Christmas Wishlist Toddler Boy 2015

Well we are a little late to the party, but better late than never right..... 
Christmas Wishlist 2015






1. Paw Patrol Christmas Fleece Pajama Set: Last week when I posted our Christmas Wishlist Favorites, I mentioned that Myles complains about any pjs that are too tight. So these are my go-to type of pjs at the moment. I got him two pairs; one Avengers and one Paw Patrol. He only just started knowing about Paw Patrol about a month ago, so he is still quite obsessed and wants all things Paw Patrol.

2. Paw Patrol Zuma Ryder Bath Adventure: I wanted to get him one Paw Patrol toy for Christmas. I was super stoked when I found this one because he desperately needs new bath toys and the bath toy market is pretty weak; #jackpot It's a little more expensive than I think it should be, but it is a pretty good find for our needs. I like that it comes with a dog and Ryder (he has been wanting a Ryder). He is super into imaginative play right now, so I think he will have a blast playing with this set.
 

3. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game: I wanted to get Myles at least one game for Christmas. We have several already but none that get him engaged enough to actually play the game right. This one has great reviews, so I am hoping that he will like it enough to play it as it's intended. 
 

4. 3DIT Character Creator Molding Machine: I put this on Myles' list because it serves as more than just a toy. He will love to get little guys to play with and I love that he is helping to make them and learning how they are made in the process. I campaigned my mom to get this one! I'm pretty excited to see how it works and hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

5. Robo-Sauce: We already have tons and tons of books in our house, but we could always use more to put in our rotation. I'm sure you all know how fast a book can get old when you are reading the same ones 7 times a day. This one has great reviews and Myles loves him some robots, so I think it will be a hit.
 

6. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Film Camera: This is Myles' big Christmas present from my dad. I decided to get Myles several smaller things and ask my dad to get him his one bigger present. As soon as I saw this camera, I knew Myles needed it. We found him an old school manual 35mm film camera a couple months back and he thought it was so awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't load the film the right way, and the pictures didn't turn out. So I had to make up for my mom fail with this amazing new camera. Because it isn't really intended for kid use, I will keep this put away and supervise when he uses it. It seems to be the perfect size for him and the best part is that he will get the pictures instantly! I can't wait to see what he captures!

7. Marvel Avengers Avengers Mash'Ems: Myles (and maybe me as well) have a slight obsession with Mash'Ems. They are so cute and fun to play with. I love squeezing and sloshing them around and Myles loves that he can go crazy playing with them and they won't break. I picked out several different types (superheroes, Paw Patrol. Ninja Turtles, etc.) and asked him which he wanted the most. He picked the Avenger ones and I decided to go with this pack because he already has some and I don't want him to get duplicates with the capsule ones.

8. PLAYMOBIL Private Jet: I absolutely love Playmobil. They have the most fun sets that are prefect for this age. Some have smaller pieces, but I usually just keep them in a bag or put the really small ones away. For the most part, though, Myles is really good with keeping them together (with a little help). I showed him a couple different sets, but he insisted on this plane. This is still a maybe as I am still trying to get him to change his mind for a more engaging set like the doctor's office, vet office, or police station.

9. Osmo Gaming System: This is the full set featuring numbers, words, Tangram, Newton, and  Masterpiece. It's a little pricey for me, but I know that it will be something we can use for years. I like that you use it with the iPad, but that there are also actual tangible pieces as well. I wish you could buy them separately. I wouldn't be so on the fence if I didn't have to pay for all of them at once when I am not sure how much use he will get out of the higher aged games. I really just want the numbers and words right now, so I think I will look into getting just those.

What have you already bought the littles for Christmas?

Toddler Boy Christmas Wishlist

Confession: I love buying toys for Myles. It is bad... some people like buying clothes for their little ones, but me, it's toys all the way. My Amazon wishlist is always full of cool toys I want for Myles. I think part of it is because I stay home with him, so having new things to play with helps us stay busy and entertained. And there may be a small part of me that gets just as giddy as him when a new toy comes home! So his Christmas wishlist has been in the making for a couple months now.

1. ALEX Toys Bathtime Fun Tub Island Racing Around: I have talked before on here about how I can never find good, entertaining bath toys. Luckily Myles finds the most fun out of an empty bubble container that he uses to give baths to his other toys. I have had my eye on this set for a while, so I figured Christmas would be the perfect time to give it a home with us. He likes playing with his cars in the bath, so hopefully he will like this track to race them around on.

