spooning chick peas

J had a good time with this Montessori-type activity, using the spoon to transfer chick peas from one container to another. He worked for about 10 minutes, and the bottle didn't seem to get in the way! He knows not to put the chick peas in his mouth (they are choking hazards).

Of course, this activity ended like this:

The end!

cooking, or "kooky" with J

Little man has been so curious about what I'm doing in the kitchen lately. He knows when I am cooking (he says I'm "kooky") and wants to be lifted up so he can see. This morning while I was making breakfast (whole wheat waffles topped with peach puree, yum!), I gave him a bowl of flour and a spoon and instructed my husband to supervise.  My husband is more of the old school sort, so these kinds of activities blow his mind.

At first J wanted to walk around with the bowl, but after a little convincing (and a little crying) he was satisfied sitting on the floor. J immediately started to spoon flour onto the floor so I gave him another bowl for him to fill (children do so love the idea of transferring things). 

To spice things up (ha!), I handed him a small jar of oregano.  I think there is nothing more irresistible to children than the mysteries of mom's spice rack. In no time at all that little jar was empty so I just refilled it with the flour/oregano mixture from his bowl.

I would say J was pretty content with his first experience with "kooky"

The end!

the mini mechanic

My child is never happier than he is when he is helping his Dada in the garage. My husband was in the body and fender trade for over 15 years before he switched professions and his mechanical skills have helped us on many occasions. It seems my child has that interest and knack for mechanics too. 

Here he is getting a close look underbody of the car as his dad installs a new transmission (I'm not going to lie, this terrifies me): 

His daddy lets him use all kinds of tools (he prefers the unsafe ones of course) Here he is fixing the bumper with a mini screw driver:

Sticking tools into the hub caps: 

Enjoying the mancave:

We then transferred our knew automotive knowledge to our dramatic play by jacking up his car and fixing it, too:

He and Daddy checked out the underbody (Joey wanted to see it from a different perspective):

The end!

the car wash

I think every child I've ever known has owned one of those Little Tikes covered cars. J is no exception, although I was fortunate to get ours used from a friend whose son had outgrown it. J likes to sit in his and watch Sesame Street. He also likes to use my old ipod as a car phone (although I have to add, I don't drive and talk on the phone):

Anyway, I thought it would be fun for J to wash his car. I handed him at wet rag and he knew just what to do. He began by getting in and washing the interior with such seriousness and intent, I was shocked!

The next day I thought it might be nice for him to have a bucket of suds. While I was filling the bucket with water I added a dab of dish detergent. After the bucket was full, I tipped the bucket spilling out all the water leaving behind only the suds. If I was outside and it was warm I would have let him get everything as wet as he pleased but this activity occurred on my living room carpet, hence my prudence.

I gave him his rag and he was delighted to have "bubbahs." 

This is now his new favorite activity and I have to replace the "bubbahs" every 10 minutes or so!

The end!