The Secors

Nap Time Naughty

2012-01-30T13:16:00.001-08:00

After Linc had been in his crib for awhile playing and not sleeping I went in to check on him and this is what I found...

He had somehow pulled his diaper holder into his crib and taken out every diaper. It's a good thing Thomas just restocked it yesterday. I think he was trying to tell me he had a dirty diaper...either that or he was trying to change himself.

Cookies and Coloring

2012-01-30T13:11:00.001-08:00

I've mentioned this before but Lincoln is such a good helper in the kitchen! These are pictures of us making cookies last week.

And playing peek a boo...

And then we colored while we waited for them to bake.

Three favorite sayings...

2012-01-29T07:43:00.001-08:00

Lincoln's three favorite sayings...
"are you kidding me?"
"what the heck?"
"are you serious?"
Apparently I need to watch what I'm saying!

Utah's best kept secret!

2012-01-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

Thomas had Monday off of work so I decided to take him and Linc to a place called Jump Around Utah. I really want to take our playgroup there but I wanted to check it out first. It is $4 for a two year old to jump for as long as they want and parents are free (it's mainly for kids to jump but parents can help). They have a huge "bubble" to jump on in the middle, 6 bounce houses (two with slides) and a giant 3 story play place...a child's paradise!!
Sorry, these pictures are so dark because I had to zoom in he was so far away from me (Thomas took him out while I watched from the chairs) but Lincoln is the one in the dark blue shirt/ white collar and Thomas is wearing a white hat.

I love his face in this one!

Aquarium

2012-01-17T18:55:00.001-08:00

We've spent a lot of time at the aquarium lately thanks to Greg and Lauren for the aquarium passes! This is a picture of Lincoln watching the penguins...

And if he looks a little wet it's because he is, just before the penguin exhibit he was playing with sting rays. Why didn't I get a picture of that you ask? Because I was too worried that if I looked away for a few seconds he might either
1. Try to swim with them or
2. Start drinking the water
Long story short, the sting ray exhibit is so cool!

Pinching Pennies

2012-01-17T18:47:00.001-08:00

I realize my "activities" have gotten more and more pathetic as this pregnancy is getting closer to the end but a lot of them have something in common
1. They're easy
2. They don't require much interaction from me
3. I'm usually able to rest during them

So last week we played with money. I would just dump the change out of Lincoln's bank and he would put it back in. Simple enough and it entertained him forever while I laid down next to him.

Yes, we've found many ways to entertain ourselves including throwing a toy against the wall and thinking it is the funniest thing in the world!

YouTube Video

Dog Walking!

2012-01-17T18:39:00.001-08:00

Lincoln and I were invited on the best adventure ever! We got to go help our friends Candyce and Stella walk a dog! For some reason I didn't get one picture of the dog but here are pictures of them playing on the playground afterwards...

Stella "catching" Linc...

Cutest boy ever!!!

Basketball skills

2012-01-17T18:36:00.001-08:00

We spend a lot of time playing basketball because the weather is so cold. This is a new trick Linc picked up...

Yes, that is him shooting two balls at once and he's not half bad!

But let's be honest, this is the real reason "we've" been spending so much time playing basketball...

Mr. Clean

2012-01-09T21:16:00.001-08:00

I finally felt like I had an ounce of energy today so I took advantage of it and got some cleaning done with my little helper.
Laundry...

Mirrors...

Making the bed...

Well, kind of, at our house we make the bed in order to play in it...

Where's "Waldo"?

After doing a few more chores we finished up with some sweeping...

And then we were both spent!!

*I do have some advice to get your toddler to help you clean, it helps to double up on things if you can. We have two dusters and he just follows me around the house dusting. We have a broom and a swiffer sweeper so once again he follows me around cleaning with whichever one I'm not using, and doing dishes I pull up a chair for him and give him his own sponge.

Dad's Home!

2012-01-07T19:56:00.001-08:00

The best part of Lincoln's day is when Thomas comes home. Linc knows he can't jump on me or be rough with me so when Dad comes home he is in heaven! You can already tell they are best friends and have a completely different bond than a mother and son could ever have. They wrestle every night in some way or another and it hit me tonight that I need to document this. So here are pictures of them playing tonight...

I love these boys!!! And I'm so excited we're getting another one!!

Quick Story

2012-01-07T19:49:00.001-08:00

I keep putting things Lincoln says or does on Facebook but I'm starting to realize they get kind of lost and I forget them so since I use this blog as a "journal" I am going to try to document quick stories on here too.

Last night Linc and I were standing outside and he pointed to the sky and said "moon" and I said, "you're right but where are the stars?" (there weren't any) he looked around for a minute confused and then pointed to my right and said "there it is"... It was a Carl's Jr. sign! Haha

Play Dough!

2012-01-07T19:44:00.001-08:00

You may be surprised to hear this but Lincoln's never played with play dough. To be honest I looked up a few different edible play dough recipes a long time ago that I never got the ingredients for (there is a peanut butter one and a jello one floating around the Internet that both sounded good and not too difficult). But needless to say the bigger I got and further into pregnancy I got I realized this was a gift Santa was meant to bring, and it was a huge hit! Thank you to Santa for picking up my slack :)

Wrapping the play dough around his thumb...

And then I got the bright idea to start sculpting the play dough. It started off innocent enough, a smiley face...

And then a turtle...

But this next little guy was almost the death of me! A sad attempt at a football...

The problem is he loved it and was willing to help clean everything up except the football. When I told him it was time for the football to go to sleep he lost it...

And this bitter scowl did not leave his face for a good 15 min...

Playgroup at the Park

2012-01-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

We had a few days with some great weather so our playgroup met up at the park in our complex and played on the slide and with chalk. When I found out we were going to the park I turned to Linc and asked if he wanted to go on the slide his eyes got really big, he exaggerated a huge gasp, then said "REALLY?!?!" poor deprived child. Go figure it's now two days later it won't stop snowing.

