One Year Anniversary

Today marks the one year anniversary of Little Monkey Man (formally known as Baby J) getting free therapy from our county. The link below is from March 31, 2009. Take a minute to read it if you can. It really shows how far our little miracle has come.

http://thedraystoday.blogspot.com/2009/03/baby-js-therapy-session-1.html

Getting a picture of him is very hard...in the high chair seems to be the easiest time...don't mind the messy face!

This morning we also had therapy. We. This is not all him, this is about all of us. Today is very different from our first day. Instead of OT, PT and speech, he is just got speech (his sign specialist was sick)with a speech therapist. He has discontinued OT and PT. But it is also different because my attitude is different. No matter how long it takes, we will keep working with him and keep trying to help him become the best he can be. And he was a pistol. Working with his personality (strong willed) and his SPD* and then figuring out the speech/communication end is very tiring.

Yesterday we also went back to start Celiac testing...again. Yeah, seems like March is the month for that sort of thing and our family. Must be St. Patrick's Day. I say that because Celiac runs in families who have Irish heritage more than any other. So some blood was taken to determine if Little Monkey has the Celiac gene. I can't believe that test wasn't done last year. Seems pretty easy to me, but I'm not the dr. If he has the gene, then we do blood tests and then probably another EGD (surgery). If he doesn't have the gene, I don't know what that means. I guess I don't ask enough questions.

I just know that for either the blood tests or EGD he has to go back to a "normal" diet. I told the nurse on the phone I am not doing that. Not right now. We have enough on our plate without dealing with diarrhea and a grumpy uncomfortable boy. If it isn't Celiac, we are 99.9% sure he is wheat-gluten intolerant. But if he is a Celiac, we really do need to have the diagnosis. But we are way more optimistic than last year!

You've come a long way baby!

*Sensory Processing Disorder

Art For The Boys' Room

"Free Art"

Bare walls are not my favorite. While at the rental, I've been looking at many many bare walls. However, artwork for walls is pricey, and I'm usually not a fan. For the living room and dining room I am pretty sure we'll have WAY more than enough pictures of family. One of my former CILTS painted a beautiful picture of a local barn that will hang in our dining room. I've taken several nature pictures that we've have been blown up to hang in our room. The nursery has some Beatrix Potter prints that will go up when I find that box. But the boys' room...nothing. Hmmm. The above picture is a firetruck that Little Monkey got for Christmas. It was our "muse".

I decided to see what I could do the kids could do. I've seen in magazines where people use their kids' artwork to decorate. So I gave it a shot. Using construction paper I drew out several pieces of the truck for Snug to cut out.

It took him the better part of an hour to do this project, but I am really pleased with the results. There were a few tiny pieces I cut (the siren, stripe, and the traffic cone, which he insisted had to be present) so that they actually existed...he did everything else.

You can see his pile of pieces in the background. While he worked on that, I took an off white piece of scrapbook paper and put it behind the matting that came with the 10x13 frame ($5 at Wal-Mart...the only things I had to buy for this project).

Snug and I then assembled the truck on the mat/scrapbook paper so he knew what the end goal looked like. He hadn't thought of the traffic cone yet in this picture.

Next I took the pieces off and he put glue on the backs. We use "itty bitty, teeny weeny, baby drops of glue". I didn't make that up, a kindergarten teacher I used to work with did, but it is genius for getting the puddles of glue to STOP.

We took turns putting the glued pieces together. Sometimes I turned things just a bit...I don't like to interfere with his artwork, but this one was for the bedroom wall.

Ah, there is the traffic cone. Anyway, this is the end result. Snug was very proud. He said it was "very very hawd!!!". You can scroll back to the top to see how accurate we were. (Yes, I know the actual truck has a traffic cone, but it also has many details I thankfully didn't have to come up with.)

Little Monkey did the marker piece in his high chair as we worked on the fire truck, and the water color picture was Snug's fireman. He doesn't really paint "things" unless prompted, so we talked about what a fireman would look like and he painted as we talked. On his own, he likes more abstract art :o) The frames will be painted in the colors we used in the boys' room.

