Pumpkin Patch-Take 1

Each month our MOPS table is to get together for a play date.  This month we met up at a local pumpkin patch.  Olivia LOVED it!  The plan is to go to the pumpkin patch as a family as well.  Hopefully that will happen (and if it does, you will see pictures), but here is some of our fun day.

We got there a little early, so I let Olivia roam the front area while we waited for others to arrive.

Excuse the awkward pose.  This is her saying "Down! Down!" She wasn't interested in sitting on any bales of hay!

This farm charges a flat rate to get in, and then part of your admission is food for the animals, a small pumpkin, and a hay ride.  

We came to the longhorn first, and let's just say I wasn't too keen on the idea of Olivia OR myself feeding it.  She is really into animals and animal noises though, so seeing the "cow" was fun for her.

She was a little overwhelmed at first.  I don't think she knew what was going on.  But by the time we rounded the corner and met up with the goats, she was ALL about it.  Only... she kept calling them doggies. :)

She did feed the goats, but I didn't get a picture of that. I was trying to help her (she didn't understand how to hold her hand out flat), keep the goats from munching on her fingers, and hold the cup of feed.  Hopefully when we go back we can get some pictures.

We picked the perfect pumpkin.  Then she called it a ball and threw it. Luckily it didn't crack open!

People tell us all the time, "She's a thinker". :)

While some of the bigger kids were roping a fake longhorn, she decided to wander over and find the real deal.

Getting ready to go through the hay maze

Hayride

Of course the ONLY rule was to stay seated.  Olivia was not loving sitting on the hay OR sitting on my lap.  She eventually ended up sitting on the bed of the truck and that made her happy.  Whatever works!

87 degrees doesn't scream fall to me, but it was a fun little outing nonetheless. :)

Fall Sensory Bin

I have been waiting to break out this sensory bin for a while now.  You know how all the stores have holiday stuff 3 and 4 months before it's even necessary?  Well, I started collecting a few items from Hobby Lobby when they were having a fall sale.  I waited patiently until October rolled around and we could have a little fall fun.

I used a tub I already had.  I was looking for some raw corn, but was having difficulty finding it, so I ended up buying some cheap (non buttery!) popcorn.  Most of the other stuff I either had, or came from Hobby Lobby.

She knew right what to do.

The acorns were bells

One of the bags of pumpkins came with this raffia in it and she was NOT a fan!

Exploring

And, of course, the items ended up in a nice neat row around her.

(I'm not going to lie... I was a little happy that it was one of each color!)

 

Something HAD to go in the mouth...

I had to show her how to play with the corn. Then I had to remind her repeatedly that it was to be dropped back in the bucket and not on the carpet.

Glitter leaves!

I showed her that if you rub two together it makes a scratchy sound.

She decided to give it a try.

We also rolled the ceramic pumpkins like dice to hear their sound.

We clanked the wood pumpkin pieces together.

We rang the acorn bells--both individually and as a group to hear the different sounds.

Out of all of our "learning" times, this was the one I was looking forward to most.

I probably put the most time (not much) and money (not much) into this one.

However, Olivia spent the least amount of time on it.  Ha! Isn't that how it goes?

We played for maybe 15 minutes and then she was over it.

I busted the bucket out again this past weekend and got a similar response.

I plan to do stuff with it once a week up until Thanksgiving....after that it will be time for a Christmas one, of course! :)

Project 366: Week 42

288. She was still a little sick on last Sunday...and contagious, so we were stuck at home. She was debating on whether or not she wanted to knock the tower over.  Usually we can't even get it built before she has it knocked over.

289. We met our MOPS table at the pumpkin patch. She picked her pumpkin.  Then she called it a ball and threw it. Excellent.

290. She LOVES this bead toy from IKEA. Best $8 ever! :)

291. Green monster after nap.  Mmmm

292. "I'm cute and funny and I know it"

293. Rocking a pony tail.  We were getting ready to head out the door to The Little Gym and she wouldn't let me put her down, so this was the best shot I could get.

294. I went to a few garage sales with a friend, so Olivia and daddy were hanging out.  They had a little play time on the front porch. She loves her ball.

Fine Motor Practice-Buttons

About two weeks ago I gave Olivia some large buttons and a puffs bottle with a slit cut in the middle of the lid.  She wasn't sure what to do, so I showed her how to drop the button in the bottle.  All it took was one time and she was good to go.  (I might have waited a little too long to try this activity?)

Even though I wasn't really challenging her or "teaching" her something new, she seemed to really enjoy it.  She kept going until every single button was gone.  Then we did it again.

After doing it twice, she brought it to me to take the lid off.  (She saw me do that after the first time.)

I took the lid off and let her have it.  She then took each button out of the bottle and put them back in the bowl.

Once again, we spent over a half hour on this project.

We also did this activity again this last weekend when Michael was home.  Olivia enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Project 366: Weeks 40 & 41

274. Good Morning!

275. She like to walk around with her Little People in her mouth.

276. She had just woken up from a nap.  We were sitting on the floor having a snack and reading a book.  I tried to take a picture of us, but someone was being a little difficult.