Homemade Bath Paint

2012-01-07T19:23:00.001-08:00

This ones an oldie but a goodie! You make washable bath paint by mixing sensitive shaving cream and food coloring. We've done this activity so many times and it never gets old! It always guarantees me at least an hour of rest! (I do highly recommend "resting" while still watching your child in the bath! You never know, someone might have taken that as a green light for an hour of shut eye or something).

Once there was a Snowman

2012-01-02T20:52:00.001-08:00

Thomas and I have been cleaning, moving rooms around, and reorganizing like crazy! We're trying to get everything ready for Baby #2 who is only a month away!! So to keep you entertained today I have a video of Lincoln's new favorite song...please don't be jealous of my amazing voice!

YouTube Video

New Year Fondu

2012-01-01T21:29:00.001-08:00

To kick off the New Year right our little family had a Fondu party!

This is Lincoln's smile before he knew about the heavenly goodness that would soon enter his mouth...

And here is the real smile of a very satisfied little boy! Happy New Year!!!

Zoo Lights

2011-12-31T22:21:00.001-08:00

Last night we picked Thomas up from work, went out to dinner, then went to the Salt Lake Hogle Zoo for their Zoo Lights. We had never gone before so I didn't know what to expect but it was so fun! Christmas lights were everywhere!

Mr. Potato Head

2011-12-31T22:14:00.001-08:00

I had a lot of fun in California but traveling so late in the pregnancy has left me with no energy! It's taken me all week to recover but the nice part is it happened right after Lincoln got a lot of new toys so it hasn't been hard to entertain him. These are pictures of Linc playing with Mr. Potato Head...and his accessories!

*adorable baseball chair compliments of Aunt Jill!

My Inspiration

2011-12-29T13:05:00.001-08:00

When I think back to my childhood all I remember is playing nonstop! My mom taught me that a Mother has the best job, she gets to play with her kids all day. We were constantly doing crafts and playing make believe. One day she switched out all of our milk to powdered milk to help us appreciate what we had. I remember countless times she would find a homeless person, pull over, ask them to wait there while we went home and boxed up our dinner to take back to them. If there was a baby born in the ward it was pretty much a guarantee that she would not only take dinner but also be at their house cleaning and watching kids while the new mother took a nap.
One of our favorite games is hide and go seek in the dark. We would use the front door as "safe", turn off all of the lights in the house and try to find the best spots to hide. My mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in April of 2007. She went through severe chemotherapy treatments and then went through them again when the cancer came back in 2009. It was during the first chemotherapy treatments that Thomas and I were trying to entertain my youngest sister Julie and her friend so we decided to play hide and go seek in the dark. (This game usually ended with someone getting hurt or my Dad ending it because he was worried we might break something). During this specific game my Mom came downstairs, her hair was gone and her body was very frail from the chemotherapy and we automatically all felt bad for being too loud. To our surprise she wasn't coming down to tell us to be quiet she said that she heard us having fun and wanted to join in on the game. We were all thrilled and quickly changed the rules of the game so instead of having a "safe" we just had to stay in our hiding spot until we were found to avoid anyone getting hurt. It was my turn to be it so I was searching for everyone and as I walked through the family room I fell over laughing, my frail Mother had crawled under the coffee table and was lying perfectly still so no one would find her. That night taught me one of the most important lessons of my life, we need to enjoy every minute we can with our family! And there is no reason to not play with your kids.
My Mom passed away in March of 2010 at the age of 49. Even though it sometimes feels that she was taken too early I know that she accomplished everything she was sent here to do. The world is a better place for having had her in it and I am so grateful for the example she set for me! I know that my family can be together forever and I will see her again!

California Christmas!

2011-12-29T12:27:00.001-08:00

Im going to be honest I didn't take as many pictures as I should have but we had so much fun! My family and Thomas' family only live about five minutes away from each other which makes it convenient to only have to visit one place. We played lots of games with both families, ate really good food, spent lots of time with family, and spent as much time as possible playing outside in the warm sun!!
The first weekend we were there we celebrated Lincoln's second birthday...

Playing with Aunt Jill...

Blowing out candles...

And playing with new toys...

Lincoln's not the only one who enjoyed the new toys, here's Cousin Harlow on Linc's new spinning toy...

And Uncle Thrine couldn't help but try it as well...

Aunt Jess and Linc would play "monsters" where one person would pretend to be asleep and the other would scare them...

Sleeping...

Lincoln LOVES his cousin Harlow!!

Christmas morning with the traditional PJ's they got to open the night before...

Opening presents on Christmas after church...

And the long drive back... Lincoln literally played with his new Lightning McQueen cars and Chuggington trains the entire 11 hour drive (I had to stop a lot to walk around). He was so good!!

What a great day!!

2011-12-15T21:00:00.001-08:00

We have some great news! One of our favorite people in the entire world got his mission call today! Matt Secor (Thomas' brother), AKA Uncle Thrine, received his mission call today to Charlotte, North Carolina Spanish speaking!! We are all so excited and extremely proud of this incredible guy!! We love you Thrine!!!

Some more great news...we are going on vacation!! California here we come!! This is a much needed break and we cant wait to see all of our family and friends! I will post lots of pictures once we get back after Christmas.

Back Massage

2011-12-14T22:19:00.001-08:00

Lincoln is obsessed with a lot of things one of which is driving his toy cars all over anything he can find. For instance, I was loading the dishwasher today...

When I closed the dishwasher...

So I used his obsession to my advantage. I remembered coming across this site on Pinterest, which in my mind is the most ingenious idea and I will make this one day!

So I grabbed a pillow and laid on my side while Linc drove his cars on my back and through my hair (being very careful not to pull it). I was in heaven!! I thought about grabbing my camera to add a picture of it to this post but I selfishly decided I couldn't move, I was enjoying it too much!

Just Practicing...