Picassos we are not, but we do have "free art" for their room!

The Kampers

I met my friend Liz a few years ago when my CILTS from camp went on a camp visit to Camp Barakel. We take the girls to another camp each summer to do a compare/contrast between camps and talk about different camping philosophies/schedules/programming. She had actually grown up in sister camp to ours and graduated from CILT herself. I liked her immediately!

Fast forward to this past summer. Our girls visited Barakel again and Liz helped give the tour (she and her husband work full time there). Barakel is always so gracious to us visiting and the girls have a good experience. Anyway, when we met up with her she was wearing her youngest in a sling. Later we discovered that she cloth diapered. One of my girls came up to me and said "um, are you two related or something????" Hardly any of my girls had ever seen baby wearing in action until they met me, and none of them knew anyone cloth diapered except myself. I had to laugh, and say that no, we are not related.

But we are sisters in Christ. The Kampers are going from one ministry to another. They are currently training and raising support to be missionaries in Honduras. You can check out their blog here. They need prayer, financial, and technical support (Liz would like to do more with their blog). Our family's "day to pray" is the 29th of each month, which is why I am posting today! We have a magnet on our fridge that reminds us that is our specific day of the month to pray for them.

I wanted to post a picture of them, but she is technically savvy enough to make it so I can't "steal" pictures off her blog! I am not technically savvy so I can't help her with her blog questions, but maybe you can!

So today I'd like you to join our family in praying for the Kampers as they begin a new journey in their ministry.

Smattering

I have a smattering of things to share this Sunday evening. It has been a rainy day, but I am so thankful that it didn't appear to be raining (at least not at our house) while #1 was helping a family from church move this afternoon. He's getting VERY good at moving. If the whole policeman job doesn't pan out long term, he can always work for a moving company.

We are expecting nicer weather as the week goes on...into the (low low) 70's this week! Sunshine is expected for us while we move on Friday and Saturday. Because his department is running on fumes as far as manpower goes, #1 can't take any time off to move, so we'll be doing the 7am-2:30pm shift both days. That's ok, we'll get it done.


I don't know what got into me. I will blame it on pregnancy brain, but I never posted about my dinner with a new friend! A couple of weeks ago, Jenilee and I met up for dinner and conversation. It was so fun. We are actually moving quite close to her, so it will be nice to visit with each other when we can. I stole this picture from her blog as I didn't have a camera with me. Again, I am blaming pregnancy brain.

Our house is in utter disarray. I am trying hard not to pack, but having things sitting everywhere is not how I like my house to be. I do have boxes sitting out that I can put things in as I discover them...nothing heavy. This sitting around thing may drive me crazy, and it is doing nothing good for my boys. They have seen quite a bit of March Madness. Little Monkey says "ba! babababa!" (ball) and claps for them all. I think March Madness just describes my life.

I am really tired because I switch where I am sleeping at least two times a night. There is no way to get comfortable. I am convinced of that. Any tips?

We had a really great service at church today. Of course, I spent a good chunk of the service in the foyer listening because it was so hot in the sanctuary I could hardly breathe and kept having contractions. I really wanted to go to our Easter contata tonight, but I am not driving by myself and I wasn't sure I could sit through it anyway. I'm sure it was really good though. Snug and I are discussing Jesus' last week and he has lots of questions. Good questions!

Well, happy Easter week to you all, I will post whenever I can...going to get even busier around here!!!!

Setting Up The Nursery

Today we had a busy day. Along with moving a bunch of stuff over to the new house, #1 set up the nursery. Mostly. There are a few more things to do, but I'll share what is done so far.
Here he is putting together the daybed that will be in her room. This was my bed from about the time I was 16 until I got married. One problem. Somewhere in the move we lost the hardware to put it together. We got some bots and nuts, but they aren't right. The bed is "together" but don't even lean on it or it will fall apart.

We didn't even bother to put the mattress or trundle part in because it is so unstable. You can see some of the cute girl things Hannah has on the chest on the left. When I find the right box there will be a cute Peter Rabbit lamp on that table.

