Magic Watercolour painting – 28 months

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I always like to look out for new activities with Monkey and a couple of weeks ago I saw a post (I’m really sorry I can’t remember where) of an activity I remember as a kid. Magic Watercolour Painting. The premise is simple you draw a picture on a white piece of paper, using a white wax crayon. When you paint over the picture using the watercolour paints, the wax repels the paint and your picture appears.

I thought this sounded simple and fun for Monkey. I thought I could draw something and I imagined him loving the images revealing themselves underneath. We haven’t really done watercolour painting before, sticking to poster paints generally, so I thought this would be nice to try.

I bought some uber cheap watercolour paints, found a white wax crayon and drew somethings on some paper. I kept it simple, drawing numbers (because he loves them) and I also wrote out a Happy Birthday message to his Great Grandpa, thinking it would be a nice picture to give him.

Sadly we didn’t ever give him that picture, because, well it didn’t exactly work out. It’s not that it was a total disatser, because it wasn’t. Monkey very much enoyed the watercolour painting, although he did for some reason decide everything had to be black (cheerful colour) and sometimes randomly spent some time going from paint to water to paint to water without getting anything on paper, but it was a learning experience and he had fun.

What was unfortunate though, is that the ‘magic’ side of the activity didn’t really happen. The images just didn’t really appear. Not in the way I remembered or thought they would. Occasionally you could see a bit of a number or letter, but then they seemed to disappear 🙁

I wondered if maybe the crayon was a washable one or something, so I found a different brand of white crayon (a more basic one) and tried that, by drawing a clock. Not much of an improvement.

I then drew some numbers in really thick crayon, going over and over the image so get as much wax on the paper as possible. This gave the best result of the day, in that you can at least see the numbers… but it’s still not really the way I am remembering it!

Has anyone got any tips? Am I missing some crucial step? I would love to know where I am going wrong with what I thought would be such a simple and fun activity! Monkey enjoyed himself so I’m not too despondent about it but I was a bit gutted it didn’t go quite the way I had planned!

Evening fun with daddy

Posted by Caroline Elliott

The days are getting shorter and the evenings are drawing in, but for the moment it is still quite warm at least. When Daddy comes home just after 6 in the evening it is family dinner time, but after dinner is very much Monkey and Daddy time. Monkey loves the time he gets to spend with his Daddy and lately they have been very much making the most of the warm evenings and having a lot fun in the garden between dinner and bathtime. Monkey always has loads of energy at this time of day so I guess that’s why it is called the witching hour!

Most of the time I leave them to it but a couple of times lately I have poked my head out to watch the giggles.

Sometimes they do a bit of gardening, and Monkey loves running under the stream of water from the hose if Daddy is watering the plants.

Sometimes they just run around like a pair of loonies, or play in the sand pit, or on his climbing frame.

Whatever they do though they have a lot of fun together and the fun continues into bathtime. There was so much giggling at bathtime the other day that I poked my head in… to be told “bye mummy, close the door” by Monkey. Charming eh? I know when I am not wanted! 😉 Made me chuckle and made me very happy to know he was just having fun with his Daddy 🙂

Evenings at the beach

Posted by Caroline Elliott

We had a lovely little holiday at Overstrand, just south of Cromer on the Norfolk Coast at the weekend and we really had such a lovely time. There was a lovely beach at the village itself, walking distance from the cottage we were staying at. It is very much a tidal beach and unfortunately this last weekend there were high tides in the morning and low tides later in the day. With Monkey still very much napping most afternoons we weren’t sure how much time we would get to spend at the beach.

Thankfully with it being so close though we managed to pop down every afternoon/evening for a play in the sand, and had a lovely time. Of course being September it wasn’t the warmest time of day to be on the beach but that didn;t stop us having a lovely time, and making the most of the last of the suns rays!

