tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68193876231067924952024-02-08T13:22:36.593-05:00Sister SchoolSisters are different flowers from the same garden. ~Author UnknownChristiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-45078977914182733402010-11-11T00:02:00.000-05:002010-11-11T00:02:40.239-05:00Doctor's Wellness Visit<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CJ and Daisy just had their wellness checks and both did well overall. DC just got over a little cold/cough so she was upset with the doctor but was still trying to muster up her cute little smile. CJ absolutely HATES going to the doctor and will fight even getting on the scale. Thankfully Daddy went with us so I didn't have to deal with 2 screaming kids by myself. They both received their flu shot (Mommy did too) and a happy CJ left covered in stickers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are their current stats:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>CJ - 3 years old</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">37 pounds (92nd percentile)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">38" tall (66th percentile)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">DC - 9 months old</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">21 pounds (84th percentile)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">29" tall (91st percentile)</span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-75437274363600100572010-09-18T00:56:00.000-04:002010-09-18T00:56:02.380-04:00Alphabet Art: Letter A<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A fun art project that CJ and I do often is create alphabet art. I found these great cardboard uppercase letters at Lakeshore Learning. Lakeshore Learning sells lowercase letters as well. When we first started, I had the idea to do all the letters in alphabetical order. I quickly scrapped that plan and now we'll do whatever letter we have materials for. When we're done with the entire alphabet, I'll used the scanned artwork to create a book.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A is for Apple Tree</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Materials Used:</span></b></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">green paint</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">apple stickers</span></li>
</ul></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The idea was to get CJ to paint the "tree" green and place the stickers. She wasn't too thrilled with the painting so I had to finish it for her. She loved doing the stickers though.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs224.snc1/7128_1217691093273_1558753582_560881_4255370_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs224.snc1/7128_1217691093273_1558753582_560881_4255370_n.jpg" width="275" /></a></div></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-86907574025173057812010-09-07T21:27:00.000-04:002010-09-07T21:27:00.943-04:00Happy 7 Month Birthday DC!!!!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At 11:11pm, little DC officially be 7 months old!! I can't believe how fast my baby girl is growing. She's been making a lot of accomplishments lately. She's now crawling....or at least her version of it. She will crawl a little bit but resort to rolling around when she's being lazy. She hates laying down and wants to stand up as much as possible. She loves holding onto the coffee table and watching her big sister play. CJ isn't as amused because DC tries to steal her toys. She started baby food and loves squash and green beans. She won't let a drop get past her mouth so she won't let us get a messy-face baby pic. Best of all she said her first word!!!!! I'm a little jealous that it was "Dada" considering I spend all day with her but I'm happy to see how much she loves her daddy. Poor guy has 2 daddy's girls on his hands now! I'll try to post some pics of her soon!</span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-4161597527475600752010-09-06T23:12:00.000-04:002010-09-06T23:12:23.122-04:00Labor Day at the Inner Harbor<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope all of you had a wonderful Labor Day! Charles and I decided to take CJ to the Inner Harbor and the weather was perfect!! (DC hung out with my parents so we could have some quality time with CJ.)</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We took at trip to the top of the World Trade Center (27 stories up) to see the gorgeous panoramic views of the city. Much to my surprise, CJ was not afraid of the heights and loved looking out the windows.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020045.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020058.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As soon as CJ saw the dragon paddle boats, we knew that we had to go for a ride. I reminded her that Dora always wants us to be safe so we made sure we wore our "lifejackets.....so we can be safe!"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020047.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020079.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the paddle boats, we stopped for a little lunch and CJ couldn't resist the mechanical rides.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020107.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Giant crabs were on the loose!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020110.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020115.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Inside the Visitor's Center was Fifi the a giant pink poodle. It has a bike underneath it so I assume it was designed to be a moving art piece. CJ thought it was hysterical and wanted to ride it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020116.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had originally planned on going to the Science Center but decided that we would rather tour the harbor on the Water Taxi. CJ had a BLAST! She loved feeling the breeze on her face, looking at the water and seeing all the boats. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020135.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020154.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020195.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020221.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES OF CJ:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020215.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I plan on turning some of the pictures that I took into an educational photo book for CJ. Here are a few examples of what I plan on doing:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">2 Gray Ships</span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020187.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020200.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">7 Large Cylinders</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020198.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What shapes do you see?