marshmellow peeps

Addison was excited to find her Easter basket this morning.  It was filled with new Spring jammies, sidewalk chalk eggs, a bunny sippy cup, bark colored pencils, coloring books, a few board books, some eggs filled with freeze dried fruit, a little stuffed chick, a pink recorder, bunny masks, stickers & most importantly marshmellow Peeps.  It was love at first bite. So much so, that she got ahold of the package & ate all 3 chocolate dipped peeps in a matter of minutes. I'd say this years basket was a success!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Egg Hunt

We spent the morning at an egg hunt our church puts on every year.  The turnout was phenomenal this year, with 1,200+ people in attendance.  There were hunts for toddlers, elementary, teenagers & adults. We gave away TV's, iPods & tons of other great prizes.  There was inflatables, food & a DJ, the best part is it's totally free to the community.  It's one of our church's opportunities to give back to the community & an awesome event to be a part of.  This year Addison got to participate in the egg hunt.  She wasn't sure what to make of it at first.  She was a little leary of the crowd of kids trampling over one another for the eggs. She stuck to a small radius, collecting 4 eggs & calling it quits.  She decided putting the eggs in the basket & taking them out over and over again was more fun then actually hunting for the eggs.  

She played with her friend Kelsy and ran around like a mad women for a good two hours & crashed when she got home.  

Creative Easter Egg Decorating

I am a HUGE fan of Easter Egg decorating; there is something nostalgic about it. There are tons of super creative ways to decorate your eggs but here are 10 of my favorites. 

Glitter Dipped

Silhouette Stenciled Eggs

Lace Wrapped Eggs

Chalkboard Eggs

Sharpie Lettering Egg

Marbleized Eggs

Jute Wrapped Eggs

Ombre Colored Eggs

Photo Print Eggs

Modern Print Eggs

DIY Burlap Easter Basket

What you need:

• metal bucket (I picked mine up from Home Depot for $9.99)
• Burlap (I choose an off color for $2.49/yard from WalMart)
• Fabric scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Measuring tape/ruler
• Iron
• Paint (I used a light pink)
• Foam brush

First I measured my bucket. Next I cut my burlap into a workable length/height leaving about 2 inches of extra material on each side. Next I creased the burlap & ironed so there would be a smooth seam.  

 Next, with the help of my husband, I put a small strip of hot glue along the bottom of the bucket, pulling tightly & adhering the burlap.  I then repeated the process on the top.  Once the bucket was fully wrapped, I trimmed the access burlap, leaving enough room to make a fold on the side of the bucket.  I then hot glued the fold creating an even seam.

I then designed a monogram stencil in Photoshop (any type of typing document will work).  I traced the monogram onto wax paper & cut it out with an exacto knife.

From there I taped the stencil to the burlap & used a foam brush to apply the paint on the stencil.  Once dry I removed the stencil & touched up the monogram.

These are selling for $60.00 at a local boutique.  For a cleaner look of the monogram you could always have it embroidered for $14.00 or so at your local embroidery shop.

cardboard roll {fun}

If your house is anything like ours, you go through a roll of paper towels or toilet paper every other day.  We've been saving them lately for rainy days {like today} fun. Addison, however, is perfectly content without the project & the rolls themselves.

There are hundreds of projects on Pinterest, here are a few of my favorites. 

toilet paper roll advent calendar

toilet paper roll heart stamps

toilet paper roll Easter bunnies

toilet paper roll castle

toilet paper roll matching game

paper towel roll flute

paper towel roll ring toss

18 months

Stats: 
Weight: 21 lbs 14 oz ( 20th percentile)
Length: 30.5 inches (20th percentile)
Head Circumference: 45 cm (15th percentile)
Diaper size: She just graduated this week to a size 4
Clothing size: 12-18 months & 18 months

She had a little growth spurt between her 15th month appointment & 18th month!  She bumped herself from the <3rd percentile in weight to the 20th

Teeth:
4 on top, working on her canines. 6 on bottom (including her molars).   

Appearance:  
Holy super sonic hair growth! Her hair is just about shoulder length, pacing well below the base of her neck. I can do just about anything with it; pigtails, ponytails, center part, side part. We have even graduated to a front braid. I love her little blonde wave. She still looks exactly like I did was I was her age but I see more & more of Philip everyday.  She still has chubby little cheeks. 

Personality:
Such a little comedian. Between the crazy faces, yelling at the top of her lungs, singings, dancing…she is always entertaining, just like her Daddy. She sits at her piano and waves her hands in the air like a mad composer & runs as fast as she can through the house with her shopping cart with the sweetest giggles. She is in an extremely imitative! Stomps your feet, she stomps; burp she burps, lay on the foam roller, she does. She loves clothes. She twirls around in front of the mirror & if she has a skirt on she fluffs it up.  She is very helpful, picks up & puts away her toys, throws things away in the trash can, hands me clothes when I am folding. She remains extremely independent & wants to everything all by herself…maybe a little like her mum. She is sooooo sweet & loving. She LOVES to cuddle & give kisses. She is a wonderful sharer. She always says "hi" and "buhbye", blowing kisses. She is so much fun. 

Feeding: 
She drinks mostly water, milk & coconut milk. Occasionally I will let her have watered down 100% apple juice. She drinks from cups with straws but we let her sip from our cup sometimes because she loves it.  She feeds herself with a fork & spoon but definitely still uses her hands. Thankfully she still isn't picky; If you put food in front of her she is going to gobble it all up.  Her favorite veggie is still brussel sprouts with broccoli as a close second. Blueberries have met their match, little cuties. I am pretty blueberries are still her favorite but she really really likes clementines. Her favorite meat is Salmon. Lately she loves an egg with a soft yolk. She literally says "mmmmmmm" after every bite.  She likes to dip her food thanks to my Mum. She loves shaved toasted coconut & apple slices with almond butter. Honestly, she really eats & enjoys just about everything we give her.  

