Welcome to Toddler Land!

Outdoor fun songs!

2011-05-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

1. Down by the Bay

2. Mr. Sun

3. Baby Bumblebee

5. Hot, Hot, Hot - Little Mermaid version

6. The Eensy Weensy Spider

7. Have You Ever Been a Fishin'

8. Pick a Bale of Cotton

Favorite Songs from Sesame Street!

2011-05-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

One Fine Face (do this with hand motions)

Elmo's Song: Whether you like him or not this is a great one to sing w/ your child's name.

The Monster in the Mirror - great message!

"C" is for Cookie

Rubber Duckie

Doin' the Pigeon

Lambaba

Fuzzie and Blue

Do you have a favorite?

Toddler Music Time at the Nursing Home!

2011-04-25T11:03:00.001-07:00

We have had such a great time going every week to the nursing home and doing a toddler music time. Here are some pictures! I hope that more kids can come and join us this summer. We've had such a blast. :) Its also such a great opportunity for Anthony to get comfortable with older people and learn to serve at an early age. He loves the nursing home!

Easter Party

2011-04-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

Need some ideas to entertain 2-3 year old's during Easter time? Try these:

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Sleeping Bunnies

Paper Bag Easter Basket

Pin the tail on the bunny

Rabbit ain't got no tail at all - start this video at 1:41

Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit

Bunny Hop

Peter Cottontail

Disney Pixar Cars Themed Party

2011-02-25T15:38:00.000-08:00

My little boy is turning 3 and we're celebrating with a Disney Cars themed party! I thought I'd share with you what we are doing:

Games:

1. Red/Light Green Light (with a circle Green and Red hexagon on a stick - kids love to hold them, even if they don't get the game) - obviously related to Disney Cars!

2. Pin the sticker on the donkey (got this at Dollar General - a lot safer than pins) - this is probably the least Disney Cars related, but it's still fun. I suppose you could pin the tow on tow mater, if you wanted to go to the trouble of making your own game.

3. BINGO - we got a Disney CARS one from a party store for 30 cents or so. You spin the spinner and call out a color and a Disney CARS character

4. We're laying out pictures of Disney Cars characters in a circle and letting the kids run around in the circle while music is playing and stop when it's not. Then we'll call out a Disney Cars character name and that child standing on that character will get a prize.

5. Pinata - We all know that game. I got a sun pinata for cheap and just pasted a Disney Character onto it using my cricut.

6. Bug Cars - We're making bug cars using egg cartons and pipe cleaners. I'm cutting one egg carton out and the kids are going to put the pipe cleaners in the front for antennas. Then they can decorate the cars with stickers and crayons.

I'll attach pictures later and let you know how it went!

Over 50 Easy Valentine's Printable Crafts!

2011-02-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

These are fun Valentine's activities that both kids and adults will enjoy and take minutes to prepare, enjoy!

Heart garland
Coloring pages
Disney character's Valentine's cards (here's a few more)
Mickey and Friend's printable valentine cupcake toppers, cupcake doilies, picture frame, candy boxes (several kinds on the website, but these appear to be the easiest), and Valentine's flowers
Princess Stickers
Bookmarks 1 & 2.(you an put a hole punch on the top and thread a small piece of ribbon on top for fun)
Valentine's Day word Search and also more word searches, crosswords, and etc.
Collection of clever Valentine's gifts, with printable labels and cards
20 Family Fun printables from boxes to pencil toppers

6 great Valentine's Songs for Kids and Adults

2011-02-05T23:40:00.001-08:00

1. I Can Be Your Friend (Veggie Tales): I pass out laminated heart flowers for kids to hold and wave while we sing this.

2. Skidamarink

3. That's Amore: We sing "When the world seems to shine and your feeling just fine" instead of talking about wine. Kids shake homemade bell shakers made of sticks and bells glued on (bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling in the chorus).

4. Chocolate: What's more appropriate for Valentine's than a song about Chocolate? We do the traditional finger play for this.

5. Four Hugs a Day (Charlotte Diamond)

6. Love is Something if you Give it Away: This video shows such cute hand motions! I used an adapted version of them, so that we could use our ribbon sticks while we sang this song.

Valentine's Day Song Review

2011-02-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is around the corner. Cut these hearts in half, and have the kids match the broken hearts. I'm using this concept to teach kids the song "I Will Follow God's Plan".

I'll first have them pick hearts and that will determine what phrase we'll learn, then I'll cut the hearts in half and they can match up the phrases to test their memory!

Nauvoo is Disneyland for kids on a budget!

2011-02-02T15:42:00.001-08:00

There are tons of friendly grandpas/grandmas that dress up like pioneers. They LOVE kids and kids LOVE them! This couple happens to be good friends of mine. She was the secretary of the whole place and he re-upholstered the furniture and fixed up the wagons.

