Blast from the past - CASADI Video

The other day Sarah posted a bit of a blast from the past for her Polkadots Blog post! I had totally forgotten about these photos, and it made me have such a good laugh! And now I really want to see the video footage again of this video we made for Caydence and Delta! It was quite fun to see all of this again, so I thought I would share her post here!...

"Recently i stumbled upon this photo that totally makes me LAUGH OUT LOUD and brings back so many funny memories! Let me give you a little bit of back ground on how we came to be doing random poses in this photo while wearing WEIRD green costumes and head bands with matching leg warmers (clearly we didnt have a stylist for these photos,lol).......

So way before the "The Polkadots" Carly, Dionne and i spent  most of our High school and teenage years together... actually thats an almighty understatement, we were joined at the hips! The Three Musketeers! All for one and one for all! We went everywhere together, did everything together, Sang, Danced, Learned and Played together. We shared each others families, siblings, clothes, friends, boyfriends (lol) and even toothbrushes... Yes we were THAT TIGHT! People would always ask us if we were sisters, so much so that we decided we would just tell them that we were....  although we arent "blood sisters" our friendship is forever and we are totally "SISTAS!"

After High school we each got married, Dionne and i had our first little babies, Carly was the best aunty ever and the three of us still maintained our "Musketeer" status."

The Three Musketeers

Untill one day Carly decided that she wanted to be a big girl and explore the world with her husband and her CAMERA. Naturally Dionne and i tried to come up with every excuse as to why we should go too, but it wasnt to be. We werent happy about the seperation but knew how much Carly  loved learning and exploring so we reluctantly let her go, on one condition. Before her depature we had to make a video of Carly reading fun childrens stories, singing songs and dancing so that she could still be an active aunty to Caydence (My daughter) and Delta (Dionnes daughter) who at that time were 6 months old. So we spent a couple of days filming and dressing up in silly costumes singing songs, dancing, reading books and playing funny games in front of a camera so that Caydence and Delta could watch and learn form their Aunty Carly while she was away on her overseas adventure.

CASADI - CArly, SArah, DIonne

We named the video CA-SA-DI (Pronounce Cassidy) which are the first two letters of each of our names (CArly, SArah, DIonne) The video was so amatuer and silly but so so funny to me and it totally served its purpose for Caydence and Delta and was actually really effective, so much so that a few years later we became Musketeers of a different kind.... "THE POLKADOTS"

That is one fabulous pose!

Caydence and Delta helping us with "Story time with Aunty Carly"

Caydence and Delta - The stars of the "Bath Tub song"

I will definately follow this BLOG up with a VLOG (video blog) of some of the footage from CASADI. I may have to get written consent from Dionne and Carly first tho : )

And don’t forget to participate in our new contest, “A Polkadottie Musical!” going on now through to March 23rd! Winner gets an animated ebook created by Mr. Bop! For more details click here

EXPLORATION BASKET

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about Ashton's basket of toys and how we changed the contents to have a theme or focus to try and keep things interesting. We started by going on a hunt to find any and all toys or objects wooden, and Ashton really enjoyed playing with the new contents of his toy basket. Eventually though, his interest and attention levels did drop and the flinging of toys out of the basket soon became the object of his focus.

So we mixed it up again, we went and found lots of different types of ribbon and material to fill his basket. Ashton thought it was great as we rummaged through Grandma's sewing drawers to find off cuts to fill the basket, he was pulling them out faster than I could collect them!

He loved exploring and playing with the new basket contents and again, his play and focus slowed down. He loved pulling the velcro apart with me and hearing the noise it made. He discovered elastic, which gave him a little bit of a fright as it pinged back at him when he decided to pull back on it while it was in his mouth... yet still anchored down with both hands!... I tried to warn him! His favourite of all was the silky ribbons, as Ashton has a bit of an obsession with tags and soft pieces of material!

So the basket change up has become and will continue to be a regular happening for Ashton and I... it keeps things interesting for him in discovering new objects to play with and classify as we select different themes... And it keeps me on my toes, watching his play to see what he is interested in and to observe when he wants to change things up. Our most recent basket change up has been a 'technology' theme, with the basket full of remote controls, a camera, old CD's, a microphone and other techno wonderful gadgets!

A REALLY MASSIVE TOY MOBILE!

Today I might have just taken my "Polkadotty Mummy" status to another level by creating my craziest contraption ever! I had an idea in my head and I knew what I wanted to achieve. . . and in a way it came out better than expected, but when I look at it more and more, I just can't help but giggle! So, here it is...

