Loralai's 3rd Birthday Invitation

I cannot believe that Loralai is going to be 3 in just over a week. I mean she very much looks and acts like a 3 year old, and she is so tall that when I tell people she is two, they look at me funny. I have resorted to saying that she will be 3 in (so many) days. 

Well I gave you a sneak peek before, but here is Loralai's 3rd Birthday Party invitation! 

I am so excited for her party! :)

Organized Toys!

So I was tired of having random toys spewed all over the living-room just because Loralai couldn't find which toy she was looking for. I swear I pick up toys CONSTANTLY! I wish that our home was big enough to have a playroom! But until such time we move or finish the basement, I had to come up with a plan to keep the toys in order and under control! So I decided that labels for the buckets would make it easy for her (and me) to put the toys away, and make it very easy for her to find the toys she wants, and have all like toys in the same spot!

So I had seen many different labels around the internet, that were nice but a little generic, so what I decided to do is take pictures of her toys and make labels out of them. I figure she is a little young to be separating the toys, but having pictures of her actual toys would speed the learning process up a bit. I also included words so that when she eventually learns how to read, she would be able to associate the pictures and the words together! 

So if anyone wants to achieve the same look, all I did was take pictures of her toys, used Photoscape to edit,  print them on a colour printer (I printed them 5X7), laminate them, hole punch two holes at the top, and used cable ties to secure them to the buckets.I liked the idea of the cable ties just because when I eventually needed to change up the contents of the bucket, then all I have to do is cut the cable ties off and I did not permanently alter the bucket in anyway.

Update: We have had the labels up for two days now, and Loralai does amazing separating her toys! 

Birthday Sneak Peek!

So I can not believe that Loralai is going to be 3 years old in less than 1 month, 24 days to be exact! My little girl has already been a infant, baby, toddler, and now she is going to be a preschooler! Anyway, I wont get all sappy right now, I will save that for her 3rd birthday post ;) 

So of course party plans have started, and I am hoping to have the invitations made up this week so we can get them sent out by Friday! The theme for Loralai's 3rd birthday is a Vintage Ice Cream Parlor.

So there is a cute little ice cream truck near our house, Loralai and Mommy went there for a little photo shoot this weekend for a picture for the invitation. Below is a sneak peek, these are not the photo's that were selected for the invite, but it does give you a hint to the direction we were headed! 

 I will post the invitation as soon as they are made up and sent out! 

Now since the party will be held in my parents backyard (we wanted to hold it in our backyard, but with the amount of friends and family we wanted to invite, there is just not enough room in ours) here's to hoping for beautiful weather...rain rain stay away!

A day to celebrate being a Mommy!

Happy Mother's Day Mommies! 

I had such a good day Mother's Day yesterday. I got crepes for breakfast in bed, which Loralai so lovingly helped me eat =), Loralai, my Mom, and I went out shopping then had sushi for lunch. I had a couple of hours to myself in the afternoon (heavenly!), and then Daddy made pad thai for dinner for my mom and I. So although it was a day full of carbs, it was so nice! 

I did not take any pictures yesterday =( but I thought that I would provide an update of what us Baker's have been up to, plus the moments that make being a Mommy so worth it.

 First we have been doing a little gardening! Last year since we had just moved into the house recently, we did not get a chance (or have the money) to spruce up the outside of our home. I want to make sure that we keep it as low maintenance as possible, which is why there are no flowers in our garden, just a few trees and mulch. Why you see all the dirt is that there is two tiny sections next to the garden that have grass, so because it is tricky to get the lawn mower over these two sections, I decided to take out the sod and replace it with river rock. When we get the river rock in (should be this week) I will post a picture. We are also updating the backyard, but I will create another post about that later.

The next post is another one about her dance class. She loves it, and last Tuesday was parents week. The sense of proudness I feel is overwhelming! I honestly can say that I will be proud of her no matter what she does, no matter how good she is at it, just as long as she gives it her all and has fun! Being a Mom to me is about instilling good values, morals, a good sense of self worth, giving her lots of love, and hope that she turns around and makes good choices and continues to be good person with a big heart; in addition to that, I also want her to know that she will make mistakes, but what matters is what she learns from those mistakes! Those mistakes will just add to her understanding of who she is, and who she is meant to be, so embrace them. Every time I look at Loralai my heart smiles, and these are the reasons why I love being a Mother, and why I look forward to watching her grow up so much!

Why we are laughing in the video above is because this night in dancing, three of the little girls thought that Loralai was just so touchable! haha...too cute!

Love you my baby girl! :)

Hoppy Easter!

 lol OK I know I am a few days late...but better late then never right?

So our Easter weekend was a lot of fun! Friday we went to my Grandmother's retirement building to celebrate Easter with her and my Dad's side of the family. There is 9 kids in total ranging from 2-16, so we had an egg hunt for all of them, along with crafts to keep them busy. Then we all brought a dish for our potluck lunch YUM! 

