Disneyland Food!

One of the presents the boys got for Christmas this year was this little Fisher Price Mickey and Minnie house. They are obsessed with Mickey and have played with it a ton. Their favorite thing to do is pretend Mickey and Minnie are at Disneyland. They set up their little traffic cones and have Mickey ride “the Lightning McQueen ride” in cars land. They sit Mickey on their stuffed Dumbo to go on a flying Dumbo ride in Fantasyland. They even make their little characters wait in line, which I think is just hilarious. I’ve enjoyed seeing how much these little toys have fostered imaginative play.

Since, obviously the food is such a fun part of the Disneyland experience…
…I thought the boys would enjoy some tiny theme park treats for Mickey and Minnie to snack on. And I have to say, the tiny little foods have been a big hit with the kiddos!


The caramel apples in the cute little sweet shop by the Winnie the Pooh ride are one of our favorite Disneyland treats. They’re decorated so cute and are just so tasty.


I have so enjoyed this little project. It’s still kind of a work in progress just because I keep thinking of more and more things to make. Since Kellen is so little, the pieces only come down from the top shelf when I’m able to play with him and make sure he doesn’t try to eat anything (so far he hasn’t). But it has been so fun to play pretend with my munchkins!

Make Your Own Comic Strip

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how much my hooligans love pretending they’re superheroes. They spend so much time dashing around, saving the day and stopping the bad guys. So I thought it would be fun to make comic strips to give to family members as Christmas presents.

We had a little superhero photo shoot, and the boys got to wear capes and eat cookies, so they were particularly cooperative. They love looking at the little photo book I made with the pictures too, so I’d say the project was a big success.

If you’re curious how I got those photos to look all comic book-y, I actually used an online editing site called Picmonkey. They have an entire section of comic effects and stickers (including those word bubble ones) that added the exact look I was going for. You can pay a subscription to access certain features on the site, but you should be able to play around with the comic effects for free.

Since it’s kind of hard to read the individual squares, I posted them individually below, along with a smidgen of commentary from the director.

The above shot was not staged. I was just watching them do their climb-all-over-everything-as-fast-as-possible kind of thing and caught the action shot :).


This one KILLS ME. I asked him for a  tough face and that’s what he gave me. Unstoppable superhero… and his monkey. Please stay three forever.


I must give credit where credit is due, Spencer came up with the cribtonite bit. I think it’s the cleverest part of the whole story.

Mason climbs onto Kellen’s crib like this pretty much every day. He loves waking him up from nap.
Words cannot express how delighted he was to eat cookies while sitting on the counter. He’s asked to do it a few times since then.

Though he’s not big into cuddling, this kid is always up for kisses. He gives the cutest, sweetest, soggiest smackaroos and I love it ever so much. And so far he isn’t opposed to receiving them either, so I’m gonna take advantage of that for as long as I can.

Kellen’s not wearing a cape for most of this because he HATES capes.


I think we’re due for a second … installment? episode? I’m not really up on my comic book lingo, I must confess.

Join us next time…

It’s a Small Small World

A small project I finished and gifted forever ago but never shared pictures of. I was so pleased with how it turned out and It was such a delightfully fun piece to paint. It was fun to try and capture the whimsy of the ride and put it into my own artwork. Yes, it’s a cliché phrase. And yes it’s a silly song that is IMPOSSIBLE to get out of your head once it gets stuck there. But I think the sentiment is true. Emotions are universal. People are people. There is so much that connects us, despite the things or situations that make us feel so different or out of place. It’s a comforting thought that, in a way, the world is smaller than we think sometimes.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

One of the highlights of our year is the "balloon festibal" (according to Mason who also says words like "hosbibal" and "capibal"). We had to wake the boys and leave the house when it was dark out to get there in time, but it was totally worth it. Because it was so early, it was pretty cold out and we bundled the boys in blankets in the stroller. I told Spencer that the balloon festival is perhaps my favorite event that we have ever attended in Boise. I love love love it! It's so cool because you get to go right on the field in the middle of the balloons and watch while they are unloaded from their trailers and then filled with air. They slightly stagger their launching times, and you get to watch the whole sky fill with balloons as they play festive music. It is so beautiful and so amazing to watch. Especially because the event takes place at dawn and the sunrise is the backdrop behind all those colorful balloons. The boys were totally enthralled. Kellen's little eyes were wide with amazement and he kept pointing out his favorites. Mason told everyone we saw that day about the festibal and the fire in the balloons that makes them go high in the sky. I kept telling Spencer, "This is so amazing. I WILL NOT get over it." Ah, I know I'm gushing, but it really was one of those adventures that truly was THAT spectacular.

Create a Book About Your Child’s Favorite Stuffed Animal

I have made lots of little books for our boys with pictures of and stories about them. They love flipping through them. Not to mention, they make great gifts for grandparents and birth families.

This book, however, is one of Mason’s favorites. Not surprising when you consider the subject matter: Monkey. Mason’s very best pal. He still takes him everywhere and I joke that Monkey’s pretty much my third child. It’s almost true though, I have to keep careful track of that primate or come bedtime there’s lots of weeping and wailing. He truly can’t sleep without him This is why we actually have a Monkey back up, just in case. Mason does not know about this clone hiding in the closet. There was this unfortunate incident where Monkey went missing and after a couple of nights of Mason sobbing himself to sleep, Monkey finally made his way back to us. Only he was newer and fluffier and less misshapen. We wondered if Mason would accept him, but he cuddled him in without comment so…phew. We all could sleep at night again. And the spare Monkey is safely stored and ready for an emergency. But I hope it will never come to that.

Anyway, here’s a peek at a few pictures that I took for the book. I decided to leave out the words since they were written just for Mason.
 
There you have it. A fun idea for a gift for the kiddo in your life! Ours has been a big hit and is one of the most requested stories in our home. In case your curious, I printed mine at Shutterfly. They always have good coupons and I was able to make this book for just the cost of shipping. 

I want to make one for Kellen too, but so far he doesn’t have a very strong attachment to any particular toy. But I am planning on making books for both boys for Christmas this year. I’ll have to share what I come up with at some point.