2011-12-14T21:54:00.001-08:00

Linc has a stuffed animal (Nemo) that he was playing with and he all of the sudden decided it was time for Nemo to take a nap so he launched the fish into his crib, then turned to me with a finger on his lips saying "shhhh shhh". I've been trying to prepare Lincoln for Baby #2 as best I can so every opportunity I get I take it. So I took Nemo out of the crib and showed Linc that Nemo was little so he needed to be swaddled. Well one thing led to another and the next thing I knew this is where my "lesson" ended up... Keep in mind he hasn't taken a pacifier since he was six months old so you can see the confusion/ fright on his face that his mother had gone mad...

Santa Came Early!

2011-12-13T11:11:00.001-08:00

Lincoln was getting a snow outfit and snow boots from Santa but Thomas and I had a deal with Santa that if it snowed before Christmas he would get his gift early(we're going to California for Christmas and we weren't going to bring it anyways). So this morning we woke up to SNOW and wouldn't you know it, Santa held up his end of the bargain and brought his gift early! So today we played in the snow!

Linc wanted me to take a picture of his breath...

The sad thing is there wasn't even that much snow but this boy walked back and forth playing in the snow until it all melted off our balcony.

The Boy Who Could Fly!

2011-12-12T18:19:00.001-08:00

Every kid needs a couch cushion! O the possibilities! Ours started out as an indoor slide...

And then I put the cushion completely on the ground and he used it to jump onto, and off of... Please don't think I'm a bad mother, I promise no little boys were hurt in the making of this blog post!

Stats

2011-12-10T18:59:00.001-08:00

Lincoln is in the 90th percentile for weight and 100+ for height...according to the Doctor, he is the average height of a 3 year old. Good thing we got him a basketball hoop!

Christmas Tree on a Mirror

2011-12-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

This was yesterday's activity that I forgot to post (before Linc received all his shots). I saw this idea on Pinterest but they did it on paper, I get bored doing all of our art projects on paper, so we took it to the mirror...

I painted his hand and we made a Christmas Tree then I gave him some water colors and I let him "decorate" the tree. (it basically just ran paint down the mirror but he had fun doing it)

New Toy

2011-12-10T18:40:00.001-08:00

Lincoln has had a hard week. He's had a cold since Sunday and yesterday I took him to the Dr.'s and they gave him 5 shots. Today he woke up really early crying and he has hardly been able to walk all day. Long story short he's been miserable lately. Anyways, Jimmy and Kira got him a birthday present that cheered him right up...

Lightning McQueen is a magnet board that you can stick different exteriors on to and they also got him an activity book. Needless to say, this has totally brightened up his day! Thank you!!

Christmas Wreaths

2011-12-08T15:06:00.001-08:00

Today we made Christmas wreaths. These are usually made using corn flakes and cinnamon candy but we did rice crispy treats and M&M's because I'm not a huge corn flake fan and Linc won't eat the cinnamon candy.

And we had an even bigger treat because Thomas was home! Lincoln has been doing this cheesy smile for the camera lately where he won't open his eyes and he keeps sneaking bites of the craft (which isn't all that crazy) but I wonder where he gets it...

Twins!

O Christmas Tree!

2011-12-07T10:23:00.001-08:00

This activity requires three ingredients:

I used popsicle sticks instead of knives and I'm glad I did because I figured this would happen...

We painted the ice cream cone with green frosting.

And then decorated with m&m's...

I couldn't tell or not if he snuck a few bites...

The finished products...

And the best part...

Happy Birthday Lincoln!!

2011-12-04T14:45:00.001-08:00

I can't believe we have a two year old!! Today is Lincoln's birthday and last night while he was sleeping we filled his room with balloons and his new basketball hoop/ basketball. When he woke up this morning the first thing he said was "wow!".

YouTube Video

Next we had breakfast, pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles and his other favorite thing in this world...turkey sausage! This was the first time in his whole life he's completely finished a meal and asked for more!!

After breakfast, more basketball! He's really good! We had to raise the height of the basketball hoop twice to try to give him more of a challenge. He started doing lay ups while lifting a leg!!

Exhausted!

I don't think he completely understands that it's his birthday but he fully understands that something exciting has been happening all day and he is more than thrilled to be apart of it!
I am so grateful for this cute boy he bring so much joy and happiness to our family! And he is more loved than he will ever know! Happy Birthday Lincoln!!

Dance Party!

2011-12-01T19:18:00.001-08:00

Today we had a dance party! If you're one of my neighbors, be sad you didn't look out your window and see this! (If you are confused by that statement please see my post from yesterday and picture that large physique jumping around, enough said!) I tried to take the best pictures I could, Linc gets more into it when I'm dancing with him. Also, I didn't realize how dirty my camera lens was until I saw these pictures...sorry!

YouTube Video

Here's some pictures too. This is Linc's serious face when he moves his knees in and out

Half the time his dancing is on the ground spinning around...

Exhausted, taking a break...(once again his famous pose)

Dishes

2011-11-30T14:19:00.001-08:00

I think every boy (and girl) should know how to cook and clean! I've been totally spoiled with Thomas! He cooked most of our Thanksgiving dinner among other meals and I'm proud to admit he does our laundry.
So today for our activity Lincoln washed dishes...gotta start em young!

I love how serious he gets when he's concentrating!

His cheesy smile...

And a real smile...

You guys are in for a treat! I didn't let anyone take any pictures of me when I was pregnant with Lincoln. My Mom told me I would regret it (which I don't) but maybe one day I will so this is me with Baby #2 at 30 weeks...

Snowman Finger Prints

2011-11-29T16:06:00.001-08:00

We're getting into the Christmas spirit over here at the Secor house! Today we played with paint making snowmen with Lincoln's fingers.

Then he painted the rest of the snow using a paintbrush.

I think he was going for the "snowmen having a snowball fight" look.

