Pumpkin Patch

We took Princess C's class to a pumpkin patch yesterday and had a lot of fun.

Toddler Talk Thursday - Halloween Costumes

It's another Toddler Talk Thursday hosted by Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy About My Baybah, and The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom.

This weeks question:

What is your toddler going to be for Halloween?

Even though it's not quite Halloween yet, we had a little Halloween play date yesterday, and I got some pictures of our fairies

This one of Princess R has to be my favorite by far though!

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts.That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.
3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up.Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

4. If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

get the InLinkz code

This link up is for families that have toddlers.Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting.Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.

BookIt's Red Zone reading Challenge

I came across this challenge through some other blogs, and I was so excited!! Take the RED Zone challenge and "give me 20".  That's 20 minutes of reading aloud to your kids every day!!  For the most part we already do this, so to have a challenge to participate in, makes it even more fun. BookIt is featuring the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.

Once you've registered for the challenge, there are a bunch of fun snowmen related ideas, as well as free printables!! Sadly our printer is not working so Princess C and I got creative today and made ourselves a Mrs Frosty who will watch over our list of books each day!

Toddler Talk Thursday - Cold and Flu Season

Welcome to another Toddler Talk Thursday with Family and Life In Las Vegas, Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, and Crazy About My Baybah!

This weeks topic is

How do you help your toddler stay healthy during cold and flu season?

To be very straight forward, I don't do anything different. I don't like seeing my kids sick just as much as the next mom, but I don't go to any extreme's to keep my kids from getting sick. We wash our hands after using the bathroom or playing outside. But other than that, we just live! 

When we were first married King Daddy was always trying to get my to get a flu shot. I hate, I mean really do hate needles. I get close to panic attacks when I have to get poked, so there was no way I was going to voluntarily take a shot that wasn't absolutely needed.  The way I view it now that I have kids, is that I am strengthening their immune system. If they get sick, we take the neccessary steps to overcome the illness - lots of rest and fluid.  And we are stronger for it. I mean really, we haven't been horribly sick in a long time. I can't even remember the last time any of us were sick longer than 24 hours. 

I will not take my sick kids around other kids though, because that would just be rude. When we get sick, like I said, we take lots of rest and fluids. We also wash our hands (and whole bodies in some cases) more frequently to make sure we aren't spreading the sickies to anyone else.

On a side note, King Daddy did get a flu shot this year. He was at the dr's for another appointment and figured might as well. He had tons of fun showing off his Bugs Bunny bandaid to the Princesses.

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts.That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.

3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up.Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

4. If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

get the InLinkz code

This link up is for families that have toddlers.Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting. Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.



Toddler Talk Thursday - Reading

Welcome back to Toddler Talk Thursday (can I welcome myself back?).  The day of the week we talk all things toddler.

This weeks topic is:

What is currently your toddlers favorite book?

We have many. Reading is so fundamental to a child's development and growth, that we are always reading, and honestly it's a new book most nights.

Here is a list of some of our current finds and favorites!





Thanks for stopping by!

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts.That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.

3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up.Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

4. If you want to post the link up on your blog – please do! Maybe we can draw in more people to participate and share tips!!

get the InLinkz code

This link up is for families that have toddlers.Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting. Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.

Guest Post - Reading to your Children is Important!

Raising A Reader:

Literacy is The Foundation for Lifelong Learning

Submitted by Dan Gilbert, on behalf of Primrose Schools. Primrose is dedicated to delivering the highest quality early childhood education and supreme preschool services for families across the country.

Over the years, researchers have shown time and time again those children who are read to from infancy go on to experience greater academic success as they age. The key, apparently, is to help them love written language from an early age. Sharing books together in a loving environment is a great way to foster that. When children associate loving times and playfulness with books, it helps them develop an enthusiasm for reading that can't be squelched by boring school assignments or required reading. Starting in infancy, parents can make a habit of sharing books with children in order to foster their development.

Robert Needlman, M.D., author of Dr. Spock’s Baby Basics and member of the Primrose Schools Education Advisory Board, suggests that one of the most important things about nurturing a reader is to read with a child from a very early age.  Make time to read with your child in a regular basis, and start early.  It’s not enough to expect that the reading your child does at school or with their babysitters will be enough. It is also important for reading to be associated with the love and connection between parents and children. Children will be able to easily associate with this relationship.

