the hetzel life: valentine's fun...

I've never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day. I would much rather Scott get me flowers on a random Tuesday, than be forced to think of something romantic to do on Valentine's Day just because Hallmark says he should. And honestly, since we've had young kids the last two Valentine's Days, we really haven't been able to do something super-romantic. This year we actually bought each other a Kindle for Valentine's Day... it's totally awesome! But I did get a fun surprise of a beautiful hydrangea and lots of chocolate... yummy and extra special because I had said to Scott a few days before how I really wanted a certain kind of chocolate and not only did he remember that, but he remembered that hydrangeas are my favorite flowers.

But just because I am kind of a Valentine's Day scrooge, doesn't mean that I want CJ to miss out on all the fun... because for kids, it's honestly a lot of fun. Here are some of the things we did...

We painted with red paint, from a red cup with red yarn. I am trying to do things with CJ that challenge his strong dislike of being messy. This was a great activity to push his sensory barriers...

And then he realized his fingers were dirty...

After some convincing that it was really ok, he continued onward...

This activity was actually A LOT of fun. And if you know me, I'm not the girl who would ever say her kitchen counters looking like this is fun. But it totally was. I guess this not only pushed CJ's messy boundaries, but mine too! We will definitely do this again in the future.

Then we worked on some fine motor skills. He loved this! These small tongs are from the outdoor party section at Hobby Lobby and the muffing tin is just a dollar store cheepie. From the get-go, I told CJ that he couldn't put the hearts in his mouth, and he only tried once. After he realized I was serious, he never tried again. He got really good with his tongs, and when he would see the muffin tin on the counter, he would say "har, har" or "heart, heart" translated. It was great to give him while I needed to do something in the kitchen that he couldn't help with.

And CJ REALLY liked it when granddad would talk with the tongs like they were a puppet. I was hilarious!!!

And here is another chepie fun thing. These heart cookie cutters were totally worth the $1.83 from Wal-Mart!

First we used them like nesting cups. We talked about big and little and got to practice some words/phrases I have been working on with CJ - turn over, scoot, keep trying, and one more time.

CJ thought my game was ok for a while, but then he had a better idea of what he could do with the cookie cutters...

The cookie cutters were also a great addition to CJ's sensory tub. I changed out the animals and we added some fun Valentine's things. This has also been a great way to stretch CJ. The sensory aspect of it is great for getting him (and me) to deal with a little mess. But, it has also been great to help me work with CJ on being bossy... don't know where he gets that from! :) He has definite ideas for who get what's cup, what spoon and what you are supposed to do with them. At first it was funny. But then I started thinking about him playing with other kids, and they aren't going to be as accommodating as his family. So we have started having moments I like to call "CJ looses." It's hard. It's not fun. But being a parent isn't all roses. :) So sometimes I play like he wants, but other times I won't play with the spoon. Sometimes it's ok, sometimes it causes a melt down. But, in the end, it will all buff out, and hopefully, he will be able to play well with others as he grows up.

But I digress, here's CJ playing with his beans...

When he wants them hunt them again, he puts them "night, night." So stinking cute...

And he really liked hunting for them with the cup. He would laugh and laugh when he would scoop us the small ones into the cup. And it was neat to see him figure out that the big ones wouldn't go inside the cup like the small ones... see more big and little ideas building here?