The Thankful Tree

I thought I'd share an idea I had for a simple craft to make with your toddlers to help them prepare for Thanksgiving. (I'm sure I'm not the first person with this idea!)

The Thankful Tree

You will need:

• Construction paper: brown, green, orange, red, yellow
• Scissors
• Glue
• Marker
• Bigger sheet of paper for "canvas"

I cut out a tree trunk, limbs, and leaves. Caleb was in charge of pasting. We started with an empty tree and then I asked him to think of something he was thankful for. I then wrote that item/person on a leaf and he pasted the leaf to his tree. When the tree was full of leaves, we prayed and gave thanks to God for each leaf on Caleb's Thankful Tree.

You could make this as simple or complex as you wanted. If you have more than one preschooler, you could use a different color leaf for each child. Or, you could even make it a family tree with larger leaves and more room to write (our little leaves only had room for one word, which worked fine for a three-year-old) . The possibilities are endless ;-)

Bye, Mom!

Yesterday evening, I went out with a group of moms from our church for a Mom's Night Out. Just as I was walking out the door, Caleb called from the living room, "Bye, Mom!! Have fun and be careful! It's slippery out there." Josh (who at the time of my departure was changing a nasty blowout diaper in the back of the house) told me later that just after I left, Caleb came running to him and said, "Dad, don't worry. . . I said goodbye to Mom and told her something she would be happy to hear. I told her to be careful because it is slippery."

Where does he get this stuff??

Banana Pops!

I know it's the end of summer for most of you, but if you're in the mood for one last taste of summer, give this a try. I'm not a banana fanatic, but these are delish and super easy to make. This is a great "cooking" project for toddlers. Caleb was able to do almost every step (with help) and he was so proud of the finished product.

Mmmmmmm!

(sorry, this is a terrible picture)

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Banana Pops

4 Bananas

8 popsicle sticks

about 1/2 cup chocolate chips

2-3 Tbs peanut butter

2 tsp butter

sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the bananas in half, leaving the peel intact. Insert a popsicle stick 1/2 into into each banana and then peel (this keeps the banana from breaking apart). Place the bananas a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze for about 15 minutes to chill the bananas (this makes the chocolate stick better).

Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted. Dip the partially-frozen bananas into chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with decorations and return to freezer.

Allow to freeze for at least 3 hours.

Annabelle's First Few Steps

THREE!

Happy Birthday, My Big Boy!

(the pink cake was supposed to be red, but we ran short on the food coloring)

Puddle Jumping on the Playground

It rained (as in, dumped) this morning so after lunch Caleb grabbed is bright red boots and headed down to the playground for some good old fashioned puddle jumping.

Just for Jessica

"Ask and it shall be given you". Jessica asked.

The only thing cuter than a pigtailed baby girl. . .


is a post-pigtail baby girl.

To Keep Things Fair

Just to keep things fair between the siblings and to to debunk any theories floating amongst you that I no longer take pictures of my firstborn, here is a recent favorite of Caleb. Look at that smile on his face. . . sheer joy!

Blueberries for Belle

One of Annabelle's favorite foods is blueberries. She will eat and eat and eat them until she's blue in the face (and everywhere else).

9 Months Old (Part 2)