At the Lake

I took Lizzy to a park by the lake where there are ducks and geese. She loves to feed Bella so I thought we could feed the ducks but the geese are so pushy when it comes to food that I didn't want Lizzy to get trampled by any of them so we stopped feeding them and Lizzy just walked after them and occasionally yelled "Bella" (she thinks any animal is Bella)

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Making Music

Thoughts

It has been raining here this week, it's been a rainy and steamy couple of months here in Houston which has made it a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes which love Lizzy so we have tried to stay inside as much as we can. Lizzy loves to be out in nature and it's hard to have to keep her inside.

We recently cancelled our cable. Mostly because we don't really watch T.V. anymore since we've had Lizzy. Lizzy is actually the only one who watches T.V. and see only watches yo gabba gabba. No matter what other kids show we put on she is not interested in anything but yo gabba gabba. Mike and I actually like yo gabba gabba and see no problem with her watching it but we definitely don't want the T.V. to be the center of our home. As a family we would like to be more active and engaged with nature and relationships in the moment rather than distractions.

Checking my facebook and e-mail are my distraction. I only check them a few times during the day but when I do Lizzy starts crying. She makes it very clear she does not want me on the computer. As a parent I need to give her my attention, no object (phone, computer, game) is more important than relationships and I need to show her that. I have decided to cancel my facebook account and not use the computer when Lizzy is present.

There is so much beauty in simple childhood and the journey of parenthood that I've decided to be totally engaged in that beauty from now on.

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Happy Birthday to Grandma "Abi"

Lizzy having lunch with her "Abi" for her birthday. Here she is coloring with crayons.

Lizzy the "wiggler" with Family

Dazzleberry Lemonade and Frozen Lemon Treats

To cool us down after a hot day I made dazzleberry lemonade and from the lemon shells I made frozen lemon treats. Lizzy loves lemons so I knew she would enjoy this treat. Dazzleberry lemonade is a drink they made on the yo gabba gabba show Lizzy watches, it's lemonade with mixed berries added.
The frozen lemon treats are hollowed out lemons then just pour lemonade and a small berry into the shell and freeze. An hour later you have a refreshing frozen treat!

Here is Lizzy enjoying it

To the park

It was a hot day today but we had to get Lizzy out to run around.

Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin Activity

We made rainbow rice for Lizzy to play with in her sensory bin. This is how you make it, 4 squirts of alcohol hand sanitizer, 4 drops of food coloring of choice, and 2 to 3 cups of rice in a large ziplock bag then just shake it up and it's ready. It dries instantly and the coloring stays on the rice.

Lizzy helping shake the bag.

After naptime, Lizzy awoke to this to play with:

Fun but messy, the rice got everywhere but it wasn't anything the vacuum couldn't handle. Overall, it was a good activity.

Beautiful Day at the Beach

Going out

I found this little purse for Lizzy to play with and she loves it! She puts it on and acts like she's going out.

Breakfast with Lizzy

Lizzy had a bagel for breakfast and I put the teeniest bit of cream cheese on it and somehow she managed to get that all over her face. She didn't seem to mind.

Painting Rainbow Sea Shells

These seashells were a little plain so we decided to paint them!

Lizzy used watercolor to paint them and a big paint brush.

She did really well until she put the paintbrush in her mouth. This activity was pretty fun and the sea shells turned out nice.

Right now the small basket of sea shells is displayed next to our nature table. I plan to use these shells in a mosaic in the future.

Car Ride

Here is Lizzy on her way to Barnes and Noble. She loves books and there were a lot of them but she was much more interested in the other people there.

Saturday Moments

Today we took it slow and went out for lunch, then errands at Target the rest of the time we hung out at home. Here are some pictures from today:

Practical Life: Dusting

Lizzy found this duster while I was organizing the cleaning closet and she got right to work. She's pretty good at dusting, daddy was sneezing all evening! Now that I have a little helper we will be dusting more often.

Christian's Baptism

Christian was Baptized July 14, 2010 at Grace Community Church here is a video:

Lizzy: Lover of Life and all its Experiences

Today I am doing a post on Lizzy's personality for our followers who see Lizzy in pictures posted here and wonder what she is like.

To put it simply I would say Lizzy is a lover of life and all its experiences. In more detail Lizzy is an explorer; she is the one at the playground that darts out into every which direction towards whatever catches her eye. To me she seems fearless and confident in everything she choses to do or explore. With this personality she's into everything at home and wherever we go. Even though she gets into trouble most the time I allow her to have the most freedom she can have without getting hurt and I treat her like a big girl. I love how she is fearless and confident!

Lizzy appears to be a wild child but she loves routines and knowing what's next. We keep a daily routine where everything is for the most part predictable and anytime we deviate from our routine Lizzy will have trouble sleeping that night. She loves rhymes and stories where she knows what comes next. She loves peek a boo and playing with the jack in the box. Her favorite toys are toys that give results like stacking toys.

Lizzy is very social she will go up to anyone and play with them. She also loves to draw a crowd when we are out, if a cashier gives her attention she will pull out all her cutesy tricks like blowing kisses, waving, clapping, and of course her big smile. Lizzy is also very attached to me, if she gets the feeling I am leaving her with someone she gets anxious otherwise she is very social and happy with most people.

Lizzy is truly a lover of life she loves anything new we do, she loves to be outside, and she loves crowds. She always want to be on the go and doing new things. Momma and Dada are just trying to keep up with our little energetic baby girl.

Bread Making: Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This past weekend I made some cinnamon raisin bread using this recipe. It was pretty easy to make as this recipe didn't call for much kneading but the loaf didn't rise as much as the bread I made in the past so next time I think I will knead a little more or let it rise in a warmer area perhaps. In any case the bread turned out good and now we have raisin bread with our coffee in the evenings.