If you can, this is a great road trip. We always give Anthony gifts to unwrap as we go. We haven't needed a portable DVD player yet. See how happy he is?

They have covered wagon rides for free. Some are led by real oxen, others by horses, and still others by you! The handcarts filled up before we could sign up, so next time we'll go straight to the visitor's center in the wee hours of the morning.

This was one of the less exciting buildings we visited (again for free), but we had fun pretending to give speeches.

Here's a picture of an ox in the field! So fun! We also got some "prairie diamonds" (nails that are made into a ring shape) from the Blacksmith's shop, saw a free play given by the older pioneer couples, attended a free concert given by the Hughes Brothers from Branson, Missouri, and so much more. Everything was right up Anthony's alley, because the concert was outdoors and the play was only an hour long.

We paid NOTHING but gas and hotel, for the whole trip! You can count on a return visit from us (maybe memorial day - May 30th?); we just didn't have time to do everything and it's less than 6 hours away from Omaha.

Nessa's Udderly Smooth Giveaway!

2011-01-09T20:33:00.001-08:00

Follow a this link to enter to get a free lotion that works great.

Nessa's Giveaways!

2010-09-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

My friend is doing some giveaways on her exercise blog:

Yoplait Whips Giveaway - some cool molds to freeze yogurt and make it look like ice cream, a cooler, and some coupons for yoplait

Nature Valley National Parks Project & Giveaway - A set of small backpacking freebies

Check it out: http://www.superhotchicaintraining.com/

May 6 - Pella Tulip Time

2010-06-23T19:41:00.001-07:00

This was a very fun, but COLD weekend. There was hardly any tulips at the festival. There was a parade with the first 15 minutes being very cold street sweepers. A ton of great Dutch pastries were around and lots of vendors selling anything from Tupperware to dutch costumes for dolls. The people of Pella walked the festival in full costume and the varying styles were really interesting. There was about a 10 page spread about the "Tulip Time Queen and her court". Every year they pick a different costume from a specific era and region. I had no idea how many Dutch costumes there were to choose from!

Anthony and Friend

2010-06-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

April - Easter 2010

2010-06-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

There was a large Easter egg hunt that our townhouse community hosted, but we left town to go see the cranes that fly in HUGE herds in Kearney, NE every year. We also saw the "Great Platte River Road Archway Museum", which was pretty impressive and supposedly on some top 100 things to see before you die list (I'm not surprised). The museum was full of larger than life depictions of the history of America from the pioneers until modern day. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of anything! This cute picture of Anthony hiding under a table in the hotel is the only one we got!

We came home later and had this modest Easter Egg hunt on our front lawn.

We also visited the Brass Pro shop in Council Bluffs, where Anthony got some more eggs, got a picture with the Easter Bunny, and oohed and awed over all the taxidermy and large fish tank. Again, no pictures, except the one with the bunny which we haven't scanned in yet.

Anthony at his Two Year Old Train Birthday Party

2010-06-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

This was a fun party. It was a "Thomas the Tank" party. But, we did all the plates and such in just blues and red. Instead of party hats, we had little necklaces for all the kids with different Thomas characters on the front and a description of that character on the back. A big hit! We also made black spray painted tunnels out of washer and dryer boxes from the local furniture store that they ran through (I have no pictures of them). The cardboard house was something our neighbor, Donna, gave to us. It was also a big hit! We put on a puppet show, it was "The three little pigs", but they lived in choo choo trains. It was fun! The cake is a choo choo rice crispy treat with candy. I thought for 2 year olds it might be a bit cleaner.

Most people got the cards that I have taken pictures of. I was originally going to have two parties, so that we had smaller numbers because everyone always says to just have two guests for two year olds and what not. Well, I ended up giving the girls tickets, instead of the whole card.

Anthony dancing to a conference song!

2009-04-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

I thought this was so cute that I passed Chris the camera real quick (he's faster with it). Anthony gets distracted when he sees the camera, so we only got the back side of him. We still think this is some really cute dancing. I think he may be better at swaying to the beat than Chris is!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-05T15:25:00.001-07:00

We went to the Free Easter Egg Hunt – April 4, 2009 that I blogged about on examiner. We got hailed on with pea sized pieces of ice raining down on us! We stood in front of the area where the eggs were and the mayor of Papillion counted to three before we all got out their and started "finding" the eggs. Luckily they divided areas based on groups, so we were with the 0-3 year olds. I had a few kids put their eggs in Anthony's basket. Anthony wouldn't pick up any of the eggs himself. I would pick it up and then put it in his hand and he'd throw them. I tried to catch them with the basket, but sometimes I'd just pick them back up and put them it. I figured it counted. :) There was a balloon twisting, cookies and cocoa, and some coloring pages. After it started hailing, we just left. So, we didn't do all that.