Fruit Loops and Colors

2011-11-28T15:46:00.001-08:00

If you ever ask Lincoln what color something is he always says "green" or "yellow". A few months ago my Dad was in town and he took us to dinner so I decided to play a little joke on him while Linc was coloring and we were waiting for our food. I picked up the green crayon and asked Lincoln what color it was (figuring I had a 50/50 shot he would say green). He answered, "GREEN!". My Dad was VERY impressed and thought we had a child prodigy on our hands and so I proceeded to pick up the red, yellow, and blue crayons and asked Linc the same question to which he replied just as enthusiastically as the first time "GREEN!" to each one... He quickly got the joke.
Anyways, today I figured we would work on colors. The activity was supposed to go from this...

To this...(which it did the first time with LOTS of help from Mom)...

The second time through I wanted Linc to try to do more of it on his own and this is how it turned out...

But how can you correct a face as excited as this one...

So I just let him play...

Pouring cereal from one bowl to the next...

Blowing into the bowl watching the cereal fly...

And of course eating along the way...

By the end this was all the cereal that was left because he had eaten it all...

So this activity has forced me to come to one of two conclusions...
1. He is lazy like his Mom or
2. He is color blind like his Dad's side
Is it a bad thing to hope for number 2? I don't want the only trait he has from his Mom to be her laziness! Either way he is still the cutest boy I've ever seen!

Lazy White Woman's Idea of an Indian Headdress

2011-11-23T15:00:00.001-08:00

I didn't feel like waiting for glue to dry so this is my lazy way of making an Indian headdress in honor of Thanksgiving. We put feathers on tape, it's hard to see the tape in this picture but it's there...

Then we taped it onto the back of the band...

I took him to the mirror to check himself out...

I didn't actually expect him to "check himself out"...going in for the kill...

Bingo...I take it he likes it...

Lincoln's Activity Idea

2011-11-23T14:51:00.001-08:00

Lincoln came up with this activity all on his own. He asks to play with a previous activity (pushing puff balls) pretty much every day. Today he was playing with it and decided to put a ball in between his toes...

One turned into two...

Which evolved into a walking/ racing with puff balls game...

Side note- Lincoln has a famous pose for the camera...
First picture he was about 9 months old-

Today he's still got it-

Potato Art

2011-11-21T14:40:00.001-08:00

I have been horrible at blogging this past week. I have been preoccupied with Breaking Dawn...I mean, a headband show I was in. (Even though I did take time out to go with my Sister in Law to see Breaking Dawn and she made adorable shirts for everyone). I have one more show this Saturday in Salt Lake and then I am allowing myself to start Christmas shopping!
I'm going to be honest, I have no clue where I originally found this idea...it's not my own and I wish I could give credit to the correct person.
You cut a potato in half, cut a design into it and use it as a stamp with paint. We did squares and hearts.

Finished product...almost.

And I am very proud to report that all of the paint stayed on the paper, he didn't even get any on the cookie sheet!

Playgroup Library

2011-11-17T20:06:00.001-08:00

Today our playgroup met up and went to the library, they have a toddler story time. We danced, sang, read, colored, and played instruments and everyone had a lot of fun!

Yesterday Lincoln wanted to play outside so I let him go out on our balcony. He ran back and forth laughing for what seemed like forever. Finally he was frozen so he came inside and actually let me wrap him in a blanket...he literally stayed like this for an hour! He didn't even try to sneak a hand out.

What a Turkey!

2011-11-16T14:45:00.001-08:00

Life has been busy this week! Today we did some Thanksgiving art. I tried to think of something we could do besides the typical turkey handprints, so we did the typical turkey handprints...just on the mirror. I used face/ body paint which I expected to be harder to clean than water colors but it actually wasn't that bad.

This project was so fun but very hard to do while taking pictures.

Binocular Safari

2011-11-11T14:39:00.001-08:00

First we made binoculars using toilet paper rolls, paint, a popsicle stick (for the middle of the binoculars), and ribbon(for the strap).

I hid a bunch of his stuffed animals all over the house. Then I got a laundry basket, and put a towel through the handle to help pull him.
He had to find his animals using his binoculars...

Tattoos

2011-11-10T17:29:00.001-08:00

Our cute neighbors handed out tattoos and stickers instead of candy for Halloween so today we showed Linc how they worked.

Showing off his muscles...

Shapes and Cookie Cutters

2011-11-09T15:29:00.001-08:00

Today I picked out a few cookie cutters and traced them onto construction paper. I first had Lincoln match the shapes, then I'd pick out a shape and he would tell me what it was and place it on the paper, then I would just say the name of the shape and he would find it and put it on the paper.

YouTube Video

Sugar cookies!

2011-11-08T16:55:00.001-08:00

I made sugar cookies during Lincoln's nap and for today's activity we decorated them. It may look like we used valentines decorations for the cookies and that is because they are but there's a reason...Three years ago today I married the man of my dreams and my best friend! And today he is still the man of my dreams and my best friend! So I thought valentines decorations were fitting, plus they were the only ones I had.

He makes a disgusted face the first bit of everything he eats...they are good I promise!

Ikea

2011-11-08T10:00:00.001-08:00

I completely forgot to blog yesterday, good old pregnancy brain. Yesterday our playgroup met up at Ikea for their free Monday morning breakfast and then played in the store. That afternoon in honor of Lincoln's gift this weekend I finally took him to see Cars 2 at the dollar theater!

He obviously wanted nothing to do with me taking this picture and the previews hadn't even started.

McQueen!!

2011-11-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

Aunt Sue Sue and Uncle Warren got wind of Lincoln's Lightning McQueen obsession and sent him an exciting surprise in the mail! As you can tell from the pictures he is thrilled! (and literally hasn't stopped talking since he put it on!) Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

Car Fall

2011-11-04T18:43:00.001-07:00

I saw a version of this activity on Pinterest so I decided to use the leftover "pins" from our bowling activity the other day to make this car ramp. I just taped them to the wall.

It wasn't the sturdiest ramp and the cars rarely landed right side up but Linc loved it! Once again, his victory dance...

Indoor sidewalk chalk

2011-11-03T18:35:00.001-07:00

Linc has been asking to play with the sidewalk chalk for awhile now but it is way too cold outside. So today we brought it inside by taping construction paper to a cookie sheet.