2. Skywalker Trampoline Lily Pad Adventure Bouncer: It's been all about the trampoline around here lately (this and this). Ideally I want to get a big trampoline for all of us to play on, but we really don't have room in our backyard. Also, I don't want to take away from the specialness of the trampoline being only at grandma and grandpa's. It is something he always looks forward to when we go there, so I want to keep it that way. This little one will be perfect for satisfying his jumping need, but not taking up too much room. I love that it comes with a net too, because we all know the little ones can get pretty crazy. 

3. WowWee Robosapien X Robot Kit: Myles has been talking about getting a robot for Christmas for months now. That was the first thing he said he wanted when I asked him way before Halloween. My dad is getting this one for him. The recommended age is 4+, so it is a bit old for him. However, if he is going to get a robot, he might as well get one that he can grow up with. It is a more expensive one, so I want to make sure it will last a while and keep his interest for years to come. If the controls are too complicated for him, we can always do it for him for now. This thing looks awesome and I can't wait to see his face when he opens it on Christmas day!

4. Green Toys Seaplane: Another bath toy that I am hoping will make bath time even more fun. We have played with this one at the children's museum before, so I know Myles loves it. And with it being a Green Toy, it is a no brainer to add to our list!

5. Fisher-Price Little People City Skyway: Myles has played with other similar versions of this car racing toy. I liked the older ones, but Fisher Price really stepped their game up with this one! It is over three feet tall and has way more fun features than any of the others. This will definitely provide us tons of indoor entertainment throughout the winter.

6.   LeapFrog LeapReader Books: Leap and the Lost Dinosaur and Disney·Pixar Finding Nemo, Lost and Found: My parents got Myles a LeapFrog LeapReader for his birthday in August. I still haven't opened it up yet because it says the age recommendation is 4+. I was going to get him the junior one, but that only goes to age 3, so I felt like it would be a waste to have that one for just a year and then still need to get the other one. And I've discovered that a lot of time, the age recommendations are overshot. I think I will still wait to open it up for another couple months, but I want to get him some more books for it now because they have such good deals going on. He has so many normal books that I think it would be best to forgo those and start growing his LeapReader book collection for Christmas. He is so into dinosaurs and loves all things Disney so I know these two will be a hit. 

7. Big Hero Deluxe Flying Baymax with Hiro Action Figures: This is the holy grail of Christmas presents for Myles. If you ask him what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas it will be "Big Baymax"... every time. Ever since we saw the movie, he has been Big Hero obsessed. A couple days after that we were at the store and he found this big Baymax and carried it around the whole store. When I told him he couldn't have it right now, he had a major meltdown. So I had to explain to him that if he wanted, Santa would bring it for Christmas. That calmed him down, but now all he talks about is big Baymax and getting is for Christmas. I am not sure we are going to make it another month without getting it. I may breakdown and let him use the rest of his birthday money to buy it. He has been okay with waiting so far, but we all know how unpredictable toddlers can be... so we will see.  

8. The Home Depot Deluxe Power Tool Set: Myles loves to work on things just like his daddy. Lately, we have been fixing his jeep and car and 'cutting' down trees in the backyard. He has some tools, but they are the basic ones like a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, etc. It's hard to cut down a tree with a hammer... let me tell ya! This set is awesome and has all of the necessary power tools for all the hard working we do around the house! 

9. Melissa Doug Wooden Sandwich-Making Set: We got Myles a kitchen and food for his birthday in August. Myles does all the cooking in the house now and his imagination runs wild with all the things he comes up with! He already has a couple of Melissa and Doug food sets, but I have been wanting to get him this sandwich set since we got the kitchen. We've got everything covered except the sandwich category. As of right now, he makes sandwiches by putting a slice of meat and cheese between two waffles! Poor child :P This set is so worth the price though. Plastic food gets ruined within months, but the wooden sets last forever and the pieces velcro together! So smart they are! Can't wait to start making real sandwiches in our house!

What toys are on your children's' wishlists?

Halloween 2014: Decor, Pumpkins, Treating, and MORE!

Well... I guess I missed the boat on sharing our Halloween yesterday! But I am still recovering from the weekend and that time change is killing me for some reason! I absolutely love Halloween (even more so now that I have Myles) so yesterday was my favorite blog reading day of the year so far! I loved seeing all the little ones' costumes and the festive things you all did!

I got out the decor a while ago but never shared because it wasn't much but I figured I'd show a bit here today:

 Entry table with paper spider, skulls, glitter pumpkins, and lots of spiderwebs!

 We have this area on the wall when you first walk in that is like a little ledge that comes down from the vaulted ceilings. I haven't done anything with it yet, so I thought why not put some Halloween decor up there. Myles LOVED it and talked about all the decorations all day long, so it was a success in my book. 