The cheapest toys are the best!

2009-04-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

I thought this was so cute! I was talking on the phone, but I tried to be as quiet as possible while I got Chris to get the camera and get this on video. He got the plastic bags himself from under the kitchen sink.

Happy, happy birthday to me!

2009-04-05T15:11:00.001-07:00

We had a simple party for Anthony with a paper cake and a real one that we bought from the store. We thought it looked really good, but it tasted horrible! We're definitely not taking any chances next year.

Hmmm...spoons taste good

2009-04-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Anthony has a whole lot of teeth now! But, there are still some coming and the plastic spoons feel good against his soar gums.

Playing with Daddy and my HIPPO!

2009-04-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

This was taken about a month ago, before Anthony was walking by himself. Anthony still likes to be pushed on his hippo, but he likes to push his hippo even more now.

Early Morning Surprise

2009-02-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

The story is mostly told in the video. He had a cold and was teething. I think that's why he woke up.

Play it again Sam!

2009-02-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Ha ha, he's so cute with the piano. He loves to play. Basically, he loves to do whatever he sees us do. Since I've been playing a lot of piano lately... he wants to do that. He loves the computer, books, and the T.V. He'll spend 20 minutes just flipping through pages of his books. Its really cute.

Anthony's favorite toys!

2009-01-20T19:21:00.001-08:00

My sister asked for pictures, so here you go! We had to take a picture of Anthony in the dishwasher. He loves to play with the lower shelf and I guess he thought he could reach it better by crawling into the dishwasher.

Anthony Video made today!

2009-01-20T19:17:00.001-08:00

This is Anthony crawling and walking along furniture. He's soooo cute!

Anthony Video, Dad's comments are funny!!

2008-12-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Anthony is crawling and starting to walk along furniture, so this is a little late. Chris' comments are so funny. The first thirty seconds are interesting, but after that nothing happens.

Anthony is crawling!

2008-10-28T15:35:00.001-07:00

Anthony took his first few crawling steps on the 26th and now he's getting around pretty well. Funny thing is that he still has no desire to sit.

Trip to Utah for Jen's wedding!

2008-10-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

Jen got married in the Provo temple and I was so excited for her! It was fun to be a part of everything and see Jen and her siblings. Her husband was a little distracted to try and get to know in such a short time period, but he was very good to her.

Chris' mom came up from Vegas and we shared a hotel room with her. She baby sat Anthony all day Saturday, so she could get grand-baby time and we could get temple time! We bathed him in the hotel sink. :) The worst part of the whole trip was the drive back. Chris and I were both sick for our 14 our drive. Usually I have to force Chris to give up the wheel and ends up driving most of the way, but we were both sick of driving by the end of this trip. I think I ended up driving more than he did this time!

Lovey Dovey Mum and Dad

2008-09-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Anthony playing!

2008-09-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

he is cute, isn't he? He's such a happy, content baby unless we leave the house sometimes... :) He likes what's most familiar to him, of course.

Baby Zombie in Wisconsin

2008-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

We went to see Chris' Dad and step-mom this weekend in Wisconsin. Anthony got to meet his great-grandma's on both of Chris' side. We drove there and Anthony was a little baby zombie when we got there, but did just fine on the way back.

Anthony laughing!

2008-08-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is my happy little Anthony. I've been reading Breaking Dawn. I don't want to spoil anything, but one of the girls in the book says that before she got pregnant babies just seemed like "loud creatures, dripping some form of goo." Ha ha! Its true. But, its dang cute goo. Chris always says "you're the cutest baby that I've seen thus far". He says its a quote from some heavy metal song. We just can't get over how cute he is.

Daddy and baby sleeping

2008-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Aren't they cute together? Daddy and baby Saturday afternoon naps are back!

Oops, I woke Anthony up!

Visit from Grandma & Grandpa!

2008-07-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures from when Grandma came to visit in the middle of June (or so)!

BALLOONS!!

2008-07-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, Jeremy has been a friend of mine for a while now. I new he balloon twisted, but WOW! He spent weeks making a dino balloon based on actual dino bones (w/ others). Not to mention his amazing character balloons. I put the Nightmare Before Christmas guy up, because Jeremy is standing next to it (and Jeremy is really tall). But, I was really impressed by his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ariel. WOW! This is no mediocre balloon twisting. Who would have thought? His other creations or on his website. I was amazed!

http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/index.html

Anthony's baby blessing

2008-04-27T16:38:00.001-07:00

Stay tuned for cute baby blessing pictures! :) The sun is shining and I just took my mother out to the pioneer trail center on Friday. We watched a movie about the pioneers and it mentioned a lady who had the baby in the evening while the company was traveling. I can't get over how different I see things now that I have a baby. I am now completely flabbergasted that anyone could do that! Can you imagine having to nurse a newborn while bouncing around in a covered wagon?!? Anyone without kids might say, whatever. But, just wait! You might understand when its your turn. I also feel more compassion for those around me. Everyone of us was someone's baby once!

