Recipe for Fuzzy PomPom Fun

1. Lay out all ingredients: fuzzy pompoms, containers, and tweezers.

2. Use tweezers to pick up pompoms.

3. Put pompoms into containers.

Results: A happy, occupied toddler with well developed fine motor skills. 

Morningtime Tennis

On Saturday mornings Franklin gets up early and goes to play tennis with some friends. The last couple times, he's taken Ellie along and she gets to play with the other kids that go with their daddies. Neither Franklin nor Ellie are morning people, unlike Abraham and I, but it seems they really enjoy this morning outing.

Out of Control Sorting

 It all started as simple fun and games... beautiful beads sorted into neat little containers.

Then my kitchen got raided.

Then everything became more about making a mess than sorting.... I just didn't take a picture of the mess.

Second Baby Syndrome

I don't actually know if Second Baby Syndrome is a real syndrome... or if it is a real syndrome, what it is, but maybe part of what happens to second babies is that they don't get many pictures taken of just them and their mommy. That's what is happening to Abraham, anyway. So, here's a picture of just Abraham and his mommy.

Shelling Peas

 A while ago we rode through a market in a rickshaw looking at all the brightly colored fruits and vegetables available. On the list went... tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, peas... "Peas!" Ellie shouted with delight. "Let's get some peas." So, the next time I wrote a list for Franklin when he went to the market, I included peas on the list. As my house helper, who usually shells the peas, was not working for a few days, Ellie and I took on the task. Our unskilled hands were not near as efficient as Beli's, but, boy, am I glad we took the time to slow down and do this together. So fun.

It was good for Ellie's little hands to get all this practice working with small things, too.

Idiom fun: we found two peas in a pod. :)

And Ellie's treasure was the green chili she found amongst the peas. She's into calling things her "treasure" lately.

ABC Bingo Fun

Our Homeschool Curriculum came with ABC Bingo. The first time I took it out, Ellie could not contain her joy, she had a million activities to do with it all morning. She loves the little chips that cover the letters... she couldn't help but sorting the colors even while we were playing bingo, much to my dismay! I kept saying, "It doesn't matter what color you put there."... but it mattered to her. :)

Sticker Fun

We took a trip to Dhaka, and while we were there we received a care package from the Moms group back in the States. Included were tons of chocolate and some craft things for Ellie. I didn't take any pictures of me chowing down on chocolate or of my waistline and hips growing after eating the chocolate, but I did manage to snap a shot of how Ellie likes to use stickers. :) Make sure you notice the earrings. They are my favorite. :)
Thank you to the Moms in Wahpeton, ND!