DIY Toddler Fun: Easy, cheap bathtub painting

This activity is a BIG hit with Ruby. Just a drop or two of food coloring in a cheap can of foam shaving cream. Then a few paintbrushes and a paint tray borrowed from our art supplies. She actually likes this a lot even when I just spray out the shaving cream and leave it white, so that's what I usually do. We practice letters and numbers and she loves drawing clouds. 

Tip: check first to see if the food coloring stains your walls. It left some of my grout a little bit tinted.

Deliciousness: Breakfast of champions

This is our new family breakfast routine at our house. Greek yogurt with sliced up grapefruit, peaches, and/or plums (you really can't beat the fresh, locally-grown stone fruit in California!). Drizzle a little agave nectar and you've got deliciousness and nutritiousness. Yum.

Memory-Keeping: Flower girl dress

When we got married and picked out our flower girl dresses (this was an Easter dress at Target for $17.99!) and outfits for our ringbearers (little guayaberas that matched Jude's!), I bought one extra of each of them for any future children we may have. We knew we were going to have a LOT of kids at our wedding, so we also bought little teddy bears--some pink, some green--for each child to keep. I kept one of each of those bears, too!

I bought a 12-month size in the dress, but my cousin Angie (whose adorable daughter, Abby, was one of our three flower girls) ended up having an extra one in a 2T size (she had bought multiples of the dress at the time, not knowing which size would fit Abby best) and sent it to me last year. When Ruby was about nine months old, I put her in the dress and did a little "photo shoot" in our living room with the pink bear from our wedding. Then, last month, with Ruby at 25 months old, I put her in the bigger size and took some more pictures. Really fun and special to see her in that dress...Our wedding seems like just yesterday and it really makes us stop and reminisce to see our beautiful girl wearing it now.

 

And here are the adorable little munchkins from our actual wedding day in 2007!

Just Because: Is that a halo?

My dad saw this picture and asked if the bright spot on the upper-left-hand corner was the reflection from her halo. Pretty angelic picture of her, to be sure. 

Deliciousness: Watermelon and sea salt

Ah, summer. That's all. Bye!

Fun Stuff: Toddler dance classes

I'm not going to lie...Ruby more often does this sort of thing (laying down while everyone else is dancing, for example) than what she's supposed to be doing, but she LOVES dance class all the same. It was our Saturday morning routine all summer.

Just Because: Very distinguished animals

Ruby and I were at Target and I told her she could pick out a pack of stickers. She chose these mustaches. We have some friends whose baby is due any day now and the daddy-to-be sports a killer mustache, so Ruby and I posed this little pic (she refused to wear one) to welcome the new baby. :)