Maguire Fall Festival

Every year, our village has an awesome fall festival. Lily always has a blast! It is one of the few things we will miss when we leave here! Last week, the girls donned their Hello Kitty Halloween shirts and we headed over to the festival for some fun and candy! Here they are showing off their shirts...well, Lily was. Ava was checking out the squirrels!

Ava checking out the giant hissing cockroach. I think she would have hugged this thing if the guy had let her! So gross!

Lily playing Halloween Twister. So fun! She did a great job!

Here are the girls getting their faces painted like cats. Ava held so still and did not even blink the whole time the girl was painting her face! Then, she immediately started scratching it off.

Here they are playing Candy Corn Toss. Ava just walked up to the buckets and dropped them in rather than actually trying to toss them.

Lily in her super hero mask.

Lily's balloon flower. Ava didn't like the balloon guy, so she didn't get one...

Here they are playing musical chairs. Ava did not want to play, but she still wanted to sit in a chair, so she just let everyone else play around her! I had to laugh, because the game was being run by a bunch of college students and it took some of them a minute to decide if they wanted to let the little kids beat them or not.

..

Ava would not take the lollipop out!

Second face painting of the night. So pretty!

Lily and her buddy, Ben (a.k.a. Dash Incredible).

Digging for eyeballs. Yum...

MOPS Pumpkin Patch

Every year, the church where we go to MOPS has a pumpkin patch. I always try to take the kids and let them play around the pumpkins to get some cute fall pics. They usually have a little spot set up to take pic with some hay bales and such. So, I took Lily over to take some pictures (Ava was too busy munching her cup of cheese cubes). She was so funny, she kept posing herself and telling me to take her picture. Here are her shots (there a couple with Ava, and her cheese cup, too).

Now, where did she learn to pose like that?

This one is my favorite.

Fisher Price Infant Products Review

We recently received the Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table and the Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony™ to review from Fisher Price. The kids were so excited to get to try out these awesome toys. They started playing with the Musical Table before I even got it out of the package!


The table has four different stations and four different modes. The first station is a little laptop where kids can learn about letters and listen to the ABCs.

The second station is a telephone where kids can practice numbers or just play pretend.



The third station is a little book that the table reads to them as they turn the pages.


The final station is a piano.
Here is some info about the Laugh and Learn Musical Table from the Fisher Price website:

Busy, busy … there’s SO much to do, with four corners full of learning fun! Each has an entire interactive learning center with lights and a friendly character who invites baby to play, encouraging movement and exploration all around the table.

Baby can learn letters, numbers, counting, first words, colors, shapes, opposites, animals and much more—in English and Spanish! Musical fun includes sing-along songs, tunes, real instrument sounds and a variety of music styles.

The Imagination mode brings imitative play to life with real-life sounds, piano keys, phone tones and more. Lots of activities, lots of songs, and even bilingual learning in an age-appropriate way! Requires 3 AA batteries.

Table measures approx. 18½” W x 18½” L x 15" H when fully assembled.

The other toy we received is the Laugh and Learn Smart Bounce and Spin Pony. This is a pretty neat toy. The kids can use it as a kind of rocking horse to play on or, you can plug in the wireless TV connection and they can play with it like an interactive video game.
Here is some info about the Smart Bounce and Spin Pony from the Fisher Price website:

Active learning begins with a bounce! This friendly pony bounces, spins, and rewards baby with lots of music and sounds, even without the TV. And when you set up the wireless TV connection, baby’s actions make big things happen on screen!

The learning continues through three levels as baby grows. Saddle up to enjoy lots of game play, animation, music, sounds, friendly characters, tons of sing-along songs, and a long trail of exciting things to learn. Requires 3 AAA and 3 C batteries.

Maximum Weight: 44 lbs. (20 kg)
Developmental Guidelines: For children able to get on and off unassisted.

Three grow-with-me levels of interactive learning with your TV!

12M+ Level 1: Action/Reaction
With every bounce or spin of the roller, baby makes something happen! Hear songs, learn about animals and their sounds, first words, greetings and more.

