The Action Man's First Valentines Delivery

I'm not huge on Valentines day, not that I have anything against it, I've just never got into it. But after this Valentines Day, I might just be converted!

This Valentines Day was filled with LOVE!

I LOVE that Ashton actually painted the hearts... all 8 of them!

I LOVE that Ashton wanted to write his own Valentines messages!

I LOVE that all of the girls (each of his 6 girl cousins and his 2 girl friends) were so excited to receive their little gifts from Ashton, giving his lots of cuddles and kisses and excited dances!

I LOVE that I had no idea that this collection of goodies was awaiting me  on the table when I woke up on Valentines morning... with a text also waiting on my phone with another love message! 

I have the best men!!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!

Santa's letterbox

Although Polkadots has been getting into the Christmas spirit for quite some time now with Christmas shows and preparations for our Christmas Extravaganza concert, we have only just started to get into the swing of Christmassy fun at home, and to get the ball rolling we decided to make a Santa Letterbox for our Family Night last night.

We just kept things simple, by finding an old show box. We got out the red paint and all chipped in to transform our shoebox into something a little more festive. Then it was time to decorate . . . again, keeping things simple, we just printed off some Christmassy clip art and stuck them around the box.

We wanted to make our letterbox have a bit of a difference, so we decided instead of writing letters to Santa to tell him what we wanted, we decided that for each day of December we would write a letter to Santa to tell him what we had done to be nice to someone else. Then Santa would know that we’ve been good!

We’re excited about writing our “Nice deeds” letters to Santa and can’t wait to do more Christmassy activities in the days to come!

Tata Town

Because our life revolves around cars... here is another activity using CARS! I actually really enjoyed creating this Car mat with Ashton! It was like being able to create your own little township.

Using the back of our washing machine box Ashton and I drew out some roads with come crayons. Once we had our road structure in place we filled in the gaps with our local shops etc. We got to put in all of the places we would love to visit, and places we felt were a necessity to every town! We ended up with a Fire Station, Police Station, Supermarket, hospital, Subway! a pet shop, a zoo, and the beach! While a was drawing Ashton was either colouring in the rest of the town, or he was busy cruising the streets of Tata Town!... or visiting the animals in the zoo! Its been lots of fun creating our town together, and we still have room for development!!!

Thinking outside the square

While I was getting ready for a show this morning I could hear Ashton clunking away in the kitchen, going through the plastics draw. Next thing he comes into my room with this little Apple Eating Invention! Apparently using your hands to eat an apple is very last week. . . well at least Ashton thinks so, he decided that eating his apple out of a funnel would be more efficient!

So, thats just what he did... he sat down in my room and ate pretty much his whole apple from the top of a funnel. . . and I could tell he thought it was a pretty good idea as he sat back and looked at me as if to say, "You're pretty bummed you didn't think of this idea before aren't you mum!" bahahahah!

My clever little man!

Ashton's Ark

Much to our surprise church was cancelled today due to a plumbing leak. This was to be my first official Sunday as ward Nursery Leader and I was very excited to do all of the activities I had planned. . . so when we were sent home without bring able to do everything I told Ashton we would have nursery at home instead.

The lesson was all about loving the scriptures and learning from all of the stories that are in them. I had set pictures up all around the room of different scripture stories. By the pictures of Noahs Ark, The Garden of Eden and Daniel in the Lions Den I had put all of the plastic animals out. Next to the blocks I put pictures like Samuel the Lamanite up on the wall preaching to the Nephites, King Benjamin preaching from his tower and Jesus learning how to be a carpenter. We had a magic carpet in the middle of the room that we sat on and as we travelled from one scripture story to the next we sang "Book of Mormon Stories".

When we got to the picture of Noah's ark I decided it would be fun to actually walk the animals into an ark, so I ran and got a box, cut off some of the side flaps, used one to make the roof and one to make the ramp and wahlah! We had Noahs ark. . . Which Ashton thought fit him perfectly and soon it became Ashton's Ark where he very carefully walked each animal up the ramp and into his ark, making all of their sounds as he went! Very cool!