Yes, it is very innovative... Its a really massive toy mobile, that doesn't break! and before you go laughing your head off at my amazing kiwi ingenuity !!! Let me just give you the story behind the concept.

Ashton loves watching the mobile going around while he is in his cot, but he loves it so much that often he gets a bit excited and starts to reach for it. With this enthusiasm he has now broken two mobiles! We have no more!!! So I wanted to channel this enthusiasm or desire to

catch the objects as they moved around as I think it is a great little activity to develop hand-eye co ordination, and lately Ashton has been very focused on developing that skill.

So the idea behind doing this home made, massive, toy mobile was to give Ashton something to play with that would have objects moving around him that he could track and try and catch! Of which he did... and enjoyed... so all I can say is... "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" ;o)

ICE ICE BABY

The way this activity with exploring ice evolved was a little unusual. . . but learning often happens in the most unexpected places. . . and that is why my moto, along with Polkadots is "Make every moment a teaching moment." You have to be ready when to grab each moment of interest with your child, because thats when they will really be paying attention!

So this morning when I was getting my meat out of the freezer for dinner, Ashton managed to reach out and place his hand on the frozen package, (still wrapped in plastic I might add.) Usually, he would start to bang and pull at the object of his focus, this time was different though, once his hand came down, it stayed there, flat on the icy surface and then slowly he raised his head up with big wide eyes to meet our gaze. This was obviously something quite different to anything he had ever touched before.

Ashton didn't want to stop touching the frozen meat, but seeing I didn't think this was the best toy or object to play with. I put the meat away and got out two ice cubes and put them on his high chair tray. His reaction to the ice cubes was just as priceless! He dived down to pick up the little cube and immediately he stopped, cold ;o) in his tracks and just held it still in his hand (as you can see in the photo below... love it when I capture the moment!)

From then on Ashton was intrigued with the ice cubes, chasing them around his tray as everything became more slippery with the cubes melting and leaving more water. This was also exciting for him to find more water appearing on his tray to splash around in.

Getting a closer look. (What this photo doesn't portray are the quiet groan that he was doing while he held it... Like, "Um this is really cold, why can't I feel my fingers.")

Once the ice was all melted I decided to let Ashton explore a little bit of contrast from the freezing cold ice cubes and brought a little bowl of warm water to his chair. Seeing the water, he went to splash around straight away, but when he felt the warm water he went still again and just left his hand submerged there for a few seconds... as if he was just letting his body enjoy the 'defrost!'

We both had so much fun exploring the ice and warm water, so we are going to explore it again tomorrow... just with a slight twist! Stay tuned!

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE... SOMETHING WOODEN

One of Asthon's favourite things to do at the moment is empty toys from his toy basket. Fun huh! Basically once it is put in front of him, it is a race for him to see how quickly he can unload his toys. I had three theories as to why he was doing this. . . a.) he was exploring his motor skills of 'grab and throw'. b.) he was bored of the toys he has been playing with in there for the past week or so. Or c.) he was just testing out his destructive powers.

I would like to give Ashton the benefit of the doubt and think his motive was option A or B. If it was option A then he is going to continue doing this act no mater what i do. If it is B then I came up with the idea of changing one or two of the toys every other day, and it was amazing to see how observant and aware of this he was. As he was going through his basket emptying as son as he came across the new toy or object he would stop and have a good inspect of it and then continue playing with it.

So I thought I would take Ashton's basket of toys to a different level, instead of just having an assortment of all sorts of random toys we were going to find all toys and objects made of 'WOOD!'

We started by taking our basket out and went on a 'Wood Hunt'. As we walked around I chanted "I spy with my little eye something... wooden." While we walked and chanted we touched all the objects we passed until we found something wooden. Although Ashton probably was unaware as to the specific reason or purpose of our hunt he loved walking around touching and exploring all of the different surfaces!

Once we had found lots of different wooden objects to fill our toy basket we brought the basket back to the room to play with and it was amazing to see how much Ashton's play and exploration of the objects in the basket slowed down. He took each object out one by one and really took his time with it! We have been playing with the wooden toy basket for one week now and he is only just starting to get back into his 'grab and throw' routine! Maybe its time to go on a 'Plastic Hunt!'

BUBBLE, BUBBLE, BUBBLE... POP!

I couldn't have asked for a better response from Ashton as we explored bubbles this morning! His reaction to the bubbles appearing and floating down in front of him was just as magical as the bubbles themselves are!

I have been wanting to explore bubbles with Ashton for a while now but kept forgetting to buy any solution or a bubble wand while we were out. So today I decided that I would be a resourceful mother and make my own bubble wand out of a tin can with both ends cut out and then made my own mixture (after looking up a recipe online).