Teaches:

• Cause and effect


• Familiar objects


• Animals


• Animal sounds


• First words


• Greetings

18M+ Level 2: Learn and Play
As baby grows, so does the learning! Discover letters, numbers, shapes and colors in a fun and engaging way.

Teaches:

• Letters, A - Z


• Numbers, 1 – 10


• Objects


• Animals


• Opposites


• Colors


• Shapes


• Peek-a-boo play

24M+ Level 3: Active Learning
Lots of games, lots of active learning! For example: make the pony “jump fences” as you count along and collect rewards.

Teaches:

• Game play


• Word recognition


• Counting


• 
  
Actions and words

• Kinds of weather


• 
  
Comparisons

• Following directions

Developmental Guidelines:

For children able to get on and off unassisted.

Fisher Price also has a great coupon available right now. Click here to receive $20 off a $100 purchase of any Laugh & Learn^™ and Go Baby Go!^™ toys.

I'd like to thank MomSelect for the opportunity to do this review.

Baby Girls

These two pictures are from Mighty Molar, the yearly dental school competition. So silly, I know. Anyhow, I know the pictures are very similar, but I couldn't pick just one. The first one made me laugh because they are both making the same cheeseball face. Ava's face in the second one was just too sweet for me to not put up. It is just such and Ava face. Goodness, but I love these baby girls!

Awesome

We made these fun little crayons the other day by sticking some of the girls old and broken crayons in a mini muffin pan and melting them down to make some new multi-colored ones. So easy, so fun. Just pop them in oven for a few minutes and then let them cool in freezer for about 1/2 and hour. I think these would make fun presents for little ones, or great birthday party favors!

Playing Outside

Last week, boy, did we have some beautiful weather. The girls and I took advantage of it and spent sometime playing outside. It was so nice. I took them for a wagon ride (which they thought was pretty much the best thing ever), they played with chalk and kick ball. It was so nice!

10 Things.

1. Cool, crisp, autumn weather (well, a taste of it anyhow).

2. Reader Rabbit (Lily is hooked).

3. Sweet little "Wub you." from my baby girl.

4. Slightly over 1/2 a year to go until we are DONE!

5.That we should be able to get a mortgage right away when we are done.

6. Lily's snuggles in the morning.

7. Wearing one size smaller jeans than last year!

8. Mint Chocolate Truffle coffee creamer.

9. FlashFoward (a good show to hold me over until Lost starts).

10. Free carpet cleaning at our apartment (with our potty training girl I was so happy when they did this!)

That's my 10 things for today, what are yours?

Name Your Tune CD Review and Giveaway

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Name Your Tune personalized CD. Now, my girls have received CDs similar to this, but they were never very interested in them because usually the songs were ones they had never heard. I was really pleased that this CD had songs they were familiar with! They loved hearing their names in songs like Old MacDonald and If You're Happy and You Know It. I also liked that I was able to get one CD that had both kids names on it! The songs alternated whose name was inserted. I think these CDs would make really great Christmas and birthday presents for any child, boy or girl. Here is some info from the Name Your Tune website:

Name Your Tune CD is a fresh and exciting children's music compilation that is made-to-order and features your child's name more than 80 times throughout the 14-song CD. The songs include the children's songs that we all know and love.

We can incorporate multiple names on a Name Your Tune CD...with pleasure. There is no extra cost to have more than one name included throughout our songs. To do this, we alternate songs between the names. When you place your order, simply put the names in the space indicated.

Name Your Tune Playlist

1. Hello, How Are You?
2. If You're Happy And You Know It
3. Old MacDonald
4. Oh How I Want to Go
5. Wheels on the Bus
6. Boom Boom, Ain't It Great To Be YOU!
7. Down By The Park
8. The More We Get Together
9. Head and Shoulders
10. There are Seven Days
11. Rainbow Song
12. ABC Medley
13. I Don't Want To Live On The MoonInstrumental Lullaby

Name Your Tune features dynamic performances by Lenny Graf (Parent Choice Award winning and Juno nominated children's performer), Paul Humphrey, Barbara Vermeullen, and Tracey Erin Smith.