</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020277.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love the architecture of the city. It's a mix of historic and modern built next to each other. Here are some of my favorite shots:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My mom will only make her Sweet Tea with Domino Sugar.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>World Trade Center & National Aquarium</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020275.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you're a fan of Homicide: Life on the Street, you might recognize this building as police headquarters.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020163.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020248.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The building has beautiful architecture and the patina is gorgeous! I love taking close-up shots of architectural details such as this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020165.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020239.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Details of the street light:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020244.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020243.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">The USS Constellation. Notice the flag on the back of the ship and the smaller flag in the distance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020295.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We spent several hours having fun at the Inner Harbor and CJ loved having alone time with her Mommy and Daddy. By the end, she was so tired she passed out as soon as she got in her car seat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020305.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div></span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-24656865226033326242010-08-31T22:28:00.014-04:002010-09-01T16:20:46.124-04:00Worldless Wednesday: Rub-a-dub-dub, CJ's in the tub!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">CJ decided she wanted a bath instead of a nap. She took matters into her own hands and this was the result:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9123.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9122.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_9124.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-41514890593765483492010-08-31T10:22:00.000-04:002010-08-31T10:22:05.811-04:00Teaching the Alphabet<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been asked how I taught CJ the alphabet. Honestly, it wasn't something that I intentionally set out to do. It was more of a pleasant surprise when she started showing us that she understood what those crazy symbols we call letters mean. Here are just a few of the things I used:</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/V-Smile-80-64200-Touch-Discover-Alphabet/dp/B00067TA6M"><b>V-Tech Touch & Discover Alphabet Town </b></a></span><br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CJ has loved playing with this ever since we got it for her. (She even takes it to bed sometimes.) We first noticed that she understood letters when the game would ask "Press the letter W...Press the Letter H..." and she got most of them correct!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510mol6BwoL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510mol6BwoL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Alphabet Magnets</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I bought both the uppercase and lowercase letters at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/V-Smile-80-64200-Touch-Discover-Alphabet/dp/B00067TA6M">Lakeshore Learning</a> but you can find them at Wal-mart or Target. When playing with our magnet board, CJ would put the letters up as I told her what letter it was and what sound it made. This was pretty informal and I didn't think she was really paying attention. I guess I was wrong.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/media/images/products/full/ku597_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/media/images/products/full/ku597_f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meet the Letters</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although adults may find the "Meet the..." series to be dull and repetitive, CJ is always glued to the TV when it's on. The DVD shows both upper and lowercase letters but doesn't include the phonetic sound they make. We first borrowed the DVD from the library and bought it once we realized how much she liked it. We also bought the complete collection (Meet the Shapes, Meet the Colors, Meet the Numbers, Meet the Sight Words 1, 2 and 3).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Meet-Letters-animation/dp/B000BD68AM?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Meet the Letters" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B000BD68AM&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000BD68AM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Starfall</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A great website for teaching the alphabet and early reading skills is <a href="http://starfall.com/">starfall.com</a>. Click on a letter to hear its name, the sound it makes and different words that start with that letter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.starfall.com/imgs/starfall.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.starfall.com/imgs/starfall.gif" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div></div></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-40965262791865656862010-08-26T21:35:00.001-04:002010-08-26T21:42:43.441-04:00Book Bargain Bonanza!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love shopping at our local thrift store for books for the girls. Not only do I always find a huge selection but the books are usually in good condition and the prices can't be beat! I've never spent more than a dollar for a book before.</span><br />