It took a bit of experimenting, trial and error to begin with to get the solution right, but once we got things moving, right from the first bubble Ashton was following the bubbles around the room, with his mouth open with awe! (Which he quickly found wasn't the best idea when the bubble pop right above you! You get a mouthful of bubble spray!)

Ashton's automatic response to the bubbles was to reach out and with an almost reverent approach would try to touch them, as if knowing they would pop when he touched them. The first few times when the bubbles did pop either before he could get to them, or when he touched them he gave a slight jump, surprised at the little splatter they gave off as they burst. But this did not stop him being eager for more, actually would get quite antsy with me when I didn't produce them fast enough!

I just love this photo below! It totally captures his wonder for the bubble!

WATER PLAY FUN!

Nothing is more relaxing, yet at the same time more exciting than playing with water... for a child under 5! Well this is the case for my child anyway. Ashton has discovered his love for water, you can see the excitement take over his body whenever he hears the shower turn on, or when we walk into the pool area, or even just fill the sink for he dishes.

So, lately have been filling up a big mixing bowl full of water, (sometimes warm, sometimes cold... just to mix it up and keep things interesting.) I add a few of his toys for him to play with and he is occupied for the next half an hour!

Ashton loves catching the water and letting it pour over his hands, so I put in little cups that have holes in the bottom of them that can let the water run out in a shower effect. (If you don't already have a container like this, get an old tupperware container and hammer some holes in the bottom. Works a treat!)

He has also been enjoying having objects in the water that float. He thinks it's very funny trying to catch them as they bob away from him each time he tries to pick the floating objects up.

But most of all he just loves to splash and kick as big as he possibly can! I actually think he

loves the sensation of the water jumping up to splash him in th

e face. He loves getting frights so maybe this is the equivalent of a self indued fright!

LAUNDERING ABOUT

One of Ashton's newest play areas is. . . the laundry basket! I don't know if this is a typical place for children to want to play, but we discovered while playing at Aunty Dionne's house the other day, then he spotted our laundry basket sitting in our lounge area and got all excited!

So to make it a little more comfy I filled the bottom with a pillow and placed a blanket around the sides. Ashton loved bopping up and down in there playing peek-a-boo.

At the moment Ashton is trying to master the skill of pulling himself up on things, but with his balance on his legs still "under development" he can get a bit of a lean on and can't correct himself very easily. Although in the laundry basket he has discovered he can use the back of the basket to anchor himself and push off it. He is able to stand up and sit down pulling his own weight and correct himself if he looses balance.

I think the main reason he enjoys playing in the basket is because he can be independent! And its a great place for playing hide 'n' seek! Who would have thought! Fun, play and learning turns up in the most unexpected places!

AUTUMNAL ADVENTURE

Ashton had a sleepover with his cousins last night and you can't have sleepover at Aunty Carly's house without going on an adventure!

During our drive home from picking up Delta and Anika, Delta pointed out to us that all of the leaves on the trees were changing colour, and that this meant it was now Autumn. We decided while we were driving that this would be the focus of our adventure . . . we would go on a Autumn leaves hunt and collect up as many different coloured leaves as we could find.

So we set off in Grandma's new Radio Flyer wagon! (her dream of owning one finally come true!) and kept our eyes peeled for leaves of red, yellow, orange and sometimes brown! We found a row of trees that were all of the above and quickly jumped in amoungst the fallen leaves to have a play. As we jumped around on them the leaves crunched and crackled under our feet. This was very entertaining, especially to Ashton, who got so excited by the leaves that, surprise, surprise, he wanted to EAT them! He also loved scrunching them in his hands and as the girls and I threw them up in the air around us, he would watch them all land with a bit of a giggle!

Once we were finished having a play, we started finding the leaves of different colours and shapes that we could use in our Autumn paintings. There were so many to choose from and all such beautiful colours! Then we headed over to the grove of Oak trees at the back of the pond to set up our painting stalls.

It was so much fun painting underneath the Oak trees with the fallen autumn leaves all around us to inspire our paintings. Using glue we stuck leaves onto our paintings, and Ashton even dipped the leaves in the paint and painted with the leaves. It was also nice to get out and enjoy the change of the seasons!

Oh, did I mention that Ashton wanted to eat the paint too! (Note: All the paint, is non-toxic!)

