Starting our Garden

I took this picture yesterday and fell in love with it.  

These are teeny tiny carrot seedlings we transplanted to larger pots yesterday.  

We've planted kale, spinach, bib lettuce, romaine, carrots, and beets.  

I love this process!  

The Progress of Independence

I've been a bit concerned lately by how much T.V. Maddie would watch if I let her. 

My concerns are actually twofold:

1)  I want her to cultivate her imagination and her concentration, and I'm not sure watching so much T.V. helps with that. 

2) I also really want her to know that she doesn't always have to  be entertained. 

So we tried a little experiment yesterday.  Once Maddie had watched an hour of T.V. in the morning, our T.V. looked like this the rest of the day.  

I wish I could take credit for this great idea, but I found it on another blog and now I cannot find it again to link up.

We put on some music {thank you pandora internet radio!}

And Maddie really surprised me! 

I intentionally decided not to engage Maddie in various activities to see how she would spend her time.  

I think there was something about that silly blanket over the T.V. because she began playing with her toys like I haven't seen her do in a long time.  

She gathered up all of her stuffed animals and began stacking them all up on the couch.  

I watched as she carefully placed each one on top of the other, and when one slipped, she just picked it up and found another spot to place it.  

Yay for problem solving!!!  

Once she finished her hard work (which required a great deal of concentration - check!) I was curious if she would seek praise from me.  

I remained quiet, and she threw her hands up and gave herself a yay, but never sought my approval.  

Our eyes caught each others though and I think my smile said all I needed to.  

Next, Maddie went over to her puzzles...

She acted out each of the animals on the puzzle...(imagination- check!)

elephant!

monkey!

 

 

And then, when she was finished she put them away...

without being told!!

In just one day I witnessed the attributes we all try so hard to teach our kids:

-self satisfaction

-concentration

-imagination

-order

-problem solving

It is so satisfying to see them unfold, and I think part of why I'm seeing it now is because I took the time to watch and observe them.  Not only was our T.V. off limits for the day but so was my computer. 

I've been worrying about this but it's been right there, under my nose the entire time. 

 I just haven't stopped to really notice them. 

Taking time to stop and smell the roses, weeds in our yard, the progress of independence in a young toddler is something I hope to do more often.

She Did It!!!

We had a breakthrough yesterday!  

It's been a work in progress for about a year and a half!!

And yesterday....She did it!!

She put her shirt on all by herself!

Our journey began when she was about 2 yrs. old.  

Her therapist asked me if she was helping dress herself.  

Not even close!!

So, we began working on it.  

At first I would put her shirt over her head and ask if she could find the sleeves.  

We did this for many, many months.

And then, before long I didn't have to ask anymore...as soon as I put the shirt over her head she would get her little arms moving, searching for the hole.  

Then, we moved on to finding the bottom of the shirt. 

We talked about how there are special holes for her head, and other, smaller holes for her arms. 

Yesterday we were working on sitting on the potty. Maddie has decided everything must be taken off in order to sit on the potty.  

This gave us lots of opportunities to practice putting her shirt back on.  

And all of a sudden, she had done it!!  

Her shirt was on!

It was inside out, but I wasn't about to correct that!  

That will be a lesson for another day...today we celebrate : ) 

Our Neighborhood Walk - Toddler Style

The last couple of days have been so beautiful.  

It's hard to believe earlier this week we were building snowmen!

We have been taking walks around the neighborhood. 

I'm amazed how long it takes to walk a block with a toddler!  

I love how they have no concept of time and are never in a hurry and have absolutely no agenda!

For a toddler on a walk, it's important to notice each and every neighbor's newspaper that still awaits being picked up and read.  

  She takes them to the front door...to be helpful! : )

And of course on the way back from delivering the paper to the front door, a toddler is sure to stumble upon some great treasures...

And who says you have to walk on a walk around the neighborhood?

Why not hop?

Of course after such adventure, it's important to take a moment to rest...

At this point we had been out "walking" for about an hour...that's probably the equivalent of running a marathon for her little bitty toddler legs!

I think I would take a rest too!

Valentine-The Day After

How was your Valentine's Day?

We had a lovely day...no pun intended!  

(okay, pun was totally intended)

OH, the fun of puns! : ) 

Maddie received her Valentine cards from her grandparents.

She was super excited when she found something special inside her card...

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bernard!  

She put in away in her piggy bank. 

Next was her card from Grammie and PaPa.  

She yelled "toe-toe" when she saw Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales.  

and was thrilled to have Elmo stickers!  We had to open them up right away and use them.  

She really liked seeing herself in her card from Grandma and Grandpa Schasteen.  

She played with her cards for quite a while yesterday.

and then she passed them off for Pooh to enjoy!

Snow Day!!

FINALLY!!

It arrived!!

SNOW!

We have been reading and reading and reading tons of winter books about snow and snowmen and things to do in the winter.  I didn't think we would ever be able to play in the snow this winter.  

But finally...it came!

We loved our snow day.  

As soon as Maddie saw the snow, she went as fast as she could to the coat rack and signed "coat." She was ready to go play!

I didn't invest in a new snow suit and when I pulled out the one from last year, I couldn't believe it when I read the tag and saw 12 months!  oops!  

I decided we could squeeze into it...and amazingly...it fit OK!

I lucked out.  

I wasn't so lucky when it was time to put gloves on.

Maddie did not have any good snowman-building-mittens. 

So, once again, we improvised...

HaHa.  This makes me laugh.  I used plastic wrap and packing tape to try and make them waterproof.  

Once Tenley woke up from her nap, we were all set to venture out.  I wasn't completely comfortable having  Tenley out in the snow, so she sat snug and comfortable by the door where she could watch!

We were enjoying being outside.

We found lots an unnerving amount of animal tracks...

Some of which seemed rather large!

And then all that work to jerry rig waterproof mittens...

The silly thing would NOT stay on!

But none of that could deter us from building the best snowman ever!

Maddie wanted to give the snowman her hat

She also wanted to give him her coat. I convinced her the snowman was very happy with just his scarf.

So instead she gave him hugs and kisses!

I hope we've created another memory she'll remember with joy : ) 

I know I will. 

Help! Seeking Advice...

To watermark or not to watermark?

I got a question I thought I would throw out there and see what everyone thinks.  

I've had mixed feelings about putting watermarks on my photos.  

My initial reaction is it distracts from the intent of the photo. 

Sometimes, though, I think it gives a photo that added professional touch.  

What do you guys think?

Here's an edited photo without the watermark...

And here's the same photo with a watermark I created in Photoshop...

If I did use the watermark, it would only be for web photos.  Clients receiving a CD of photos would not have the watermark.  

What do you think?