They're Only Young Once

Time seems to be flying by!  I can't believe that Mary Scott is going to be two in just a couple of weeks.  This time is so precious to me, and I have been so convicted lately to make sure that I have no regrets and give Mary Scott the best of me that she can be given.  God has blessed our family with the ability for me to be able to stay home with her part-time, and I plan on using that time wisely.  Kevin and my number one priority is to raise her to become a Godly woman, and I think an important part of that is letting her be a child.  I hate how fast children have to grow up in our society, and how quickly media bombards them.  I want her to enjoy the simple things in life, and to be able to "have fun" without the use of the TV, iPAD, phone, etc.  My goal is to try and do some type of fun and special activity at home with her, and to do one recipe with her a week.  I want her to learn through experience not through me forcing rote memorization down her throat.  I think parents can often get so concerned with how "smart" their chid is, and doesn't just let them be kids.  I just want her to be a happy well rounded kid who can get along with others.
 This week, when we did her water table I put in colored ice that was in the shape of stars.  We made the frozen stars for a kid's drink for our Olympics party, but I forgot to bring them out.  She had a blast putting them in the water, and she had an even better time eating the ice!  This was such an easy way to make the water table even more fun, and to talk about colors.

   Putting the Ice cubes in the water

This girl loves ice!  She was so excited when I brought this out.  I love the joy in her face!  She reminds me daily to find pleasure in the simple things.

One of the plusses of teaching special ed. is that you find all kind of cool things that are fabulous for preschool aged kids.  At school we have a computer program that provides us thousands of pictures of pretty much anything imaginable that we use to help children who are non-verbal be able to communicate through the use of pictures.  Before school got out, I went and downloaded and printed recipes that I had done with my kids at school, and some other recipes I found on the share sight.  They are wonderful, and provide so many great learning opportunities.  Mary Scott loves helping me in the kitchen, and the pictures really let her help, and let me teach her about recipes.

 Today we made Cinnamon Apple Muffins

 Stirring the Eggs

 Still stirring!

 I made her her own recipe book, and I put the recipes in page protectors, so that she can mark off the ingredients as we put them in the bowl with a dry erase marker.

 This is great for her fine motor skills, labeling, and sequencing

She helped me put the mix into the muffin tins- Can you tell?

She is so proud of herself when she cooks, and there are so many things that I can "teach" her while we are doing this, but we are having a great time and she doesn't even know she is learning.  This is some of my favorite time to spend with her (no matter how much of a mess she makes).  I can clean my house when she is 18, and she has moved out.  Until then, I am going enjoy every minute I have with her!  If you want to find some of these picture recipes you can google Recipes with Pictures for Children, and you should be able to find some.

Blueberries, Babies, and a Big Girl Bed

Blueberries
We have been busy lately.  I am trying to enjoy my last few days of full-time summer with Mary Scott! Last Saturday, we went and picked blueberries at Blueberry Hill in Lexington.  It was only 10 minutes from our house, and it was fantastic.  Mary Scott had a blast picking apples, grapes, strawberries, I mean blueberries.  We kept asking Mary Scott what we were picking and we got one of these 4 fruits each time, and then on the way home asked to go pick more apples! ha.

                   Carrying her bucket that blueberries did NOT get in because they all went in her mouth.

 Feeding daddy some blueberries

Babies
Mary Scott is OBSESSED with babies.  Real babies or baby dolls it doesn't matter.  She has two babies who she has named Lindsay (after a girl at daycare) and Katy (after Muah!  I will remember this when she is 15 and says she can't stand me).  We treat them like real people and they are included in all of our activities.  They get fed, read to, potty, and do everything else we do.  It is so cute the way Mary Scott talks to them and shows them things, and makes Kevin and I treat them like they are alive.  We even have to kiss them goodnight!
We also got to go meet a real live new baby this week at the Vitters' house.  Mary Scott couldn't wait to go to "Hannah's" house and meet Hayden.  He was so cute, and Mary Scott loved talking to him and getting near him.  She also loved their beautiful new house and playing with all of Hannah's baby dolls.  

                                                             Sweet Baby Hayden

                                     Baby Katy and Mary Scott eating- notice they are "sharing" the plate
Big Girl Bed
Kevin and I surprised Mary Scott with a big girl bed after she and I went to see my parents and grandma.  She is thrilled with her big girl bed, and has done great transitioning so far.

              Such a big girl!