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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My latest trip was no exception. I walked away with 61....yes, that's right...61 books!! The best part was that I only spent around $40!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These aren't all the books but some of my favorite finds. Some of them are advanced for their age but I'll set them aside for later. I bring them out a little at a time so they always think we have new books and don't get bored of them right away.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A look at the big box of books that I got.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of things that my husband and I want to instill in the girls is a good set of values, solid character, and healthy self-esteem. I'm always on the lookout for books that have some sort of moral or life lesson that can be taught.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ValueTales were books published in the 70's and 80's. There were 43 total books in the series but I only could find 23 at the thrift store. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(I'm sure I could find the rest on eBay if I wanted to complete the collection.)</span> I seem to remember reading some of these as a kid so my mom probably still has some in her garage. I can't say how good or bad they are because I haven't read them yet (as an adult at least). Hopefully, they aren't too old-fashioned or too weird.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020014.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A childhood favorite of mine was The Bernstein Bears. I was thrilled to find 8 books that talked about issues such as telling the truth, strangers, bullying and getting into fights.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">More books that fit into the character/values/self-esteem theme.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020020.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Another big thing we want to teach the girls is safety preparedness.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You can never tell your kids too much that you love them.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020025.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A couple of great books for bedtime and morning story time.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1020028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I just have to find a place to store all of these along with the TONS of other books we already have.</span><br />
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</span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-76413271575428182902010-08-24T23:06:00.003-04:002010-08-25T01:10:54.279-04:00Tot School<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~CJ is currently 33 months old.~</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotSchool.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Tot School" border="0" src="http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/carisahinson/Tot-School.gif" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our week started with a trip to the airport and a follow-up art project. You can read about our Airplane Adventure <a href="http://sister-school.blogspot.com/2010/08/airplane-adventure.html">here</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1178.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010865.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">I admit that I'm <i>slightly</i> obsessed with the painted wood decorations that can be found at most craft stores. I have over 100 and can't get enough! I glue a magnet to the back and turn it into a fun, educational prop for CJ to play with. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">While I normally try to incorporate a lesson with the play, this week I just let her have fun and free play with them. She likes trying to match things up and you can see a little bit of it here. She put the dog next to the doghouse, all the frogs are together at the bottom, and the boat and anchor are together.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010894.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010876.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She'll even try to find matches around the room for her magnets and loves showing me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010891.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>She was excited that the bee on her shirt matched her wood bee.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010882.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">She told the dogs to sit in the rocking chair and watch her play.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010895.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Check out the Angelina Jolie lips!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sjabadgers.jardine.me.uk/images/puzzles.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://sjabadgers.jardine.me.uk/images/puzzles.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CJ has been crazy about puzzles lately and I brought out some new ones for her to play with. Please note that I took all the pictures on the same day (you can tell by her shirt) but we played with them every day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A simple foam number puzzle found in the dollar bin at the grocery store. She'll say the number as she puts them in and I've been teaching her how many fingers to hold up for each number.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010903-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010903-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I bought this Alphabet Train puzzle a year ago but I finally felt that CJ was old enough to attempt putting it together. She would find the letter in the pile in front of her, say the letter and the sound it makes and we worked on identifying the object in the train car that began with that letter. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't know how long her toddler attention span would last but she surprised me! We probably spent a good 30-45 minutes on this. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010911.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CJ is a little backseat driver and will yell at me to stop whenever she sees a STOP sign. I decided to make a Road Sign Game* to teach her more about the signs we see while driving. This week we focused on matching the signs to their shadows. Later we will talk about what the sign means. I tried to include the basic shapes (octagon stop sign, triangle yield sign, circle railroad crossing, etc)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010918.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She's been working on 4-piece puzzles. This is an wood alphabet puzzle that consists of 13 double-sided boards. </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She did really well and only asked for help a couple of times.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010926.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>*If you would like a copy of the Road Signs file-folder game, click the following links:<br />
<a href="http://www.4shared.com/document/-Kj9lKV9/Road_Signs_2.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://dc256.4shared.com/img/368812869/4247f6f9/0.9453901962674562/Road_Signs_2.pdf" /></a><a href="http://www.4shared.com/document/Ufx1JRTZ/Road_Signs_shadow.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://dc256.4shared.com/img/368812948/6b4ceda/0.10248055926777588/Road_Signs_shadow.pdf" /></a><a href="http://www.4shared.com/document/GZGg-9rA/Road_Signs_shadow2.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://dc256.4shared.com/img/368812993/24c8691f/0.5342576661916677/Road_Signs_shadow2.pdf" /></a><a href="http://www.4shared.com/document/KgiZZhT3/Road_Signs.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://dc256.4shared.com/img/368813011/b572ded1/0.2113885437841938/Road_Signs.pdf" /></a><a href="http://www.4shared.com/document/68LtrpfV/traffice_signal.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://dc256.4shared.com/img/368813031/8744bc53/0.5823874812871046/traffice_signal.pdf" /></a><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><div><br />
