If You Give A Moose

I love these books!

And so does my toddler.

Click on “Read More” after the picture to frolic in fun with us.

Updates (because I may be one of the laziest bloggers on the big, wide, Internet).

1. Fall has begun in the Pacific Northwest. That basically means that this is the most frustrating time of year for the weather correspondents because inevitably, they will be wrong! It is hilarious and frustrating, but hey – that’s why we dress in layers and everyone owns hoodies!

We are picking up leaves to use for crafts and we’re also beginning our talks on the seasons. I think her favorite part of Fall so far is the wind whistling through the trees. When we are on our walks, she likes to stop, look up and just listen. She points to hear to let me know she’s hearing something… You know, in case I couldn’t hear it too! Haha

2. Elise loves going to the library! We started going a few weeks ago and she just loves to go through the books, play with the puzzles they have, and help Mom check out our weekly stash.

We are doing so many fun activities and fueling her insatiatable hunger for new reading material. She did give pause after she took a tumble (face first) into the concrete outside the library, but has since regained her excitement when we pull up to the library or even just talk about going.

3. Danger got her first cold! Yep, it sucks. We were going out to celebrate our anniversary, but I’m not sure how she’ll do with Nanny Kris when she feels bad. We will see if we are going to postpone it or power through.

4. Potty training. Ugh. Ok, so I was going to use this weekend to see if she was ready for it by doing the whole, “figuring out whether she knows the feeling” bit, but with her cold showing up, I chucked those plans.

I already had tons of kitchen activities planned so that I could have her bare-bottomed for a good part of the first day. We were going to hang out in the kitchen – on the easily cleaned tile floor – but alas, plans change.

After a quick run to the pharmacy for some natural vapor rub, we planted ourselves down for a craft. I had already prepped this one, so it was executed with no drama – I love that!

If You Give A Moose A Muffin

This entire series of books (If You Give A…) is great and we will revisit each one many times as Danger grows, I’m sure. This easy toddler craft had just a little bit of set up and was very engaging for her. The original idea was to have her paint the moose so I used an Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies box to create a sturdy moose head, antlers and muffins. I chucked that when I thought about infection control, so if using crayons, craft paper would work.

This is an awesome pic of an awesome craft on RufflesAndRainBoots.com

We read the book, talked about a moose’s natural habitat and then got to coloring. She and I colored a background and I glued everything onto it after she put the finishing touches on the moose and the muffins.

Danger wanted to keep “colowing” and “cwafting,” so I came up with another moose activity while she watched. I gathered up a some oak leaves we had stashed, some craft paper and a couple of googly eyes… Voila! Another moose to color.

We also talked about the letter “m,” but I’m not sure she understands that the symbols make up the words we read. I mean, she “reads” by herself all the time, making up her own stories based on the pictures she sees. No words necessary. Yet.

Have a great day!