Sensory Playdate

Robert is out of town this week so I've scheduled some fun activities to keep me and Abby busy. Today we had friends over for a Sensory Playdate. Are you a Pinterest fan? I love Pinterest  but I tend to pin and pin and pin and actually do very little. Well no more! Today we put some of those pins to the test.

First we made I SPY bottles. I didn't get a picture of a completed bottle, but basically we had the girls put tiny trinkets in empty water bottles (I shopped at the dollar store yesterday and picked up animal beads, pom poms, glass pebbles and some foam shapes) and then we filled the rest of the bottle with rice. As you turn the bottle, the trinkets appear and disappear. I like the idea of taking a photo of your trinkets beforehand to find in the bottle as you search -- perhaps we'll do that next time.

Getting the tiny objects into the bottle put fine motor skills to work!

We ended up dumping the rest of the rice into a tub and let the girls dig for the buried treasures with their hands.

Next up was water play. I recently stumbled across a blog I fell in love with called No Time for Flashcards and she had the cutest idea for Arctic Ice Sensory Play. I picked up some Arctic creatures but somehow they didn't make it into these pictures...I think they were in the second tub. Little Emma loved playing in the icy water and we eventually had to put it away because her hands were getting too cold!

Our friend Brodie who had a baby boy just four days ago (!!!) came over with her daughter Madi and they brought some dyed spaghetti. She said she tossed it with just a little bit of olive oil. The stringy, sticky mess was a big hit!

I gave the girls a colander, some tongs, a whisk and a big slotted spoon. They loved transferring the spaghetti from one tub to another.

Chef Maya at work.

Kadence added a little taste sensation to the experience.

Are you ready for this? Next we stripped the girls down and my friend Jennifer brought out her pudding paints. She mixed food dye into some vanilla pudding and we put the "paint" into a deviled egg pan I purchased recently. Voila! Instant art palette. Abby seemed to enjoy this activity the most. They all did such a great job with the different types of paint brushes.

 

Whew! Looking through these pictures makes me realize we might have had a bit of sensory overload. No wonder Abby fell asleep within minutes today for her nap. Thanks, friends, for the fun morning of play!

Halle's Visit

We had another visitor in town! My friend Halle flew in from Columbus on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday. Halle and I met when we worked together in the Development Department at the Wexner Center for the Arts. We both had Graduate Assistant positions that helped pay our tuition at Ohio State University while she was working on her masters degree in Music History and I was working on my doctorate. A strong friendship was inevitable at the Wex as we endured many crazy experiences together. I'll leave it at that. It also helped that we share a love of red wine and cheese, cats, and Russian music and literature. In fact, our cat Cora is the sister of Halle's cat, Lydia. 

Here they are as kittens.

I saw Halle back in December when I flew to Columbus to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. She currently lives in South Bend, Indiana with her husband Dan who teaches at Notre Dame. We're so glad she made the trip south to finally meet Abigail!

The first night Halle was here, Robert got Abby to bed while we went out for a girls night at Ciro's, a fun speakeasy and restaurant. When you knock at the door they ask you for a password and the inside is dark and curtained off with the tables hidden in little nooks. Very fun. We had cheese fondue and some delicious crab cakes.

Halle got this great video of Abby the next day. "YAY!" is a new word.

We've been having a lot more tea parties lately. Abby's "tea" is actually water but she gets a kick out of drinking it from the little teacup.

Cheers!

Sweet Abby hugs.

On the last night of Halle's visit we drove out to Clearwater Beach. A storm had passed through earlier that afternoon so the temperature had dropped a little and it was much less humid. Early evening is my favorite time at the beach because there's less sizzling sun to fry my pale skin and fewer people. Halle and I stopped for some pizza at Mellow Mushroom and then made it to the beach around 7:00 when storm clouds were already building back up for an evening rain storm. The Midwest girl in me will always love big storm clouds!

Happy girl at the beach.

Pirate ship? Ummm...

I kept turning around to watch the changing clouds.

Beautiful sunset. Never adequately captured on camera.

On that beachy note, I'll leave you to your relaxing daydreams. Thanks for coming to visit, Halle! 

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July! Robert finally had a day off work, making the holiday even more extra special.

Abigail has become a huge fan of Maisy and this morning we decided to head over to Barnes and Noble to pick up a Maisy doll. Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock but the book browsing made us hungry so we had a lovely big brunch at First Watch. Yum.

After Abby's nap we went to my friend Haleigh's newly built house to celebrate the holiday with several of our friends. I made a berry trifle and I thought it turned out very festive, tasty and pretty. I'm so glad I have that trifle dish to pull out once every...oh...5 years?!

Here are all the kids and mommas. Let the madness begin!

Haleigh's son, Axel, loves snacking as much as Abby does.

Everyone needs a hedgehog riding toy, yes? 

Here's Abby with her sweet friend Madi.

It's 8:00 pm now and Abby is worn out from the day and sleeping soundly. Enjoy the fireworks for us, friends, and Happy 4th of July!