And the crib went up today. This is the third (and final) time that #1 will have to put it together. I laid a blanket and put Peter Rabbit in the bed, but I don't have a fitted mattress pad yet, and the pink sheet I have to put on the bed is currently on Snug's bed...I was a bit behind on the laundry. I have a new set of purple/pink sheets but I left them in the package...just in case we are wrong.

Here you can see this side of her room. The chest of drawers was from when I was a baby. I still have pictures and things to hang, but her room is almost done!

And here is her closet. I hung up dresses so that they were not smashed in boxes...they are all different sizes and I will organize them later.

Very soon the rest of the house will be looking as good as her room!

********************************************************************

Ok, next order of buisness. I was "tagged" on A Police Wife and now I will answer her questions.

3 Joys:

1. The Gift of Salvation

2. My husband and kids

3. Our new house

3 Fears:

1. That I will have Hannah before Easter Sunda

2. That I won't have Hannah by 40 weeks

3. Someone from America's Most Wanted will get us :o)

3 Goals

1. To see all of my children recieve Christ (maybe not be there, but know about it)

2. To pay off our house in ten years

3. To be a better wife

3 Obsessions

1. Taking pictures of everything we do

2. Reading blogs

3. Organizing things (even if it doesn't appear to be so to other people...there is always method to my madness)

Baby Shower!

A bunch of the girls from my ladies Bible study/young families class at church threw a baby shower for us last night. It was so much fun, and they have been very supportive and generous. Everyone brought yummy food and we received some super cute girly stuff! Along with that, I have had three moms give me beautiful hand-me-downs so this girl is set!

So did I take any pictures? Of course not. Could I take some right now and show you?

Well...I could...but I have already put things in boxes ready to move and the though of unpacking anything just makes me...well...it isn't gonna happen.

Here are some things we have had the blessing of getting:

Onesies, little dresses, sweaters, sweatshirts, outfits, jammies, , shoes, pink and purple sheets, receiving blankets, pacifiers, diapers (I take disposables to church if I have them), and a couple of toys.

I am not driving unless absolutely necessary these days because I have a lot of pain in my lower abdomen/legs and I don't feel very safe doing so. #1 got the boys in their jammies and then drove me to the baby shower last night (the girl who hosted it lives on our rental house street!). On the way Snug wanted to know where I was going and I told him a party-a party for Hannah. He has showed zero jealousy about this new little addition...but he did have a bit last night. He was really upset to think that Hannah was going to eat cake, and he wasn't. I asked him "does Hannah eat right now?" He said "um...no." Then I asked if he thought she was really going to eat cake and he laughed and decided that no, she wasn't. Ok, technically she did eat cake via me, but we were not getting into that.

The other day he asked, again, how we were going to get Hannah out. I reminded him that we will go to the hospital and that the doctor will take her out. This time, that answer didn't suffice. He said "How? How will he get her out?". I tried to change the topic but he promptly said "mommy, there is something you are NOT telling me". He cracks me up.


Tomorrow the plan is to move some of the junk things that collect when you have children out of the garage and to the new house. Along with that we are going to try and set up the nursery there. I will not be doing any of this, I am, as Snug says, "the coach". I will take pictures of that if it happens, and then you can see some of the cute girly things we now have. I am not taking tags off of anything until she is born though.

We also think that that we will be moving next weekend. WOW!!!!!!!


**On a very different note, Officer Walsh's funeral was today. #1 got to see some of it at work as it had been recorded and put online. I guess he was quite the guy, very professional, and some of the stories shared about him as an officer and dad were just so remarkable. Please continue to pray for this family.

In The Next Four Weeks...

You'll have to excuse me for the next four weeks. Life is going to be anything but boring.

In the next four weeks...
...we will be moving into this house.

In the next four weeks...

...this baby should make her arrival.

In the next four weeks...

...this boy will be getting his tonsils and adenoids out.

Other than that...life should be mundane!

