Friends Reunited

Hello! Am receiving a lesson on the internet from my good friend Stephen :-)

Watercolor paints

The Dude had his weekly toddler class today. We experimented with watercolor paints. I have to say I admire his ambition for not getting it on his clothing. I wasn't too happy about the fact that he didn't give a tiny rats ass about mine.

Still, he made his first masterpiece and it has pride of place on my fridge next to his Crayola efforts. At the rate he's knocking them out I think I'm going to need two fridges!

Does your child like to draw or paint? If so tell me about it! Just post a comment below.

When Perseverance pays off

It's been a tough couple of months for me and I was starting to feel very despondent. But as my Dad always taught me, when the going gets tough, work harder and you'll get there in the end.

I'm pleased to report that he's right. I landed two regular jobs this month for two wonderful websites. I've never felt more confident about myself and my ability to succeed. I knew the motivation would get me places in the end, I just wasn't sure how far the end was from where I was standing.

Do you have any good news you'd like to share? If so, post a comment below or come say on Twitter to @ExpatMama!

Our Favourite Hobby

The Dude and I love visiting the library. He enjoys choosing books for Mommy to read to him and I love watching him make his selections. It's so funny to watch him pull books off of the shelf and discard the ones that don't interest him, while he holds on for dear life to the ones that do. He's only 15 months old.

It reminds me of the visits my Mom and I used to make to the library in London. It was a huge old place, full to bursting with every book imaginable. It was always such a treat when we went with Mom, but now I'd like it to become a habit for our family. It's so much fun to browse the shelves and choose a book that you can't wait to get your teeth into. I could get lost for hours in a good book and not notice where the time has gone. I've always been the same, especially when it comes to library books.

We're a bunch of book worms in our house and it looks as though Little one is following in our footsteps. He loves a certain book called 'Dear Zoo' which funnily enough, I owned when I was a kid. We've already taken it out of the library twice and over the course of a day, he'll bring it to me at least 6 times for me to read with him and each sitting requires us to look through it about 8 or 9 times before he's willing to look at a different book.

What I also think is fab about the library is that there are so many free programs available throughout the year like foreign movie nights and Q&A sessions with local authors. Our local library hosts a kids story time once a week which is followed by a free craft, and in some libraries in the area they host a story time for babies and toddlers too.

Do you enjoy visiting your library? Are there any books in particular that your kids tend to gravitate toward? Share your experiences here and post a comment!

Forever Blowing Bubbles

Little Dude has been attending some toddler classes recently at the Children's Museum of South Eastern Connecticut. (Fabulous place if ever you get the chance to visit!) Every week they have an activity to do such as playing with felt shapes. This week, we played with bubbles and I have to say I've never seen a child so transfixed. He was so in awe of the delicate balls of soapy water floating through the air that he couldn't move. So after class, I bought him a bottle of bubbles to take home.

He still doesn't quite know how they work or where they come from, but I've found that it helps to soothe his tantrums, they help him to relax him before bed and generally keeps him out of trouble.

So to all you Mamas out there who are searching for that one thing that will help distract your little one's and keep them calm and quiet, I recommend blowing a few bubbles. And don't forget to let me know how you get on with it! Just post a comment below.

Mr Independent

At lunch time today, I went through my usual routine of preparing Little Man's food, sitting him in his high chair and putting his bib on. I didn't however, bank on needing to wear protecting clothing myself.

I loaded his spoon with mushed up wholewheat pasta, broccoli and peppers. I was so close to getting the spoon near his mouth, when he decided that the only way he was going to eat was if he were going to feed himself. He clumsily snatched the spoon out of my hand and pureed pasta squished through the gaps in his fingers. Mmmmm. Appetizing. But he enjoyed his newly claimed independence and for the first time in two weeks, finished his meal. It was washed down by another newly grasped concept - the sippy cup. Two days ago, he finally got the hang of drinking from his cup, rather than pouring the juice everywhere.

This evening, he fed himself a bottle of formula.

It's amazing how quickly these developments occur, one minute he's completely dependent on me and the next he's exploring the world and it's many wonders on his own. It confuses me and bewilders me. But it also fills me with love and pride as I sit and watch my little boy grow up.