Art & Crafts - Fall Magnets

Last week our Fall Art & Craft Project was Fall Magnets.

This was easy and it kept Xander VERY happy and VERY busy for a while. He LOVES to paint and I LOVE that Crayola makes paints that wash off with nothing but water!

This is a super EASY craft...

First you start with some fall wood cut-outs from the craft store - these were 2 for a dollar and then %50 off! Yay Hobby Lobby!


And then you need some wonderful washable paints...


Then you let your little one go crazy and paint them in fall colors...




Even Mom joined in on the fun! I painted the pumpkin and I painted the fall words and Xander finished them...

Let them dry and then hot glue magnets on the back.

The Finished Product's hanging on the fridge...

Ready to send off to Grandma's and Great Grandma's to brighten their day!

Art & Crafts - Spiders!

I've been waiting a LONG time for Xander to be old enough to do arts and crafts with me. I love little projects and I'm so excited to share this with him. I started this week with making spiders. It was a 2 day project. We counted and practiced colors, and he learned to be REALLY responsible when painting. I was pretty proud of how well he did.

Day 1 we painted the "bodies" black and let them dry over night...

Day 1 Supplies -


Day 2 we glued on eyes and little puff balls for decoration and put on our pipe cleaner legs...

Day 2 Supplies -


We counted 2 eyes, and 8 legs...


Xander had a great time counting the legs and telling me the different colors of the legs and balls we put on the spiders...




The finished spiders!


Xander couldn't wait to show daddy his spider when he got home from work. It was so cute to see him so proud of what he had made.

How to Keep a Toddler Busy - Part 2

Stickers...



Xander LOVES stickers, I bought a pad of dino stickers for $1.00 at Target a while back. Talk about hours of enjoyment! On this particular afternoon not only was Xander covered in stickers, but also Mom, Dad AND Bailey! Poor Dog had dinosaurs stuck in his fur for days! haha

Dress up!



Now try to tell me you don't think that is adorable! While Cleaning out Xander's 18 month clothes to trade them out for all of his wonderful new clothes (by the way: THANK YOU STEVEN, KIM, WENDY and JEFF!!!! WE GREATLY APPRECIATE EVERY ITEM!) when I found this Dog Halloween Costume that had been given to us, but never got to use. I thought it'd be fun to keep Xander busy. And let me just say, what a GREAT idea! He ran all around the house for the next hour and a half, looking in every mirror, chasing after the dog and running away from me trying to snap pictures haha Well I got a couple, one is blurry, but it shows the first time Bailey saw him and it was just TOO cute! I think Bailey was not pleased, he's jealous as it is, but now the kid was dressing like him, oh my! hahahaha
NOTE: Not only did this activity keep him busy but it wore him out! Now that's my kind of toddler activity! I have decided to make him a "dress-up" box, full of funny clothes, costumes, hats and glasses, I think it will provide for hours of enjoyment!

A couple other fun recent activities...

Diving for Stuffed Animals...


Rubber Boots...


Snacktime with Bailey...


Watching Cartoons...