Snug went to an ENT today after having multiple episodes of hearing loss this winter. We'd been to the doctor and he had fluid on his ears, but not infected...just not draining well. They sent us to an ENT to see if tubes would help, and as it turns out not only did he have an ear infection today (which I had NO clue about), they feel the need to do surgery ASAP. Our dentist has had concerns about his tonsils and wanted us to get him checked out with an ENT and lo and behold, he was right. Snug's tonsils are so large that they pose a choking hazard (and could interfere if we needed to do the Heimlich) and he has what they believe to be sleep apnea. They want to treat the ear infection and then do a hearing test in 2 weeks before they make a decision about putting tubes in. Something about the adenoids coming out may fix the problem without doing tubes. Who knows. The excitement just never ends around here!

In The Line of Duty

My husband's badge looks a lot like this right now. He has a black band on it because an officer close to his department died this past weekend.

One of the officers that #1 works with had a brother die on duty. He was a police officer in the state of Washington. This officer was also a deputy in our county jail for a few years and served in the military.

He had an unexpected heart attack while on duty. He and his wife had two children, and recently found out they were expecting a baby-he was in his 30s. Please remember the Walsh family in your prayers as they make travel and funeral arrangements and deal with this unexpected event.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011406248_federalway22m.html

I Can't Do It Anymore

Well, I could be posting that "I can't do it anymore" because today is my last day of Draycare. I physically can't take care of other people (along with my) children anymore and still survive the evenings when I don't have #1 here to help me. I have lots of pain in my lower abdomen and down my legs so it is often hard to even stand more than a minute or so. I really can't do it anymore.

But that isn't what I am talking about. I am saying that I can't NOT say something about child safety seats. I have been contemplating this post for months now, but just must speak out.

I think the main reason why this is so important to me is that my first year of teaching I had a class of children who had special needs. It wasn't technically a special education classroom, but it was a class of 10 kids who had failed kindergarten and needed more time before first grade/another year to get tested and see if they were going to be put into some kind of special education.

One of my little guys had a traumatic brain injury that made it hard for him to concentrate/learn properly. Here is why:

When Michael was an infant he was riding in the car with his parents. He was fastened into a rear facing child seat in the backseat. His five point harness was fastened, but the clip was down at his belly level and not tight. When his parents got into a car accident (that killed them both, neither were belted in) he was ejected out of his seat (because the clip wasn't high enough) and out a window that was broken as the car rolled. Paramedics found him and were able to save his life...but his brain will never be the same.

PLEASE check your child's safety seat EVERY time you get into the car. My husband jokingly has called me the "Car Seat Nazi" but being a police officer, he also knows the correct way to have children buckled in, and what can happen if they are not.

Here is what you NEED TO KNOW.

1. Infants under the age of one and under 20 lbs NEED TO BE FACING BACKWARDS. If you can keep them backwards longer, GREAT. The longer your child sits facing rear, the better. Read your car seat's booklet to see how long your child can safely be in it. We were surprised with Little Monkey because he was over a year, but under 20 lbs. and we thought he was good to go, till I read out manufacturer's booklet that told us he was too long for the seat! Go to the website of your brand of car seat at least 2-3 times a year and make sure there are no recalls or anything else you need to know. Also, the straps on a rear facing carseat need to come from below your child's shoulders.

2. Five point harnesses are NO GOOD IF THEY ARE NOT DONE UP RIGHT. I see people I know and love putting their kids into car seats wrong. I hardly ever say anything because I don't want to get into other people's business. I think I would feel worse if they got into an accident and their children were injured/killed. Five point harnesses must be buckled in and the clip must be slid up to the child's armpit level. No more than one finger should be able to slide under the clip/harness between the belt and your child. Their straps should come from above their shoulders, not below. If your child has been using the seat with the clip down lower, they probably won't like the change. Oh well, you are the parent!

3. If you have the LATCH system in your car, use it! Do not use it and the regular safety belt at the same time. To use the LATCH correctly you must put your knee and full body weight into the seat to pull it tight. The seat should not slide side to side.

