Keeping Busy......

We've been keeping busy as usual and I have a few pictures to share from this past week.  It's hard to believe that summer is almost over, but you won't find me crying.  I am SO ready for FALL!  But until then, we're surviving enjoying our summer and keeping busy as we count down the days until our beach vacation finally arrives!!  (One more week to go!!!)

As I said in my last post, I've been feeling like Kyndall needs more stimulation and learning time, so I've been doing a few new activities with her that she really seems to enjoy.  One of her favorites is the sensory bins.  The possibilities are endless with these, and there is so much she can learn from it.  I read an article that says that children learn best when all of their senses are engaged.  So, these sensory bins are a wonderful concept.  (Plus, they're easy and cheap and keep her entertained for hours on end!)

Since we're getting ready to head to the beach for a week, I decided to start out with an ocean themed sensory bin.  I used blue water beads, along with some cheap dollar tree ocean critters to create a fun, educational learning tool.  If you've never used water beads, you're missing out!  I find myself playing with them more than Kyndall sometimes!  They can be bought at any local craft store in the floral department. 

Sorting the fish by color

I added a few sea shells that I also found on the dollar aisle...........

A few other things we used this week to go along with our beach themed learning.........

Have I mentioned that she's OBSESSED with stickers lately??

Since she seemed to enjoy the sensory bin so much, I made a few others using colored rice, pasta, dry beans, etc.  She loves to hunt for the doo-dads and sort them into piles based on color and shape.  I'm telling you, this is the cheapest and best entertainment I've found so far!  Plus, she's learning as she goes!

 

We made our weekly trip the the splash pad again---This place is becoming like our second home!  I'll surely be sad when it closes in a few weeks at the end of Summer.

Kyndall and this little girl became good friends, despite the fact that she didn't speak English.  It was amazing to sit back and watch two precious little girls sharing and showing love to one another, despite the fact that they couldn't even communicate with words. 

Last night we went to dinner and then ran a few errands..........

(Side note---the owner of our house decided to put this glass storm door on for us this week.  Kyndall loves being able to stand at the front door and watch the rain fall, look for the mailman, or wave bye bye to Daddy as he drives away.)

"What shall I choose.......will it be a grilled cheese?.......or a grilled cheese?......Decisions, decisions!"

Doing a little tax free shopping after dinner...........



We needed dog food, so Petsmart was our next stop.  Who knew it could be so much fun?!  I'm pretty sure everyone in the entire store could hear Kyndall screaming with excitement as she wandered around looking at all of the critters!  If we weren't about to leave for a week, I really would've considered buying her a pretty little fish.  Maybe when we get back.......?

As loud as she screamed at seeing the critters, she screamed THREE TIMES that loud when we left.  I'm not exaggerating.  From the store, all the way to the car, and about halfway home.  It was pitiful.  I hate seeing her so broken hearted, so I asked her if she wanted to go "swing".  She dried those tears right up and answered with a very enthusiastic "uh-huh!"  So, our next stop was at our neighborhood's park.

And all was well again.............

Silly girl HATES getting her hands and feet dirty!  To the point, she almost cannot even enjoy the park!  I've created a monster.  Here you'll see her in quite the pickle----She sat down to wipe her feet off (pointless, really) and found herself stuck because she then did NOT want to put her hands down to get up!  Matthew just shook his head and said "you did this!" 

Of course, when we left the park we encountered the same screaming fit.  That was remedied with "do you want to go home and take a bubble bath??"  It worked!

Today we went to church and then had lunch at our weekly Sunday hang-out.  We're creatures of habit, in case you couldn't tell!



Lastly, here are a few videos I caught on my cell phone this past week.  I know most of you have probably seen them on Facebook, but a few of our family members (who shall remain nameless) still haven't joined the social networking world! =) 

Listen closely to this one and you can hear her say "please", "two" and "thank you" pretty clearly. 

And in this one, you can hear her sweet giggles that I love so much!

Now I'm just hoping this next week goes by as quickly as the last one did!!!  I've never been more ready for a vacation in my whole life!  Come on, Friday!!!!