*there's a method for cleaning hands

Every day Will rubs food in his hair. He mousses with condiments. Last week I had an epiphany - he is doing that to clean off his hands! I know he doesn't like the way leftover food feels on his hands, but I thought the typical toddler thing to do is to wipe them on your clothes. Nope. Will prefers his hair. (This does not explain the time that he picked up a plate covered in leftover ketchup and rubbed it all over his head after his hands were clean, but I stand by that explanation.) He is using his hair as a napkin. 

It gives him a unique look, doesn't it?

*there's his first trip to Cheekwood

Last Sunday afternoon at Cheekwood

 

Every year they have a different outdoor exhibit. 

This year it was trains!

Amazing landscaping and water feature

Peeking at the Ladybug train through a secret window

There were also little models of historic Tennessee buildings all around.

Union Station, Nashville

Thomas coming towards me right before he jumped the track. That got a "Whoa!" out of Will.

Beale Street, Memphis

State Capital Building, Nashville

The Hermitage, Nashville

mini Cheekwood Mansion

Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville

The building behind the stroller is Alex Haley's boyhood home in Henning, but I don't remember what the other one is - something from East TN I think. I mainly wanted a picture of how high those train tracks were. I missed getting a shot of the little Graceland.

Parthenon, Nashville

The bridges were very neat

 

Behind us you can see two little reflecting pools. Between them is a waterfall. I'm describing it because that is the spot where Will sat in the water! It was such a hot day I don't think he even noticed. You can even see him reaching for his water cup in the picture with the stroller. He drank more that day than I think we have ever seen.

*there's a summer Saturday

Will and Daddy getting ready to shop at the Farmer's Market.

Probably checking out a dog walking by...

Then we scarfed down a quick lunch at a downtown restaurant. Eating in public places has to be quick with an active toddler. Once we got home Will made the most of the day by playing in the yard.

Climbing - one of his favorite things to do.

 

Rolling the big ball down the slide

Will's turn

Going down the slide all by himself!

*there's our playing learning creating projects

This post is
a) to make fun of some recent failures and
b) to save some links that I will want to access in the future.

I kept seeing rice as a good sensory activity online and I was familiar with using it for sand tray therapy at work. So I made some colored rice and gave it to Will. He had fun helping me make the rice and did really well with it - sitting and playing for quite a while. The part of rice play that didn't work is that Will eventually started to EAT the rice. And then Katie the dog ATE the rice too. This rice is uncooked and green from food coloring. yuk. Here is where I got the inspiration. Beautiful isn't it? I still plan to do it on a bigger scale like they did one day. In the meantime I will keep bringing out the small box of green rice I've got and will work on keeping it out of his mouth, because unless it spills into a pile of broken glass* it will last a very long time.

That brings me to my other unsuccessful activity - dried beans*. I got a bag of dried black eyed peas and put them in a big glass bowl. It  had a lid so I thought it was perfect for long term storage. Will liked to dig his hands in the peas and hide some of his small toys for finding. After doing this activity only once, I put the bowl up high on a shelf in the laundry room. Just a few hours later I tried to get something off the same shelf and can you believe that bowl of peas fell to the floor and broke!?! I was not about to try to separate peas from glass, especially when they only cost me about $2. So I'm now out one Pyrex bowl with lid (a wedding gift) and a $2 bag of peas. I will do this one again in the future, but I will collect more plastic containers first!

Here is my near future TO DO LIST:
Ice Cube Painting
Playing with Natural Light
Water Beads

TO DO when Will is older:
Giant Bubble Snakes
Hot Colored Rocks - can also use them for coloring
Hovercraft
I Spy Bottles
Bubbles and Light
Snow in the Summer
Street Paint

Things I will probably like more than Will:
Treehouse Play Scene
Puffy Bath Paint
Nature Table

Quick and Easy:
Car Mat
Slide drawing 

Helps with learning letters or numbers:
Squishy Bag
Alphabet and Number Stones
Edible ABCs

These came from several different sites, but I spend the most time on the
Play at Home Moms site at playathomemom3.blogspot.com
(thanks to fellow heart mom Tara for leading me to that one),
The Artful Parent at artfulparent.typepad.com,
and PaintCutPaste at paintcutpaste.com.

Here is our first try with bathtub paint:

 

His favorite part was using the paint on his hands to make bubbly waves.

This will be our next one - Hammering Tees. Since it's 100+ degrees outside we'll be using an indoor alternative. Will LOVES a good round of hammering.

Happy Fourth!

This year we enjoyed another get together with some of my family for the Fourth of July. Will got to play with his cousin Addison who is very close to his age. Getting toddlers to pose for pictures is tough!

*there's a marvel

You Are A Marvel

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, 

a moment that will never be again . . .

And what do we teach our children? 

We teach them that two and two make four, 

and that Paris is the capital of France.

   
When will we also teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them: 

Do you know what you are? 

You are a marvel. You are unique. 

In all the years that have passed, 

there has never been another child like you. 

Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. 

You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoven.  
You have the capacity for anything. 

Yes, you are a marvel. 

And when you grow up, 
can you then harm another who is, 
like you, 
a marvel?
You must work - we must all work - 

to make the world worthy of its children. 

Pablo Casals

Faster than a speeding bullet...

It's SuperWill!

*there's his favorite drinking helpers

An update on Will's feeding progress - he is drinking so much more lately. For most meals he was drinking either 0 or 5-10mls per meal in the past. Just so you know, 5 mls is about a teaspoon! As of last week he suddenly is drinking more! He has been known to drink 1-2 OUNCES at one time now!

