Favorite Toy: GeoTrax

We would be lost around here without our GeoTrax these days.  It's the perfect toy for those days that my energy levels are low and I can't think beyond what I'm fixing for dinner. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has those days.



For those of you curious about what age range this toy works for, I would say 18 months-6 years.  We gave a good GeoTrax starter kit to Caden when he was almost 3.  Caden loved playing with his cousin's tracks starting at 2 1/2 years old. He loved them greatly until he was about 4 and then stopped playing with them for a month or two until Porter started showing interest in them.  At 18 months, Porter can piece the tracks together all by himself (well, mostly... he struggles with the bridges).  I was even impressed when he made a closed circle the other day!  What a great thing for a young mind!  And I'm guessing that most children are done with GeoTrax by age 6.  By then they are into more motorized toys and legos.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

Whenever asked if I would purchase these or the wooden Thomas the Train sets.  I say GeoTrax, hands down!  They are easy to snap together and they stay together.  When Caden was young, we had two different Thomas sets and there was endless frustrations over the bridge and how easily it would be knocked down by the dog, or by Caden stepping out of his sacred train circle.  The trains wouldn't ever stay together and the magnets seemed hard for him to figure out.  The GeoTrax are easy to use and Porter has little to no frustration, even with how young he is.  Plus, we found investing into two different track systems was silly so why no just start with the real deal.  Just like Thomas, the GeoTrax system has both motorized and manual trains so the child can pick which one they're comfortable with.

I highly recommend these for any young mind that likes to tinker.  These days, Porter goes straight down to play with them first thing in the morning and they will keep him busy for hours.  I'm not even kidding.  HOURS! I recommend trying to find a used set as these things are pricey.  The starter kit that we gave Caden was found on Craigslist and included about $300 worth of tracks, buildings and trains for $125.  The boys always seem to receive pieces to add to their collections for birthdays and Christmas.

I will say that storing these is kind of a nightmare.  I haven't found the perfect solution yet.  The tracks aren't so bad, but it's the big buildings and bridges that take up space.  Currently, they are stored in a big toy bucket which means there's usually a dumping party involved when we play with them.  If you have any storage ideas, please share.

|It probably looks like I was paid to write this by GeoTrax, but I wasn't paid a dime.  I just love these things so much right now.|

Talking About Emotions With Toddlers

I've had these rubber stamps for years.  I think my Aunt Paula bought me this set for my 10th birthday.  I used to have this obsession with collecting stamps.  I guess it was the start of my crafting days, huh?!  Caden (4 yo) loves playing with them and making all sorts of funny faces.  I thought it would be a great to use in learning about emotions too.  I asked him to make a silly guy, a serious guy (he wanted to do a scary guy instead), and a happy guy, etc.  It was fun to see what he came up with and I would ask him why he choose a certain mouth or eyes. He is starting to take notice of certain traits and it's fun to talk about them.



If you are looking for a stamp set like this one, I think this is the same set with different packaging.

Todder Shoes On the Right Feet

My son Caden (4 yo) takes a lot of pride in getting himself ready all by himself (well, mostly... some mornings he still wants a little help).  And when he's all ready to go, he looks great, except one minor detail-- his shoes are often on the wrong feet.  I thought of a little trick that might help him.



I cut a sticker in half and put it on the bottom of his shoes.  So far, so good.  He knows how to match the sticker together to make sure they are always on the right feet.  I'm not sure how the sticker will hold up.  If it doesn't, I can use a sharpie to draw something cute.

Toddler Skiing for the First Time

One of the major highlights of our trip out to Utah last week was taking our 3 year old (almost 4), Caden skiing for the first time.  My husband, Casey and I love skiing and have high hopes of passing the ski gene onto our kids.  We decided to go skiing at Canyons in Park City because we had heard their instructors were top notch and it was a family friendly resort.

|Caden going up the "magic carpet" with his instructor|

|Caden visiting with his instructor about how to point his feet|

When I was checking out which resort we wanted to go to, my main goal was to make sure Caden had a good experience.  I didn't want him to be overextended, or pushed too hard.  I wanted to make sure we created a great experience for him so that he'd want to go skiing again soon.  When Canyons told me that they have a one-hour lesson with a private instructor for 3 year olds, I was sold.  An hour was a perfect amount of time to give him a taste.  The rest of the day, he hung out with ski bums in the childcare center.  And by hung out, I mean they took a lift up the mountain and went for a snow hike.  Those childcare workers were the best.  I picked Caden up a little early and they sent us with a snack so Caden wouldn't get hungry.

Here's a little clip of Caden's lesson. His instructor had no idea that I was watching them and listen to how much he is cheering for Caden. He was so energetic and lively- so he was the best too.

 

By the end of the day, Caden was ready to go skiing again.  He was obsessed with his goggles and really wanted to give them a little more love.  He was so, so tired and I told him we would go skiing another day.  I was able to talk to his instructor and get a few pointers for skiing at this age.

• It's all about fun at this age.


• Don't let your child lean back on you when you ski.


• If they are going to ski in front of you, hold your poles parallel to the ground against their legs.  Apply pressure to their legs when you want them to steer.  Go right (apply pressure to left leg), etc. (see the video above to see how the instructor does this).