Peek-a-boo Storage Bags

I DID IT!!! I got the sewing machine off mum and I dusted off my sewing skills and managed to make one of these fantastic Peek-a-boo bags for storing some of Ashton's toys in. I won't say it was easy, but it is definitely a project I will tackle again to make more! I love that I can get more organised with Ashton's toys now! and I love it when everything has a place! Ashton loves going into the bags and taking all the toys out of them and resorting them too! Fun for everyone!

P.S. - I got the pattern of this fabulous blog! (http://www.tonicoward.blogspot.com/) And there are heaps more patterns and ideas of other sewing projects that I want to give a go too... but I'm happy to start here and work my way through!

Day at the Skate Park

Ashton and I got to have a play date with our friends Jane and Darcy at the Glenfield Skate Park today and we had such an awesome time! The boys just loved being able to ride their bikes all over the place, going up and down the little ramps and hills. We got to use our DIY Stop and Go sign to have races (which Ashton has been putting to good use running around the house yelling "STOP" and "GO".)

After a little picnic in the park the boys discovered that they could roll their balls down the ramps as well. They loved walking them up to they top and then chasing them down to the bottom. Then in between playing on the skate ramps they played on the playground, watched the men cutting down trees and played on the free exercise equipment around the park! We just had a couple of hours of endless fun and a good chat session for Jane and I!

Look at the stunning home made Stop and Go sign!

All in all... a good time had by all!

SUPER COOL Car Shoot

Ashton was very lucky to be given a very cool house warming gift from his Friends Darcy and Jane, in the form of a Car Shoot. It is such a simple concept, but it is the most played with toy in our house and is not only a favourite with Ashton, but with all his friends and cousins too!

I think it might be made from a fabric roll, with little sections cut out down the tube. This little openings are great for the child being able to view the car or ball (As Ashton loves to use) roll down and see it in action... it kind of keeps their interest being able to see it the whole time.
Darcy made Ashton's shoot really cool by simply covering it in stickers... you could paint it as well if wanted?
As you can see Ashton likes to use the shoot to race all sorts of objects down it, and it has been great for him to explore size as well, as he figures out what objects can fit and which ones can't because they're too big or the wrong shape. If he finds it doesn't fit he says "OH NO!"

Love this simple toy... thanks Jane and Darcy for the hours of fun and learning!

HOME MADE WRAPPING PAPER

Ashton has a birthday party to go to tomorrow, we have already been shopping to buy the present, but instead of buying wrapping paper, we decided we would put a little extra love into the wrapping process and make the wrapping paper ourselves!

Now, this little project turned out to be a little more challenging that I had expected now that Ashton is on the move. He was determined to see how much of our kitchen he could cover in paint! Luckily we have lino so it washed off easily. But yet again I will say to all those who are asking . . . "Is is really worth the mess?" . . . "YES!" The present looks way cooler with our homemade wrapping paper on it, and Ashton and I had a great time patting and stomping our hands and feet all over the paper in all sorts of colours!

Now I just can't wait to get to the party! Happy 1st Birthday Caleb!

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)

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!

INSTRUMENTS OF OUR OWN

So we don't have violins or cellos, clarinets or flutes but we have got lots of random bits and pieces around the house that we get creative with to make our own instruments! and thats what Ashton and I have done!

We have started by making our own shakers with different containers and different mediums to go inside. We have used dry wheat inside a peanut butter jar, an old bead necklace cut up into a Body Shop Body Butter container, and some colourful pegs put inside an old CD container. Each shaker making its own unique sound when it Ashton shakes it. (There are obviously lots of other options that you can do to make different sounding shakers and if your child is older you could even take it a step further and decorate your shakers with paints or stickers.)

Ashton really enjoyed getting all of the shakers on his high chair tray all at once and banging the shakers up against each other, making an array of shaking sound! We did make a point of exploring each shaker one at a time and listening to the unique sound each one made.

I'm rather excited about using these shakers for more musical exploration and have already got lots of ideas for other instruments I want to try and make with Ashton to explore different sounds. If you have any ideas or experience with making musical instruments with materials that are lying about the house... please share!