Moving on to pumpkin time! I love carving pumpkins, but I have to be honest with myself and the world... I'm no good at it. As much as I want to consider myself a creative person, sometimes I fall short and pumpkin carving is one of those times. I just used an outline from a book for mine. I got everything set up before dinner Wednesday and while I was cooking Myles played:

After dinner we went out and tried to do what we could before it got too dark. Myles painted his small pumpkins and then got messy with the guts.

We only got two done before it got too dark. The next day we just put a sticker cat face on the third one. I got a kit from the Dollar Tree with 4 different faces made form foam stickers. They are actually good quality; such a good deal. 

Our set-up outside:

Last year Halloween night was pretty awesome, so I wasn't sure if this year would compare... especially since Myles decided he no longer wanted to wear the Spider-man costume that he picked out! He had been telling me he wanted to be Spider-man for weeks so that's what I bought. He wore it around the house a couple times, and then as actual Halloween got closer and closer he wanted nothing to do with it... like meltdown city style. So I returned it and started brainstorming a plan b. I could only gather that what he didn't like about the costume was the puffy muscle part and I already knew that he wouldn't go for anything on his face. I went to Target to see if I could find something that was like pajamas, but could still be seen as a costume... no such luck. Then I went to the Spirit store and found a Ninja Turtle onesie that was just like normal clothes. Myles picked out the Raphael one and I was very hopeful this one would work out! It took a little coaxing and explaining but we had success!

We went a couple places Tricking or Treating before the actual night (two outdoor malls that had trick or treating at the stores), so Myles had a little practice. Both times we went, he liked the getting candy part, but was so shy and wouldn't say anything to anyone. I figured that night would be the same and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. We got him all dressed, grabbed his big stuffed Leo and hopped on his bike:

We used this bike last year for Halloween and it worked out so well that I thought we would give it a try this year too. It was so perfect again; Myles put his Leo in the back and his bucket on the handle bars. I was able to push him when we had longer distances to go and he would walk when he wanted to. Since we just moved to this city we weren't too sure where to go, but we randomly decided to just walk across the street to a neighborhood behind us, and we hit the jackpot! Within just a couple blocks there were tons of houses all decked out and not too many other kids. Myles was really good at going up to each door and picking out his candy. He was so into it and I could tell he was having a great time. Of course his favorite part was all of the decorations. He asked me to take his picture with this pumpkin, but his favorite one was a blow up pumpkin and ghosts that were made to look like Pac-Man and the ghosts. 

We were out for about 1 1/2 and then headed home to see if we could hand any candy out. Our street looked completely empty so I figured we weren't getting any... but right before bed we got two groups! I really wanted Myles to get to hand some out so I was super excited. He was so proud of himself for helping and even shacked a little boy's hand :) 

Not sure what we are going to do with all of this.. Myles doesn't like chocolate and I don't need any of it! But it was so worth stopping at every house to see his cute little butt walking around like a big boy! Perfect Halloween!

I hope you all had as great of a time as we did!
 How was your holiday weekend?

I am linking up today with the lovely Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason and Desiree from Macke Monologues for their Fall Family Bucket List.

{Fall Family Bucket List}: Pumpkin Patch vol. 2

So by the title of this post it may be concluded that I have a problem... and normally I would try to justify this problem with some sort of excuse about how our first pumpkin patch was in Illinois so I had to go to another patch out here in California, but let's be real here people.. I have a thing for pumpkin patches and I also have a Type-A thing that makes me have to check out every single patch, museum, festival, park, etc. in existence. So here I am today sharing with you guys our second pumpkin patch experience (first in California). And if I am being completely forthcoming, I have even since taken Myles to a third pumpkin patch! I'll spare you a third post though and just get to this one! I am also linking up again with two of my favorite blogging buddies: Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason and Desiree from Macke Monologues for their Fall Family Bucket List.

All in all, this patch was pretty cool as far as activities goes... but we didn't have that great of an experience because of the weather. It was just so dang hot, and while Myles seemed to not be bothered by it, I was miserable. Thinking that it was finally starting to cool down a bit, I dressed us both in pants and t-shirts. The weather here is so different than what I am used to so I am always dressing wrong. It will be a cool and cloudy 60 degrees in the morning and then by noon it's clear skies and blazing hot. I haven't figured it out yet, so it was my mommy fail on this one!  Shorts would have made the trip a lot more enjoyable, but we hung in there and did the best we could.

Straw maze: I was super surprised that Myles spent tons of time in this maze. I didn't think he would even walk through it, but he was running around, crawling through holes like a regular farm boy!

I'm not really sure why, but they had a reptile show going on in the barn that day. There were tables lined with snakes, spiders, scorpions, and other creepy crawlers.