Then on Saturday we went to Orillia to the country produce store. They have the best salad bar around, we literally drive 30 minutes to have salad! lol. Then in the late afternoon Loralai and I went to my managers daughters 3rd Dora themed birthday party! Although Loralai did not like Dora too well, she did have a fun! 

On Sunday the Easter Bunny made his appearance and we had an egg hunt! Loralai had a ball searching for all the eggs.

Lots of fun! Lots of smiles! Lots of memories!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Dance Dance Dance!

Loralai started her first dance class this evening, and she did so great! I was literally on the verge of tears the entire class, I am afraid that yes, I am going to be one of those blubbering Mommies! Loralai was a little clingy before the class started, so I was a little nervous that she would be shy during the class, but no, she was so excited and in there participating, and listening so well to her teacher Miss Stephani! 

Loralai before the class started!

Having so much fun during the class!

This Ring Around The Rosy song was teaching them how to do side steps. They also pretended to be pony's, and when Miss Stephani asked Loralai what her favourite colour was she said "Rainbow" lol, they also pretended to be butterflies, make pizza, and be the little mouse in the Hickory Dickory Dock song.

So parents are only allowed in maybe the first two weeks if the child needs them, I don't think that I will have to go in next week though. They will in the 3rd week have a little routine to show the parents, and then in the final class they will put on a recital for the parents! :)

After the class was over :)
 

Loralai starts soccer in May as well!

So quick Loralai update:

• She is stuck in  "what" phase and it is driving me bonkers! So I am now trying to get her to say pardon instead. 
• She can count to 13 without any trouble 
• She can also count to 8 in Spanish (Thanks Dora)
• Loralai can really sing her ABC's well now
• She calls all words ABC's. i.e.: I had a stamp on my hand, and she said "Mommy what is that ABC's on your hand?" LOL
• Loralai can pick up sushi maki with chop sticks! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Loralai celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a little style, a trip to the movies, art, and by learning a brand new song! 

So last night Mommy got to work making Loralai a new shirt, and I LOVE the way it turned out. I had seen the concept on another blog, and new as soon as I saw it, that I needed to recreate it! 

Hearts making up a four leaf clover! How adorable is that?!

Sorry my camera takes awful pictures indoors. But the 2nd picture Loralai is admiring herself in the mirror :)

Loralai of course went to daycare today, and seeing that it is also March break, Carrie took all the kiddies out to lunch and to see a 3D movie. I was skeptical when I found out that it was a 3D movie, but Carrie said that Loralai did awesome! She sat through the entire movie and kept her 3D glasses on the entire time! 

They also created some St. Patrick's Day theme crafts, and learned a new song:

Five Green Shamrocks

One green shamrock, in the morning dew. 

Another one sprouted, and then there were two. 

Two green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree. 

Another one sprouted, and then there were three. 

Three green shamrocks, by the cottage door. 

Another one sprouted, and then there were four. 

Four green shamrocks, near a beehive. 

Another one sprouted, and then there were five.

Five little shamrocks, broght and emerald green. 

Think of all the luck these shamrocks will bring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Loralai Development Update

I cannot believe that Loralai is going to be 3 in just 4 months! Yes, I am already starting to plan the theme of the party!

 (I know that I used this photo in a previous post, but is it not beautiful?)

Loralai has started to notice peoples emotions. If she notices your upset, she will come up to you and be goofy so that you will laugh. She can spot if someone is mad, happy, or sad. I had oral surgery just over a week ago and unfortunately I had a little less patience then I normally do because of the constant pain, well she was not listening and instead of changing my tactic first, I just yelled at her and put her for timeout. Well 2 days after this incident, she was at her Grandma's and Loralai told her in a very straight sad face that "Mom is mad at me...she put me for a timeout", I traumatized the poor little thing! lol, its not like this is the first time I have placed her for a timeout, or even the first time I have raised my voice. So I sat down with her when she got home since she is obviously starting to internalize emotions, and explained that Mommy was no longer mad, but that I do get upset when she does not listen.

Loralai can count to 16, but I was reading about development and they say that this is more reciting from memory, which is great, but she can actually count to 3, for example we will be in the car and she will say "Mom there are 3 dogs" and there will be 3 dogs, and she does this all the time with numbers up to 3. I read that this is just slightly above track, the fact that she is able to identify the quantity that she is naming. 

She is asserting her Independence with vengeance now, and is very resourceful in coming up with ideas about how to do things on her own.  She carries around her stool everywhere with her, sometimes this drives Mommy crazy, but how can I knock her for traits that are so important to have as an adult? Obviously just because I embrace it does not mean she gets to do everything her self either, but I try and explain why she is unable to when she can't...mostly this is because of safety. She also wants to help with everything, which is apart of gaining independence, so I also let her help me with tasks that I feel she is able to follow.

She has very recently shortened Mommy and Daddy to just Mom and Dad, and I am pretty sad about it. I thought that this day would not come until she was around 5 or 6, but I am still hoping that it is just a phase! lol...I do not want my baby to grow up too quickly now!

