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Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts

Saturday, May 31, 2014

This week

Almost a year and a half ago I decided to post a list of what I called "Daily Smiles" each week on my blog. I would jot something down each day that made me smile, whether it be Liam telling me that he loved me or seeing a bunny in our backyard. Forcing myself (willingly) to write something down each day made me stop and reflect on the simple, beautiful things that happen each day. 

Well...for Christmas this year my sister-in-law gave me a perpetual calendar where I write down a special tidbit or event from each day. It has become too time consuming for me to write a tidbit down in my perpetual calendar plus write it in my blog each day, so I've stopped adding Daily Smiles to this blog.

I thought of a more fun way to share the things that make me smile each week here on my blog - I'm going to start my Weekly Smiles. At the end of the week I will post some of my favorite moments via photographs. I take so many photos each week, on my Nikon, my iPhone and the iPad. So I figured, why not just download some photos and share them. It's fun for me and more visually stimulating for you.

And I'm changing it to weekly smiles instead of "daily" because, honestly, some days we don't even leave the house or the play/toy corner! I definitely smile at Liam and Chloe in the toy corner many times a day, but do you really want to see photos of Liam playing with Matchbox cars every day? And Chloe drooling on her play mat? And then there are some days when we actually get out and walk to the park or pick veggies from the garden and those days warrant more photos :) 
Finding time to blog has become a bit hard for me (toddler + newborn = not a ton of personal time). But blogging keeps me somewhat sane and I love doing it, so I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this.

So here it goes...my first Weekly Smiles...complete with photos and blurbs:
'Up north' at our cabin this past weekend my niece and nephew showed Liam how to fish...

Liam played nicely (most of the time) with his cousins...

Here are my niece and nephew splashing around in the lake. The water was about 40 degrees, but they didn't care at all! These are some true Wisconsin kids.

My niece turned 14!! How did that happen? I feel so freaking old. We celebrated 
with her at the cabin. Happy birthday, sweet Caroline :)

Matt and Liam sharing a moment. Makes my heart flutter.

I am obsessed with Chloe's little feet! I can't get enough of these cute toes. 
I already have a vast collection of Chloe Feet Photos :)

Our neighbor left a bottle of this by our back door this week. Who knew there
was a bottle of wine named after our kid!

I actually baked something. I found time! They are not from scratch (what. ever.) but they
were still yummy (yes, they're gone already).

Our perennials are finally blooming in our yard...

It was warm enough outside for Liam to play in his sandbox...

Chloe enjoyed the warm weather too. Although I'm a pretty paranoid mom
when it comes to keeping her warm, so she was still bundled up in a blanket.

We took a family trip to a local garden center (Caan Floral and Greenhouses) and bought some more perennials to add to the gardens in our front yard...

And I scored THESE at a rummage sale yesterday!! Liam, Chloe and I were out for a 
walk and came across some rummage sales in an alley nearby. And I found these
bad boys!! Can you tell I am excited? They are perfect for our kitchen and just the
right size for a small cup of coffee in the morning. And guess how much I scored them for?
$2 for the entire set!! And they're vintage Fire King. 

Lastly...we're chicken-sitting for our next-door neighbor this weekend. 
Look at what Matt found in their coop today? Fresh eggs...yeehaw!

And here's Matt putting them in their coop for the night. 
Note how Liam is intently watching his dad :)



Happy weekend to you all...
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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Things that made me smile this week

Liam had a fever for half of the week (poor kiddo). We ventured out a few quick times (to the library, to TJ Maxx and to his toddler art class), but the rest of the time was spent at home resting and watching kid movies. His Nana visited for a couple of days too, so that allowed me some time to run errands on my own. 

Here's a quick little post about things that made me smile this past week, despite having a sick child. All photos were taken via my iPhone.

As you can see, Liam and Matt pretty much account for 90% of the smiles generated in my life:


Last Sunday Liam went "big boy" sledding for the first time at my mom's house.
(socks over his mittens is the only way we could keep the darn things on!)

And squeezed through a snow tunnel.

He insisted on eating breakfast in his new hat. 

And helped me "vacuum" the living room.

My loving hubby brought me home some bright flowers, just because.

Liam LOVED his art class again this week. Here he is, 
creating different textures on his painting using combs.