Anthony in his Grandma's knit sweater and hat

2008-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

My mom knit this sweater and hat for her first born baby boy. Doesn't Anthony look cute in his little outfit? He wore it to my birthday lunch, which is kind of a tradition in our ward. Usually we go out to eat for people's birthdays. This time Jill invited Heather and I to her house for lunch. I didn't want to take Anthony out to a restaurant yet, since it is flu season.

Anthony's first Fireside at church

2008-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is Anthony's first trip to the church building. We went ahead and took it slow by taking him to an evening fireside, where there would be less kids and people who could potentially give Anthony the flu.

Dad snuggling with baby!

2008-03-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Anthony was sleeping with Dad a minute ago! :) We don't co-sleep; this is just a cute picture. Anthony looks just like his Dad and definitely has his temperament.

Mom's B-day with Baby Anthony

2008-03-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday. Chris had the day off, because it was good Friday and we spent it with Anthony! This is how the nurses taught us to burp Anthony, since he keeps falling asleep when eats its better that we hold him away from our bodies while we burp him. Chris and I spent my birthday watching a movie at home and Chris was on baby duty all night! :)

Anthony's first walk with mom and dad

2008-03-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

We got Anthony all dressed up for his first walk outdoors with mommy and daddy in his stroller. It was nice out, but we ended up carrying him since mom was afraid he was getting too cold. Turns out he is a little heater and has been sleeping more because he was on the hotter side. Oooops! :) Now we dress him less and check his temperature more.

My favorite sleep sack!

2008-03-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

Anthony all sleepy and bundled up in his sleep sack!

I have so many cute faces!

2008-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to take pictures that do Anthony's cuteness justness. Two of these pictures are taken while he was fussing. Even his scream is really cute, though I don't want him to be upset. :) Doesn't Anthony look like a pirate in the third picture? SO CUTE!

Anthony's Great Great Grandma's Squirrel

2008-03-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Anthony's Great Great Grandma knitted this squirrel for him before he was born. He's in his bassinet with his HUGE coat on ready to go outside!

All I do is sleep and EAT!

2008-03-14T13:58:00.002-07:00

Doesn't baby Anthony look peaceful? All he does is eat and sleep. Right now he is only awake for 2 hours a day, at most.

Coming HOME!!

2008-03-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today Anthony came home. Look how happy Daddy is! The NICU was really better, so they put Anthony and I in a seperate room where I took care of him. Check out his cute going home outfit!

I'm feeling better!

2008-03-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

This is Anthony with his gavage line. He is feeling much better!

Baby & Dad in the NICU

2008-03-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Daddy came to the NICU to see Anthony every day. Our home health care nurse said that it was unusual for the NICU to list the name of Dad and that this time they did! He is such a good Daddy!

Anthony Christopher Schmidt

2008-03-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

The baby was out of his incubator for a full hour today! Both Chris and I got to hold him and as you can see, he is off of his ventilator. Its hard to see our baby suffer, but he's really fighting. We're so proud of him.

Baby Anthony Schmidt

2008-02-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

7 pounds, 2 ounces
20 inches long

Pregnancy

2008-02-09T16:56:00.001-08:00

Well, everyone has been begging for a picture of me pregnant. Here you go! I'm 9 months along and counting. :) I had my first cervical exam last week and would like to warn all women that they should ask specifically what that entails. Otherwise, the pregnancy is going great. We are thinking of hiring a Doula and I'm going to try to have a natural birth. I'm keeping my mind open just in case I feel like I'm suffering. Pain is fine, but suffering isn't worth it. I hear that natural labor is easier if you walk around, use a rocking chair, sit on a birthing ball, and do such things. We went to a Lamaze class yesterday and got some good ideas.

Grandma's Christmas Tree

2007-12-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is my cute Grandma with her cute tree! I think its funny how the one candle looks like its about to fall off!

Old Fashioned Austrian Christmas

2007-12-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

My mom just send me old fashioned Christmas tree candle holders, candles and all sorts of jolly things. :) She even sent me advent wreath candle holders and homemade chocolates wrapped with pretty foil and ready to hang on the tree with gold thread. I love having edible items on the tree, especially when its more than just candy canes.

This is me pregnant! Taken around December 20th or so.

Lay-offs

2006-05-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/180086/

Check out this article. I show up to work on Thursday and rumors are running ramped. People were taken aside, handed a box for personal belongings, and asked to leave immediately. They packed their things while being watched by a supervisor. Then they were escorted to the public area of the building. The best employees working their longest were laid-off, not the worst. It was awful.