4. When your child is big enough for a booster (at least 3 years old, often times older) check not only your state's laws about using a booster, but also the booklet that comes with it. Make sure that your child is old enough/tall enough/weighs enough to use it. Make sure they sit upright while using a booster. Make sure that the seat belt is not twisted (same goes with a 5 point harness) because if it is there is a greater chance for injury in an accident. The belts should always be flat. When your child is in a booster the lap belt should NOT be across their tummy, but rather laying on the tops of their thighs. The shoulder belt should NOT be on their neck. It needs to rest on their shoulder.

5. Do not buy a car seat second hand unless you know the person well (and know they are being truthful when they say it hasn't been in a car accident, even a minor one) and you also get the manufacture booklet.

6. YOU need to always be the one to install your child's safety seat into someone else's vehicle. You know your car seat and how it needs to be. If it is a simple booster that sits on a seat, that is a little different, but especially when you are using a five point harness seat, YOU need to make sure it is installed correctly. I own all of the car seats my daycare kids use (except for one, but his parents installed it the first couple of times and I watched closely and have gotten the website that has info on it), so I know what seats each kid needs and how to properly get them into the van.

If your child buckles their own safety belt (which is beautiful by the way when they can do that! What a help!) check it every time to make sure it is on right.

I don't have pictures, but I wish I did of "yes" and "no" ways to have the belts. There are lots of websites out there you can personally check out. Here are some links to moms on You Tube who have the clip in the right place and the safety belt snug enough. I am not endorsing any particular brand of car seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGv2E57_z2s&feature=fvw (I think this seatbelt really could be tighter & the armpit level is for ALL kids, not just toddlers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf3xxXwEMhQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iqa3Mke1Wo&feature=related

Although I hate to offend anyone, I really think that this topic is so important. When I see children buckled in incorrectly, it makes my stomach turn. You never know when there will be an accident. You can be the most careful driver in the world, but take it from us. Stupid people are everywhere. They are not watching, they are not careful.

Yesterday's News

After starting Financial Peace University a couple of years ago, haircuts were one of the first things we "cut" out (yes, I crack myself up). I get mine cut once, maybe twice a year (and it shows, I have the WORST split ends...but no matter) and I cut Snug and #1's hair. If that shows, don't tell me because I think they look halfway decent all things considering!

However, Little Monkey Man is a different story. He has really nice hair, and I like it longer. I don't trust myself to cut/style it so he went in yesterday for his second haircut. His first haircut went well, so I figured this one would be easy too. The back was getting REALLY long, and #1 kept calling him "mullet boy". Even where we live that isn't really a compliment.

So we popped his second sucker of a lifetime into his mouth (most hard suckers are gluten-free) and plopped him into the chair.

Not. Happening.

He cried and slobbered and tears were just streaming. So he had to sit on Grandmommy's lap...because mommy doesn't currently have a lap. Besides, who else was going to capture the moment on film camera?

After "our hairdresser" started working, he calmed right down and did fine. I love this girl. She's cut my hair since I was just out of college. She is so patient with kids.

Within just a few minutes we were done and all the crying and slobbering and runny nose were just a memory...or just traces of fluid on his face.

I realized as I was doing this post I didn't get an "after" picture of the side/back. It was trimmed in the front, cleaned up/styled on the side, and about 2 inches off the back. Perhaps I won't get "she" quite as much out in public. People always dress their girls in Thomas the Tank Engine, don't they?

In other news, I had an OB appointment (35 weeks!) yesterday. Everything is normal. She's sitting tight. I was a bit dismayed to discover that I weighed the same yesterday as the day I had both boys (who had parallel pregnancies). Something tells me in the next 5 weeks I will continue to get bigger. So something tells me she will also get bigger. If I go 5 more weeks, she will be well over 9 lbs.

I know, I know, lots of people have babies that big. I just never wanted to be one of them!

I told the nurse I am REALLY uncomfortable when I stand or walk very much and I feel like she is going to fall out. It gets downright painful in fact. She kinda laughed, said that was normal in the third (or fourth or more) pregnancy. She just said I am "all stretched out" and it gets more "crampy" with each kid. Isn't that nice? I am all stretched out.