Sleep:  
No changes in her sleep routine since 15 months. Bedtime is still around 7:30 & she wakes up around 7:30am. She is still taking an hour morning nap most days & takes about an hour afternoon nap. I think she is working on weeding out her am nap.

Talking: 
What doesn't she say or at least attempt to say these days.  Her primary language is Addison, lol.  She will spout off a few understandable words & a whole bunch of stuff I just nod my head at. She is working on putting multiple words together "bye-bye mumma", "move hampton", "more peese (please)", etc.  She says: "Elmo", counts to 3, "puppa" (my dad), "Jess" (her babysitter), "Nunna" (my Mum), "Jack" (my mother-in-law's fiance), "pepper", "eggplant", "slide", "park", "no", "up", "more", "cuddle", "hot", "bath", "shower", "boat", "choo-choo" (train), "snack", "truck", "cheese" (when you tell her to smile), "baby", "nuh-night", "mere" (bear), "hat", "bow", "rawr", imitates a monkey, makes an elephant sound, meows like a cat, barks like a dog, makes chicken noises, "cracker", "bu-berry" (blueberry), "yuck", "ho, ho, ho", "pee-eew" (when something stinks), "poop", "burp", "all done", "flower", "ball", "apple", "ballon", "Uh-oh", "vroom vroom", "owl", "oh no", "shirt", "sock", "Hampton", "peese" (please), "Mumma, "Da-Da", "that" (what's that), "duck", "Hampton", "dog", "hi", "bye-bye", "puppa" (my Dad), "off","shoe", "Emma", "mack-mouse" (mickey mouse), "go", "cup", "milk", "nose", "eye". She says "shhhh" & put her finger to her mouth", "jump", "squat", "troop" (my mom's dog, Trooper). She talks non-stop…there is undoubtably a ton of stuff I am missing. The best part is she says them all in the sweetest little voice.

Stuff she is doing: 
There is no such thing as slow pace with her. She is running & climbing on everything. She jumps up & down and actually yells "jump" as she does so.  I taught her to flex her muscles and do burpees.  She saw me doing body weight squats and does them as she says "squat", hahaha. She lays on the floor and pretends to do pushups too.  She loves to color, especially with sidewalk chalk. She is a master at the iPad and loves to play Mickey Mouse Road Rally. She knows exactly which folder has he games in it. She knows her body parts  
She is being "girly".  She loves to pick out her own clothes & headbands. She loves to be included in getting dressed. Especially when it comes to picking out her shoes. One of her favorite things to do is point to your eyes, ears nose and mouth and then hers. She still loves her baby & stuffed animals. She'll load them up in the baby stroller and dart around the house.  When the weather is warm enough she LOVES to play at the park & ride her couzy coupe car around the neighborhood. She loves to smell, crinkling her little nose and then asking you to do so as well.  She can count to three and make 1 & 2 with her fingers. She sings along (in her jibberish) to just about anything she hers.  


Likes: 
She loves playing with other kids.  Her favorite toys: bear stuffed animal, blankie, any board book, puzzles, blocks, pottery barn chair, rocking horse, toy jeep, books & her piano.  Her favorite TV show is still Sesame Street but she also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She enjoys sitting in a shopping cart & being pushed around. She is obsessed with necklaces and always wants to wear one if she sees you with one on, my parent actually bought her a set of her own for Valentines Day. She likes to brush her own hair & put her own lotion on and brush her teeth. She still loves bath time but now also loves a shower. She loves having her hair blow dryed.  Hampton is her best friend, she adores him.  She LOVES my mum & dad. She loves to get into the cabinets & pull out coffee filters & pots/pans. This girl loves some pots and pans! Her favorite play place is Marbles. There isn't much she doesn't like. She is a very happy kid. 

Dislikes:
Not much has changed here: Having her face/hands wiped after eating. Being told no. Having something taken away from her. 

Non-candy Easter Basket Fillers

• Sidewalk Chalk. Pottery Barn has chalk shaped like eggs.
• Easter themed PJ's.  I've seen adorable sets at Gap Kids, The Children's Place, Chasing Fireflies, Carters.
• Stuffed bunny.  The options were endless on Etsy.
• For little girls, hair accessories.  The example I have shown is from BirdieBabyBoutique.
• Little cuties & other favorite snacks.
• Board books: kids Bible, Easter themed books, traditional Peter Rabbit.
• Bath toys: paints, bubble makers, squirt toys.
• Wooden Puzzles.  Melissa & Doug have the best in my opinion.
• Sippy cups. I found the adorable personalized one from Monkeyseeboutique on Etsy. Target has some adorable Bunny cups with straws.
• Rain boots. These are Hatley.
• Easter themed Coloring Books. These are from Personalizationmall.com

There are tons of alternatives to candy: bubbles, DVD's, placemats, new bibs, plastic eggs filled with your children's favorite small snacks (paleo ideas: blueberries, shredded coconut, coconut melts, paleo granola, dried fruits) (non paleo ideas: cheerios, goldfish), stickers & stamps, kites, pinwheels, etc. 

You can start a tradition of themed baskets i.e. Rainy Day: Rain boots, rain coat, umbrella, items for things to do inside on a rainy day.  Bunny theme: everything in basket pertains to bunnies.