Chasing Trains!!!

Little baby 'A' is getting more and more mobile it's so exciting!!

He's 'commando crawling' and can get up on all fours but not quite yet getting together the co-ordination to properly crawl, so I'm providing lots of opportunities to get those limbs all working together!

Placing toys in 'hard to reach' spots to encourage some climbing

enticing him with things just out of reach

Both boys just LOVE my dog J and she's so good with them too, it's always an incentive to go see what she's up to! (The above picture is little 'C')

Then we have the always popular CHASE THE TRAIN!

it's going....

oh nearly caught it!!

haha GOT IT!!

umm yea....not so interesting now...until....

we're off again!!!

We did have lots of giggles this morning with this game!!

Planting Seeds

It's gotten to the time of year that seeds need planting and the garden needs preparing!

I've been working on my veg bed for a while now, the raspberrys are in (although a little late so I'm not sure we'll get much success from them), carrots and onions are sown and the strawberries are getting stronger!

I planted some Sunflowers on behalf of my 2 boys about a month ago and they are going strong

But I thought it would be nice to have something they could take home so I had a little rummage in my *overflowing*seed box and thought some cucumbers might be quite nice!

Baby 'A' had a lovely time exploring the mud

...giving it a taste

...didn't quite get the idea of putting it in the pot hehe

...but very interesting texture to explore!

Then it was little 'C's turn!!

He understood a little bit more about putting it in the pot

...and then promptly poured it out again!

He just couldn't resist giving it a little taste either....and then thought it was very funny to tip it all over the floor!

We had a lovely morning exploring this new brown stuff, it's smell, taste and texture, next month we need to some gourds and pumpkins so we can explore it all over again!!

What a Sunny Week!!!

It has been the most amazing sunny week and I've been  having such a lovely time with my two little boys!!
We had a visit from Pippa and her gang one day which is always lovely, all the children we care for seem to get on so well and we have some similar ages who play together beautifully.

We spent all week in the garden with water trays, paddling pools and lots of different toys were brought outside so all the children had free choice!

I just love the look on Baby 'A's face in this picture!!

One Garden Project Completed.....Almost

I'm so so so happy with the *nearly* finished article!

Last September I blogged (http://www.lookingoutforthelittlepeople.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/garden-improvements.html) about the beginnings of the children's corner emerging in the garden, well I got offered some willow from a friend of my mother-in-law to start filling in the sides of the den, although I need LOTS more to get it filled in completely.

We had lots of help from my father-in-law this weekend to finish taking up the grass, we made the area a lot bigger than I had first intended but I think it needs to be this big, we made a little hill at the back from some of the grass sods for the children to climb/sit/roll down, I'm going to scatter some wild flower seeds back there too so this summer there will be lots of sensory sights and smells!

We then dug over the ground to make it a bit more even, lay down some wet newspapers as I had read somewhere this was good for deterring weeds etc, and then spread bark chips out. I think I need to get a couple more bags though as it's a pretty thin covering in some areas.

Also managed to get my hands on some big logs (in-laws again, they cut down their big Eucalyptus tree last autumn) for a seating area. And I have to say again I'm so loving it I wish I was a child again, I'd be out there playing all day!!

I've got lots of sweet peas and some mange tout starting off which I think I'll have growing up the den for some camouflage (and a healthy snack) this summer!

Still to do
- More bark chips for a thicker floor covering
- Find some more willow to fill in the walls
- Oh and I also need to finish painting my chalk boards for some outdoor mark making!!
- OH!! I also want to make a bug pile somewhere, as Eucalyptus doesn't support bug life I'll need to pick another spot to make them a little home

Bring on the Summer!!!!!

Re-purpose, Re-use, RECYCLE!!!

This weeks treasure basket is all about recycling!!

The basket itself is made from newspapers folded into strips and then woven together. Not everything is pictured above but the basket includes:

- Old yoghurt pots

- Cardboard boxes

- Shredded paper

- Old curtain hoops with bits of ribbon tied on

- Cardboard boxes with beans in 

- Milk bottles

- Old herb jars

- Couple of discovery bottles

.....any other interesting bits I came across in the week!

There are all sort of interesting things to enliven the senses; different textures to feel, sounds to hear and even smells to discover!

Smells from the herb jars

Sounds from the musical instruments

Pots to put things in

More boxes to explore

Crunchy newspaper to feel and hear

Such simple things can be such discovery opportunities for little innocent eyes!

Bit of Excitement!!

Georgia and I have been together nearly 9 years and on Tuesday night she asked me to marry her!

We have been talking about it a lot recently so I knew it was happening but its still an amazing feeling.

 Georgia made (yes MADE) the ring from a silver coin she bought on ebay, hammered down the sides and drilled out the middle. It took most of a day for her to do, the thought and time that went into it makes it even more special to me and it's something I'll cherish forever.

I love you angel, you mean the world to me xxx

Books, books, books

Another lovely morning with baby 'A', I thought those books would be coming out again, he doesn't have eyes for anything else at the moment so I'm indulging him as much as I can!

horses

and dinosaurs 

learning to turn the pages

just checking if there is something to feel in this book, you never know!

We had a really lovely morning the pair of us rolling around the floor just looking at the books over and over, these moments make my heart smile xxx