Monkey loves playing in the sand, doing lots of digging and helping daddy make castles… then promptly knocking them over again! Daddy was aso having lots of fun digging and creating moats, because of the tides he didn’t have to dig the sand too far before it started filling with water. Perfect to make a moated castle 🙂

He also just loves running around barefoot on the sand, and I have to admit I love to see it. There’s just something about running on the compacted sand that means he can be entirely free. No shoes, no stumbling over, just running carefree. I just love to see it. Maybe it’s because I know that if he falls he will have a pretty soft landing. Yes he may get covered in sand but much better than falling over on tarmac!

I love this little video of Monkey running around on the beach. Note I am perched at the back of the beach as we forgot a chair (d’oh!), I managed the walks but couldn’t stand too long and would have got a soggy bottom if I sat on the sand! ANyway we just love this video of Monkey enjoying the beach so much 🙂

We had a bit of an achievement on the beach too on one of the days. On our holiday in June we couldn’t get Monkey to enjoy paddling and this weekend looked set to be the same as he didn’t want to go anywhere near the sea. Then Daddy had a good idea of drawing numbers in the sand. I have mentioned Monkey’s love of numbers before and believe me it has not dimmed, if anything he loves them even more!

Anyway, by drawing numbers in the sand he slowly and gradually coaxed Monkey closer to the waters edge. We wouldn’t force him if he really didn’t want to do it but with lots of positivity and encouragement he gradually got closer and closer to the waves.The sea was quite gentle on that particular day, and ater running bare foot on the wet sand for a while the water felt quite warm.

It took a little while but once he was in he was in, and actually got quite brave and went pretty deep (for him)!

The sun was starting to go down behind the cliffs so it was time to head back to the cottage, we were very glad we got to make th most of being at the seaside though with lots of beach play!

Linking up with Mini Creations for the joint Monkey-Daddy effort on the moated castle, Small Steps Amazing Achievements and Loud n Proud for Monkey’s paddling bravery, and Savouring the Season for making the most of the last bit of warmth on the beach :).

Also linking with

Aeroplanes!!!

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I love it when traditions get carried down through families, when we do something with Monkey that we remember loving as kids. I love it even more with grandparents carrying things down things that they loved doing as kids. My Mum and Step-dad (Aka Nanny & Pops) were round on Monday after Rhyme Time and we were all playing in the garden (well, I was sat watching mainly).

Pops said he wanted to do aeroplanes with Monkey, and I wasn’t sure what he meant to start with, but it turned out they had done it before on their day out with Monkey. It is something Pops remembers his Granddad doing with him as a child, and how much he loved it, and he wanted to carry it down and do it with Monkey. Which is just lovely!

Monkey took a tiny bit of encouragement to start with (he is a 2 year old after all, and takes a bit of encouragement with most things at the moment!) but then he absolutely loved it.

It was hilarious, and a tiny bit hair raising to watch, but seeing the glee on Monkey’s face was priceless.

And of course hearing the “Aaaa-gain” repeated over and over afterwards until Pops gave him another whirl..

The angle of this is weird and I know it looks like Monkey’s leg is at an odd angle but I promise it’s not!

and another…

Nanny & Pops then tried to get him to do wheelbarrows, and I have to admit we have tried to show Monkey this before and we failed… and unfortunately they failed too, though he did enjoy it I am pretty sure he didn’t have a clue what was going on!

Just a lovely bit of fun in the garden 🙂

An Autumnal Painting Attempt – 27 mths

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Well now we are in September I guess it is officially autumn. The mornings are definitely cooler though I have been enjoying the sunny days. With my pregnancy progressing (and the joys of SPD) it is getting harder for me to get out and about with Monkey. We manage but there isn’t quite the amount of walks and time outside that there used to be. Meaning I have to find ways to entertain him at home.

On the whole he is a lot more easier these days but it is nice to try a new activity sometimes so I thought we would try some autumnal painting this week. My attempts to guide Monkey down a crafting route rarely succeed so I usually let him have completely free reign to create what he likes. But he is growing up all of the time and you don;t know how they will get on with something if you don’t try, and as he has been loving colouring in some of my amazing drawings when we draw a road, I thought he may like to do something similar with painting.