Special Features:

• Adding a personal message from you on the CD label makes Name Your Tune all the more special and a treasured keepsake.
• The faces of babies, toddlers, preschoolers and parents light up when they hear their name in their favourite songs!
• Children feel a sense pride and self-esteem as every song is about them. CFRB's Dr. Mickey Lester says, "Name Your Tune stimulates children and encourages language development."
• Proudly Made in Canada.
• A portion from the sale of each CD will be donated to Hear Here, the Toronto-based non-profit organization that provides hearing aids for children. For more information, please visit www.uhac.net.

Special Touches

Do you want to include something special with your gift? We offer Special Touch services including notecard enclosures and giftwrapping, etc.

Please note: Notecard messages can be included during checkout process in the "Enter Questions, comments, instructions or a gift note for the recipient" field.

The site offers over 4,000 pre-recorded names. They give you the options to spell the name like you want to so that it appears on the CD as your child spells it. They have also attempted to include different pronunciations so that your child names sounds like you want it to on the CD.

The great folks over at Name Your Tune have offered to giveaway one personalized CD to one of my readers! Go check out the website, and then let me know in a comment below what name(s) you would want on your CD. Giveaway will close on November 23.

Name Your Tune also wants to give a special discount to my readers! Yay! Enter the code daddysgirls at checkout to receive $5 off your purchase!

Look Like Anyone You Know?

Der Fuhrer, perhaps?

Nickelodoen Resort!

So, waaaayyyyy back in January I won a giveaway from this blog for a two night stay at Nickelodeon Resort in Orlando. We were finally able to use it last week! It was out first real family vacation. Just us. We had so much fun. We drove in to Orlando from St. Augustine, which made it like a 3.5 hour drive. Thankfully, Ava passed out.

The most fun feature of the resort was the pool/ small water park area. They had a kids' splash area and all these big slides. So fun!







We ate at Burger King the first night and the kids though this little care table was awesome!


The 'suite' had a little room with two twin beds for the kiddos that came off the living room area with a curtain for the door and an actual bedroom for the adults (with a real door). I think the girls really like having the big beds to sleep in.

Nifty (and kind of creepy) Sponge Bob mural in their room.

While we were there, the kids got to do lots of stuff they had never done before. They got their first pool lesson...

...well, Lily did. Ava was too short. It's a hard life when you're less than 3 feet tall.

They got to play putt-putt golf. The golf course had different sports balls on every hole that the girls loved climbing on. Lily even made me take her picture on a bunch of them.








We found Blue's paw prints.


Fell in love with a plastic Dora...

Saw a cool swan...well, I though it was cool, the kids were too busy running back to plastic Dora to care about it.


Anyone remember this show? Wild Thornberry's. Before my kids' time.

Rugrats! Also before their time.

"Atricks!" as Ava says.

Sponge Bob.

We also got to meet some of the characters. Lily was so excited she could barely contain herself. Once it was her turn to meet Dora, she ran over to her on her tip toes and then ran right back to me. She was just so excited. Ava didn't cry about the characters like I thought, but she only wanted to see them from about 8 feet away. No closer.

This was as close as she would get, and I am pretty sure Nate nudged her to get her this close.

Dora and Blue.

Sponge Bob!

Ava in the bathtub she turned blue with M&Ms.

On one of our trips to the zero entry pool, Lily decided Ava needed to come in with her. Ava doesn't hate water anymore, but it's not her best friend either. So, Lily dragged Ava into the pool. Ava didn't fuss, just kind of quietly dragged her feet.

Okay, so they're out, doing okay. Then, Lily runs over to me and Nate and leave Ava alone in the water. Uh oh. Ava starts to freak a little.

So. we send Lily out for her first rescue.


Well, Ava had now wised up to the fact that Lily may be dragging her some place only to leave her again, so she wanted nothing to do with her. They wrestled for awhile pretty much on top of that poor man behind them before I sent Nate out to retrieve Ava.


The splash park area had the water guns that were Ava's absolute favorite things.



Nate convinced Lily to go on the big water slides and she loved them! It was so cool to see her doing something like that!



Just so you can see how big the slides were, here she is with on of the biggest ones. She just made the height limit by like and inch!

Ava felt the slides were "toooo woud!" So, we spent most of our time at the splash park.