SHUFFLE AND BOOGIE

It was time to let loose and have a boogie today! So we set our iTunes on shuffle and let the music tell us how to dance! Because the music was on shuffle, we never knew what would come on next. It was really rather exciting. If it was a slow, jazzy song, we would do a waltz type dance. Then "Switch" by Will Smith came on and boy did we bust a groove on that one. The Wiggles made their way into our mix and we did the actions that went with the song and we even got some orchestral music "Sonata Alla Turca" to be exact.

We danced and let the music guide our feet and Ashton thought it was hilarious! He was either giggling or had his face beaming with a smile the whole time. He became particularly entranced when he spotted our reflection in the mirror, he really enjoyed watching those crazy people dancing in front of him.

I didn't get any photos of this adventure as we were both just too involved, but it was lots of fun and a great work out for me! ;o)

SOUND HUNT

Every Monday night at our house is family night! And no family night is complete without a game... so for Ashton and I that means daddy gets to join in our adventure for the day and tonights adventure game for family night was a "Sound Hunt"!

Ashton sat on the middle of the bed so that he could turn and look in all directions of the room. Kris and I then took turns hiding the bells in different places and playing them there till Ashton figured out where the sound was and turned in that direction.

At first Ashton was more interested and excited at the fact that Mummy and Daddy were hiding around the room! But eventually he figured out that the bells kept ringing in different

directions and became very good at identifying the new hiding place pretty quickly.

MY LITTLE DRUMER BOY

We've played with shakers, the keyboard, bells and even castanets, so today it was time to bang it out on our very own drum set! The pots, pans and boxes came out and the noise levels went up!

I sat Ashton down on his mat and one by one surrounded him with the pots and pans, his eyes watching the scene unfold a little unsure as to what his crazy mum was doing... again! But it didn't take Ashton long to dive down onto the pots and start banging them with his hands.

Next I gave him a wooden spoon, a metal spoon and a plastic spoon to use as his "drum sticks" and although he had to suck on each of them all first, once the initial sensory exploration was over he was into it! Picking up each utensil one by one to pound them on top of the various containers. At one point Ashton even managed to get one spoon in each hand and do a double handed beat! He made sure he made use of every pot, box or pan, turning and twisting where he sat.

As Ashton's little drumming adventure continued he began to explore the pots and pans in different ways, turning the pots over to bang the spoons inside the pot. He placed other toys inside the containers to bang them around and make different sounds. It was really quite exciting to see his little mind ticking over, thinking of how he could make new sounds and then to see him respond with such excitement when he made one! His eyebrows lifting, his little legs kicking, his arms pumping, and we must not forget the squealing of pure delight!!!

Oooh! CONDENSATION! yum!

This isn't an adventure as much as it is a discovery, but it was too cute to pass up writing about. Each morning when Ashton and I open up the house for the day whenever we open up the curtains we (well I) say "Good Morning... (say the day of the week)". Its just a little ritual we have started and I like it cause its a nice positive way to start each day!

Just recently, as the weather has been getting colder, we have noticed condensation sitting on the window when we open up the curtains. I think Ashton discovered it quite by accident the first time, as his inquisitive hands reached out to play with the window, he liked the way his hand slide from side to side.

After playing their for a while I started to walk away for get ready for breakfast, but this was not the plan Ashton had in mind, he wanted to stay and play. So I put him down on the ground where he would be able to reach the window and continue playing with the condensation. As I sat back to watch him, it was great to see the way he used his hands and feet to play with the water. He was going up and down, from side to side and patting the window too.

Of course no discovery would be complete for Ashton without him testing the subject matter at hand with his mouth! He had no hesitation in leaning forward to give the ranch slider a great big kiss... or suck (whichever you prefer!)

ASHTON'S FIRST HAKA

Flashback: I never got to Blog about this moment cause I wasn't blogging when it happened but I wanted to have it in our Blog... so I'm doing a flashback!

When Ashton was 3 1/2 months old I got a little bored one Sunday and decided that it was time for Daddy to teach Ashton his first Haka! Much to daddy's bewilderment and thinking "why would we do such a thing" we did it anyway! I got Ashton dressed up in his little All Black outfit that Grandma bought him and we got in place. Mummy behind the camera ready for the action, daddy behind Ashton ready to create the action!

Little did we know, it would be Ashton that would actually create the action! After barely saying the first opening phrase Ashton decided he would puke! Both of us (particularly me!) lost the plot and couldn't stop laughing! We did a 2nd take though and got through it all... very cute.