Myles touched this snake a couple of times. At first he touched the tail and I missed the picture so I asked him to touch it again. Then he reached for its head (this picture was taken right between him touching the tail and then going for the head), the lady jerked back, and Myles got a little freaked out. I guess she wasn't expected that as most people know not to go for the head, but Myles really had no idea and was scared by her reaction. After that he was done with the snakes.

They also had some aquatic life to touch like this sea star. I love that Myles is so willing to touch things, check them out, and not be scared. It makes everything much more interesting and fun.

They had a little area with animals that we checked out (really dirty though) and tons of crafts that we bypassed. We did grab a really good lemonade though before we headed to the hayride out to the pumpkin patch.  

View on the hayride:

While on the wagon, I asked Myles if he wanted to hold my hand, greatest feeling in the world right there:

And then we finally made it to the patch!

He found a ladybug on one of the pumpkins:

He searched for a while and finally found the perfect pumpkin...

... coming to show me the winner...

Slightly deformed, still partly green, and rotted out... but it was perfect!

Have you spent the day at the pumpkin patch yet?

A Trip to the Apple Orchard

Since moving to California from Illinois a year and 3 months ago, Myles and I have been so fortunate to be able to go back every couple of months. I usually reach my limit at about 2 1/2 months and so desperately miss my momma that I convince my wonderfully supportive boyfriend to send us back! So far we have been back for Myles' 1st birthday, Christmas, Easter, and his 2nd birthday. Typically after his birthday visit in August, I would plan on waiting until Christmas for our next visit. In normal people's worlds, 4 months is not a long time, but for me and my ever-growing 2 year old, 4 months away from my family feels more like 4 years. So when I was offered a week long trip back at the end of last month, I didn't hesitate to join! I kept it a secret from my mother and step-dad and surprised them at their house. After all was said and done, I could not have been happier with the week we had back home. We got to spend some great quality time with our loved ones and we packed our days full of great fun! 

One of those days was spent at the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch. Myles is currently obsessed with 'punkies' and 'pooky' Halloween stuff, so he was in heaven. Today I am sharing the time we spent at the Apple Orchard. Look out for the rest of our trip over the next weeks or so.

With grandma:

Inside the barn, they have shelves and shelves stocked with the yummiest foods with tons of samples all over! Feeding mommy:

They have samples of all the apples they pick and sell. I always go for the honey crisp.. best apple around; unfortunately it also has the highest price tag!

Of course Myles picked out sour gummy worms as his treat:

Myles' favorite part was animals. He talks about seeing animals all day long, so as soon as I told him there were animals, he wouldn't stop talking about them until he got to see them. It was so cute too because all of their animals were named after Toy Story characters.

My jive turkey momma:

After the animals, Myles went to play.

All was well until he had a head on collision with another little boy. It didn't seem to hurt him, but scared him a lot. After that, he turned into crappy pants. We were ready to leave anyway, except I really wanted to get a picture of him with the growth chart. I love having yearly pictures with things like this, so even though he was upset, I asked him to stand in front of it. He was crying, but stood still long enough for me to snap a pic! Sorry little man!

I am so happy I was able to take Myles back this year. We first went we he was about 5 weeks old, but didn't get to go last year. It means a lot to me to be able to bring Myles to places like this because I went when I was young. And being that we have moved away, it is special to still keep that tradition alive!

What Fall traditions do you have with your family?

{Fall Bucket List} Nature Walk

First official day of FALL Y'ALL and I couldn't be happier to bring to you our first activity from the Fall Family Bucket List hosted by two of my best blogging buddies: Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason and Desiree from Macke Monologues. 

Although Northern California doesn't produce the same Fall as Northern Illinois, we are still going to go all out for Fall, including a surprise trip back to Illinois very soon! My mom doesn't know when we are coming, but I told her to be prepared for Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch trips, and maybe I can even convince her to bake us some cookies :) We will probably hold off on pumpkin carving and Halloween decorating until October, but if it were up to Myles our whole house would be filled with 'punkin' right now! He is officially obsessed and I love it. Every time we go to the store we have to stop by the Halloween decorations and we have even already been to the Spirit Halloween store to pick out out costumes. But before I get too ahead of myself, here is our first Fall activity. 

If you follow me on Instagram (@theeveryday_momma), then you may remember one of these shots. We actually took this walk a couple weeks ago, when the temperatures were a little more Fall like (back to the 80s last and this week!) There is a big city park blocks from our house that we frequent. This particular day we decided to do some exploring and happened upon a secret trail.

Then we found some blackberries that Myles really wanted. I didn't know if they were okay, but my dad assured me they were just fine. I was still a little skeptical, but I went ahead and let him. He was happy and we are all still alive :)

What is on your Fall family bucket list to do over the next couple months?