Choosing quality books is another important part of helping make reading time special. Look specifically for books that have stimulating illustrations and simple, rhythmic language. If you find a book annoying or offensive, that energy will come through when you're reading it and tarnish the good times, so be sure to choose books you'll enjoy sharing with your children, especially since you'll probably be reading the same ones over and over again. Repetition is something kids enjoy and if your children don't think you're enjoying yourself then reading time won't be as fun. The goal is to keep it fun!

Here are some ideas offered by Primrose Schools for creating a fun reading environment and to start building a foundation for success for you little reader:

• Make sure kids have easy access to several developmentally appropriate books they can enjoy. 

• Read to children every day, encouraging active participation by allowing them to speak during the story and discuss the illustrations.

• Keep a selection of books in the car and in your bag for times when you find yourself waiting in line.

• Pay attention to the things your children are learning in school and visit the library regularly to check out books related to that theme.

• Point out written words in signs and on clothing, to help kids begin to develop sight reading skills, which can work with phonetic knowledge later on.

• Pay attention to the exciting developmental stages kids go through when they're learning to be literate. Rejoice with children as they memorize passages and retell stories even if they use their own words. These steps are part of the process for some kids and indicate a love of reading, which will bloom into full literacy as time goes on.

Just like learning to write, kids need a supportive environment for learning how to read. An environment where books are shared and loved sets the foundation for the mechanics of learning to read later in life. It's never too early to start sharing books with children. When children have an intimate knowledge of how stories work, it follows that a love of written language and a passion for literature will help develop lifelong habits of enjoying books which will serve as a foundation for educational success.

Busy busy busy!

Wow did life get busy and completely insane for awhile there!  I started watching some extra kids, but it became too stressful on my body to try and keep track of 5 kids practically the same age, plus get 3 of them to 2 different preschools, and Princess V and Princess C were starting dance again. I just couldn't do it. So I stopped.

A couple weeks ago we also had an emotional time as one of King Dad's students from last year died, and on the same day a good friend of mine lost her baby (just a few weeks further along then myself). I was in an emotional downspin, and blogging just wasn't on the list of things to do or needed to be done.

But I am back! After a wonderful General Relief Society Meeting, followed by LDS General Conference, and then a beautiful Sabbath today, I am here to say, life is good. Life goes on, and the sun is shining.  So here's a little update on all of the Princess'.

As I mentioned Princess V and Princess C started dance up again. It was Princess V's birthday present from Opah and Nana, and Princess C's (very early) birthday present. King Dad and I decided we would have Princess V take a pre-ballet class this year. She can be very focused and she tried very hard to do the things she is taught. Princess C, we put back in the same Children's 1 class.  She has a hard time focusing, and just loves movement, so this is going to be the best fit for her. We also think they will be able to personally thrive in separate classes.  After their first week, they are thrilled and so happy to be dancing again. It makes me happy that my parents saw their joy (and mine) and chose to do this for them.

On our way to Princess V's first class

Princess V has also started preschool at the local elementary school (there's a post about that). She is still enjoying it immensely and has begun to remember the other kids names. She loves seeing her friends every time we drop her off.

Princess C and I are doing a preschool Co-op. Some sisters in our ward got together and we put together a plan for our 3-4 year olds for preschool. Each week we take a turn teaching, co-teaching, and helping with the teachers extra kids (Princess R and Princess V from me).  It has been so much fun seeing these kids each week and their excitement to have their own class. Most of them have older siblings and you can tell they think this is such a special class just for them. The moms have all been amazing teachers, and we've really just had a lot of fun with it.

Princess R. What to say. She has a shoe fetish. I need to take more pictures of her and shoes, because it's just too cute. She can walk around in my size 9 flip flops without tripping, my Sunday heels, and all her sisters shoes. She can also be a bit of a pill. She is very domineering, and makes her older sisters cry about once a day.  She's still not talking words yet, besides mama dada uh uh and shhh, but we've learned pretty well what she needs and how she communicates. Any day now, those words are going to come out and never stop!  Oh and she is a big time Daddy's Girl! She gets so excited when daddy gets home, and when he has to leave she will cry for awhile because she wants to go too! 

Baby #4. Have I mentioned I'm pregnant? I'm about 14-15 weeks along right now. We have found an amazing doctor, who I couldn't be more pleased with. I know each and every time we have just happened on a doctor, no referral, we have been blessed to have some wonderful people in our lives. We don't know the gender of baby 4 yet, but Princess V is convinced it is her brother, and has even prayed that it will be a brother and asked Heavenly Father if she can name it ___.  It's so cute. I personally feel that this one is going to be our little boy. I knew with the last 3 that they were going to be girls, but this one feels boy. We'll know next month hopefully!