He can get twice as much done in half the time using both hands...

Side note to anyone with toddlers: Whenever we do an art project on the table I usually do it on a cookie sheet I've found through trial and error that he will keep the art project within the bounds of the cookie sheet, without it the table is a free for all. Plus it keeps the chalk, paint brush, markers etc. All in one spot and they don't roll off the table.

Pumpkin Carving!

2011-11-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

This is a very traditional, fun Halloween activity! Lincoln's turned out great!

Ok, ok we had all intentions of doing this fun Halloween activity until this little orange bundle of joy became a member of the family receiving all of the benefits including but not limited to....
-a nice warm bed
-a bath
-lots and lots of kisses

Needless to say I didn't have it in me to slaughter it with his best friend watching...maybe next year.

Bowling

2011-11-01T18:16:00.001-07:00

We've been prepping for this activity for awhile (we had to use the paper towels first). We bowled using empty paper towel rolls...and a very large ball. I wasn't sure if Lincoln would like this activity but he had a lot of fun!

We started off standing...

Then attempted sitting...

When any "pins" were left standing he got a second shot VERY close...

This boy has no problems with confidence! After playing with the big ball for about half an hour he decided he had graduated to the pro ball...and yes, that is a golf ball...

He even had victory dance...

TRICK or treat?

2011-10-31T20:08:00.001-07:00

Look who decided to join the ward for Trunk or treating... SCARY!!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

We never claimed to be a photogenic family...

I know our costumes are very obvious (cricket cricket) alright I'll tell you what we are. Lincoln- Shrek, Thomas- Donkey, Jenn- Puss in Boots. Gotta love homemade costumes! And yes the face paint was not my greatest idea, it totally stained his face a greenish tint for two days.

Trick or treat

2011-10-28T18:20:00.001-07:00

Today we got to go to Thomas' work and trick or treat. It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad his work put this on! Even though there was a lot of scary costumes the only thing that scared Lincoln was a candy bucket with a hand in it that moved when he put his hand in. Needless to say he made Mom get him that candy after one failed attempt.

It's amazing to me how quickly Lincoln:

1. Picked up on the fact that he was Shrek
2. He understood the whole trick or treat thing. He knew to say "please", pick his candy, say "thank you", and put it in his bucket.

So here is Lincoln's first picture as Shrek. Tomorrow we might attempt the green face for a party we are going to...no promises!

When Elephants Fly

2011-10-27T17:35:00.001-07:00

All you need for this activity is a towel and stuffed animal (we chose an elephant). Each person hold a side of the towel and practice throwing the stuffed animal in the air and catching it in the towel.

Lincoln asking to do it some more...

Then he decided he wanted to be the stuffed animal...

Following Dad into the room asking to do it again...

Playdate and chalk

2011-10-26T18:47:00.001-07:00

Today our play group met up one last time before Alison and Henry move :( We attempted to meet at the park and play with sidewalk chalk.

But we were all freezing so everyone ventured into our house to play. Here are some pictures of Lincoln with his good friend Henry. We're going to miss you guys!!

Museum and Pushing Puff Balls

2011-10-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

This morning we met up with our friends Kaisha and Colin at the Museum to check out the animals.

Lincoln's new obsession is hippos

Then later when we got home we tried the pushing puff balls activity from Engagingtoddleractivities.wordpress.com. You just get an old container and cut holes in the top then let your toddler push puff balls through the holes.

Lincoln couldn't figure out where the balls went after they went through the holes.

Felt Pumpkin

2011-10-24T15:39:00.001-07:00

I loved this activity! I made a pumpkin out of felt and made five sets of eyes, noses and mouths also out of felt. Linc had so much fun mixing and matching the different pieces!

I set it up so all of the eyes were together, noses were together and mouths were together so he could pick one from each category.

His artwork started out Picasso style...

Pretty soon he got the hang of it.

Then we practiced making the same facial expressions as the pumpkin...

And my personal favorite...

Mirror Art

2011-10-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

I gave Lincoln a few dry erase markers and let him color the mirror. He thought it was the funniest thing to be able to watch himself color! This activity lasted at least an hour!

Admiring his work...

Cleaning up was half the fun! He would color then clean, color then clean, over and over again.

Flashlight Fun!

2011-10-20T16:06:00.001-07:00

This was so simple and so fun! I just grabbed a flashlight and went into the darkest room in our house. For the first half I just let Linc play with the flashlight. Sorry in advance for the horrible pictures, my camera doesn't know what to do in the dark. Ok, ok maybe it's the photographer!

Then we made scary faces...

I couldn't get a picture of my fabulous shadow puppets because I didn't have enough hands but it was hilarious! He could request any animal and it didn't matter what the shadow looked like as long as the correct noise accompanied it I got the ooooo's and ahhhh's I was looking for.

Then we ended our activity by learning that he has a shadow. First he flashed it his belly...

Then he watched it jump right along with him...

Such a fun activity!!

Our playgroup also went to the park this morning and we finished it off with the traditional train ride.

Water colors in the tub!

2011-10-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

This idea has been circling Pinterest, it's from a site called couragezone.com and it has a list of 25 things to do with a toddler. This one is painting in the bath with water colors. It was a huge hit! And so easy to clean up! I let Linc stand and color the wall because we don't have grout but on couragezone.com they have the boy just painting the inside of the tub (for those of you with grout).

I've discovered his favorite color is green. He used it 9 times out of 10.

A true artist wears his work right? The funny thing is he was fine with the paint being all over him until he got a little on his arm and that's when he slightly panicked.

The final product...He kept saying his cousin Harlow's name during his painting, so I'm guessing this ones for you Harlow!

Ready for his bath...

