I think we started Tot School...

I mentioned in a recent previous post that I was considering starting Tot School with Baby J and I think we are almost there! We just put new shelves up in our playroom and it's currently "under construction" to rearrange the furniture, and organize all of the tot school materials. I think the room should be ready to go after the weekend.

So, I'm not sure if I can say that we have been doing "proper" Tot School this week, but we have been doing lots of fun new learning activities...which really is the whole point of Tot School, so maybe we are doing it? We are not yet focusing on a specific topic, but rather just exposing Baby J to a variety of colors, textures, and materials. He seems to really be enjoying it! As we get further into this adventure, we will start having more focused activities.

Some of the highlights of what we have been up to:

I went to Target earlier today (what else is new?!) and I was browsing the dollar bins, and found these super cute play dough cookie cutter things for $1. I obviously couldn't resist such a great deal haha, and decided to make play dough when I got home.

I followed this recipe. To be honest, I didn't like the smell of the dough from the cream of tartar and will definitely leave it out next time. I used food dye and it turned out a very pale bluish-green. I really thought it was going to be a big hit with Baby J....uhhhh, no.

To say he hated it would be very strong...but he strongly disliked the play dough. He touched it a few times, then he decided he was disgusted by it. The faces he made were pretty funny. He would stick his finger in it, then look at me in a sort-of horrified way. He did pick the cookie cutters out of it to play with though.

While I was cleaning up, I put the dough in Ziploc bags, and he did like to squish the play dough behind the protective barrier of the plastic bag. I will try again another day to see if he has a better relationship with the playdough :) I'll probably alter the recipe to make it a little less sticky, and better smelling.

Another fun activity we tried was a sand sensory bin. This one he actually really liked! The marble floors at Grandma's house did NOT appreciate this activity, and Grandma has requested that we do such future activities outside hahaha. As you can see in the pictures below, Baby J got really into the sand and shells. He was swishing the sand side-to-side and it was flying all over the place!! He picked up the shells and other sea items to inspect them further. Overall, this activity definitely got the Baby J stamp of approval! :)

More to come!!!

As always, thanks for reading :) 

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He finally said it!

So, Baby J will be 11 months old next week. SO crazy and hard to believe.

He has been babbling and talking up a storm lately. Back at the end of April he said his first word, and of course it was "dada". I was totally expecting that he would say dada first because every time my husband gets home from work or walks into the room I always make a huge deal about it "There's Daddyyyyy!!"

What I didn't expect was that he would say "hi" and "dog" next, and so many other baby babbles before actually saying "mama"....I was actually prepared for him to say "hippopotamus" before he said "mama" hahaha :)

Two days ago I put him in his pack n play for a minute so I could grab something from a hall closet, and I heard (loud and clear!!) "mamamamamaaa"!!!!!! So exciting! All of my hard work has finally paid off ;)

Go, Baby, Go!

Just for laughs :)

As always, thanks for reading! :)

Fun Friday Blog Hop

Welcome to another fun Friday blog hop party!

First of all, we would like to thank you all for linking up every week.

Every week we will choose two bloggers and will be the recipient of our certified blog hopper award.

We will put the button of the chosen two bloggers on our side bar for ONE MONTH.

Free advertisement for one month, isn't that awesome?

There's only one thing that we request is you should be a follower.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE HOSTS and Co-HOST via GFC or BLOGLOVIN

If you would like to be a co-host,  email me at thepinkmommablog@yahoo.com

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Hosts:

  

GFC | BLOGLOVIN

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Meet our Co-host for this week

Melissa of The Eyes of a Boy

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HappyFamily Organic Superfoods Review and Giveaway!!

Yesterday my playgroup had a cute little lunch event at a very yummy local pizza place. The restaurant reserved a back room for us, so all of the moms and kids could be have lunch together. (Somehow none of us took any pictures?!? Which is really weird...) Anyway, I am really lucky that one of my playgroup moms is a HappyFamily representative. She agreed to have HappyFamily sponsor the play date! So, all of the kids got some delicious samples to take home and the moms got coupons to buy more! There was also a raffle for more FREE HappyFamily products for one of the playgroup moms...and I am happy to announce that HappyFamily is offering the same giveaway to my awesome blog readers! Yay :)

HappyFamily's blog coordinator sent me a bunch of free trial coupons to pick up my products to review for all of my readers, so Baby J and I went to Target earlier and it's safe to say that he ate half of the bag of Happy Munchies rice cakes before we even left the store! I guess he really liked them! :) I admit I snacked on a few, too...and they are quite good!

All of the HappyFamily goodies we picked up!

When we got home from Target it was already dinner time. Baby J ate one of the Toddler Meal Bowls I picked up. It was Organic Chicken, Quinoa, and Vegetables. He took one bite, then started banging on the high chair tray for more!! He really liked this one! It is healthy, organic and packaged in a BPA free container...I will definitely be picking up more Toddler Meal Bowls for him.