</div></i></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></span></div></div></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-89964110602828546642010-08-22T01:01:00.001-04:002010-08-22T01:02:38.116-04:00Airplane Adventure<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What started off as a mundane Monday ended up being a pretty exciting and educational day! I forgot that CJ didn't have gym class this week and she was disappointed when we got there and couldn't play. Instead of taking them back home, I decided that we would take a field trip to the local airport. The airport has a great observation area. Not only could CJ see real planes but they had a great displays to teach about the various airplane parts. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1178.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>CJ checking out real planes. This didn't impress her as much as I thought it would.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1215.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">All those buttons, levers and dials and a toddler just dying to get at them!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/engine.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1184.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/DSCN1179.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After we got home and the girls took their nap, I started thinking of an art project to go along with our trip. Here is what I came up with:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010810.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Supplies:</span><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blue construction paper</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">white paper airplane (I cut mine out using my Cricut Expressions but you can print out an outline of an airplane or draw one freehand)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">something to color with (I originally planned on using crayons but CJ decided that she wanted to use her Dot Markers instead)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cotton balls</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">glue</span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010814.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">CJ wanted to fly the airplane around before coloring it. I used this opportunity to ask her where the various parts of the plane were (wings, tail, etc)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010841.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>She loves mixing colors with the Dot Markers and seeing new colors she comes up with.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>She hates when she accidentally makes a mess on the table so I let her clean up with a baby wipe.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010853.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010863.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Apply glue and cotton balls. I had to do most of the glue to keep it in a "cloud" shape.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010865.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/P1010865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">The finished product!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, we read <i>Planes at the Airport</i> to finish off our spontaneous Airplane Adventure!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Planes-At-Airport-Peter-Mandel/dp/0439564166?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Planes At The Airport" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0439564166&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0439564166" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-26406349465585782162010-08-20T21:57:00.001-04:002010-09-19T22:10:14.277-04:00FirstWords: Deluxe GIVEAWAY!! (EXPIRED)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am thrilled to announce that the makers of FirstWords: Deluxe have offered 5 of my readers a free copy of the app. (You can read my review of FirstWords: Deluxe <a href="http://sister-school.blogspot.com/2010/08/app-showcase-firstwords-deluxe.html">here</a>.) </span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Giveaway Rules:</span></b></span></div><div><br />
<ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first 5 people to leave a comment to this post will get a code for a free copy of FirstWords: Deluxe.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please subscribe via email or follow my blog by clicking on the link on the right side of this page.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please leave a review of the app on iTunes.</span></li>
</ol><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Giveaway Information:</span></b></span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Please leave a way for me to contact you in your comment otherwise another winner will be chosen.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The code can only be redeemed at the iTunes App Store.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You must have an iPad, iPhone or iPod to use this app. (iPods and iPod Touch requires headphones if you want to hear the sounds)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The code expires on 9/17/10 and must be redeemed before then.</span></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Disclosure: </span></span><a href="http://learningtouch.com/products"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Learning Touch</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> provided me with a free code to </span></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/firstwords-christmas/id342540962?mt=8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">FirstWords: Christmas</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></span></span></div></div></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-20397425387775030892010-08-18T12:20:00.001-04:002010-08-18T12:21:28.427-04:00What Does Mommy Say?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CJ never ceases to amaze me with how smart and funny she can be. The other day I was talking to her about the sounds that different things make. I thought I would give her a trick question to see how she would answer. Her reply had me laughing but wondering why she picked that answer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Mommy: What sound does a train make?