Stamps

2011-10-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

Today we played with stamps. I bought valentines stamps that were extremely discounted figuring you can always use hearts and xoxo. The ink I purchased is called "My First Color Box" which is washable and child safe, thank goodness because it got on his clothes and he may or may not have kissed the stamp resulting in a black mustache when he decided he loved it. (unfortunately I did not get a picture of his mustache)

He got ink on his hand and he thought it was a bruise so I had to kiss it better...

Sssssnake Tie

2011-10-17T13:23:00.001-07:00

I got this idea from Oriental Trading Co. and decided to make my own. You get an old tie, stuff it and decorate it to make a snake.

I made it while Lincoln was attempting to nap so I wouldn't have to post about Silly Putty again, you're welcome! To be honest I was kind of hesitant on how it turned out but Lincoln thought it was the greatest thing ever!
It started off with them both slithering and Ssssss-ing on the ground...

Then he decided to teach his snake how to defy gravity...

Next we played "gotcha" with the snake where the snake would chase Lincoln...

Later on Lincoln magically turned into a snake, slithering around the house and fitting through tight spaces...

All in all this was a VERY successful day/activity that produced a very happy "snake"!

THE shoes!

2011-10-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

When we were getting ready for church today I told Lincoln to go get his shoes and instead of his usual boring grey shoes he came back with these gems! And guess what, they finally fit! My Aunt Jill got them for him at his baby shower, they are size 9 so we all thought he'd wear them to Kindergarten...or possibly high school. But low and behold they fit!

I'm sorry about the horrible picture, this is what happens when you have church from 1-4 with no nap.

Ghosts

2011-10-14T16:05:00.001-07:00

I'm sure everyone knows how to make these already but just in case you don't: you need three paper towels, ribbon, and I glued on eyes and drew a mouth (you can easily draw on both). Rip one of the paper towels in half and use it as stuffing for the head.

Then just draw or glue on the eyes and draw the mouth.

Once again, this would be a better project if Lincoln were a little older but I needed Halloween decorations so here they are.

I would love to say that this next picture is Linc admiring our craft but in reality he's a year and a half, so this is a picture of him tearing the eyeball off before he threw it to the floor...

So once again out comes the best dollar I ever spent, silly putty!

Tie Dye Milk

2011-10-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure where this idea originated online. I found it on coolscience.org. You pour milk in a bowl with a few drops of food coloring, then add a couple of drops of dish soap and the milk instantly makes a tie dyed design.

Before soap...

After...

Lincoln was supposed to watch patiently like this...

Instead he kept trying to do this...

When I kept stopping him he did this...

So I gave him a straw that produced a smile like this...

This was a pretty neat experiment. Lincoln loved it but I think older kids would have even more fun with it!

Spiders

2011-10-12T14:19:00.001-07:00

Today's craft was very easy and very quick. We traced our hands on black construction paper and made spiders.

There was only so much Lincoln could do with this project. It would probably work a little better if he was older but I needed Halloween decorations so while I was cutting out our hands he played with silly putty again.

He then decided he wanted me to make the silly putty into Nemo, so I made a horrible attempt at it and he actually loved it so much he gave it a hug...

One of the finished products...

Place mats

2011-10-11T18:43:00.001-07:00

Today we colored and put stickers on large pieces of paper that we later used for place mats for tonight's dinner. The stickers are Lightning McQueen which Lincoln loved decorating but he had a hard time eating dinner because he wouldn't stop "talking" about each one.

By the way, this is the cutest, most convenient crayon holder Lincoln's Nana made him.

Super Heroes

2011-10-10T15:50:00.001-07:00

I got this idea from Pinterest, my sister in law had pinned it and I thought it sounded so fun! You make a cape out of an old shirt.

Lincoln's friend Stella came over so I thought it would be more fun to try this project with two super heroes instead of one.

A Day at the Races

2011-10-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

I got this idea from my Aunt Jill. We raced feathers and cotton balls by blowing them across the finish line.

Or sometimes we won by picking up the cotton ball and placing it on the finish line.

Silly Putty a.k.a "Egg"

2011-10-07T15:40:00.001-07:00

I bought this a couple of days ago and Linc has played with the egg nonstop having no idea the real treasure was inside of it. I put the silly putty on a cookie sheet with some utensils to make designs in it.

Honestly there are so many cute pictures from this activity, he was cracking me up.

I showed him how to put the fork in the silly putty and we would watch it slowly fall waiting with anticipation for it to hit the ground so we could make a big explosion noise.

Balloon

2011-10-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

This activity was so simple! I actually had something else planned for today but in the middle of making cookies with Lincoln clinging to my leg asking to "look" and "hold you" I had finally had enough. I usually let Lincoln help me in the kitchen and he even helped me make these cookies but I had gotten to the point where I was rolling them in sugar and I knew I didn't want to clean up that mess. Long story short, I blew up a balloon and the rest is history...

After playing for awhile I sat him in front of the mirror in his room and showed him how to make his hair stand up. He thought it was hysterical but it was hard to do this and take a picture at the same time, hence the not so hysterical facial expression, so this is the best I got...

Modern art?

2011-10-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

So this craft and I were not on the same page from the start. I had all intentions of tracing and cutting out Lincoln's hands then decorating them with items using glue.

Problem number 1- after I traced and cut out Lincoln's hands I realized his hands were too small for the decorations I already had out. So I scratched that idea and just gave him a whole paper bag to decorate.
Problem number 2- I panicked at the last minute with the glue and I ran to the kitchen and mixed powdered sugar with water to make an edible glue-like substance in case it made it's way to his mouth (which it did).
Problem number 3- I added too much water to the powdered sugar so it was a lot runnier than I wanted, but Lincoln's patience had run out so I made due with what we had.
Honestly it turned out to be a fun project but it was nowhere near what I had in mind at the beginning.

Edible finger paint

2011-10-04T14:28:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to do finger painting with Linc but I've been nervous he would try to eat it. So we did finger painting today by mixing vanilla yogurt with food coloring.

And once again I threw him in the bath in a diaper to do this activity, which I highly recommend because it got messy!