So she does not like to draw or colour, and would prefer to watch you do it. I think it is because she can't colour within the lines or draw like an adult. I am unsure how I should attack this insecurity, but I will be asking my cousin Carrie (Loralai's daycare provider) if she is also doing this at her place. I have ALWAYS complement her drawings, and ALWAYS try and encourage her to be creative or practice her circles etc. because it is so important for development. I also know that everyone else in her circle of caregivers (Daddy, Grandma, Papa, Carrie) always complement her as well, so I am not sure where this insecurity came from.

Update: I talked with Carrie and Loralai draws a lot at her house! Tries to make people, draws circles, and is even trying to draw triangles. So apparently it is just a Mommy and Loralai struggle...phew...but now what do I do?

Loralai knows the following shapes without any hesitation: heart, circle, square, diamond, and triangle. One's that she does not get consistently and sometimes need a little assistance with are: rectangle, octagon, and oval.  I made up this simple game out of construction paper, I just cut out each shape X2 in different colours, and for now I am asking her to pick out just the shapes, or asking her to pick out a shape in a specific colour (this also helps with her colours), or asking her to find the ones that match. Eventually I will ask her to put the matching colours together, she is still learning her colours so this game will come when she is more confident with her colours. 

She can sing her ABC's up until the letter K, then she needs a little help making it to the end. But that L,M,N,O,P is a little tricky! She can only identify the letter A so far.

Loralai still does not have very much interest in using the potty, but I figure that she will be soon since she is starting to show the beginning signs, like letting me know that she has gone pee right after she has gone, but when I ask her if she has to use the potty, she is always very stern about her no, so I do not push it, but I am thinking that soon I am going to have to encourage a little more consistently.

She is able to take off all of her outerwear clothing, like boots, snow pants, jacket, hat, etc. She can easily take off zipper sweaters, and her pants. She still needs a little help taking off shirts that need to be pulled over her head. She can put on her own pants, jacket, hat, sweaters, and boots without a problem. Like needing help to take off her shirt she needs assistance to put it on, and also obviously to do up zippers or buttons. But Loralai does try to put on and take off her shirts herself and I am sure she will get it soon enough.

She can balance standing on one foot, on either foot. She can pat her head and rub her belly at the same time, it does take her a few tries to get it but she does! She has excellent coordination, she can be on a pull out run, and jump over an object without losing her balance.

Update: Carrie also mentioned, which I actually forgot was a developmental milestone, is actual interactive playing. Loralai has always been very social, and she will play a lot interactively with the other daycare kids, as opposed to playing side by side, and she has been doing this for a long while now. 

I know that there are probably some developmental skills that I did not cover, but if I think of anything else I will update! So overall she is right on track, and I am super proud of my big girl! :)

Glimpse at our Valentines Day 2011.

So I know that this post is a little late, but I had oral surgery just over a week ago and honestly it has been quite a painful recovery that I did not exactly feel up to doing a whole lot. But finally I am starting to feel much better! 

So I should start off with the valentines that Loralai and I created for her little friends at the daycare. Are they not adorable? For the boys we just used blue and green paper, but I guess they were still a little girlie ;) 

We started out our morning with a smoothie with banana and strawberries, and yes you do see that correctly some heart shaped candy...the fruit in the smoothie off sets the candy right?  lol

 Then we got right into baking the cupcakes! Yummy!

 

Then I had made up a few crafts in advance for Loralai to do throughout the day. I just bagged the crafts up so that it would be like a fun mystery present for her to pick out a bag, and open it up to find out what she would be doing! There was foam hearts with glue, special valentines colouring pages, and a heart picture frame for her to paint. 

They were a success until the last craft project which happened to be the frame with the paint. I set her up and she was having fun, I left the kitchen for about 20 seconds to return to her licking the paint off of her fingers...I panicked since the painted was not kids paint. So I quickly called telehealth while Daddy washed her hands and rinsed her mouth out, and refilled the paint bottles to see how much she might have consumed. The paint was water based, non toxic, Loralai is completely fine, well other then the fact that she is crying because we took the paint away. So telehealth connected me with poison control and they told me that they were not concerned, since it was non toxic and the amount she consumed was so small. So for about 15 minutes on valentines day I was a wreak! 

 But before all that drama, Loralai and I did go and drop off some cupcakes to the girls at my work, then we headed over to an indoor play place, then we came home and had some yummy lunch, and watched a Tinker Bell movie! Then we had a breakfast for valentines dinner with pancakes and bacon.

So other then the 15 minutes of panic and drama, we had a fun day! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

When I found out that a local photographer Miller Ellis Photography was holding a mini valentines day photo session, I knew that we needed to book a spot. $65 for a 15 minute photo session, and you choose 5 photo's to put on a CD. The picture that we included in our valentines day card this year is my favourite of the day, but below are the equally cute runners up! I am planning on having the close up black and white picture transferred onto a canvas for our hallway wall!

I planned a full day of activities for Loralai and I today. We have had so much fun today so far, I will post later or tomorrow and include pictures of our valentines adventures!

Happy Heart Day :)