babies for sam

little sam is very into babies right now. for some time now, he's claimed a cabbage patch doll from our collection as his special baby, which he calls "fren" (friend). this doll has been a member of our home since my baby shower for leif, when a good friend gave the doll to us because her own son had loved a similar one so much. poor fren has been floating, unattached, around our home ever since. no one ever quite attached to him, until now. i'm so glad he's finally getting some good toy love.

in fact, sam's love for both fren and a neighbor's visiting dolly motivated me to try to make a little doll for him for christmas, inspired by erin's cutey babe. i got a pattern and some supplies, and began the satisfying-in-a-strange-feeling-way-like-you're-creating-a-person work of making a doll.

this little baby is a bit misshapen here and there, but sam was ok with his lumps and bumps, so it's all good. he was not completely ready for christmas, so he arrived with a hat and a blanket to hide his lack of hair (and creepy thread bits coming out of the back of his head) and clothes.

when i get around to growing this baby a good head of hair and dressing him properly, i'll have to take some more pictures to share. meanwhile, i believe he's upstairs, dressed in one of eric's socks.

at any rate, sam now has two baby friends to keep him company. and thanks to grandma diana, he's also got a handy sling to tote them around wherever he goes.

doodlebugs 1.14.11, salty trails & watercolors

this was a really fun discovery & process oriented activity, from Mary Ann Kohl, found here. we used white glue to make designs, then sprinkled salt over the design (we had a large baking pan over which we sprinkled, to catch and reuse the salt).

the set-up provided plenty of opportunities to practice other skills, like writing and pouring, too.

we primarily used droppers to dispense the liquid watercolor, which allowed for neat distribution along the salt.

we had brushes available, too, and that gave a different effect, especially if the kids scrubbed their image, like jean mentioned.

the kids really enjoyed watching the color travel along their glue/salt paths...it was fascinating watching the color move and mix with other colors. the salt is a cool tactile element, too. this one's a keeper!