Shower Paint!

What do you do when you're not feeling well and you have a toddler who needs a fun activity? Shower paint! I got this great idea from my friend Korin to use shaving cream and food coloring for a messy fun time. Luckily we had some white foam shaving cream that Mike doesn't like, and used that.
Jake loved it.



And he even discovered the fun of body paint!
When he was finished, I simply hopped in the shower with him and we took a shower and cleaned everything up. So easy!

Just Because

Recycling Artwork

This past weekend we went to birthday parties for 3 different kids. It was a very social and enjoyable weekend! Of course, before that I went shopping for presents and thought a lot about the wrapping of the presents. I used leftover wrapping paper. Then instead of ribbons and a card, I decided to take some of Jake's old artwork that was on pretty thick paper and use it for the present.
(Okay, so Jake had had a little help with this one... but I also used another one that was clearly only Jake's handiwork.) I took this one...
... and transformed it into this. It looked really cool on the present.

Brushing the Dragons Away...

Jake isn't always thrilled to have his teeth brushed every night, but it has to be done. Recently, my MDC mamas gave me the idea to "look for dragons inside his mouth and brush them away." So we started doing this a few nights ago and Jake was totally intrigued. Now he takes the initiative, saying "dragons!" and "brush teeth!" and is totally willing to allow us to brush the dragons away.

I'll look inside his mouth, and when I see a dragon I'll growl, however, Jake really doesn't like that! He puts his hand over my mouth to make me stop growling. So I just declare I see a dragon and brush away.

Who knew that brushing teeth on an unwilling child could be made so much easier by looking for dragons?

Marquam Trail Hike

No pictures, but on Monday the three of us hiked up the Marquam trail. It started at the bottom of Sam Jackson Pkwy and went uphill for 1.7 miles to the top of Council Crest, which has fabulous views of the city and surrounding mountains (we saw Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams). Then 1.7 miles downhill. It was very cool to see this trail in the heart of Portland, but the up/down thing wasn't the most fun and since you can drive to Council Crest, there is an easier way to take in all the views.

The park at the top of Council Crest was wonderful, and I think when it gets warmer we will go up there for picnics. There are huge trees where you can go underneath the branches and play around the base of the tree. Jake loved that.

We had a goal to go on at least 2 nature walks/hikes per month and we did it for February! Although they are so much fun there is no reason not to go more often if we have the chance.

Trains and Cars and a Successful Outfit Picture!

These pictures were taken earlier on Valentine's Day, while Jake was still very much awake and happy and not ready to throw himself on the floor at the sight of a camera.

He got some Valentine's gifts from a special family member (thanks, Aunt Dotty!) He was THRILLED to find that Thomas the Train is finally in his hands.
He also got this very wonderful wooden car, which he immediately dubbed "cool car."
And then back to Thomas the Train. He immediately wanted to take Thomas home to play with Gordon, Lady, Salty, Bill & Ben, and Duck.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The three of us enjoyed our day. We had pancakes for breakfast, as it was Saturday. I attempted to make a few heart-shaped pancakes, but they came out all lopsided so I quickly went back to circles. For next year I'm going to have to find a heart-shaped pancake thing. Then we went to Gramma and Papa's house just to say hi and played there for awhile. Then to our favorite restaurant, Blossoming Lotus, for a wonderful lunch together. So good! And we shared vanilla vegan soft-serve ice cream.
Then onto Powell's bookstore to use some of our gift certificates. We got a few Curious George books and a Clifford the Big Red Dog for Jake. We also got some maps of hiking trails in Forest Park, here in Portland, and another guidebook for day hikes around Portland. We wanted more books but Powell's was more crowded than I had ever seen, and Jake was heading towards a nap-deprived tantrum, so we left.

Aunt Amy had sent Jake this really cute outfit for Valentine's Day, but when I attempted to get a picture, Jake immediately threw himself on the floor and wouldn't look up, so this is the best I have right now.