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Sock Monkey Mama

It's interesting to see how the littlest things a child does can bring smiles of joy to a mama. We normally keep Freedom's little jack-in-the-box sock monkey toy up in the closet and bring it out on occasion, because he hasn't completely learned how to wind it and push the monkey back in the box to do it again. His larger sock monkey stuffed toy sits out perched on the end of his crib. Today I pulled the jack-in-the-box toy out for him to try and we enjoyed winding it, watching it pop and giggling together for a few moments. I then left him to play alone in his room and walked out for a few moments. When I returned, this is how I found his two sock monkey toys. He had pulled the larger, "mama" monkey down from the crib and left it wrapped around the little box monkey. I don't know why it tugged at me so, but it did. I just thought it was so cute & sweet that he had thought to put them together, snuggled up, left to care for each other. It made mama's heart smile. Sock monkeys unite!

Day to Day Play

High-five for being bestie lil buddies!

Well no, I don't mind if I do borrow your shiny, pink fanny pack, friend.

Garden Gnome Boy! Halloween 2009.

Freedom did such a good job playing the role of cutest garden gnome ever! It was a really great Halloween weekend. Freedom got to hang out with a few of his little costumed friends and then went trick or treating for the first time, with his cousins and nana. Mama B went to a few adult costume parties, which were loads of fun. We heart Halloween! Check out the garden gnome and friends in a few wonderful photos.

Creating a Child's Halloween Garden Gnome Costume on a Budget

"Gnomes are those creatures who live in our garden and are known for caring for wildlife."

-Mary Welling-Bonney Suite101.com contributing writer

I found myself a little obsessed with garden gnomes this season, well that & I tend to obsess over Halloween & costumes, because I find it to be so fun! So, I thought up Freedom's Halloween costume all on my own this year. I decided awhile ago that I wanted him to be a garden gnome. Then, I thought perhaps he and I could be yard ornaments together, with him being a gnome & me being his pink flamingo sidekick. Off I went online looking for ideas for his gnome costume, but I had no idea what I was in store for. To my surprise, but then it's the internet, so not really a suprise, I came across a store made gnome costume in a infant/toddler size, that was pretty cute, though it didn't look exactly like a garden gnome, it was adorable. I thought it'd be perfect and knew for sure I wanted him to be a gnome after seeing this lil costume. There are actually some really funny sites & blogs that are totally devoted to garden gnomes. And, I found that the Travelocity gnome costume was popping up quite a bit in searches, so that may be a popular one, especially after being so visible as the little mascot for the show Amazing Race (one of my faves). I actually hadn't expected to find a store made one for a child, but thought I might find an adult one. Well, we were able to try on the costume at a local Halloween shop & it was too tight on Freedom. So, I started to rethink my plan for him and thought maybe I'd be the gnome and he could be my lil mushroom. Lol! Alas, I was so set on him being the garden gnome that I decided I'd at least try to create the costume myself.

Well, after some wonderful, creative inspiration and sewing help from our friend Zshanna (the artist mama that sewed the gnome hat), help from my mom, and a few items from the thrift store, we have the costume completed. Just add pants & we're ready for trick or treating. Oh, and I didn't have time to get my pink flamingo yard ornament costume together to join my boy, so I'm being Rosie the Riveter (a costume I already have). We purposely sewed the beard to his shirt, and put his fluffy eyebrows on the hat, to try and keep them out of his face. Figured a toddler will fuss too much or not even wear things that bother their face for too long. Now, let's keep our fingers crossed that Freedom keeps the costume on long enough to take photos & look adorable! Here's the pic of the costume itself & hopefully more photos coming soon. The details of the costume are:

• Little red cone hat, made with soft stretchy fabric (1/2 yard on sale for $2), since a baby is wearing it, otherwise I suggest using felt to make it stand up better.
• Oversized blue t-shirt from the dollar store, cut & then sewn to be in more of a triangle or tunic shape, he'll also wear a dark colored long sleeved shirt under this
• Little black rubber garden style boots (thrift store find for $2)
• Cut out pretend black belt & gold buckle (spare felt pieces that were given to us)
• Fluffy white fabric eyebrows and beard sewn/glued onto the hat & shirt (spare fabric my mom had)
• Complete with small plastic garden watering pot prop (cheap toy my mom let us borrow) & we will add his brown corduroy pants (that he already has) tucked into the boots on Halloween
  

Finally, you have your easily under $10, along with some donated time from loved ones, adorable Halloween costume 2009.

For giggles & more info on garden gnomes, check out these links below.

Better Gnomes and Garden

Gnome - Wikipedia

Make yourself a garden gnome

Gnome Frenzy

Pumpkin Festival

Mama B took little Free to his first pumpkin patch. They have a huge pumpkin festival, with carnival rides, games, food, tractor hay rides, haunted house & corn maze at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Chatfield location. I was actually pretty amazed when we pulled up to it, as I had not been before, at just how many people would be there, it was packed. The parking lot looked like a field of cars parked for a huge football game. Luckily, we had borrowed my aunt and uncle's cute red radio flyer wagon to bring with us. It was very good that we had it, because we had to walk quite a ways just to get to the pumpkin patch from the parking lot. It was actually a pretty, sunny, warm fall day, which was nice for hanging out. We looked all over for a pumpkin, but didn't end up finding one, as they were pretty picked over and a lot damaged by a recent freeze. But, still we enjoyed ourselves, did a tractor ride, walked around and took pictures and ate a funnel cake, yummy! I ended up buying a pumpkin later on from Whole Foods, to carve at a friend's house that night. Sad, that we didn't come home with any pumpkins from the patch, but it was still a fun way to spend a Saturday with my boy!

