Monday, 24 June 2013

Mini terrariums for teachers gifts

Trying to think of a year end gift for L's teachers is always tricky.  I want L to be able to make the gifts so they are more personal.  This year we decided to make mini terrariums.
 
I found these wonderful glass hanging candle holders that were perfect.
 
 First L added some colored stones left over from the fish bowl for drainage.
 
She then put in a layer of potting soil.
 
Next a bit of moss from the garden as well as some small succulents.
 
She also added tiny ladybugs in each one which are super cute!
 
Super easy yet beautiful!  I wish I'd got another container for us!
 
 

 


Saturday, 1 June 2013

Baby J turns 1!

It's been almost a month now since Baby J actually turned one.  I'm just getting around to posting about it but better late than never.

For his birthday we had amazing weather and were able to have a beautiful BBQ outside on our deck with friends and family.  I made Baby J a Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake however he ate a healthy muffin for his Birthday dessert instead of the unhealthy cake!  Over the years I've realised that my kids don't even eat birthday cakes so if I have lots of other people round I just use icing and food colouring because I know others are not as picky and it's a darn site easier!
 
He got so many presents from friends and family he will be set for a long while now.  The gift I am most excited about is this Tag Toys ball tracker.  I have been wanting to get one of these for the littles and when a wonderful uncle gave Baby J some b-day money we put some in ourselves and splurged. 
It was so worth it.  He got it right away and both Baby J and Sweetpea love it.  It's quite wobbly and it's recommended to bolt it to the wall.  Instead what I've done is move it behind the pull up bar so it is stable and Baby J is able to balance on the bar while bending down to get the balls.
 
As far as development Baby J is now using a spoon on his own to eat his meals and we just introduced him to a fork.  I would highly recommend watermelon as a first fork food.  He caught on to it right away and LOVED it.  I think he enjoys the amount of force he can use to "stab" the food!  He went through tons of watermelon practising his new found skill and had a fit when we finally had to call it quits.  Both littles now have a fork food with their breakfast every morning.
 

 
I don't think it will be long now before Baby J is walking.  He took three steps last night and is starting to stand on his own. 
He is still our cheeky little jokester and is full of joy.  He has been giving a grunting sign to tell us when he needs to poop for about a month now and we make it about 90% of the time.  The thing is he also thinks it's a hilarious joke to look at us and do the pretend poop grunt and then give us the cheeky grin!
 
As I mentioned Baby J got many presents that both the littles have been using and I'm working on a post about what is on our shelves.
 
Since technically Baby J is no longer a baby I am here on out going to be referring to him as Little J!  Wow does that time fly by.  What an amazing year it's been getting to know this wonderful little person!