Field Trips

One of my favorite things about being a teacher is the field trips. They are a lot of work to plan, but the looks on the kids' faces make it worthwhile!! So, with that in mind I came up with a fun idea for my summer with Lylah. We are going to take a "field trip" each week. The key to these trips is that they will be close by (mostly) and inexpensive (again mostly). Here are some ideas that I have so far:
The Humane Society (may sound strange, but Lylah LOVES animals)
The airport
Chaney's
Jackson's
The Plaza Hotel (to see the fountain's and ride in the glass elevator, actually my friend Beth's idea)
Drake's creek
Bebe and Poppy's house
That is a good list considering the summer will be over before we know it. We are also hoping to make a trip to the Indianapolis Children's museum if Lylah learns to crawl :) Of course there are other things we will be doing as well, concerts in the park, Peek-a-boo babies at the Library, and hanging out in various pools :) Oh, I love summer already and am having so much fun with my little doll!!!!

Out with the old and in with the new

Lylah loves the water. We have been improvising with a "water table" until I could come up with something better. Here is what she had before:

That's just a small plastic storage tub and some kitchen tools. Now don't get me wrong, the little lady had a ball with that old water table, but it was pale in comparison to the reaction she had to her NEW IMPROVED water table:





Lylah LOVED what I came up with, thanks to a little idea I got from one of the many blogs I keep up with (which I could remember which one, but I can't :( ) This new and improved water table only cost me $3.50. I got the tub from school, it was one I had left over from my classroom library. The table really came together when I found the PERFECT stand up toy in Target's dollar section (it was actually $2.50). I added some other fun toys we had from our bath tub toy bin, the little octopus toys ($1.00 at Dollar General) and a cup for pouring water. I used some duct tape to tape the tall toy in place (yep, duct tape can come in handy for a mama too) and the water held the tub in place so that it was heavy enough so that Lylah couldn't tip it over. It was wonderful and a fun inexpensive way for us to sit on our front porch and have some water time too!!!

Me time....

Oh, me time. It is not a frequent occasion that I have an evening alone. Not complaining- it is no secret that I LOVE, LOVE spending time with my man and our daughter. So what does this lil' mama do on a Friday night when the little lady is asleep and her daddy is playin' softball? Well, I'll give you a hint, it has absolutely nothing to do with getting rid of all the dust in our house....

Nope, she makes this......


...Yes, indeed folks, that is a pop up gift card holder!! I made it for our sweet janitor. Our school is getting him a gift card to get some snazzy new clothes because he is a finalist for a big award in our district!! Anyway, sooo fun to get glue stick and stamp ink all over my fingers!!

Earlier this week when Lylah was feeling yucky with some teething issues, I made this during one of her many naps...

.....Yes, indeed folks, at the bottom of that little pile is my first sewing project that didn't end in a bobbin jamming thread pulling mess. It is a reusable sandwich bag that works rather well I might add. I made it with the sewing machine I got for my birthday from my mom and dad. It's wonderful!

So there you have it. A look into my me time....crafts of any kind. :)

Summer to do list

Cuddle, play with, teach, and enjoy this child.....

....something tells me I won't have any problem working on that list!

Nine Months

It's official, Lylah has been out of my belly as long as she was in it!! That's right folks our little girl turned nine months old this week. I really can't believe it. I looked at her this morning napping in our bed and she just seemed big. Anyway, more about that later. Lylah is weighing in at 16.5 lbs and is 27.5 in. tall. The doctor says, "She's not the biggest baby, but she is still perfect and we are doing a good job." Lylah has four teeth now, two on top and two on bottom (one of the bottom ones is just cutting in). She hasn't been overly fussy considering. She still isn't crawling, but is standing next to objects really well. She of course thinks she is the coolest when she is standing next to the couch and letting go for seconds at a time, I mean who wouldn't. I was telling a friend the other day that I haven't been seeing Lylah's famous pouty lip nearly as often either. That's a little sad in my opinion-like the end of an era.
Foods are getting more an more fun. Lylah LOVES to eat finger foods. She actually has been on a spoon strike lately. She has had shredded cheese, pieces of ham, toast, steamed veggies, egg yokes, and spaghetti.
I'm in love with my little nine month old and I'm counting down the days until summer is here and we can play all day!!!! Lets take a look back at what Lylah looked like nine months ago...

She's so vain.

Lylah has a few go to's when she is very fussy. Most of them are electronical in nature, ie. cell phones, tv remotes, ect. The tride and true always puts a smile on her face go to is quite simple though....a mirror. She just loves to check herself out!! She will smile and talk, wave and clap at that beautiful baby waving and clapping back at her! A couple of weekends ago we visited the Children's museum in Indy and they had several different mirror areas. One was in the babyzone and the others were in a mirror maze. Needless to say, Lylah was pleased to see her favorite little baby which of course was her reflection showed up to play too!