Toddler Meal Bowl - Organic Chicken, Quinoa, and Vegetables

After he finished the meal bowl, I gave him a few Happy Yogis yogurt and fruit snacks to try (he has quite the appetite, apparently) and I couldn't get them on his tray fast enough! He was shoving them in his mouth and devouring them! They also get the Baby J stamp of approval!! :)

Baby J eating Happy Yogis - yum!

Tomorrow morning we will try one of the Happy Tot pouches...and I'm sure he will love that, too. Overall, Baby J (and mommy, too!!) is very impressed with the HappyFamily line of products. They are delicious and nutritious...made with quality organic ingredients and packaging...what more can you ask for when feeding your child?!

Now for the giveaway!! :)

The winner of this raffle will receive: (drumroll, please!!)

TWO FREE TRIAL (you pay $0) COUPONS EACH PRODUCT: 

2 Happy Yogis

2 Happy Tot Plus Pouches

2 Happy Toddler Meal Bowls

2 Happy Tot

AND

One Happy Family Recipes (Hard Copy) and one Happy Family Re-useable Tote!!

Total Approximate Value: $25

Raffle Starts at midnight 6/13/13 and runs through 6/20/13 when 1 (one) winner will be selected!

Goodluck, and as always, thanks for reading!! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Little Baby Picasso

This past week in South Florida was very wet and gloomy. A tropical storm came through which meant a lot of time was spent in the house...not our normal routine.

Yesterday, it finally stopped raining for a little while. When I opened the front door for Baby J and I to leave the house, he started clapping his hands! He was so excited that we were finally able to leave the house! Inevitably it did start raining again, but at least we got out for the day.

To keep busy over the few days that the weather wouldn't let us get out, I had to keep things interesting for Baby J. He is a very busy guy. He loves playing and laughing, and trying new activities. We tried finger painting for the first time and he got quite a kick out of it. At first when the paint got on his fingers he was like "hey, what is this stuff?" but quickly got the hang of painting.

Admittedly, he did try to eat the paint. At one point, he took the smock off and got paint everywhere. It was a fun time, and I am truly enjoying being this little ball of energy's mommy!!! Not to mention, he made some seriously awesome, frame-worthy, priceless works of art! :)

As always, thanks for reading!! :)

Ribbon Shaker Cup - Baby Sensory Toy

I came across this really cute ribbon shaker cup somewhere in my Pinterest travels, so I decided to make one for Baby J. It was pretty easy to do and he likes playing with it...success!

To make this you will need:

*Disposable coffee cup with lid (or other container with lid that you can easily poke holes through)

*Ribbons of different textures and widths

*Beads (or something similar to put inside cup to make noise)

*Cute colored paper to decorate the cup

*Tape

Travel Coffee Cup

I covered the cup in a polka dotted paper, then I poked holes through the cup, evenly through both sides.

Then, thread the ribbons through the cup and tie knots on each end of the ribbon so it can't slide out of the cup. Fill the cup with beads and secure the lid with tape. Viola! You're done! Share the fun with your baby :)

Thread ribbons through cup 

Add beads to cup

Baby J loved playing with the shaker cup and pulling the ribbons! Some of the ribbons were easy to pull, some required a little more effort, and made a little sound when they were pulled, which he liked. Have fun making one for your little one, too :)

As always, thanks for reading!! :)

Pediped Shoes Review & Giveaway

I was given the opportunity to review these fabulous Pediped shoes for Baby J, when I met the super sweet Pediped representative, Kelly, at the Big City Moms Baby Shower.

The adorable shoes that she sent to Baby J are the Pediped Originals Jett in Grey and Blue. Pediped's slogan is "The next best thing to bare feet" and this is so true! We have tried other brands of shoes for Baby J, and they are either too heavy, too stiff, or he just doesn't like them. However, the Pediped's were just right for his little baby feet!

Pediped Originals Jett

Happy Feet! :)

Easy to move and get around in my new Pediped shoes!

Baby J is starting to try to walk, and these shoes provide protection from the elements but also allow him to move his feet comfortably and with flexibility. They are made of suede and leather, and they are approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association for promoting healthy foot development, which is wonderful for developing little soles :)

In the pictures above, I put the Pediped shoes on Baby J while we were waiting for a doctor appointment, and he took off! He absolutely loved the shoes. He moved easily and quickly in his cute new Pediped's. 

Pediped Originals tread is slip resistant and crafted of high-quality, non-toxic leather that allows little toes to move, grip and feel the floor. This is so important for babies learning how to walk. 

Pediped offers a wide variety of shoes in many different colors and styles for boys and girls. I highly recommend these awesome shoes for your little one! You can visit their website at www.pediped.com to view all of the beautiful shoes they have to offer to your child.

Pediped is giving away a FREE PAIR of shoes to one of my readers!! Enter the raflle below to win! Good luck :) The winner gets to pick any ONE pair of shoes from the Pediped website for their child.

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