So when I was setting up the painting stuff I quickly drew a couple of trees, in the hope that he would like to either fingerprint or paint some leaves onto the trees.

He was dead excited when he saw the trees and I painted a few dots on to give him an idea of what he could do….

Then he dove straight in and painted all over the paper. Lol, was worth a try but after that I very much sat back and let him create as he wished. Clearly not bothered yet about making a picture that resembles anything and he had fun so that was all that mattered. They are nice autumnal colours too hehe.

He was very proud of his pictures too as he insisted on showing them to his Aunt & Uncle when they popped round later that day.

The freedom to climb… and fall?

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey climbing at 15 mths old

Monkey loves climbing. As an early walker he was always desperate to climb from quite a young age, and to be honest, this isn’t something we have discouraged. For a long time it has been one of his favourite things to do at the park and he is so good at it. Going to tumbletots has helped with this too as there is a lot of climbing involved and it has also been a great way of teaching him the safe way to climb up but most importantly the safe way to climb down again.

Little ones don’t have much concept of height or fear and I am sure this causes many a parent to have heart in their mouth moments and leap to the rescue of said little one who decides to step off the top of a climbing frame! Monkey has done that to us so many times, though thankfully now he is learning the safe ways of getting up, and back down again!

I recently read a post on Happiness is here all about using the term “Be Careful” with your kids. It was a really interesting read so I highly recommend it, and I have been thinking a lot about it ever since. How much do you and should you allow your child/ren the freedom to explore? Does saying “be careful” negatively affect your child and the way they play, making them more likely to stumble than if they were let be and able to trust their instincts? I’m not sure.

We use the term “be careful” all the time, but usually with an explanation. For example yesterday during a mad half hour while Monkey was spinning round the living room like a little loony and I had to step in to stop him bashing his head on the corner of a table he was told “be careful you have to look where your going or you will hurt yourself!” When he gets exctited half way climbing up something and wants to take his hands off to give himself a round of applause he is told “be caeful, you have to hold on or you will fall off!”

He also gets a lot of positive encouragement and guidance too. I’m a big believer in trying to be use positive reinforcement rather than negatives as I think it just works better all around (even adults respond better to positives and constructive criticism rather than purely negative feedback). So he gets lots of well done, that’s right put your hand their, yep and push up, well done, clever boy, etc. etc. But I do also warn him to be careful. After reading the post I wondered if I say it more for myself, because of my own worries, rather than for his safety. And I wondered if saying it actually made it more likely that he would fall.

As with many things parenting I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Hubby took Monkey out for a walk Sunday morning and Monkey was absolutely loving climbing up a huge climbing frame. Hubs said he started off really close and was right there to catch him if he slipped but actually realised he didn’t need him there so took a step back. And that was when Monkey lost his footing and fell between the rungs of the ladder. He unfortunately scraped his forehead a little on the way down and Hubs was riddled with guilt that he hadn’t been there to catch him or to stop the fall.

WP_20140907_09_18_08_Pro

But if the parent is always there to stop the fall and save the day, then will the child ever learn to be careful? Plus I don’t actually think you can be there to stop every hurt. Monkey fell off his blimming dining room chair and split his face open! As much as we don’t want to see our kids hurt, and it is our responsibility to look after them and keep them safe, we also have to try and teach them to be careful too. It’s part of life after all, sometimes you fall, but you just have to dust yourself down and pick yourself up again. After his fall on Sunday, Monkey had a bit of a daddy cuddle, and then was back climbing again, grinning as much as ever. No worse off for the little fall or scrape, though Hubs was beating himself up about it for the rest of the day!

I guess it’s about balance, which I guess is true of most things parenting. I know some people will think we are bonkers to let Monkey climb so high, so young and think we maybe aren’t careful enough. Whereas I also know some people will think we are too overprotective sometimes. I don’t really worry what other people think of us but I just say that to illustrate we all parent in our own way. So for me, I will carry on giving Monkey the freedom to climb and explore, but I will also keep saying “be careful” because I think it helps him learn his boundaries as well as making me feel better!

