Binoculars

Z and I both have quiet time (ideally) in the afternoon during Little P's nap.  So, to keep Z occupied, I made boxes with activities in them.  One is a beading box, a scrapbooking box, a post office box and a 'make something' box.  Today she did the make something box (behind her are some of her other activities including a puzzle and tangrams...and a giant slumped bear in the corner?!).  The first picture is what was in the box to begin with and then, the next two are the fancy pair of binoculars that resulted :)  Complete with purple carrying hook and shiny decorations.

A Reading Nook

OK everyone -- I must now confess to you that I do not sew, knit or do much else in the 'tactile' creative arena.  I did attempt to crochet once but the blanket turned out a bit diagonal...this information is important to understand this post because this is one of the first things I've actually 'made' for Z.  I wanted her to have her own little reading nook.  I looked on Pinterest and found some ideas.  This princess 'tent' was created from a giant embroidery hook, some pretty pink rope and presewn drapes from the craft store.  And voila!  I did this in about a half hour one night at too late an hour, of course!  This weekend, we installed it and also put at the pillow beneath a bunch of blankets inside a cover that my mom sewed out of this memaid princess fabric.  So, it's like a giant dog pillow -- but cushier and small human sized :)  Apparently it felt very 'reading nookish' to Z because she picked up a book and promptly became engrossed.  Mission accomplished.

Papa makes a garden for Z and Little P

My Dad has been a gardener as long as I can remember and he's very good at it!  He came over on Mother's Day weekend and constructed a children's garden for the girls.  I grew up gardening with him and so it's so great to have Z involved now.  She's already been helping him with his gardens for a few years but it is great to have her own garden that she can tend to after watching him for so long.  So, thanks to my Dad for making a beautiful garden out of wood from the dumpster at their housing development, some tomato plants, peppers, a zucchini plant and a 'MaryRose' (as Z calls it -- meaning, rosemary) plant to start off our herb section.  Thanks, Dad!

A Stick Sculpture

A little stick art inspired by a circle rainbow of sidewalk chalk.  Z broke the sticks to craft this person using the circle as the head.  If you look closely, the stick man (or woman?) even has eyebrows.  I love capturing these kinds of things because this was completely her idea and I just stepped outside and got to enjoy her stick sculpture! 

Butterfly with Watercolors

Little P was supposed to hold this watercolor that Z painted today in a dainty and charming way.  However, this modeling session did not go as planned.  She is less than thrilled....but here is the butterfly Z did in watercolors, anyway!  :)

An Encounter with a Marker

OK people, should I be worried?  We have body art going on here....I caught little P red handed.  This is the second time she's decorated her feet.  But, she's now moved up her leg and has even experimented with coloring her hands.  I love her face, too, she's just like 'What, Mom?  No big deal...'  On a side note, little P is also enamored with our garbage can, taking things in and out.  I caught her just now as I'm writing this post grabbing a yogurt container that was in the trash and scooping out the leftover creamy yoghurt and feasting on it.  Hmmm.  Our house is very interesting these days. 

Sidewalk Chalk

Well, I know that sidewalk chalk isn't an obvious choice on a really blustery day but....it worked for us.  We started with flowers, then paw prints then graduated to rainbows.  Little P even tried it out!  She's also a budding 'editorial model'.  Note the odd leg placement (why is she laying on the cement???  Where is this child's mother??)  and the hilarious smile.  Yeah, she was working the camera.