277.  I was trying to get a picture of her in her cute outfit before MOPS, but she just wanted to show me her "oggie".

278.  Mmm... books taste so good!

279.  We met Michael out and when we got home, we were waiting for him in the parking lot. (He has to park around the corner.)  She was so proud of her freedom.  She went running up and down the street (we are on a dead end) yelling "BOPPA!!" over and over.

280. Fish face

281. She has decided she now HATES to sit in shopping carts and will throw a fit.  After wrestling her in this one, she was having a little meltdown.  I chose to ignore this behavior (usually works) and when she quieted down, I looked over and she was just chilling. Reclined... arm up... goof! :)

282. I wanted to see if her hat from last year fit.  It's a size 6 to 12 months (remember...she has a big head!), but it was big last year so I thought we might have a chance.  Once I put it on, she didn't want to take it off.

283. Pretty girl!

284. Goof ball!

285. She started acting a little "off" part of Wednesday, but by Thursday she was full on sick. She had a 102.5 fever and was just not having a great day.  I treated it with motrin, as much fluid as I could get in her, cuddles, and lots of rest.

286. Friday morning she woke up with the same fever. I called the doctor and we got in to see someone that afternoon. They did a strep test, which came back negative.  They tried to do a urine analysis (cathing her), but she had lost her appetite and had refused to drink.  They took blood and sent it out, but didn't have much else to say. They were closing, so we got the "give her motrin and fluids" talk and sent on our way.  She had a rough night and woke up at 3:30 with a rectal temp of 105. We immediately headed to the ER.  They took a urine sample, flu swab and re-tested her for strep.  Turned out she DID have strep after all.  We got home Saturday morning at 6:30 with some penicillin and McDonald's pancakes! :)

287.  She had good and bad moments on Saturday.  This was one of the better moments (where the motrin was in full effect).  She was "helping" me sort the laundry...she did this all on her own. :)

Project 366: Weeks 38 & 39

Yeah, clearly this project was meant for me...

260.  We took a walk around the "neighborhood"

261. Silly girl

262. Playing with her Little People Barn.  She loves farm stuff right now--animal sounds, singing Old MacDonald, her farm book, her farm puzzle....

263. Pretty girl

264. Enjoying some corn on the cob

265.  We went to someones house for a play date and she continually tried to climb into the buddy car.  I am on the look out for a cheap used one.  She loves it.  This isn't the best picture, but I couldn't get one with her being still!  Funny--the play date was with 3 other 15 month old girls.  2 of which go to daycare, so were a little rougher. (This is nothing against daycare.  Just a fact.  Even one of the mom's kept saying  her daughter was a "bully".)  After getting roughed up and pushed around a couple of times, Olivia wised up.  One of them tried to take a toy out of her hand and she held on tight and said, "No Ma'am!!!".  I could not help but laugh out loud!!

266.  I had a rummage sale one Saturday morning so Michael had Olivia.  When it was over, I called to say I was on my way.  Turns out Michael had taken Olivia to the pet store (awww!).  It's close to our house, so I met them there.  Once I got there, they had already looked at all the animals and Olivia was as happy as can be taking cat food off of the shelf and putting it back.

267. Chillin

268. Loving her green monster!

269. Here, have a hippo.

270. She LOVES bananas.  I will hold and peel and she will eat them like a big person.  This is her being a "chubby bunny" with banana in her mouth.

271.  "It's too early for pictures, mom!"

272.  Snacking!  Michael thinks it's so cute when she sits up on the ottomon like this.

273.  I love this picture.  It's hard to see, but they have the same expression!  Michael went over to my old bosses house to get our stuff out of storage.  When he came back, I was trying to help him unload the truck.  This proved hard with Olivia, who kept trying to escape the garage.  She was already wet and dirty, so when we were done, I took off her (all leather!) shoes and let her play in a rain puddle.  (The water isn't dirty.  The ground under the rain puddle is stained.)

Two more collages coming tomorrow........ 4 is too much for one blog post! :)

Sensory Play-Pom Poms

A few weeks ago we had some sensory play with pom poms.  I originally got them (a while ago!) to make sensory bottles, but in the move I wasn't sure where my glue gun went.  So I figured we'd just play with the pom poms on their own.

At first I just gave her a muffin tin and a bowl of pom poms and waited to see what she would do.

At first she took them out one at a time, inspected them, and then began making a circle around her.

This was no surprise to me, since both of her parents are lovers of organization and order. :)

I tried to show her about putting one in the muffin tin, but she wasn't interested.  She just kept taking them out of the bowl, laying them on the ground, and every once in a while putting one back in the bowl.

Then she started sharing with me.

Next, I filled up the tin with pom poms and handed her a spoon.

After a little fun with the spoon, I tried to give her a scoop.  This only lasted for a few minutes and then she went back to using the spoon.

This activity lasted over a half hour.  She probably would have kept playing and exploring, but she started pulling the sparkly tinsel out of the pom poms and that was game over for me. :)