Don't you wish you could freeze them in time? oh and tell me your fav pic!

I know that every parent finds their child amazing. I am no different. I think Ruby is the MOST wonderful child.I love talking about her. This isn't my first post highlighting my daughter. I am positive it will not be the last. I admit it. I am bragger when it comes to her. I know most people find bragging to be a negative personality trait, but when it comes to your children, I think there is, or their should be an exception to the rule. 

So, I officially release your inner bragging rights. Let it loose. Talk about how AWESOME your child is. What are they doing in their lives that you are proud of? What did they say that was so hilarious? How are they changing?  Are they an athlete? Are they an artist? Are they a comedian? Are they serious or insightful?

How have they changed you? 

Don't you just want to freeze time to keep them just as they are?

From time to time my father likes to remind me that I promised him I would never grow up. Now that I am a parent, I understand how he probably wished that my promise was possible. I think about Ruby one day being a grown woman and it seems like a million years away. And yet it seems like it was only yesterday  when she was born and we took her home thinking, "What do we do now?" And here we are looking at a walking, talking, dancing, cheering, singing, hugging, loving 2 year old. 

That grown woman is just around the corner. So, while I've got her, I'm gonna brag!

Here are some pictures I took today of Ruby. I'm thinking of using one of these photos to enter her in a beautiful baby contest. Tell me your favorite. Obviously, I posted some that are just silly because I love her expressions. So, I probably won't send those in, but they are here for your enjoyment. 

I'm always amazed at how many moods and faces Ruby can have in one day! It must be exhausting. I know I am tired at the end of the day just trying to keep up!

Don't forget to tell me all about your Kiddo! and your favorite picture!

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M is for Music!

     Before I was a stay-at-home mom/daycare provider, I was a public school elementary music teacher. Luckily, I still teach a general music class one night a week through an organization called Da Capo VA. I love it! It keeps me fresh and the kids I teach are just wonderful. They are all excited to be there and they LOVE music.

     With that being said, the letter for my kids at home this week is M. Duh huh! M is for music silly! So we have had a blast today with M. Today was M is for music day! We've danced. We have sung. We have chanted. We have played instruments. Here is some of the highlights from today.

   First, we took turns making the letter M with our bodies. The kids love trying to make their bodies into the letters. It can be challenging depending on the letter.

 Next, we acted out a song called "Monkey Around" from Music K-8 magazine. I use to get those magazines when I was teaching public school. They have some great songs for all ages. This song asked the kids to act like different animals. The chorus told them to swing their arms and "monkey around". Can you guess the animals?

Then, we took turns playing different instruments.We talked about the names of the instruments, how to hold them and what they sounded like. Ruby is noticing that the two drums have two very different sounds.

 

Finally, we finished up with some shakers and dancing. Again, I pulled from my Music K-8 songs. This song was called "Shake it up". The song talks about all sorts of instruments, but we just used the shakers. It had a nice beat to it and was the perfect ending to M is for music day!

B B B Broccoli !!!

     Last week the letter of the week was B. I mentioned in my previous post, "What's in the Bag?",  I am trying some new ideas to help the kids with their letter recognition retention. We followed up "What's in the bag?" with K and Bells each taking a bag home ( on different days) and bringing it back with some B items. The kids really seemed to enjoy getting to contribute their own items from home to our circle time.  
    I was feeling particularly adventurous one day and decided to extend on the lesson and add in some sensory stuff. What better way than Broccoli? It was perfect! I would be able to let them use almost all of their senses to experience the word broccoli and in turn help them remember the letter B.

     It started out just as I pictured the lesson going. We marched ourselves into the kitchen and sat to get ready for the lesson. The kids were so excited to be in the kitchen, because I almost never let them in there. I was excited because I was positive THIS was going to go over just as well as the pepper experiment had (see The Pepper Experiment ) and the kids would fall in love with fresh broccoli and ask for it at snacks and meals. Okay, the pepper experiment wasn't that awesome, but I can aim high right?

