A couple days outside

Yesterday we...

put out new seed for the birds.

Today we

brought out the water table!

And had a snack at Emma's new table... Easter eggs were her idea

Easter festivities!

What a weekend! It was full of family and love and my heart is so full right now.

Easter package from Mimi and Pop pop on Friday 

Making a nest for the Easter bunny on Saturday. A forming family tradition perhaps? 

Testing it out with actual pretend bunnies!

 (And bunny crackers) 

A little evening sliding on her new playground 

She came she came!

Also got a great kite! Who said red??

Emma says she is a monarch butterfly 

Later that afternoon we met with our friends Helen, Brady and Millie (nearly TWO now!) for an Easter egg hunt. The girls loved searching, spotting eggs and discovering what was inside. Millie collected eggs and opened them after the hunt; Emma opened them as she went along and inspected or ate each prize before moving on. I love seeing how Emma and her friends vary, taking on different things in different ways. 

All for now <3

Emma thisnthat

Emma loves to climb so I'm glad we have many spots around us where she can Up to her hearts content. We do some baby rock climbing in Depew park. We spend mornings at one of our local playgrounds. BIG play and gross motor skills are Emma's greatest interest, we can't keep her still sometimes so instead we get her out and moving. 

Emma at her friend Anna's 2nd birthday, jumping right into a soil patch to investigate. 

Driving Anna's car.

Laying in our own yard and looking up at the trees with me.

Emma's new tube for indoor play! She loves to bounce on it or make it a nest for her toys. 

Suited up and exploring puddles....

and making her own!

Polar bear and Hippo game in the mud.

Pizza picnic! Cheeeeese

Coloring a box. She is calling the box "home" for some reason, I swear we don't make her live there. 

Getting to know this rock while mommy bird watches. I was spotting yellow warblers, wrens, cardinals, woodpeckers... Emma was feeding the rock some of her cereal. She told me the rock has horns and coupled with its love of oat cereal it must be part Cervidae. I'm not surprised, deer are common in this area!

Emma's latest painting which she first wanted hung on her belly, then her back, then over an existing piece of art. I like looking for familiar shapes and figures in Emma's paintings. This one looks like a woman wearing a hat to me. Emma is slowly getting more respectful of our art materials and I'm excited for that to continue and for us to do some big projects! I've got a lot of inspiration saved up, I think we're going to have to arrange a little studio soon so we can really get to work. 

Maybe when we have a little more room..

More Emma Games

Emma has always got to find ways to experience everything around her. Most of the time she has me laughing because... I didn't think to rub dirt on my own face or even find that necessary. But to her it is and that was one of the first things she did when she climbed into the raised garden bed in our friends backyard. Emma often drops to her belly to inspect up close: piles of sand and debris (on the sidewalk for example!), streams at the park, new grass sprouting up, bugs we encounter. She throws leaves, sticks and tree nuts into the pond, streams or the wind. She's fearless and it scares me. She's climbing almost higher than I'm comfortable with sometimes but she's so driven to do so, how can I stop her? She will go full speed down hills or on pavement if we let her (sorry Emma, not yet!) and would wade into the pond without a second thought. She rushes up the stairs to the tall spiral slide at the playground, sits and scooches to the ledge, zips down and shouts "more more more!" running back for the stairs. She's happiest moving, climbing, spinning, pulling things apart and making messes. 

How you play: an observation.

In an effort to give Emma more opportunities for meaningful and enriching play I watch how she plays and interact with her environment. Inspired by another blog, I decided to give Emma some homemade playdough and pieces of sea glass for play, and take notes as she works. 

It got a little crazy after maybe seven minutes of diligent focused play. Pictures of what happened after my note taking below.

(Shouting "Party! Party!) 

 

And after this observation I will be keeping an eye on craigslist for a second hand "climber" and slide for you.

I will find a sturdy inflatable ring to use in your active play indoors

I will set up the water table as soon as we are clear of cold days (which I know would cause disaster at home when I tell you you cannot play in the water) 

I will be vacuuming up crumbs of playdough