And it's a good thing we went the edible route because low and behold it found it's way to his mouth.

Homemade tap shoes!

2011-10-03T14:26:00.001-07:00

I've seen this idea a few places online and I've been waiting till he almost outgrew his shoes to try it. You just glue pennies to the bottom of an old pair of shoes.
* warning this makes the shoes pretty slippery!

This is when he first walked with them...

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He's becoming more comfortable with them...

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We added music and he was becoming a little too confident (his mom may have been encouraging it). It's a good thing he takes falling pretty well because he did fall quite a few times.

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A day of fun with Uncle Thrine!

2011-09-30T19:25:00.001-07:00

We started off the day with a trip to the park.

We walked the tight rope in honor of this weeks Modern Family episode...

We went on the swings...

We drove a train...

Then decided to ride a real train...

Then they flew a helicopter...

Then rode a horse...

Played with water...

Balls...

And dressed up as Shrek (if all goes according to plan he should be a homemade version of Shrek for Halloween. So please don't compare this costume to however his homemade one turns out)...

We met Thomas for dinner in Salt Lake and all rode the train home together. We are so sad Uncle Thrine is leaving tomorrow! We've had a lot of fun with him!

Football

2011-09-30T19:13:00.001-07:00

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It's glowing!

2011-09-29T18:46:00.001-07:00

Uncle Thrine is here visiting!! Tonight for dinner we had dinner in the dark with glow sticks for decorations, jewelry, and straws! My camera didn't take the best pictures so bare with me.

Then afterwards we threw the glow sticks in Lincoln's bath (I've done this once before without bubbles but tonight we added bubbles and he had fun trying to find the glow sticks in them)

Painting cardboard

2011-09-28T19:51:00.001-07:00

My friend Alison gave me the idea for our activity today. I cut up a box from our Costco run last night and Lincoln painted it with water.

This entertained him for about twenty minutes and afterwards I decided to try a recipe that's been popping up all over Pinterest. It only requires these two ingredients...

However, I added a third (chocolate chips, because everything is better with chocolate) you bake it at 350 for 25 min.

Linc helped until I answered the phone (I really need to stop answering the phone during our activities because I came back to this...)

It turned out amazing! I definitely recommend this recipe! And Lincoln liked it just as much when it was actually cooked.

Turkey Baster

2011-09-27T16:25:00.001-07:00

Today I wasn't feeling so great so we did a really Simple activity. You get two bowls fill one with water (I added a drop of food coloring) and I had Lincoln transfer water from one bowl to the next using a turkey Baster.

He was really good at squirting the water out and loved it but had a harder time sucking it up so after about twenty minutes I just gave him a cup.

Please notice this last picture was taken after I had refilled the water so many times the food coloring was gone. He played with this for about an hour and had a lot of fun!

Play group- park

2011-09-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Today our play group went to one of the most amazing parks in West Jordan. It was huge! And so much fun!!

Painting bread

2011-09-25T14:42:00.001-07:00

My friend Gina is visiting this weekend so she joined Lincoln in today's activity. I mixed milk with food coloring and they painted bread. Afterwards they toasted their bread and put butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar on them.

Lincoln was laughing at Gina...

This last picture is their finished products, Gina wants everyone to vote on their favorite, I told her she'd loose.

Lightning McQueen

2011-09-22T15:41:00.001-07:00

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but Lincoln is obsessed with Lightning McQueen! We were at the store today and Lincoln came across slippers with him on them so we sent Thomas a picture message of Lincoln smiling with them, then we called him and asked if we could get them. Of course he said yes after a picture and a phone call.

So to say thank you he (we) cleaned the house

And wrote Dad a thank you note with a treat to come home to.

It's a....

2011-09-21T19:07:00.001-07:00

We found out today Baby #2 is a... BOY!!! We are SO excited and can't wait for Feb!! I haven't stopped smiling all day long! Lincoln is going to be a great older brother!

Play group

2011-09-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

Today for our play group we took the "choo choo" aka trax to Salt Lake City and went to the Planetarium and then took the train back. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of little Ian but everyone else is pictured (Stella, Luke, Henry, and Lincoln).

The train

Playing with "clouds"

Watching the ball machine

Walking on the moon

Walking on Mars

Drawing in rice

2011-09-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea a couple of places online. One person suggested using flour, another suggested using rice. I decided on the rice because it would be easier to pick up. You pour rice (or flour) into a cookie sheet and teach your child to draw in it, you can also teach them when you shake the cookie sheet the design disappears. They said to let your child use their finger but I used a paint brush.

We started outside (again to avoid a mess but some bees chased us inside after a few minutes.

Lincoln played with this for about an hour! And it was really easy to clean up, Linc was so careful not to spill inside.

Random

2011-09-20T19:46:00.001-07:00

So this isn't my "activity" post for today but I took pictures of my comedian of a son. Lincoln and I were playing with his stuffed animals and some stuffing came out of one of them so I was teaching Linc how he could blow at it and it would move on the ground. My phone rang and when I came back into the room he was trying to get it to stick on his lips, eyes, etc. We were both laughing pretty hard.

Explanation

2011-09-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

Some people have been asking me about my blog lately so I figure I might as well explain myself on here. I'm pregnant with our second child and during the first trimester I found it harder to function with morning sickness. So, I used the tv as a babysitter while I laid next to Lincoln. Once I finally started feeling better I realized that Lincoln watches way too much tv and I wasn't being the mom that I wanted to be to him. So our new rule is that Lincoln can watch a show in the morning when he wakes up but no tv after his nap ( which also includes when Thomas gets home until Lincoln goes to bed. He only gets to see Lincoln for about half an hour each day so now they spend the time playing). In order for me to hold myself to this I set a personal goal to share our crafts/ playtimes/ outings on my blog so that I would stick to it. Yesterday Lincoln didn't watch tv in the morning because my Grandma was here, that afternoon I was exhausted so I turned on a show for him. After about ten minutes he got up, walked over to the tv, turned it off, and went to play in his room. I just stared in awe, I guess we're getting somewhere!