</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>CJ: Choo Choo!!!</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Mommy: What does a doggie say?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>CJ: Woof Woof!!</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Mommy: What does a snake say?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>CJ: Sssssssssss!</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Mommy: What does Mommy say?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(and without skipping a beat)</span></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>CJ: MONEY!!!!</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So my daughter apparently thinks I'm Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants. I've asked her the question a couple of times since then and she still gives the same answer. How do they come up with this stuff?! HA HA!</span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-73086082171690756392010-08-13T23:42:00.003-04:002010-08-20T11:55:23.093-04:00App Showcase - FirstWords: Deluxe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/AppoftheWeekbanner3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/AppoftheWeekbanner3-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Disclaimer: All applications showcased on this blog have been personally used by either myself or my family. I have received no financial compensation and have fully paid for all apps reviewed.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://learningtouch.com/images-deluxe/fwdeluxe-home.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://learningtouch.com/images-deluxe/fwdeluxe-home.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first app that I purchased for my brand-spanking new iPad was FirstWords: Deluxe by <a href="http://learningtouch.com/products">Learning Touch</a>. What drew me to this app was the bright and colorful graphics as well as the simplicity of the app itself. CJ already knows the entire alphabet and I wanted to encourage her to start putting letters together to create words. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://learningtouch.com/images-home/fwHomeProduct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://learningtouch.com/images-home/fwHomeProduct.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">FirstWords: Deluxe is a bundle of smaller FirstWords apps. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It includes the Free Sampler, Animals, At Home, Vehicles, </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and the new Shapes and Colors word collections.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Available for iPhone and iPad.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Retail Value: $4.99</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>PROS</b>:</span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Educational:</u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Not only does this app help teach kids the names of different items but it helps reinforce their knowledge of the alphabet. When selecting a letter tile, a voice says the name of the letter. If you press the picture, the word is named. After completely forming the word, the letters and name of the object are repeated. (Think of a visual spelling bee: "D-E-S-K, desk")</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Easy to use!</u> It's truly a matter of dragging and dropping letter tiles into place. CJ learned how to use this app in a matter of seconds! The only problem she had at first was how much pressure to apply to the iPad when sliding the tiles but that wasn't the fault of the app itself.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Inexpensive!</u> If I bought all 3 previously released apps separately, I would have spent $5.97 ($1.99 per app). Colors and Shapes were added to to the bundle so the actual cost of all the apps sold separately would be $9.95. You save a total of $4.96!! You can't beat that price!</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Fun!</u> CJ plays this app almost every day and never seems to get bored of it. For a game to hold a toddler's attention it must be great!! </span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>CONS:</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can honestly say that I have <i>ZERO</i> negative things to say about this app (besides the fact that I have to wrestle the iPad away from CJ when she's having fun). Before I purchased FirstWords: Deluxe, I read the reviews for the Deluxe version and the individual apps. The only negatives that a few reviewers had is that the app doesn't say the phonetic sound of the letter (just the letter name itself). While I agree that learning phonetics is important, it would be difficult to implement in this situation. For example: if the word HOUSE was being spelled, should they pronounce the "e" sound at the end even though it's silent? I think it would confuse children more than help them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>IN CONCLUSION:</u></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FirstWords: Deluxe is an absolute must-have for toddlers!! It's cheap, fun and educational all in one. CJ give it 2 big thumbs up!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://learningtouch.com/images/fwVehiclesProduct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://learningtouch.com/images/fwVehiclesProduct.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://learningtouch.com/images/fwAnimalsProduct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://learningtouch.com/images/fwAnimalsProduct.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-85857728256347455382010-08-11T10:12:00.001-04:002010-08-11T10:24:46.477-04:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/wordless_wednesday-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/wordless_wednesday-1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fashion Tip: <b>Never</b> let your toddler be your stylist.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(poor Daddy!)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs105.ash2/38611_1505280802836_1558753582_1235007_5202800_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs105.ash2/38611_1505280802836_1558753582_1235007_5202800_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-28598127704985564472010-08-10T16:42:00.000-04:002010-08-10T16:42:20.249-04:00DC's 6th Month Check-up<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today was DC's 6th month well baby visit. She did<i> fantastic</i>!! Unlike CJ, who screams as soon as we walk through the door, DC was all smiles and giggles. Even after getting her shots, she only cried for a minute and then she was super happy baby again.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her stats are:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">17 lbs 1 oz (71.18%)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">26.75" (83.13%)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My baby girl is growing up way too fast!