What do you think? How much do you say ‘be careful’?

Playing with friends – 27 months

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey made a really lovely big step last week, and one I am really proud of. All babies and toddlers start off playing pretty independently from other children, sort of sid by side, without interacting with them. Monkey has always been particularly wary of other kids, especially after a knock earlier this year. He has been getting a lot better and there have been signs of improvement over the past few months. For example he stopped launching himself off the side of a climbing frame whenever he saw another child nearby!

Pretty much every week we meet up dor a play date with my friend S and her little girl E, who is almost exactly a year older than Monkey. They get on pretty well for the most part though do bicker and snatch toys from each other at times. E though has been very excited by the development of Monkey’s speech over the past few months, often exclaiming “he can nearly talk as good as I can!!”

There has just been little more signs of interaction between them over the last few weeks and then last week they really actually played together. They were lying on the edge of the ‘baby’ zone in the soft play and after watching E roll of a few times (making Monkey chuckle a lot) they then started counting together and trying to roll off at the same time. Sometimes they managed it, other times they were way out of sync, but they were taking it in turns counting down and really trying to do it together.

They looked so cute playing together S and I really had a moment! E is a really sociable little girl and loves playing with other kiddies whereas Monkey has always been much more reserved. We spend so much time together and S was as proud of Monkey as I was. It may seem small but actually a huge step for him and one fo the many signs recently about how much he is growing up and getting more independent from me. Just so lovely 🙂

“>

title=”Secrets of the Sandpit” target=”_blank”>

I walk the line..

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey is growing up so much at the moment and really acting more like a little boy than a toddler. He is just playing a lot more, and in so many ways, doing things I remember doing as a child. He has quite a neat and tidy streak and likes things to line up in a row and be neat, and also he does something which I remember doing a lot of as a kid – walking the line.

Be it on the edge of a curb, on a wall, on a line on the pavement, Monkey loves walking on the line and staying on the line. There is a little local shopping centre we go to where this is the most evident. Its quite a run down little centre, there is Wilkos and a QD, and it also happens to be home to the local library where Monkey goes every Monday for rhyme time with Nanny & Pops. They often have a wander round the shops while they are there too and it is quite nearby so a handy place to pop to, so we go wuite a bit.

In the middle of the open sort of courtyard area there is I guess a drain, but it is a thin silver line which Monkey loves to walk along. He has been doing it for ages, and I am not really sure when it started or who he started doing it with but now if we go there he has to walk the line.

He is so cute and gets massively excited, running off shouting “Walk the Line” which sounds more like ” Walk a Yine, Walk Yine!” He has to go all the way to the end too.

We popped there in the week and I fianlly managed to (remember to) catch it on camera!

I just love that he gets so much pleasure out of something so simple! He does it all the time when we are out on walks, if there is a line to be walked on, he will find it and walk on it!

Do your kids do that?

Think before you speak…

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey’s speech is developing so quickly and improving by the day. He tries to repeat just about everything and his pronunciation is getting a lot clearer. There are still times that we have no idea what he is saying, but most of the time we can work it out and some things he says are just so clear.

With this development, which we absolutely adore… we are really having to be careful what we say now. I nearly called it a phase but let’s face it, once they start talking and repeating things they don’t really stop, so this is it now, we have to be careful what we say from now on!

The most obvious words to avoid are obviously swear words and I am surprised how well we are doing with this. My language has always been… er pretty colourful, particularly when stressed, so there was definitely a time when I worried about Monkey’s first words being slightly rude. Somehow though it has completely changed and I am now almost anti-swearing. I guess maybe it’s because I am with most of the time, swearing almost feels wrong to me. At the wedding we went to last week someone swore and for about 5s I forgot that Monkey wasn’t with us and took a breath in…. then realised no kids were present so relaxed again.