See this brownish/barfy green stuff peeking out behind the white stuff?
It's something called GRASS!! I haven't seen this in a very long time. 
Hopefully someday very soon it will turn green :)

We actually got outside for a walk because the temperature was 
above freezing! We strolled on down to the winter farmers' market.

The sun was shining into our windows! Simple as that.

Liam picked out some really good books from the library this time.
These are my top 3 out of the ones we brought home.

I invested in my first pair of Toms :)
Now the snow just needs to go away so I can wear them.

And the biggest smile of the week was....
Liam started sleeping in his new big boy room and big boy bed! No more crib for him!
He has slept overnight and taken naps successfully in his twin bed for five days already!
Here he is, laying next to his deer friend.

And here's my belly (that big 'ol grey & black polka dot thing you see below) next to Liam.
To think that baby #2 and Liam are sleeping right next to each other in this photo and neither of
them know it is pretty cool to me. I have high hopes that someday, when baby #2 is out of the womb, that they'll be able to rest next to each other this peacefully again :)


Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Love,
Erin
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Friday, January 10, 2014

Our Top Ten Toddler App Picks

Liam is obsessed with playing games on our iPad.

I know there are studies out there that say toddlers shouldn't be playing on iPads or iPhones or other devices, but I am his mom and I make the decisions around here!

He doesn't even use the iPad every day. But if he does use it we have set rules. He gets to use it once per day, and I limit his use to 30 minutes. Matt or I sit with him the entire time and help him with the games. Although, I must say, he doesn't need much help after he's played a certain game once or twice. Nor does he WANT the help! He will actually push my hand away and say "no mama" if I try to help him too much. Either he's turning into a bossy boss or he's just wanting to become more independent. I'm hoping it's the latter :)

It's amazing how quickly kids learn how to use the electronics. I never realized it until I had a kid of my own. Liam knows how to turn the dang iPad on and swipe the bar to get to the menu. Then he swipes through all of the apps until he finds the "Liam's Games" icon and clicks on it. Then he picks out the game he wants to play all on his own -- he remembers which apps are which. Yikes!

Since many of my blog readers have kids and know quite a few of you have iPads or iPhones, I thought I would share Liam's favorites with you (keeping in mind he is almost 2 years old). I know there are a gazillion apps out there and it's sometimes hard to find the right ones for your kiddos. So here are our top 10 picks at the moment. I say "at the moment" because they are always changing.

1) Pepi Tree by Pepi Play
Matt and I both love this game, as does Liam. It is my top pick. It's just SO cute and the music is great. There are six different levels that revolve around a tree, from the treetop to underground. The critters are adorable and the levels are do-able. Recommended for ages 5 and under.

2-5) ABC House, ABC Aquarium, ABC Go and ABC Wildlife by Peapod Labs

All four of these apps are great and keep Liam busy for the entire 1/2 hour sometimes. Kids can click on any letter A-Z and it takes them to pages with words that start with the chosen letter. Then on each word page there's an activity for the kids to do (watch a video, coloring, etc). I think it's a great learning tool. Recommend for ages 5 and under.

6) Puzzle Farm Imagination Adventure by Eggroll Games
This one is really cute. Kids move the puzzle pieces across the screen to complete farm themed puzzles. Once the puzzle is complete kids can click on the farm animals, etc and they make cute noises. Great for toddlers.

7) Grandpa's Workshop by Fairlady Media
This one is pretty cool. The grandpa guides kids through various workshop related activities, such as cutting wood, painting a stool, gluing together a broken garden gnome, etc. And the grandpa is very encouraging, often saying "great job" and "give me a high five." Recommended for ages 2-6.

8) Magical Music Box by Kidoteca
This app plays a variety of songs in the music box style. Kids can turn the handle to play the song as fast or as slow as they want. You can also switch it to automatic, which is great to calm your kid down before nap or bedtime. This one is recommended for  babies and toddlers.


9) Cute Food by SB
Kids pick out a place mate, plate and object to "decorate" with over 200 pieces of fruits and veggies. Very cute, educational and creative. It's a bit advanced for Liam, but he still enjoys moving the fruits and veggies around the page. Recommended for kids of all ages.


10) Cute Baby Flash Cards by United Worx
I really feel this app has helped Liam learn some words! He loves flipping through the cards himself. This is a simple, cute app recommended for ages 6 months-3 years.

Okay - so now I would really like to know, what are YOUR favorite kid apps at the moment! If we all share our favorites with each other how wonderful would that be!

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