Archives for 2012

Laugh-out-loud funny

December 13, 2012

When was the last time to you laughed out loud at something funny? I’m talking about laughing so hard you had tears in your eyes and thought you might pee your pants.

I recently watched “The Campaign” with my family, and this scene at the Huggins’ dinner table had my dad and me literally crying with laughter. I was actually surprised I found it so funny because I’m not necessarily a fan of that Will Ferrell-type humor (or in this case, Zack Galifianakis-type humor).

Tell me about the last thing you saw or read that was laugh-out-loud funny. I’m in the mood for levity today!

All the ways my toddler is awesome

December 12, 2012

In celebration of Levi’s 17 month birthday, I want to share with you all the ways that Levi is awesome. That’s right, my kiddo is awesome. I know I said I wouldn’t be giving another update until he was 18 months old, but Levi’s grown and matured in so many ways this past month that I feel it’s my duty to acknowledge his recent milestones.

Things Levi loves:

Crayons – At the library during story time or in his basement playroom, all he wants to do is get his hands on crayons. He’ll actually scribble on paper with them but prefers to draw directly on the coffee table.
Music – He’s the only one who doesn’t mind my singing voice and loves it when I sing “B-I-N-G-O” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” to him. He’ll even move his fingers together, trying to make the spider hand gestures.
Books – I was concerned that he no longer had the patience for story time. Turns out, he wanted me to sit on the floor next to him instead of him sitting with me in the chair. He’ll rifle through his bins of books, discarding certain titles as if he’s looking for something specific. After each book he’ll sign “more” and then hand me another one to read.
TV – Well, sort of. I don’t let him watch TV very often, but every once in a while I’ll play part of a “Wonder Pets” or “Sesame Street” episode. He’s starting to show an interest in the characters and the action on the screen, and sometimes he even does the sign for “please” while handing me the remote!

Things Levi says:

Up! means “pick me up,” “hold me,” or “put me in my highchair”
Go! means “leave”
Nana! means “banana”

Things Levi does:

Feigns ignorance – I know he knows what “No!” means but he pretends that he doesn’t. He also seems to think that “Stop!” is something I say because I like to hear my own voice.
Walks – He proved he’s capable of walking on his own at Thanksgiving when he took his first steps. Last week, though, his confidence suddenly skyrocketed and now he’s walking instead of crawling about 70-80% of the time.

I put together this short video of Levi learning to walk. The song is “At Last” (how appropriate!) by Brown Recluse.

The best toddler play kitchens

December 11, 2012

If Levi’s toy preferences as a toddler are any indication of his future hobbies, he may just grow up to become quite the chef. My little guy loves play kitchens. When we visited family friends over Thanksgiving, Levi made a beeline for the Educo kitchen play set in their den, and he always enjoys the pretend grocery and kitchen exhibits at the Omaha Children’s Museum.

I think what Levi likes best about play kitchens is that they offer so much to do. (It’s not actually pretend play when they’re only 16 months old, is it?) There’s food to remove from cabinets and shelves, and there are pots and pans to bang and stir. And, of course, there are doors to open and close.

And open.

And close.

So I’m adding a toddler play kitchen to Levi’s wishlist. My preference is for something wooden, although I’m having a hard time deciding. Which do you like best?

Clockwise from top left: Hape Gourmet Kitchen // IKEA Duktig Mini-Kitchen // Guidecraft Kitchenette Center // Wonderworld Cooking Center Play Kitchen // Educo My Creative Cookery Club // KidKraft Espresso Toddler Play Kitchen

Or maybe all he needs is something small, just a couple of burners and some pots and pans. Here are a few wooden portable kitchens that caught my eye:

Clockwise from top left: Haba Wooden Play Cooker // Alex Wooden Cook Top Playstove // Haba Chef Stovetop Set // Order Up! Portable Kitchen // Wonderworld My Portable Cooker

What type of pretend play does your little one enjoy the most? Do you have a future chef at home?

Scenes from Chanukah

December 10, 2012

We kicked off Chanukah Saturday night with a party at the Omaha Children’s Museum. The under-8 crowd had free reign of the museum for the evening, and dinner was an assortment of tasty treats from a kid-friendly buffet. Naturally, my picky eater only wanted to eat a brownie. Walking/crawling around the museum for an hour must have made him very thirsty, though, because he chugged two juice boxes.

Now, except for Gatorade and Pedialyte when he’s been sick, Levi has never drank juice before. It’s either milk or nothing. But he finished his milk in the car before he arrived, and I could tell he was desperate to drink something. I probably should have rinsed out his sippy cup and filled it with water, but I didn’t think of that. I say should have because I’m pretty sure that drinking all of that juice is the reason why Levi projectile vomited at the table in front of our rabbi and his family.

Side note: Our rabbi is around my age, and I’m actually good friends with his wife. They have a little one who plays with Levi. So it wasn’t as horrifying as it could have been had they been strangers. Or old and stodgy. But it was still pretty miserable.

Lucky for you, I don’t have any photographs from our experience at the museum. But here are some photos of how we celebrated the second night Chanukah yesterday:

Levi loved playing with the Jewish star window clings my mom sent last year
JB made his grandma’s latkes (we’re gonna smell like fried onions until the holiday ends!)
Levi devoured most of his latke
Our menorah–I love the ombre-style candles
Opening presents

To all those celebrating… Happy Chanukah!

PS: Levi’s first Chanukah–he was so small!

Toddler Girl Style

December 7, 2012

I’m guest blogging over at A Denver Home Companion today, sharing my fashion picks for stylish toddler girls like Emily’s sweet little Ramona. Go check it out!

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