It was going great! We all felt the broccoli. It was bumpy(Yet another B word opportunity). It was fun taking turns feeling the different parts of the broccoli. It was green and had a leaf on it! 

We took turns smelling it. With the florets on and then...

     We cut the top off to see how it smelled. The kids were having a blast as you can see from the pictures! Next, we washed and dried the florets to get ready for the big finale. The tasting!

The kids were ready with fresh broccoli in hand. They were so excited I had to make them wait so I could take this picture.

And THEN...

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This was pretty much the response I got from all three. Bells actually spit hers on the floor. Ruby walked hers to the sink. I had to run to give K a napkin to scrape his mouth out. He has a very sensitive gag reflex and I did not want to have to clean that up too!

So, I guess the next time, maybe we'll try cooked broccoli?  Or maybe give them some Ranch dressing? Hmmm. Ohh well. I guess I can't win 'em all!

The Papies (aka Passy) "Broke" ! It could be a LOOONG night!

     Tonight could be a very long night! Ben and I have been talking for a VERY long time about transitioning Ruby away from her Passy. With it being a Friday night and with us having no set plans for tomorrow morning, it was a game time decision for the Passy to go away. So far, it is not going very well.
      It was gut wrenching to hear her cry for her "papies". After 30 minutes of hysterical crying and when we told her that it had gone away, I decided to try another tactic. "Ruby, the papies is broken." I continued, "It broke! Do you want to see?"  I called Ben upstairs and in code I told him what to do. A few minutes later, Ben returned with the broken passy in hand. The nipple end was completely gone.
     "Ruby, the papies broke because you are too big for it now and used it all up." Ruby quietly looked at the papies turning it around and around in her little hands. She put it to her mouth where the nipple use to be and tried to put it in her mouth. "It's broken? fix it, mommy!" Ruby said in the most pitiful voice. "I can't , it's broken."I replied.
     The pitiful voice began to escalate, " Get other one! Where other one?" "It broke too! Do you want to see?" "Ruby see!" So, Ben brought the other broken papies in the room and again she examined them both as she had before. She tried again to put them in her mouth. And then, her crying began into climb into a place I am not sure I could explain any other way than the wail of utter loss. The same tears of sadness and hysterical sobbing that you only see at funerals. 
     For the next hour and half Ben and I tag teamed the hysterically devastated Ruby. We let her wear her pearl necklace to help her be brave. I found a pink and frilly hair bow that was large enough to act as a "we don't need the papies bracelet. Ben gave her water. I rubbed her back. We sang goodbye songs to the papies.
     For almost two hours I listened to tear covered phrases like," I so sad", "MORE PAPIES", and "All done sleepin'".  Every time I tried to leave the room she would start back up again. Finally, I had to threaten to make her take off the necklace if she didn't stay in bed. I almost had to do it once, and that was enough to get her to be quiet long enough to fall asleep. 
    I am VERY nervous about what could happen at 3:00 AM when she wakes up looking for the papies.  I am worried about what nap-time tomorrow will be like with out her papies. I am worried that this whole things will start over again at bedtime tomorrow night. Should I be worried about answering for this when I get to heaven? Prayers, y'all! We need Prayers!

Okay Ladies! It's time for you to give a shout out!

     I have an amazing husband! As I write this, he is upstairs giving Ruby her bath! He does bath time every night. He says he loves it because it is his special time with Ruby.I love listening to the two of them upstairs singing and playing together. There is nothing more precious than hearing the off key version of the Elmo's World song from the two of them followed by the loud "YAY!" when they are finished. The only time I do bath time at all is when he has to work late, has some house chores to do, or cooking dinner is going to take him a long time. That's right! HE COOKS DINNER!

