Phat Hat & Pinkberry! :>

Had a 1/2-day comp day last Thursday and we got Nui Nui this funny, er, cool hat and treated her to Pinkberry :>

This hat is so funny. We've been looking for a new hat for her because we've been spending more time outside, and the sun is really hot here and her head outgrew her other ones. Mom actually found this one at Forever 21. It looks pretty silly but is actually almost perfect for Nui Nui because it has all sorts of fun little clip art of different things that she can identify— ice cream cone, flower, pineapple, cookie, french fries, smile face, etc. Plus, the back is velcro adjustable to fit her :> I guess you can call it 'Functional Fashion'— it's educational, protects her from the sun, and could be cool, right? It was selling at Forever :>

She loves it and seeing her happy rocking it, makes us happy :>

Perfect fashion isn't always pretty. What fun stuff do you like to rock? Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :> xoxo

Watch Nui Nui Complete Her 25-Piece Sesame Street Puzzle! :> [Video]

The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein - Reading Together

Last week I introduced Nui Nui to Shel Silverstein. I wasn't really an avid reader when I was young but if I had to name some writers who got me interested, they would probably be Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, Dorothy Haas (author of the Peanut Butter & Jelly series), and Susan Saunders (author of the Sleepover Friends series).

For the past week or so it's been all about The Giving Tree, which I honestly never read before. (Where The Sidewalk Ends was my keeper). I had The Giving Tree, however, for a while now— from when I was in New York, in fact, but can't remember where I picked it up from. Now that I think about it, though, I'm pretty sure it was free and probably found somewhere amongst other books that someone didn't want and I remember thinking when I took it that I'd keep it for my future kid(s), knowing I'd want to share Silverstein's works with him/her.

Writing that now, knowing the hurdles it took to have a kid, I smile at the hard work paid off. How naive of me to think it was a necessarily a given, to some extent. :>

Anyway... This book is amazing. Period. And it might actually be my favorite one yet.

The picture-to-text ratio is perfect. Moreover, the life-lesson/edu-taining/learning factor is present. I have to say, I'm pretty sick of the majority of children's stories that don't really have a point. Perhaps they all do, stirring up some sort of imagination but I much prefer the learning element, whether it be in concept or reading skill.

The Giving Tree does both. It's a moving story about a boy [eventually a man] who takes and takes from the tree, who is ever so giving. She just keeps giving with hopes he'll just be happy, even when he's stripped her of everything [literally]. Her happiness is dependent on his. Like a mother.

As I mentioned, there weren't a lot of pictures, no colors, a lot of white space, but just enough drawing on each page to prompt her to ask a lot of questions. And on the first several reads, she did.

Also during those first reads, it was really interesting to see Nui Nui's reaction as she saw the tree down being torn down, little by little, by the boy. In her eyes, her eyebrows, and whole facial tension, you could see her concern.

After those initial readings and when she got to know the story better, we were then able to read together. This is what I call my mad-libs teaching method. I start saying something and have her work to finish whatever it is I am saying.

Examples included:
Alphabet:
A... b!
C... d!
E... f!

Numbers:
One... two!
Three... four!
Five... six!

Alphabet Song:
Now I... know my!
ABCs... next time!
Won't you... sing!
With... me!

Twinkle Twinkle:
Twinkle... Twinkle...!
Little... Star!

Days of the week:
Wednesday, Thursday... Friday!

And from the book:
And the boy loved... climbing up the tree!
and... eating apples!
and... playing hide-and-seek!

To give you an inside look, watch us read The Giving Tree together! :>




We're always looking for good books to read. If you have any recommendations...

Share them in the Comments below, we'd love to check them out! :> xoxo

Marshall's Back-To-School Educational Books/Toys! Infant/Toddler Edition

Back-to-school is well underway and so I thought I'd share a few cool (educational!) items I saw at Marshalls the other day. Two of them have proven to be fun, as we already have. If you're a parent, are you like me? I'm always on the lookout for educational goodies, even scoping out the stuff that my kid has already outgrown.

One thing I love about Marshalls (aside from the shoes :>) is the discounted books and toys. We gotten a few gems in the past so I always scope out the merch when I'm there. Check out this book rack! In all my times shopping there, I've never seen it so packed!



So the first thing I stumbled upon was this shapes barn.



We have the basic Fisher Price version and love it. Nui Nui's mastered the shapes but still plays with the pieces. For a couple of dollars more, I think the animals, letters, and swinging-door barn are worth it :>

Next I stumbled upon were these alphabet foam puzzle pieces, which we also have and got from Marshalls.