Good Habits for Avoiding the Seasonal Flu

STAY HEALTHY TIPS FROM DR. SEARS

Playtime at the Park

There is a really neat, very toddler friendly playground at a park next to our local rec center. It's big and much nicer and safer than the playground within walking distance from our house, so we've driven to it a few times lately. They have two huge play structures, one for kids probably 5 and up and the other for smaller tots. Both are pretty safe structures in general and a lot of fun for Freedom to explore. He's getting more and more daring with his playground activity. He is generally pretty fearless and courageous, rarely hesitating as he climbs and plays. Probably though, his favorite thing to do is to follow any other children, especially bigger boys, around and mimick what they do. Lol! Sometimes there are no other kids at the playground, but when there are, Freedom will be sure to do everything he can to keep up with them, whether they want him to or not. He is very interested in the big kids and they often challenge him or push him to try new things, which is a little scary for mama, but fun for him!

Free Day at the Denver Zoo with Freedom

The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) was celebrating their 20th year birthday at the Denver Zoo and it was a free day for the public. They had activities, art, environmental, cultural & entertainment tents and booths and performances by local groups throughout the zoo day. We decided to go and check it out, because we like to walk around, see the animals and doing it on free day makes it all the better! It was a sunny and warm fall day and fun to meet up with our good friends Ginny & Tulah to take in a lovely afternoon at the zoo. We splurged for a train ride, a carousel ride, a chocolate ice cream waffle cone & a couple goodies at the zoo gift shop. These splurges were perhaps a special treat, since we did not have to pay the normal zoo entry fee. Freedom climbed around on some neat wooden pieces that were designed to be neurological gym equipment and enjoyed being able to walk around a bit, get out of the stroller and exert his independence. Freedom's frolicking is for the most part a good thing (he is curious and sweet and listens to mommy, staying nearby most the time), other than when he gets frustrated or can't clearly communicate his demands/needs, doesn't get his way, or can't understand mama's directions, because then we were faced with Freedom's few screaming melt down/tantrums, making for a slightly undesirable/unwelcomed attention getting scene. I believe we have entered into the "terrible twos" a bit prematurely. Freedom struggles a little bit with waiting and being patient, imagine that, a 19 month old that is impatient. We are working on improving his patience with my patience (hoping it doesn't wear thin) and a few time outs here and there too! I am still trying to figure this whole screaming fit thing out. It's a little stressful and weary, but we'll keep trudging forward and hope that this stage does not last long, it is a stage right?

Cute Kid Thursday!

Freedom was chosen on this fun parents blog, GoodyBlog, to be highlighted as their cute kid of the day! Thanks GoodyBlog, we appreciate it!

Trying out some online learning fun!

Snapshots in Stripes

Sushi Dining Lunch Date

We had a wonderfully animated lunch date with our very good friend, Tara, and her daughter Thea. Tara's partner Andy is the manager of one of my favorite sushi restaurants, Hapa Sushi and we decided to try out having lunch there with our toddlers. Actually, Freedom and Thea, who is also 19 months, did very well for the beginning of the lunch, but of course within their expected maxed out attention span of maybe 15 mins., they were ready to get down and explore, screech, run around, be their adorable animated, sneaky lil selves and have fun in Andy's restaurant. And goodness are those two tots quick, active and determined. Once they were off, trying to eat our sushi became more of a race than an enjoyment for the mommies, but fun was had by all. Thea ate a few pieces of sushi, such a very good eater, and Freedom tried eel and octopus, ha, ha, just kidding, not so much, but nothing like his regular PB&J to fill up his picky eatin' belly. We took the kiddos to the mall's indoor playground for some after lunch playtime. And then, our friends, who often spoil us with their hospitality and love, had us over to their house for a bit of RnR, with glasses of wine for mommies & more playdate time for the tot duo. They gave Freedom a very cool, hip, adorable Paul Frank skull & crossbones little shirt for a 'just because' gift. They have such great taste! We love it! We are blessed & grateful for friends like Tara, Andy & Thea.

Gap Casting Call / Baby & Kid Model Search Contest

The Gap & Baby Gap company holds a nationwide casting call each year and it's that time again. If you think your sweet child deserves to be the face of Baby Gap or Gap Kids, here is your chance to enter their photo in the nationwide search and contest.

To cast your vote for my son's photo as fan favorite, click here, Vote for Freedom!

Bridging The Generation Gap

There is a 50 year gap between Freedom & his Daddy, quite an accomplishment & quite the adventure it will be to watch these two bridge their generations and grow through the father/son bond they build. We just celebrated Daddy's 50 something birthday with dinner out to a favorite Italian restaurant of ours, Pasquini's, at their new south location. Freedom greatly enjoys hanging with his dada. One of his favorite things to do is to either be outside with his daddy or in the basement with him. He has brought us much laughter and entertainment with his begging to go outside antics. He often runs and grabs the first pair of shoes he can find, and brings them to us to put on, if his daddy even flinches towards the door and he perceives he might have an opportunity to wiggle his way out to the garage or yard alongside his dad. I enjoy very much the idea of him learning from and observing his father's work ethic and garage activity, because I know it will benefit him greatly in the future to pick up on many of the habits, skills and gestures that his carpenter dad has!