Fun with water color

You'll need food coloring, water bottles, and water. I tried to find some smaller, clear water bottles and couldn't find any. So we had to use the big bottles. I had to help Max squirt out the colors. He thought it was really fun to have the water spray out.

Max's favorite thing about this activity was the bottles. He was loving the colors in each. I'm finding that Max is more of an engineer brain then an artistic one. He's more into, and good at, building, stacking, and constructing things. Maybe that's more of a boy thing? I don't know.

He doesn't like to color, He LOVES the crayons and loves to line them up and bring them to me one at a time so I can tell him what color it is and then he studies them and loves to stack then back into the box.

Back to our water color activity and Max's love for the colors in each bottle.

We've got RED

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

I had some plain computer paper that I was spraying the colors onto. Then I discovered that it was a lot cooler to spray the colors onto the garbage bags I had laid out to protect the table. I was loving the little pools of colored bubbles. I thought it was pretty cool looking. You would also get some added purples and oranges when the spray of each color would mix.

How about YELLOW now mom?

Max was trying to spray the bottles on his own. Maybe, with some practice he might be able to do it. We need some smaller handles. I'll have to show him how he can do it with two hands and some practice.

Touching the little bubbles of color

Still more fascinated with the colored bottles. :)

You could do a lot of different fun things with these colored water bottles. I know Max and I will be experimenting with them. It's a fun thing for both Max and I to experiment and discover with. :)

I also found this really great website www.familyeducation.com. It has a lot of fun activities and ideas for play and learning. You should check it out and have some fun with your child.

It's not a bedroom, It's a bed(s)room

Having a pregnant belly means needing a lot of space on the bed. A pillow in front of me to support my belly and a pillow behind me to support my back. To make this all possible and comfortable for me, Shaun has been sleeping in the guest bed.

Then I was finding that I don't like to sleep without Shaun next to me. It's hard to fall asleep and when I wake up in the night (many times being pregnant), I find I can't relax and go back to sleep.

I need the calmness that Shaun brings to me. My very own Shaunie security bear. ;)

I was expressing all this to Shaun, so when I was gone working the other night for 5 hours. I came home to a surprise. Shaun had moved the dressers from our bedroom into another room, rearranged things, and made it possible to fit the guest bed into our room next to our bed. haha!

So now we have a bed(s)room, so I can have all the room I need on our bed to be comfortable and still have Shaun with me in the room.

At first, I was a little hesitate about the change. Then Shaun said, "you want to sleep don't you? and I want you to be able to sleep and be comfortable."

It's true, It's been a nice set-up for the last few nights. I'm sleeping a lot better. :)

Willy Wonka Pajamas

I got these comfortable pajamas at a Christmas bunko when I was pregnant with Max. They're perfect because I love pajamas and they were big enough for me to wear comfortably all the way to the end of my pregnancy, big belly and all.

They're super cozy. Seeing them laying on my bed in this picture makes me want to put them on and snuggle right under the covers.

Now, for their brightness and excess in colors? That's where Willy Wonka comes in. When Shaun first saw me in these pajamas, he called me Willy Wonka. haha! They are now referred to as my Willy Wonka pajamas.

Now, I just need to be wearing my Willy Wonka pajamas, snuggled up in the blankets, eating some delicious Willy Wonka chocolates.

My Willy Wonka PJ's will last me through this pregnancy with Easton too.

Here's some Quotes from Willy Wonka:

"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be."

"The suspense is terrible... I hope it'll last"

"If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates."

"No other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall. But it's the only way if you want it just right."

"Well, well, well, two naughty, *nasty* little children gone. Three good, sweet little children left."

"Well, fortunately, small boys are extremely springy and elastic. So I think we'll put him in my special taffy-pulling machine. That should do the trick."

I love Charley and the Chocolate factory, the original and new one.

Cinco de Mayo due date

My due date for Easton is May fifth, which is Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a holiday held on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza . It is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla and in the United States. While Cinco de Mayo sees limited significance and celebration nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed nationwide in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I find it funny that everyday I have to have a plain tortilla with butter on it, warmed up in the microwave. haha! Maybe, Easton and Cinco de Mayo were meant to be.

picnic with some friends

These are some fun pictures from last October (2010). We had a picnic with some friends. The kids had fun playing together. Max was 18 months old.

IVF and Max

How do I have a discussion with Max about the way he was conceived? It's interesting to think about. I'm going to have my blog made into a book for each year and have copies made for Max. It has information in it about the in-vitro process. It's not going to be hidden from him, I'm sure it's going to be interesting for him to find out the whole process of how he got here.

He started things out a little different in a petri dish. It's crazy to think about the process of it all. It was a miracle and I would do it again in a heart beat to get my precious Max.

He's his own little character! I love everything about what makes him Max. Which makes his name all the more fitting. He certainly takes things to the Max sometimes. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

I hope when Max finds out how he got here, he will see how much we wanted him and LOVE him. He's an amazing blessing for us.

Belly Time

18 weeks

24 weeks

28 weeks

As you can see, I'm getting big and feeling big. Things are getting more and more uncomfortable. There's no mistaking it, I'm pregnant. :)

My bigger belly has not gone unnoticed by Max. He loves to see it. He pulls my shirt up and thinks it's so funny. He likes to touch it, then hit it. I have to tell him many times to be soft. I tell him baby brother is in there. I'm sure he has no idea what I'm saying, but my belly is pretty fascinating to him.

I know when Easton comes I'm going to have many talks with Max about being "soft" or "gentle." I think BIG brother is going to be very jealous of LITTLE brother. I'm sure, at times, Max will like Easton and then other times, there might be a few attempts to show LITTLE brother who's really the BIG brother.

I promise Easton, Mommy will look out for you. I love both BIG and LITTLE brother. :)

Valentine's Day must have

What's Valentine's Day without chocolate covered strawberries? It's a must have for me. My mouth starts to salivate days before Valentine's Day in anticipation of their yumminess.

I make sure to remind Shaun about getting them for me. He responds with, "I always do."

Which he does. I just want to make sure our love survives another Valentine's Day and that means I get my chocolate covered strawberries. (wink, wink)

I very much enjoyed them again this year. Thanks Shaun, I love you!

Love for my man

How do you not have love for a man who does the dishes and let's your son help? EVEN after he's the one who made dinner! Don't they look adorable? YES! He always let's Max help.
Shaun is always such a big help to me, especially, when I'm pregnant. He's an amazing dad and I think Me, Max, and Easton are so lucky to have him. Also, the lucky girls that will marry Max and Easton one day, because hopefully they will follow in their dads footsteps and see how well he treats me and they will do the same with their wives. What lucky ladies! :)

I love you Shaun. Thank you for being one of the most unselfish people I know.

Measuring cups in the tub

I wanted to share another idea I've gotten from reading about child development and the brain.

Young children learn through play, so they had a great idea about giving your child measuring cups and spoons to play with in the bathtub.

I have to tell you Max loves playing with the measuring cups in the bath tub. He loves to put them under the faucet as the tub fills up and to pour the water on himself or on his other tubby toys. He really likes it when I get in the tub with him and he can pour the water all over me, especially my head and my now protruding belly. :)

He also likes for me to put the soap on him and then let him wash the soap off by filling his measuring cups up and washing the soap off himself.

The measuring cups and spoons should all be the same color so that the child is learning more about the depth of each one and how they are different in the amount of water they can hold.

I also want to get him a strainer and a watering can to add to his froggy, ducky, shark, and measuring cups. ;)