Nui Nui really used these letter pieces as she was learning the alphabet. They're perfect because they are small and handle-able by their little hands, have a relevant picture associated with each letter, and can be built into a little cube or pieced together. For less than $5, this is a steal.

Last, but definitely not least, is another alphabet-learning item, which, again, Nui Nui loves and got from Marshalls.



This book comes with magnetic letters, which can be matched and magnetized in the book. This really helps not only with letter recognition and word association but with alphabet sequence as well.

The only cons about this book is that magnetization of the pieces onto the pages is not that great and, with 26 letters afloat, it's easy to lose a piece or two. Nui Nui's 'N' fell down the toilet and it took a couple of weeks for her to get over it :< :>

As I mentioned, I'm always on the lookout for educational toys and books. If you have any suggestions, please share them in Comments below or Tweet/Instagram us, we'd love to hear! :> :> xoxo

Interesting Social Media Bits For Families! :>

Lots of interesting stuff going on, on Facebook (aka. Familybook?) and Google+ this morning... :>

On Kids and Biting:

My friend posted...

Does your baby bite you? [My daughter] broke my skin at my toe yesterday and she tried to go for it again. Tonight she bit my belly. What is it? Shark week?

I responded...



On Peanut Allergies and Judging Others:

Another friend posted...

I responded...



On Nutrition, Health, and Edu-tainment!

YouTube on Google+ posted... and I responded...

Stellar sample of nutrition and health edu-tainment! http://t.co/LyXieMhQ1P What If You Stopped Going Outside @AsapSCIENCE #healthybutjuicy

— m (@mdesenna) August 30, 2013

What interesting things have you read lately? Share in the Comments below or Tweet/Instagram us, we'd love to hear! xoxo :>


Also, follow us on all of our social media sites (Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, this blog!)! Links in the sidebar! :> :>

New Melissa & Doug's Wooden Clock! - Learning Time, Shapes, And Colors!

There are a couple of (or more :>) things on our list of things we want to get Nui Nui. She doesn't have a lot of toys but we're not interested in getting her junk to just fill the toy box either. It's funny yet typical but we actually put a decent amount of thought into each toy we get her [there hasn't been many :>]. Our criteria includes:

1. Must be educational. This is an absolute must. Or, at least, semi-absolute anyway. I guess everything is somewhat educational. Playing devil's advocate, I suppose even Barbie can be if she fuels imagination. Whatever, though. By educational, I mean in the traditional academic sense. [I went to the Dollar Tree this weekend and ate up the Pre-K/K workbooks and teachers' decorating section :> [Dollar Tree haul to come! :> :>]
2. Must be affordable. It's the main reason I put so much thought into the purchase, or any purchase for that matter. Our money doesn't grow on trees. At least not non-technically :>
3. Must hold her attention more than once. You never know with this one. One way to try to measure it, though, is to let her hold the toy while walking through the store. If she throws it away after 10-15 minutes, it might not be worth buying.
4. Must fit into our small apartment. Not every toy or kids item, even if educational, is appropriate for small apartments. Same with food and cleaning supplies, you really do have to limit the amounts and sizes of the things you get. Fake Christmas trees and anything from Costco are prime examples. We just don't have the room to have too many large items or space eaters.

If money weren't an issue, I'd probably throw all of the above out the window. But isn't it interesting? Like food, can the toys you select for your child shape the way they think, act, and/or become? Munching on my own food for thought...

Anyway, we finally got her Play-Doh a couple of weeks ago, which we were eyeing for a while. And, this past week, got her Melissa & Doug's wooden clock, which we've also been eyeing for a while. We were about to get her the one at Barnes a few weeks back but didn't end up getting it in hopes to possibly find something better? I was hoping we'd be able to play with it on the table/floor but also be able to hang it up on the wall. Wishful thinking. We ended up buying this $1 foam clock that ended up being a waste of time (seriously :>) and is now on our return list.

The clock at Barnes was $15 but we managed to find it at Target, in a better color (red!), no less, and for just $10. Target really is the best, huh? :>



Nui Nui eagerly wanted to open the clock and played with it over and over for the first time. The girl loves puzzles :> I'm starting to teach her how to read time by setting the big hand to twelve and counting as I move the small hand. It's still too early for her to know what it is and how to read the clock but it's definitely not too early for her to play with it— the box says '3+'— but I am of the opinion that you can never be too young to play with something... unless you're going to eat it and choke. Otherwise, it's never too early to learn or play :>.

Check out the clock and gudtimes! :>



Any suggestions for fun, affordable, educational toys? Share them in the comments below or Tweet or Instagram us! We'd love to hear! xoxo