Officially entered the world of team sports!

Elijah had his first blastball game this weekend. If you're like I was, you have absolutely no clue what blastball is! Blastball is basically a step below tee ball. The children hit the ball off of a tee and run to the one and only base. The base sounds a loud "BLAST" when the child jumps on it! This is by far the most exciting part of the entire game for Elijah! The kiddos in the outfield try to pick up the ball after it is hit and yell BLAST! The yelling of "blast" signifies an "out", although we didn't keep score at all! Blastball is such a fun game and a great introduction to the fundamentals of baseball

The game was bright and early Saturday morning, but it couldn't get here fast enough for this cutie! He was so excited on the ride to the game.

Seeing as most of our family lives relatively close, Elijah had a quite the fan club at his first game! 

Elijah was able to bat twice and I am extremely proud to report that he hit the ball both times! Yay!

Unlike most of the kiddos playing in the first game, Elijah actually ran to the base rather than after the ball! Go Elijah!

And now for the cuteness...

 Despite being pretty sleepy, Griffin managed with watch big brother's first game. No matter what he was doing, when people started clapping he always joined in!

  Showing off his muscles!

 Celebrating a successful first game with cousin Kyleigh. 

We are so proud of this little man!

We are thrilled that Elijah's first game went so well and we can't wait to see how the rest of the season goes!

 

Learning Lots

As a teacher, I realize the importance of early education. When Elijah started to show interest in learning, I began searching Pinterest to find activities appropriate for his age. I realized that although he had a desire for learning his attention span was lacking. Enter the handy dandy busy bag! These are small "bags" of single activities that can be completed rather quickly, thus avoiding the lack of attention issue. Yay! Here are a few of the busy bags I have created.

*Lot 1*

Elijah loves puzzles but isn't always patient enough for the traditional puzzle pieces. These popsicle puzzles are definitely a better option for him.I created one puzzle using a family picture taken by my amazingly talented cousin, Anna. Check out sundayrein.com for an awesome photographer! The other puzzle is simply Elijah's name...problem solving and name recognition in one activity!!

*Lot 2*

What kid doesn't love beads? I used chenille stems to avoid the frustration of trying to put beads on the typical string. I have used these several ways...he enjoys making his own patterns and I have also made patterns that he had to replicate. 

*Lot 3*

We have also been working on one-to-one correspondence. The first activity shows Elijah counting out the correct number of beans for each card. The second activity adds some fine motor skills practice through the use of tongs. Elijah uses the tongs to place the correct number of pom poms on the card. I also color coded the circles on each card so that he reviews color matching as well.

*Lot 4*

This next activity is by far Elijah's favorite! I created a fishing activity using a magnetic fishing pole. He fishes for numbers as well as letters. Fun!

*Lot 5*

Although Elijah recognizes all of his letters, he needed a bit of practice matching up the lowercase and capital letters. This spoon matching activity is a simple, yet fun solution.

*Lot 6*

Now that he can recognize his letters it is time to practice writing them. I used a photo album to create a portable way for him to practice writing his letters. I created cards with each letter of the alphabet along with lines for him to write on. He uses a dry erase maker that wipes right off for repeated practice. This activity is great for an "on the go" activity!

*Lot 7*

Number matching is much more fun with monkeys and bananas! I added stars to the bananas and Elijah finds the corresponding monkey.

*Lot 8*

This next activity creates an opportunity for Elijah to practice letter recognition and fine motor skills. I wrote the capital letter on the sentence strip and the lower case letter on the clothespin.

I am constantly thinking of new activities to create for Elijah. I want to take advantage of this precious time where my little man is like a sponge...soaking up knowledge so quickly! I will post more busy bags as I create them. 

Griffin's 1st Birthday

On March 19th our little caterpillar turned ONE (bring on the tissues)! We celebrated with a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed birthday party. I got a bit carried away with the caterpillar theme, but I loved every second of the time I spent creating decorations for his party. One of my favorite things about being a mom is being able to plan birthday celebrations for my boys.

Let the Pinterest inspired decorations commence! 

I created a caterpillar to display each of the monthly photos I had taken of Griffin over the past year.

The birthday boy's older brother, Elijah helped to create the hand print caterpillar that was proudly displayed throughout the party.

Of course I decided to stick with The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme when it came to planning the party food! The food labels were printed from this site. 

 This was my first attempt at making cupcake ice cream cones. The night before his party I decided to make a practice batch. Thank the Lord that I did! Note to self...when making cupcake ice cream cones only fill the cone about three quarters of the way full because the batter will rise. Duh! Oh well, mistakes are for learning! :) The second batch turned out perfectly.

Caterpillar in a Cocoon 

Grape Caterpillars

The cake! I'm in love with how it turned out! I also placed his invitation on the cake platter. 

I decided to make Griffin's smash cake. I think it turned out pretty cute!

As party favors, I chose to give the little ones bug catchers filled with bubble and skittles. I also wanted a way to document the guests that attended that party so I purchased a caterpillar that the guests could sign. 

The "thank you" cards were created by this Etsy shop.

I made caterpillar hats for the older kiddos to wear.

 The craft table consisted of thumb print caterpillars and coffee filter butterflies. The older girls enjoyed this table the most.

Mommy and Daddy with the birthday boy!

My boys! I purchased Griffin's shirt from this Etsy shop.

I can't believe my baby is ONE!!!

Let the Blogging Begin!

I became a mommy in 2010 and I had yet to create a journal or other means of documentation to help me "freeze" the special moments we are making on a daily basis. I am now the mother of two boys and I have decided that I must begin documenting my adventures as their mommy. Currently, Elijah is 3 years old and Griffin recently turned 1 year old. I am determined to use this blog as a place to record their childhood so that I can cherish these moments forever. I also plan to use this blog to share "busy bags" and other educational activities that I create for my boys as well as ideas that I implement in my 3rd grade classroom.