A GOOD thing about my appointment (not that her being perfectly normal and sitting tight isn't good, it really really is and I am so thankful)was they had "Pregnancy" magazine sitting in stacks for moms to pick up. This is one of three magazines this month that have BumGenius diaper coupons in them. I knew the coupons were out there, but didn't want to spend the money to purchase the magazines...defeated the point of saving money! The coupons are pretty much buy one, get one free!

That is a HUGE deal with BumGenius diapers, let me tell you.

I may or may not have picked up two magazines so that my mom could also buy one get one free. I have my eye on two shades of pink and two white (go with everything) ones. Now I just have to budget them into April! I bought my first BG diaper about a month ago as Little Monkey had outgrown several of his pockets and was in need of at least one more diaper(the two white ones I am getting he can also wear...and I guess the pink if we get in a pinch). I got it in 'Ribbit' in case any of you CD moms care, and I LOVE it. They are everything everyone says they are-including, unfortunately, pricey. I can't believe I have cloth diapered for over 18 months and didn't own one. If you are looking to start with cloth diapers, I'd recommend you get at least one and try it for yourself.

Who Needs Toys?

We are learning to live with less, much less, being at the rental house. This beautiful afternoon Snug used his resources and had a fabulous time outdoors.

A pencil, an old trowel found in the backyard, and a random spoon (not from MY cupboard) made for a bit of fun. We have quite the mole problem in the side yard (and by we I mean the landlords!) so his digging didn't really make much of a difference...all looked the same.

Digging out a mole hill.

Finding worms.

"Planting" stuff.

And this little guy got up from his nap in time to have some fun in the sun. Because of his lingering cough and ear infection, he was dressed quite warmly...but it was only about 55 out.

So toys? Who needs toys?

Oh but the thing abouttoys...they sure are FUN :o)

And even though we love resourcefulness and playing with whatever is on hand...toys really are a big part of our fun!

I haven't been online much, and haven't been very good about reading other people's blogs. I'm sorry! My mom is here and we haven't seen her in a couple of months. I appreciate all of her help around here, and her company. So I'm not online much. Don't worry, I'll be back!

COPS

I love watching COPS on Saturday nights. It is just so...real. It is very similar to what #1 deals with on a daily basis. Only they don't show the paperwork. PAPERWORK is one of the biggest parts of his job. Everyone is always amazed when they ride along with him at how much he has to do. Just part of the job people. It can't be all drunks, mentals, domestics and burglaries.

I also watch America's Most Wanted because I am pretty convinced I am going to run into one of those creeps on my next trip to ALDI and I need a heads up on who I am dealing with. America's Most Wanted is usually about as far from what #1 deals with on a daily basis as possible.

Anyway, I am allowed to share a story from his work. Many many things I cannot share because of people's privacy and as to not get him in trouble at work. But man have I got stories.

Yesterday he was driving around and saw a car parked in an intersection with hazard lights flashing. He pulled in behind the lady and went up to see what the problem was/if he could help. The lady had her hand stuck in her purse. I'm telling you, he deals with this kind of thing all the time. I would probably have a few sarcastic remarks, but he is pretty professional about incidents like this.

He has delt with her before and knows that the lights are not all on upstaires. Her cell phone had fallen into the lining of her purse. She put her hand in there to get it out, but like a monkey trap, when her hand was on the cell phone, she couldn't pull it back out. So there she sits. In the intersection. Hand in purse. Won't let go of the phone.

Yes, I love to watch COPS. Because my husband is one. Maybe you have to be here.

Games!

Along with my plug on painting the other day, I also wanted to post about playing games with preschoolers. If you didn't know, I was an early childhood education major, and had lots of training in child development (part of the reason why I was so adamant last year about Little Monkey not hitting milestones...I knew something was off).

Playing games with children is a big part of teaching them many skills. Taking turns, being a good sport, and learning to deal with defeat are all big parts of growing up in a competitive society. Competition certainly isn't everything, and we downplay who "wins" and who "loses" as much as possible, but it IS a reality.