     My husband is a tall, red haired, handsome, smart, loving, prayerful, supportive, Virginia Tech fanatic and a U of R fan. He works hard. He plays hard. He is fun and energetic. He is loyal and he is considerate. He is laid back and motivated. He is athletic and in shape. And Best of all... HE LOVES ME! 
     I decided to write this post tonight because I appreciate him sooo much and want him to know it. He may not be perfect,but he is perfect for me. He is EXACTLY what I prayed for when I prayed for a husband. I even have the Journal (somewhere) to prove it! God has blessed me and Ruby to have such an unbelievable person at the head of our household. He is an amazing provider for our family in every way. Thank you Ben. You are... as Ruby would say... "AWESOME!!!!"

     I know I am not the only lucky wife and Ruby is not the only lucky child out there. So, Ladies now is your chance to give your husband the SHOUT OUT he deserves. Tell me how your husband loves and supports you.Tell me the little things he does that make you feel special. Tell me all the GREAT things he does with your kids. Let's rejoice for each other about how blessed we are to have these men in out lives! Please share your stories! 

Self Portraits with Ruby Remind to me Self Align

I was uploading some pictures from my camera the other day and ran across some pictures of me with Ruby. They were taken on a day when Bells was home sick and K. had already gone home for the day. It was one of those rare opportunities when Ruby and I actually had some uninterrupted alone time together that wasn't at the end of a long work day.

   Some of the pictures are not particularly flattering of Ruby and me. Ruby (with her lunch lingering on her face) and I ( with my lovely double chin), will probably not grace the beautiful cover of Parenting magazine. In spite of the lack of air brushing, I adore these pictures. Not only do the pictures bring back memories from an amazing afternoon with my daughter, but they serve as a reminder to relish every moment with her and that I LOVE being her mommy.

    Being at home everyday has many wonderful attributes. I don't have to care too much what I wear, I save a TON on gas, and I get to be with Ruby EVERYDAY! The bad part about staying home is that I tend to feel frumpy at times, I never go anywhere, and I forget to feel lucky to be with Ruby everyday.

     Most of the time I go about my day being a teacher, waitress, cleaning lady, and referee. By the time the end of the day comes, I'm exhausted from caring for three two year old children. Ruby is sick of having to share everything in the house, including her mommy!

      These pictures remind me to take the time, regardless of how tired I am at the end of the day, to really love on Ruby and to be just a mommy for a while.These pictures remind me what a GREAT time Ruby and I have together. These pictures remind me what a special gift I have from God. These pictures remind me that sometimes it's okay just to be the mom and nothing else. These pictures remind me to take it all in!

What's in the Bag?

      Every weekday after breakfast and a brief stint at free play, I do circle time with my daycare kids. I am always trying to think of new things to do with them at circle time to engage them in quality learning that will stick with them.  Although I do have a music education degree, I do not have an early childhood certification. Thus, anything I do now has all come to fruition through trial and error.

     I am always picking my friends and family's brains for ideas that might work with the kids that I have and their very short attention spans. Just the other day, one of my friends shared an idea with me that I thought was awesome. Her child got to bring home a bucket and fill the bucket with things that start with their letter for that week. Brilliant! Why hadn't I thought of that? I have long been doing the letter of the week, but I needed to spice up my technique and THIS is just the thing to help me with that. With Monday being the a holiday, I did not have the opportunity to send my adaption of the bucket (which is just a tote bag) home with any of the children. So, I came up with the game for today called "What's in the bag?"
  I found enough old plastic grocery bags for each child to have one. After I had shown them our new letter of the week (which was the letter B),  and talked to them about the sound of the letter, I handed them their bag. One at a time I had them pull out what was inside. Bells found a block in her bag, K. found a basket, and Ruby found a book. We reinforced the beginning sound of each item after we had learned what it was. The kids loved the game!
     We continued circle time by reading the books Bears on Wheels (which I will place in my favorite things store). We noticed that the word bear is a B word. Bears on Wheels is an excellent book for practicing counting, so I made sure to jump on that opportunity. It can get really long if you count every page, so I only counted the pages with high numbers of bears on wheels. My kids tend to get wiggly if a book takes to long.
    Next, we sang "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee". Did you expect anything else? I'm a music teacher! Plus, Look at all those B words. I learned that Bells LOVES this song. She does seem to get stuck on the "Ouch!" part, but I helped her through that. The kids enjoyed buzzing and "catching" their bumble bee's and pretending to get stung. They enjoyed the song so much we did it a few times.
     Finally, we reinforced the letter B by coloring a bear. We talked about the different colors that we each chose to use. I always make sure to color with the children so that they see a good example of how to take your time and try to color carefully. I have really noticed a difference with Ruby's coloring since I joined the coloring table. Plus, its fun for me to get in on the conversations that they have with each other. They are so cute with all of the complements they give each other! "Wow!" "Awesome!" "I see that red!"