Weekend fun!

2011-09-19T14:27:00.001-07:00

Thomas and his brother Jimmy went to the BYU/ Utah game on sat so the girls (Kira, Sara, baby J, and I) and Lincoln got to visit Kiras Aunt. Lincoln played with her dogs, cat, ate raspberries from her garden, jumped on the trampoline, then picked carrots to feed to the horses. He loved every minute! When we got back to Kira's the kids went to bed and the older girls had a nail party, then we all spent the night.
The next day my Grandma came to visit! Unfortunately the only picture I took from this weekend was Lincoln introducing Grandma to EVERY stuffed animal he owns!

She spent the night last night and today we took her to the aquarium and her favorite store, The Quilted Bear. It has been such a fun weekend!

Homemade bath paint!

2011-09-16T18:40:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea online awhile ago and I've been dying to try it. You mix shaving cream (the sensitive kind) with 3-4 drops of food coloring and it makes some fun, fluffy bath paint. And it doesn't stain!

How many of you who have seen the movie HOOK have always wanted to play with the food their eating? Well how much does this look like that?

Lincoln literally played for an hour and a half in the tub!

This last picture was taken half an hour after I let the water out, and cleaned out 3 of the 4 colors. So he was left with a cold naked body (which he didn't seem to mind) and purple.

Lights, camera, action!

2011-09-15T20:17:00.001-07:00

Lincoln was asked to be in a commercial for sunglasses. He played the "gothic" kid. I wish I got pictures of all of the kids in the commercial but whenever they were all together they were filming and us moms were catching the runaways. So here are some pictures of Linc in his gothic outfit.

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed

2011-09-15T20:13:00.001-07:00

Alison and I were talking in the kitchen and all we heard was giggling from the bedroom. Thomas had just gotten home from work and was playing with Lincoln and his friend Henry on the bed... I'm not posting videos of Thomas launching Lincoln and Henry onto the bed, sorry.

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Puppets

2011-09-14T19:45:00.001-07:00

My friend Alison came over and brought a gift, brown paper bags!! So why not have a puppet show today!?! Only one problem the puppets turned out a little scarier than I anticipated. Oops!

I'm with the band

2011-09-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

Last year, around this time, every time Lincoln started crying we started singing "the wheels on the bus". There were times it took quite a few verses to calm him down so after awhile there were all kinds of things on the bus that didn't belong including snakes. Nana got wind of this and purchased a toy bus for Lincoln's birthday but he was only allowed to get it if his mom (me) taught him the real words to the song. So nowadays it is limited to the mommy on the bus, the daddy on the bus, the wipers on the bus and the doors on the bus.
Well, Lincoln and I had singing time yesterday and I suddenly realized I had never sung "Old McDonald had a farm" to him. He thought it was the funniest song he had ever heard. So of course I kept singing about different animals on the farm because...he was egging me on by laughing. I'm sorry Nana but Old McDonald has all kinds of animals on his farm including elephants and snakes. This song helped me come up with an idea for today's activities...
We started by making a band with pots and pans

I left the room for a few minutes and when I came back he had turned the pots and pans over and was stirring inside of it. I asked him what he was making and he looked back at me over his shoulder and said in such a sweet voice "cereal".

I stepped closer and looked inside and he had actually put a few pieces of cereal inside (I gave him a bag of dried cereal to snack on earlier)

And then he asked if I wanted a taste

But back to Old McDonald, we ended the day with a trip to the zoo to see Old McDonalds animals...elephants

And snakes!!

Treasure hunt

2011-09-12T20:47:00.001-07:00

Lincoln and I went on a nature walk today. I brought along a bag to collect things that we found and Lincoln started calling it "treasure". So I guess you can say we went on a treasure hunt and Lincoln LOVED it! He tried putting everything he found into our plastic bag including someone's basketball they left outside and someone else's puppy they were walking. After we collected enough "treasure" we went home to glue it onto a treasure map? Just go with it.

I love Lincoln's face in this next picture!

Tricks

2011-09-12T19:13:00.001-07:00

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Too many cooks in the kitchen

2011-09-11T21:45:00.001-07:00

Every time I'm cooking in the kitchen Lincoln always asks to "look look" so I usually will pull up a chair for him to kneel on and watch me cook. Well, today I let him get a little more hands on with dinner and he knelt down on the chair and stirred for about 20 min. I couldn't get a picture of him smiling because I couldn't get him look away from what he was doing.

"treat" necklace

2011-09-11T21:41:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday Lincoln got new nursery leaders and after nursery he ran up to me (literally) in the hallway with the biggest smile on his face, holding something out toward me, yelling "Treat! Treat!" They had made necklaces with cereal on them and he was in LOVE!! So I couldn't help myself for our craft this week we recreated these treasures and they were almost as big of a hit the second time around.

Daddy and me

2011-09-11T21:34:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures! I walked into the room to find Thomas and Lincoln cuddling on the couch. I love them!!

Big brother in training

2011-08-29T15:24:00.001-07:00

Last Christmas Nana got Lincoln a baby so we have been using the baby a lot lately during play time. I totally consider it a training tool for baby number two!
So today we made a bed for the baby in Lincoln's wagon and practiced putting the baby to sleep.

Lincoln has about ten blankets that he is obsessed with which is nice because he can have any one of the ten and be completely happy, anyways, Linc refers to them as "keys". So during "big brother in training" time we laid the baby down and I told Linc to give the baby a "keys" so he could sleep...it took me a long time to realize Linc thought I was telling him to give the baby a "kiss" haha. So cute!

Here it is!

2011-08-29T15:08:00.001-07:00

There have been many requests to see videos of Lincoln "talking". He does actually say a lot of REAL words but since he was ten months old he has been talking like this...and NO I have no idea what he's saying.

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This last one is my absolute favorite!!! Lincoln laughs every time he watches it. He'll watch the first two videos but he replays this last one over and over.

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