• Don't be caught up on form, or stopping even.  It's all about FUN, FUN, FUN and getting them on the slopes at this age.

|Casey enjoying the mountain|

While Caden was doing his thing, Casey and I were given a tour of the resort by Joe Johnson.  Joe was just our type of guy-- laid back and ready to tear up the mountain. He's a great skier and tour guide as he spent most of the morning patiently waiting for me at the bottom of the ski hills. We had never been to Canyons before and had honestly written it off  because the resort on the "wrong" side of the mountain and doesn't typically get as much snow as some of the other resorts.  Plus, we assumed it's a lot more touristy and a little more spendy because of it's location in Park City.  When we went to the resort, we were amazed!  I was bummed that we hadn't ever given the resort a chance.  It's beautiful and has a lot to offer.  There are 182 trails in this resort, which is unreal!  (As a comparison, the other resorts we frequent have 60-120 runs).  We really wanted to explore the entire mountain, but quickly found that would be impossible to do in one day.  They also have a lift called the Orange Bubble that has heated seats and a wind blocker.  That lift was a definite favorite.  I was a little worried that the resort would be packed with Sundance going on during our visit, but it was perfect.  There were no lines at the lifts and skiing down the mountain was a dream- it was almost like I had the place to myself.  As far as the snow, they have several reservoirs at the resort that feed the snow making machines.  So even if they don't get as much actual snow as other resorts, they are awesome at making their own.  They also have top notch groomers-- which can make all the difference in the world!


|Burger at Red Tail Grill|

Another thing they have is great food.  They have all different types of restaurants on the mountain-- including a farm fresh and a kosher restaurant.  It's tradition for me to eat a big fat juicy burger when skiing and the Red Tail Grill didn't let me down.



I told you Caden loves those goggles.  So cute! And this was Caden within 2 minutes of driving away from the resort.



Tuckered out, I tell you!  We had an amazing experience skiing the Canyons and we're looking forward to doing it again soon!

|disclaimer: Canyons Resort treated my family to a day of skiing.  They didn't ask for anything in return, but since we had an awesome experience, I wanted to share it with you.  They have a great resort and a great team.  Thanks for the incredible memories!|

Lightbox Watercoloring

We spiced things up a bit when Caden wanted to watercolor the other day.  I pulled out my lightbox, turned it on and placed a plain piece of printer paper on top for him to paint on.  He loved it and it kept him busy for quite awhile.

I'm gearing up for winter around here and trying to fill my brain with all sorts of good indoor activities.  My friend Jess turned me onto a site called Play at Home Mom.  It's full of great ideas and very focused on learning through playing.  I'm no education expert, but I've found Caden really enjoys learning this way rather than the "sit down and let's work on our letters."  Which totally makes sense.  I don't like to study either.... I'd rather research and learn more about what interests me.

I'd love to hear your ideas on indoor play.  What do your children like play inside when the weather gets bad?  Or are there websites you like to turn to when you need ideas?

I hope you have a great weekend!  xoxo

Shared Room

{Sixx Design}

How do you feel about shared bedrooms?  The current discussion at our home is: Where is the baby going to sleep?  And the most likely option seems to be in their brother's room.  He will be 2 1/2 when the baby is born.

Am I crazy?

Cause I sure feel like it.

{Cottage Living}

I keep having visions of late night feedings waking up the toddler (he's a light sleeper) and then having to get two children back to sleep during my zombie-like state.

And to be honest, none of it sounds like fun.

{25 Beautiful Homes}

I know there are shared bedrooms happening everywhere out there.  Would you mind sharing your stories?  What has worked for you and what hasn't?  I would love to hear them.

Thanks for your help!

Monday Redesign: Toddler Boy Room

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. My son is such a delight to hang out with that my head is spinning with fun toddler boy room ideas. {He is 20 months old}. So I'm here today with a toddler boy room redesign.

And now for a breakdown of the goodies:

1. The color scheme I choose was blue, gray, yellow and white.  It's clean and fun and it seems like a toddler boy could grow with this for quite sometime.  {I always try to design for 5-7 year stints as I'm usually ready for a change about then}.  It's very hard to keep a children's room timeless as items they are digging at 18 months will likely be different from items they like at age 5.  However, many elements in this room are timeless as I tried to keep it that way.   The color the the walls is Sherwin Williams Manitou Blue SW6501.


2. These window treatments tie the entire color palette together and I love them!


3. This bedding comes from Serena & Lily and they have a great soothing feel to them.  The bedding itself is timeless as they have solid colors mixed with nice patterns.


4. I like pops of color in children's rooms and this chair serves just that purpose.  Right at this time, we are dealing with time outs and we need a place other than our son's bed {I don't want him to dislike his "big boy" bed} so this chair is perfect. I'm okay with him hating a $13 chair.


5. This rug has a slight pattern and is a perfect foundation for this toddler room.  I like it in the 5x7 size, but this would ultimately depend on the size of your room.


6. Every toddler room needs a place for toys.  This 9 cube organizer shelf is perfect!  We actually already have this in my sons room and I love it.  I use the cubbies to store clothes and shoes, and the open shelves are perfect for toy and book storage.  I suggest covering the shelves with 12x12 paper {Click here to see how it looks- I just used a glue gun and adhered it to the provided backing}.  I suggest using gray fabric drawers and yellow paper with a slight pattern to give it depth and texture.


7. I found this wall art in Modern Pop's shop on Etsy.  I think it compliments this room perfectly and seriously, who doesn't love owls?

What do you think?  Is there anything you would add to this boy toddler room?



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