Day of Beauty

When Chloe goes to the groomer I call it her "Day of Beauty". Today was the day! It was time, since she was so shaggy and dirty from running around in the snow and the wet backyard. Chloe always looks so cute, clean, white, and fluffy when she returns from the groomer and I'm sure she feels 1000% better as well!

Chloe Before

Chloe After

Toy Chest

In an effort to keep the main floor of our house "toy free", I recently purchased this nice, sturdy rattan chest to store Kyle's toys in. The color is perfect since it matches our furniture and it is a great size. The chest makes the room child friendly with toys available, yet it doesn't look like a true toy chest. Kyle has his very own playroom which is where he keeps the majority of his toys, especially the larger ones. We find ourselves spending more family time upstairs on the main floor so many toys have made their way upstairs. Hopefully this turns out to be a great solution and we can attempt to stay a bit more organized.

High Five

One of Kyle's Christmas presents from CeCe and Poppie (my parents) was a subscription to Highlights. There is a new Highlights magazine for preschoolers, ages 2-6, called High Five. Kyle recently received his first magazine and loved it! Each issue includes fun little stories (even ones in Spanish), hidden pictures, fun craft ideas and tons of fun pictures. It was the only book he wanted to look at and we were constantly looking at the pictures and reading the stories. His second issue arrived yesterday so we are looking forward to exploring the new stories and pictures featured in that issue.

When I was younger I had a subscription to Highlights and clearly remember the Hidden Picture section being my absolute favorite. I think it is nice that Kyle is able to experience a few of the same things I did while growing up. Hopefully Kyle will enjoy Highlights for many years to come!

A Cell Phone At Age Three

Should a three year old have their very own cell phone? Well, I would hope not...at least one that is active. One of Kyle's favorite "toys" is one of our old cell phones. It amazes me how much Kyle watches and learns from John and me (we need to start minding our P's & Q's...LOL) because when he is "talking" on the phone he does the same body gestures, hand movements, etc. that we do while we talk on the phone. Kyle is carrying on a real conversation, pauses as if someone is talking on the other end, then begins his side of the conversation. The pictures below really don't do the activity much justice...a video would have been better, but I'm terrible about recording Kyle on the camcorder.

My question above really got me thinking if any parents actually allow their toddler to have a cell phone?

Fun Finds

I wanted to share some of the fun finds I found (sounds like a tongue twister) this morning for Kyle. I always seem to score great deals on children's toys and books at T.J. Maxx and Marshall's. I found a couple of Melissa and Doug items...a ABC Magnetic Book and a Stamp and Sort Mailbox. Melissa and Doug toys are one of my favorite toy brands because they are wooden, durable, and educational. I also found two 3-D Play Sets featuring two of Kyle's favorite characters...Thomas & Friends and Dora The Explorer. Hopefully, Kyle will enjoy playing with his new toys.

After playing with the mailbox, maybe Kyle will learn to love mail time as much as his Mommy. It sure would be nice if he would learn to pay the bills too!

Kyle loves books and puzzles so I'm sure he will enjoy this book and

even work on improving his fine motor skills.

The Dora and Thomas playsets include a 3-D Play scene, stick ons and stand up play pieces. Kyle likes pretend play toys

so I'm sure he will have a ball playing with these sets.

Six More Weeks

Happy Groundhog Day!

This morning, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow...meaning six more weeks of winter. Unfortunately, this isn't what the majority of people were hoping to hear...including me! It sure would have been a nice treat to see spring arrive a little earlier this year! The month of January flew by, so hopefully the next six weeks will too! Until springtime, enjoy the remainder of the winter season!

Groundhog Day History Lesson:

- Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, has failed to see it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

-The last year the groundhog didn't see his shadow was in 2007. If you are interested in the history of Groundhog Day, you can visit this website.

Super Bowl Sunday

Who will be the Super Bowl champions? The Arizona Cardinals or the Pittsburgh Steelers. John has informed me in "Super Bowl 101" that I must cheer on the Cardinals...for two reasons. First reason being...The Cardinals moved from St. Louis to Arizona and the second reason is that Kurt Warner, the Arizona Cardinals quarterback played for the St. Louis Rams. So it seems that the majority of St. Louis football fans will be cheering on the Arizona Cardinals. Who will you be rooting for to win the Super Bowl?

Usually, we have chili on Super Bowl Sunday, but today we decided to have a different menu filled with plenty of "healthy" foods...toasted ravioli, spicy chicken wings, and chicken quesadillas. What are your favorite Super Bowl menu items?

Final Score:

Pittsburg Steelers - 27

Arizona Cardinals - 23