A CONCERT FOR MY TOYS

Our keyboard jam sessions a becoming a bit of a regular event at the moment. We have figured out a good set up where Ashton can really get into his groove and he holds nothing back!Today he was really excited to explore the percussion sounds on the keyboard. (Instead of it playing the standard sounds of each note, each key will make the sound of a percussion instrument.) He really seemed to notice the fact that each key was playing a different sound as you explored the whole keyboard, moving up and down the keys. He would play a series of sounds in from of him and the use the other hand to play another lot of keys.

At one point Ashton seemed as though he was even pulling a little bit of a song together as he would play a set of sounds then sit back and make a sound (sounding something like singing) and then proceed to lean back in to play another series of sounds. He repeated this pattern for

some time all the while conveying a mixture of excitement and concentration on his face.

During one of Ashton's breaks in the jam session he happened to spot his row of teddies up on the couch. Although this didn't stop Asthon from wanting to play the keyboard, he couldn't keep his eye off his toys. So I brought the toys down to sit on the keyboard so that he could do a concert for them. He really seemed to respond to having an audience and all of a sudden his playing became quite intense with his whole body getting into his playing, his legs kicking, his head swaying, his squeals more intense! It was like he was really putting on a concert for his toys! A moment I will remember and cherish for quite some time, it was definitely a Kodak moment . . . if those still exist ;o)

GIANT GIRAFFE'S and much much more!

During our little trip to Hamilton we also got to stop in at the Hamilton Zoo for one of Ashton's friends birthday parties and what a treat we got while we were there! We got to see their giraffe's having lunch!!! All 6 of them! It was awesome. They were so close to everyone who had come to see them and were bending right down gently eating the bamboo shoots from the children who were holding them. To look up at all of these amazing creatures, it was just a sea of beautiful pattern, with necks gracefully moving around each other. Everyone, young and old were in awe of these amazing creatures! We also got to see some other fantastically unique animals as we journeyed around the zoo, each one more than happy to show off it's special tricks to impress us. As we visited each different animal we read the sign that was placed outside the enclosure and found out lots of interesting facts about each animal. It was a very educational little trip and we all left feeling quite amazed at all of these beautiful animals, and at the wonderful experience Hamilton Zoo offered us! Thanks Hamilton Zoo!

GREAT GRANDMA'S FARM

Recently Ashton and I got to have a little holiday with his cousins in Hamilton. During our time away we went and visited Great Grandma on her farm (this is Ashton's cousins Great Grandma) and what an experience it was! Ashton absolutely loved seeing the animals, he had no fear or hesitation in approaching the animals. Each new animal he saw he would reach out to touch and inspect.

We saw lots of horses, one of which was just as interested in Ashton, as Ashton was with the horse. We saw a goat, who loved the idea of Ashton feeding some grass. We also saw some ponies, some chickens and some ducks! Great Grandma just happened to have a brand new duck called "Donald"! (Fancy that!)

But not only did we see lots of fantastic farm animals, Ashton got to have a ride on a tractor! An Ashton sized tractor! He rode on it while he checked out the chickens and the ducks. This was such a fun little adventure being able to see all of these animals up close and personal... it was also a great 6 month old celebration for Ashton! (Where has the time gone! 6 months already!!!)

PAPER FUN!

Art was on the days plan today! I love art so I have been trying to figure out art activities that I could do with Ashton. With the lack of sleep I had last night the best I could come up with was crayons drawings! Sad, I know... with 13 years+ early childhood experience, all I cam up with was crayon drawings! But we had never done it before so I thought we would give it a go.

I stuck a piece of paper down on Ashton's high chair tray and put the crayon down in front of him. We talked about what colour it was and when he seemed unsure what to do with it, (other than put it in his mouth) I placed it in his hand and showed him how it could make a picture.

I showed him how he could go round and round in circles, (he thought this was funny, he liked holding on to my hand while drew circles all over the page.) We also went up and down on the page, and from side to side as well. After I had demonstrated the possibilities I put the crayon down to let him explore.

This is where the activity took a turn . . . Ashton decided that the paper on his tray was more interesting that the crayons. In his efforts to eat the paper, he ended up ripping it off the tray, which created a lovely ripping noise that he seemed to rather enjoy the sound of. He grabbed the other corner of the paper and ripped it up again. Once he had all the paper ripped off the tray the activity then took on the focus of scrunching the paper up and throwing it around! He was having a great time!

So where I thought I was providing an art activity (all plain as it may have seemed). I actually ended up providing resources for Ashton to formulate his very own exploration of sound and the qualities of paper! ha ha. Unusual but fun and valuable none the less!

Once he had destroyed one piece of paper I placed a fresh new piece on and he went through the same process again, ripping, scrunching, throwing!