Hubby is doing pretty well too, and I mean neither of us are 100% perfect and occasionally we gently correct each other but so far thankfully Monkey hasn’t picked up on any naughty words. What he has picked up on though is some of the random little phrases that hubby and I say without realising. I think everyone has things that they say regularly without realising. Monkey talking and being our little parrot we are becoming more aware of these little sayings.

This has been true ever since he first started talking as the first phrase he picked up was “I Don’t Know” not something we thought we said much, but once he started saying it, we realised that we both in fact said “I don’t know” to each other all of the time, even when we do actually know, so daft! Then he picked up a very reluctant ‘okay‘ from us when we don’t want to play play-doh for the millionth time!

Another phrase he has very much picked up on now is “Oh dear me” and apparently I say this quite a bit, as opposed to swearing I think! It is so funny hearing a little two year old running around saying “oh dear me.” He saw a man cutting the grass on one of those big drive on grass cutters the other day and it was “oh no! Oh dear me!!” He drops something on the floor and it’s “oh dear me.” hehe I don’t think it’s purely me that says this though as I heard it being said on Postman Pat the other day, and as he loves it, that is a big influence on him too.

His other favourite thing to say is “No, not yet, soon” to anything he doesn’t want to do. I actually really like this one as at least there is room for maneuver. It is very rarely a definite no (though we do get those too of course) and we can then set a limit, so yes, after this episode, or after one more go on the slide, etc. etc. Again though I have a feeling he has picked this up from us, which is just amusing really.

Something else which he has definitely picked up from me is saying “I know” instead of yes. I really was not aware that I did that, but since Monkey has started saying it I have become so aware of how often I do it and I hate it! Makes me feel like a right know-it-all! Because I have been more aware I think I have been saying it less, and Monkey is definitely saying it less, which is good!

Only time will tell if he picks up any of the other things we say – hubby’s phrases are “it’s one of those things, where…” and “this is it” (hehe sorry hubs) so I wonder if Monkey will start parroting back those phrases any time soon!

Do you notice your kids repeating anything back to you? Any choice phrases they have picked up on?

Playtime at the park & fun with flowers

Posted by Caroline Elliott

After Monkey’s little accident this week and an easy day to make sure he didn’t reopen his cuts, he was in desperate need of burning off some energy! Thankfully there are a few parks within walking distance of home and though it was a tad grey I decided to trust the weather forecast and pop out for him to have a run around.

It was lovely to see him running about and climbing with such a big smile on his face. The swelling on his face has gone down a lot now so my over-protectiveness has calmed down a little…. though I am a bit more worried than normal about him taking a tumble as I think it wouldn’t take much for his cuts to open up again!

Thankfully though there was no trips or stumbles or slips and just lots of fun and giggles. We sat together on a spinny thing (no idea what you would actually call it and no photos of us both on it as I was trying to make sure neither of us fell off it) and just hearing him giggle his heart out and shout wee was lovely for the soul. Somehow Monkey hurting himself so badly really made me remember how precious he is and with my preggo hormones at the moment I am being a properly soppy Mummy and it was just lovely seeing him having so much fun!

this is the spinny thing 🙂

Our little Monkey loves flowers. Even before he could say any words he would regularly be found picking daisies and dandelions on our walks. This hasn’t changed and he still loves picking up flowers whenever we go out. For a while he called them “Bowers” but his pronunciation is improving so we are now at “fwowers”. As per usual he spent quite a bit of time with flowers at the park. Carrying them around, taking them down the slide with him, and then a couple of daisies made their way into his pocket for the walk home.

It was a lovely little run around at the park and nice to see him so giggly and happy 🙂

Becoming a Stay at Home Mum

Can I really do this?

Playtime

Magic Watercolour painting – 28 months

Evening fun with daddy

Evenings at the beach

Aeroplanes!!!

An Autumnal Painting Attempt – 27 mths

The freedom to climb… and fall?

Playing with friends – 27 months

I walk the line..

Think before you speak…

Playtime at the park & fun with flowers