More Flubber!

We've continued playing with flubber with some new ideas. Thanks to pinterest I found some new ways to extend our play with flubber using markers and small stones. Apparently you can write on the flubber with markers and it will not rub off on your hands or anything! So, we used a cookie sheet and let the flubber flatten itself then Lizzy used markers to draw. When she was done drawing we agreed to stretch it and see what would happen. It was pretty cool to see all the drawings stretch and then turn into a sort of tie die look. 

After drawing I brought out some small stones (fish tank stones?) that Lizzy made faces with and a snow man with. It was fun for a while then she went back to drawing with the markers and drew a rainbow!

Flubber

Mixture 1:

1 ½ cups warm water

2 cups White Glue

Food coloring
 

Mixture 2:

3 tsp. Borax

1 cup Warm Water

Stir mixture 1 together in 1 bowl.

Mixture 2 in another bowl.

Make sure both are mixed well.

Pour mixture 1 into mixture 2. 

Lizzy enjoyed stretching the flubber, making balls and bouncing them, drumming on the flubber, and stretching it to make shapes.

Painting Fireworks

Painting fireworks with a fork for 4th of July! If you want a non messy paint activity this one was pretty clean. Add some glitter to the paint to really make it sparkle.

Very Hot Summer Days

Is it hot where you are? It was 118 degrees yesterday here where we are. Hope you're keeping cool wherever you are : )

Stampin it Up!

I haven't had much to post on lately or pics for that matter. Lizzy is enjoying the summer program at ASU all day and evenings are usually spent by the pool but on those evenings Lizzy does choose to stay in she has been enjoying stamps! We have this sorta nook upstairs where we have an old eating table we already had and Lizzy uses that space to do crafts and things right outside of the playroom area.

Lizzy's Playroom

Out of all the rooms in the house this is the one I spent more time in and I think the first room that's mostly together since moving in. Not because it was hard to put together but because it was the most fun. It's Waldorf inspired with some Montessori I guess Waldessori? A work in progress but mostly complete. The sections of the room include:

An area to "Create" art

An area to "Play"

An area to "Sing"

And a storytelling and Nature Table area to display and tell stories.

I will do another post on the playroom closet as I have organized all the craft materials and other activities in there. Check back soon.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's day! Lizzy and her Daddy tried out their remote control boat in the pool!

Summer Swims

The highest temperature we've had so far has been 112 degrees! I would love a rainy day though and hopefully that will happen soon with the monsoon season. Our evenings now consist of a daily swim in our pool after dinner. I'm so glad we have a pool or I'm not sure how we would ever spend any time outside in the summer here in Arizona. Lizzy loves it and she's always loved swimming and being in the water. Lizzy swims in a Swim School float swim suit that helps her keep afloat. Lizzy appears to actually be swimming using her legs and arms to get around but once the suit comes off Lizzy struggles to swim on her own. I would really recommend the swim school suits they are awesome but swim lessons and safety are so important. Lizzy will be taking infant swim which teaches infants swimming survival skills which is awesome...I have personally seen a 6 month old swim, float, and wait for mom to get him on this program. It is amazing! For Lizzy's age by the end of the program she should know how to swim on her own and know what to do if she falls in a pool. Check out Infant Swim! I should be back to posting pics soon. Keep checking back I need to upload my pic soon. : )

Updates

We are moving into our first home tomorrow! Mike moved most of the boxed things we had today and tomorrow the movers will move all our furniture. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have things mostly unpacked and where they need to be.

Lizzy is really enjoying the ASU preschool summer school at the teacher's college. It's definitely different than the environment that she was use to at the Montessori but she had adjusted surprisingly well and comes home happy and talking about her day. Last week was beach week and they played in kiddie pools all week. This week is art week. Lots of painting with hands and even feet then a trip to the art museum!

We hope to get Lizzy back into Montessori for the school year. The owner at the Montessori school Lizzy was going to is actually good friends with the only Montessori school in Maricopa, AZ and it appears they have similar philosophies and schools. We really hope to check that school out soon and hopefully it will be a fit. We are also excited to learn of a Montessori charter school opening up in the area but also know of other options for when Lizzy starts Kindergarten.

Work is good for Mike and I. A new office for my job will be opening closer to where we are moving and I will visiting families in Maricopa where we will live. We were pretty shocked by the low pay rates here in Arizona when we moved here but a year later and our pay is increasing. Something we did not expect but are thankful for. Here is Mike at work and what he does all day!


Explore the Moon without Leaving Phoenix.

Montessori Birthday Celebration at School

This is a video of Lizzy's Birthday Celebration at school. The parents pick out a picture of each year of the child's life and write something about what that child accomplished that year and share in the celebration. If you are not familiar with Montessori Birthday Celebrations check this link out. We have been doing our own version of the Montessori Birthday celebration at home by writing Lizzy a birthday letter each year and lighting the candles on a birthday ring that is typically used in Waldorf birthday celebrations. Lizzy's birthday was on the last day of school and every time someone had a birthday at school Lizzy wondered when her birthday would come until finally on the last day of school it was Lizzy's birthday celebration. Lizzy picked out dinosaur cookies to share with her friends and she got to bring her favorite book for her teacher to read. Lizzy's favorite book is Today I feel Silly because it says "diarrhea" in it!  Lizzy really enjoyed her day!

Disneyland Part 2

 Some more pictures from early in the day. We went back to the hotel in the afternoon and Lizzy took a nap and I didn't take many photos that evening or night. Lizzy enjoyed all the boat rides like storybook land and It's a Small world. Mike even got her to ride Pirates of the Caribbean!

Disneyland Part 1

We got to Disneyland around 10 in the morning. The park opened at 9 am with no early entrance because the the night before they were open 24 hours. It didn't seem that crowded with the longest wait time for any ride we rode being 30 min. so I think maybe a bunch of people went the day or even night before. We heard people all night outside our hotel so I think the 24 hour opening was popular. The weather was beautiful with a high of 70 and sunny.

Lizzy met some of her favorite characters, took pictures, and got autographs. At Disneyland City Hall Lizzy got a birthday pin and 1st visit pin. All the employees and characters wished Lizzy a happy Birthday when they would see her pin.

Lizzy loved the parade. I think this was her favorite show that day. She is still talking about it.

Lizzy's favorite ride was the mad tea party tea cups. Our blue tea cup won for being the fastest on our ride!

By the end of the night Lizzy was pretty tired but she stuck it out and watched the fireworks. I think Lizzy was happy she stuck it out and got to see lots of fireworks and Tinkerbell flying around the night sky.

I'll post some more random Lizzy/Disneyland pictures in part 2 of this post to come. We had a good time on our first trip to Disneyland. There's still so much we didn't see I'm sure we'll be back by Lizzy's 5th birthday if not sooner. Before Disneyland I had thoughts about how horrible the long lines with a toddler might be, the crowds, and the amount of money we would spend but I can say now it's worth it. Magical.