So here is a run down of what we use and how they help. First, a disclaimer: the feeding therapy recommendation is that his cups need to be very free flowing and not have flow-restricting valves. Those are usually in kids' cups to make them spill-proof. So if you are looking for a cup that doesn't make a mess you will need to ask someone else...I only have experience with the messy ones!

The Take and Toss 5oz Little Learner Sippy Cups are the ones we usually use.
Pro #1: This brand has interchangeable parts. The top of this cup also holds the snack cup top and the removable handles that come with the Take and Toss 7 oz Sippy Cups with Removable Handles. Will liked the handles at first but they are really difficult to get on and off for me (Con #1). Now he grabs the little 5 oz cup easily without the handles and I think he prefers it. These are perfect for people like us that are keeping track of how has been drunk after each meal because there are measurements on the side like a baby bottle! (Pro #2)  It is really hard to see the numbers depending on the color of the cup and liquid but you can do it. The small "snack cup" size is perfect for Will. Remember...these are not spill proof cups!(Con #2) They are sometimes listed as such and I'm sorry to say that is just not true! They are really inexpensive at less than $2 each. (Pro #3) Since Will uses the spout to practice chewing with his new teeth we will be needing some new ones soon. Maybe then we will graduate to some with cartoon characters on them!

Another cup that I hoped and still hope to like is the Born Free Drinking Cup.

It also has the measurements listed on the side and has interchangeable parts with another cup, the Born Free Training Cup which looks almost identical but has a very different spout. One is to help babies transition off the bottle and the other is their version of a typical toddler sippy cup. Will has enjoyed this cup a few times but then seemed uninterested, so I put it away for awhile. It does have a flow restrictor which Will doesn't need, so I'm saving it for possible future use.

It went against my I'mnotgoingtobuyeverycuponthemarket plan but the Tommee Tippee Explora Truly Spill Proof Straw Cup was a completely un-researched impulse buy. I didn't include a picture because it doesn't deserve it. It is spill proof; it is also practically drink proof. I can't drink from this cup. I even handed it to Chris to see if I was doing something wrong and he couldn't drink from this cup. Afterward I looked online at parent reviews and one said "My tongue actually hurts from trying to make this cup work." Amen. Despite them not being insulated, I think I will be trying the Take and Toss or the Ziploc Straw Cup when the time comes for straw cups. I haven't tried Ziploc yet but their lids seem more secure. And when he needs a bigger one I'm thinking about the Munchkin Mighty Grip. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a flow restrictor either.

I think the unfortunate Tommee Tippee purchase came from false confidence after a surprising success with the Earth's Best Organic Yogurt Fruit Smoothie. (just to clarify- this is not a cup but an eating milestone!)

We were in Nashville between doctor's appointments and I was looking for something at Whole Foods anyway so I grabbed one and took it with us to lunch. He LOVED it. Despite it being thick and having to suck it through a short but wide built-in spout, he couldn't get enough of this. His favorite thing is to put the cap in his mouth, taking it off and putting it back on the pouch without any hands. He still hasn't tired of this game. One day he must have been super hungry because he downed the whole 4 ounces at once and didn't even need my help holding it. We tried to show the feeding therapist the next day and he squeezed this one by Ella's Kitchen in a way that made it explode onto his face and into his eyes. That was a screaming disaster. We regrouped and tried again at home and he is back to liking them in a supervised way.

Now for the cup that helped him make progress - the Nuby No Spill Cup with Super Spout! It is definitely my favorite cup for him right now. It leaks a little, but not much. I think it works better for him now than when he was younger because the spout was a little bit too big. It releases liquid with gentle pressure (accomplished with a bite down) and the handles are secured to the lid. The handles being secure is very important, because that is the difference in the cup I recommend and the cup I DON'T recommend...the Nuby No Spill Grip 'n Sip Cup. Ease of drinking from this one is irrelevant because this cup breaks. Easily. Will broke 2 of them during their first use. How can a cup for a toddler not withstand a collision with the floor?

For a taller version of the GOOD cup I would get the Nuby Super Spout Easy Gripper. But be warned that another Nuby cup I don't like is the No Spill Easy Grip Cup. Although the names are similar and the cups look the same, the silicone lid on the latter creates a strange vacuum when drinking. In short, if you want a Nuby go with the Super Spout and whether it says Easy Grip or Easy Gripper.

Some day Will is probably going to read this and ask why on earth I thought anyone would want to know these things. I'm not sure anyone does. But even though they are disguised as product reviews, these are milestones and snapshots of our life. It's not just a cup to me!

*there's summertime

We have been having a great summer! Will has been busy this summer playing outside as much as possible. Here are some of the other things we have been up to:

live Bluegrass music

Will's favorite thing about Bluegrass night was
playing in the pea gravel...he was filthy!

Taking a quick drive through the grocery store.

Chris and I got to check out The Woods at Fontanel
recently for a Willie Nelson concert:

It is literally in the woods.

Right by a creek!

Willie and his son Lukas

 

We also saw Billy Currington at the Wildhorse Saloon
for one of Chris' work events:

 Sorry about the poor quality of those pictures; they were all taken on my phone.
Here are more from around the house:

Playing on the splash pad.

 

Trying out the slide

I moved this chair all the way under the light switch just so I could

be amazed at my ability to turn on the lights!

They can't see me when I do this.

Peek-a-boo!

Lying on the couch with Daddy

Cuddling on Father's Day

Chris' Father's Day present that he has been wanting for months! Complete with a road trip through beautiful Cannon County to pick it up.