Although we have many many other games, these are a few that we brought to the "rental" house and use on a daily/weekly basis, both with Snug and the other Draycare kids. Looking for an upcoming birthday present? Know a preschooler who loves games? Going garage sale-ing this spring (a great place to find games, just check that the pieces are all present)? Check out these favorites at our house. I included links to Amazon.com as I didn't feel like looking up each individual toy store to see who stocked them. Besides, many of these games can be bought used at a fraction of the original price!

This game is a classic. I love that four kids can play at the same time and it still goes quickly. You can purchase it or learn more here.

Players start with cherries on their tree and spin to see if they get to pick cherries to put in their bucket, or put cherries back on the tree because the dog or bird got them. Watch out though, a "spill" spin makes you start all over again!

This game teaches taking turns, fine motor skills, early one-to-one counting, and being a good sport.

Fisher Price makes fantastic kids games. This one is a favorite at our house. You can view it/purchase it here.

Matchin' Middles is good for us because the "big" kids can play it but if Little Monkey gets a hold of it, not a problem! The pieces are all big enough that they can't hurt him. Actually, we often put him in his highchair WITH this game while we play a different one. He loves to take the pieces in and out of the plastic (very durable) box.

As with most of the Fisher Price games, there are two ways to play. One is for beginning players which is just simply matching the shapes and getting the cookies together (taking turns, fine motor skills, puzzle skills). I find that although this game says "3+" kids as young as 2 can play.

The second version is like "Memory" where all the "frosting" cookies are laid upside down on one side and the "cookie only" sides on the other in a grid pattern. The kids get to take turns turning over two cookies and seeing if they have a match.

Snug got this game for Christmas from #1's parents. We have been playing it ever since. I am frankly getting a tad tired of playing it, he loves it that much. Beware if you visit my house, you may also play it a time or two ten. However, it is a really cute game that I would highly recommend. You can check it out here.

This game is a twist on the classic UNO game for little players. There are 5 colors and six animals, along with a farmer. The white farmer is the "wild" piece. This game promotes taking turns, being a good sport, color and animal matching, and making independent decisions. The skunk is the "Draw 2" which always makes Snug laugh...probably because he always plays them on ME!

Snug got "Memory" from my parents for Christmas. I love this version that you can purchase here because the pictures are very simple. There are some cute versions out there with various cartoon characters, but after playing those with Snug other places, I decided SIMPLE pictures were best to teach the game. One thing I don't like about this game is that Little M (from Draycare) beats the pants off me most of the time-he is GOOD! I am the adult...shouldn't I at least have a fighting chance????

This game teaches memory skills, along with taking turns and playing fair. Because there are so many cards, I found that breaking the game into two sections works best (I am playing with a 3 and a 4 year old most of the time) so they don't lose interest partway through. Sometimes we play with the cards in the green organizer, sometimes with the ones in the plastic bag.

This last game is kinda a tease because it was sold by "Discovery Toys" back in the 80's and I couldn't find it on Amazon. there is one for sale on E-bay. I included it though because you just might see it at a garage sale and need to buy it!

"Oh Rats!" is a puzzle game that promotes color recognition, fine motor skills, taking turns, and spatial awareness. Snug will play it over and over again. My online friend Lindsley sells Discovery Toys and they have great stuff. Her blog is in the process of being made private, so if you would like to get a hold of her, let me know! I can contact her and give her your information.

What games do you/did you like to play with YOUR preschoolers? Please leave me a comment and let me know, I'm always up for new favorites!

**I was in no way compensated for this post, these are simply games that my child/my daycare kids enjoy playing.

It's Gonna Be a Bright (Bright), Bright (Bright), Sunshiny Day!

I can see clearly now, the rain snow is gone.

I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind cold.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright), sunshiny day.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright), sunshiny day.

Looking around, nothing but blue skies.

Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies!

I can see clearly now the rain snow is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind cold.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright), sunshiny day.

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright), sunshiny day.