watching it go back into a ball shape.  This elicited giggles as well.

20 months:  Our new favorite game is 'throw the O-ball in the bushes and take it out'.   The title's pretty self-explanatory.  The O-ball is light enough that the circles catch on the branches for easy spotting and removing of the ball from said bushes by the toddler herself.  :)  One of her buddies likes to play 'ball up', which is basically tossing the O-ball straight up in the air and chasing after it when it lands.  We'll see what other games the kiddos invent as they get older.

What I like most about this ball:

- Very durable.  Its strong, flexible plastic can take a beating from being squooshed, stepped on, and chewed.

- O shapes make easy handholds, especially for kids who are learning to carry things, catch, and throw.

- Very lightweight; if someone gets hit with this ball flying through the air, there's much less chance for injury than many other balls. 

- Interesting shapes and bright colors; visually stimulating for young children (and adults too  ;)  )