</span></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-1154391059555978322010-08-10T10:55:00.001-04:002010-08-11T10:22:32.940-04:00Barefoot Books - New Video<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://Christie-Hepburn.barefootbooks.com/?bf_affiliate_code=000-0d4i" target="_blank"><img height="285" src="http://www.barefootbooks.com/files/7412/8075/5860/Ecampaigns_KnickKnackVideo_August_10.jpg" width="400" /></a></span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-32202433293887103862010-08-10T10:28:00.001-04:002010-08-10T10:38:35.928-04:00Features Coming Soon!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have several ideas for ongoing features that hopefully will be added soon. I plan to make these a weekly occurrence. Here are a few to look forward to:</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs224.snc1/7128_1217691093273_1558753582_560881_4255370_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs224.snc1/7128_1217691093273_1558753582_560881_4255370_n.jpg" width="220" /></a>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>App of the Week</b>: CJ loves playing with our iPad and iPod. We loaded both up with great educational apps that I would love to share with you. They have all been tested and approved by CJ herself.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What We're Reading</b>: A quick glance at some favorite books we read during the week.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Featured Blog of the Week</b>: I want to share some of my favorite blogs with you. The blogs I feature will be ones that I read frequently and have been inspired by. I hope you love them as much as I do.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Alphabet Art</b>: I work with CJ to create art based on a letter of the alphabet. We already completed about a dozen letters but I'll still show them so there will be a complete A-Z collection.</span></li>
</ul></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-5147611381391468052010-08-09T22:01:00.002-04:002010-08-21T09:58:41.816-04:00Meet the Sisters!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are the stars of Sister School. CJ will be 3 in November and DC just turned 6 months old. These pictures were taken during our family vacation last month and they are some of my favorites!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Neither girl ever took to a pacifier and preferred to suck their fingers. They both suck the same fingers but hold their hands differently. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_8059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_8059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">21st Century Family: Every night I would work on the laptop and CJ wanted to play on the iPad. We decided to get DC in on the action and let her "play" with Papa's (my father) iPod Touch.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_8209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/chepburn/100_8209.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-30880405823694326652010-08-09T21:01:00.001-04:002010-08-09T21:03:56.929-04:00Author Spotlight - Iza Trapani<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Iza Trapani is the brilliant author/illustrator of some of CJ's favorite books. Trapani doesn't simply rewrite classic children's nursery rhymes. She expands upon them and brings them to life with her gorgeous artwork. It's hard not to <i>sing</i> (I use that term loosely when describing myself) along rather than just recite the words. Also, each detailed page has hidden gems that I'm still discovering each time I open the book. These books are sure to become family favorites!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twinkle-Little-Star-Iza-Trapani/dp/1879085704?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1879085704&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1879085704" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Row-Your-Boat/dp/1580890776?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Row, Row, Row Your Boat" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1580890776&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580890776" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Much-That-Doggie-Window/dp/158089030X?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=158089030X&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=158089030X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Itsy-Bitsy-Spider-Iza-Trapani/dp/1879085690?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="The Itsy Bitsy Spider" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1879085690&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1879085690" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Im-Little-Teapot-Iza-Trapani/dp/1580890105?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="I'm a Little Teapot" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1580890105&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580890105" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baa-Black-Sheep-Iza-Trapani/dp/1580890717?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Baa Baa Black Sheep" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1580890717&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580890717" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shoo-Fly-Iza-Trapani/dp/1580890768?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Shoo Fly" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1580890768&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580890768" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Had-Little-Lamb-Trapani/dp/1580890903?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Mary Had a Little Lamb" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1580890903&tag=sistscho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580890903" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=sistscho-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=iza%20trapani" target="_blank">Search Amazon.com for iza trapani</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=sistscho-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819387623106792495.post-75593459426595973582010-08-09T18:54:00.001-04:002010-08-09T22:33:33.562-04:00Welcome to Sister School!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to my new blog! I have wanted to create a blog for a while now and finally got the courage to just do it. My name is Christie and I am the stay-at-home mom of 2 beautiful daughters: CJ (3 in November) and DC (6 months old). I want to share with my family and friends what I do with the girls every day. I plan on showing the arts & craft projects we do, books we're reading, games we're playing, etc. I already have a TON of ideas for posts so stay tuned and I hope you enjoy!</span>Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196554581058345774noreply@blogger.com0