     The kids had such a great time with "What's in the bag?". I think I will make it a regular in our circle time. However, next time I think I will use paper lunch bags instead. The plastic bags where a bit see-through. Also, I think I will let them shake the bag, smell it, feel inside, and try to guess what it is before we look at the item. That would be a great opportunity to mention the 5 senses!
     I would love to hear your thoughts on the "What's in the bag? game. Let me know if you try it with your children and how they liked or didn't like it. Also, please feel free to share any circle time activities your children have done at daycare or with you. I would love to test them out on my 3 darlings!

Ruby and Bells

     Today is my Brother Ted's birthday ( Happy birthday TED!). Ben, Ruby and I all went over to his and his wife Sonia's house tonight to hang out, have a good time, and celebrate. Since we had all been sick, this would be our first opportunity for Ruby and Ted's youngest, (I'll call her Bells) to see each other since last week. I keep Bells during the week, so she and Ruby are together a lot.The awesome thing is that every single time they see each other, they act as if they haven't seen each other in a million years!!

  "Ruuuuuuby!!!!" Bells will say while doing her excited jig, in only the way she can. "Beeeellls!!" Ruby will say running to the door to greet her bestfriend/cousin. ""Come on!" Ruby will say. To which Bells will reply a happy "Okay, I comin'!"  Off together they go to get right to the important business of pretend.

     These two little ladies are thick as thieves. When one goes to the potty, they other stands outside of the door as entertainment for the other. When they decide they both need to go potty, one will be on the big potty and one on the little potty and they will pass books back and forth to pass the time. "Look Bells, you see that!" "Uh hu! Cow!"  Finally, one of them or both of them have successfully done the deed and they both cheer and clap for each other.

  

     They are also very concerned for each others well being. They are always using the doctor toys to check each other out. If Bells coughs or falls, Ruby is quick to ask "You okay, Bells." If someone is out of pretend coffee, the other is quick to refill it. If one is coloring the other one must join and complement the fine job they are doing.

     But, there are the times when all is not well and the screeching begins. It's usually nothing more than typical 2 year old behavior issues. Such as, one or the other stealing a toy or getting a little too rough when playing. When this happens, all normal communication stops and the screeching like animals begins.It does not stop until I break up the tug-o-war that is no doubt occurring and put one or both in time-out to calm down. Older kids would be fuming at each other during time-out, but these two ( unless I separate them) have already decided that they are fine. They are waving,smiling, and calling for each other as if they had not been arch enemies two seconds earlier.

     Ben and I sometimes talk about what these two darlings will be like as teenagers. There is not a doubt in my mind that they will probably be much the same. Best friends, excited to see each other, ready to hang out and get into mischief and spending a lot of time in time-out.

     I'm very glad I have a few years to get ready. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just Ruby and Bells, but there are 3 other cousins, all girls, to throw into the mix. And these girls really LOVE  being with each other. SO, I guess we better start saving for some tracking devices and we will probably have to take turns doing the night shift. Knowing what is coming and the headaches it may bring, I still  feel so blessed and lucky to have these girls in my Ruby's life. To play with, to laugh with, and to comfort each other as life brings its challenges. Thanks God for that awesome blessing!