Winter Pictures

I love to get pictures taken throughout the year. It's not often that we get a picture of all three of us, and looking nice too, so it's always nice to set aside a day just for that.  This summer we found an amazing new photographer which we LOVE, she gave us such awesome pictures.  She edited them in a day and had them back to us so quick.  Especially great for times like now when I waited to the last minute to get these pictures in hopes there would be snow.  No luck.

She has been so great and gets the best pictures even when Noah's not really cooperating.  *cough*  Like for these.  She even sang his favorite song, Scooby Doo, just to get him to smile. If you live in the Grand Rapids area I highly recommend her.  She's the best. 

Chalkola Chalk Markers - Activities for Toddlers

I'm always looking for new activities for Noah to do around the house, especially now that it's getting colder outside.  It's always nice to have options for busy hands.  I was lucky enough to try out some new chalk markers this month that were perfect for a fun toddler activity for Noah. Chalkola Markers are super high quality and high pigmented markers.  The first time you use them they have to be shaken up and the "ink" has to be pushed out.  It does take a couple of minutes so you would want to do this ahead of time.  I started the markers during nap time and played with them for a little bit.  It's even fun for parents to draw around with.

We used our large slider door as our drawing surface as you only will want to use them on non porous surfaces.  Glass worked out great. Noah had so much fun trying out all the colors and naming them with me.  We worked on some numbers, and Jeff even drew out some football plays.  Fun for everyone.

These markers are perfect for Noah now but will also be great as he gets older.  They wash up nice with some water and paper towel so you can do it over and over.  The 15mm markers are slightly larger for little hands to grasp but the 6mm pens were perfect for Jeff and I and great for older kids to use to get a little more detailed.

Chalkola Markers also was kind enough to send out coupon codes so you can try them out for a little less cash.  Thanks Chalkola!

15mm markers - 20% off on Amazon with CHK20OFF
6mm markers - 20% off on Amazon with CHALK20A

Christmas Tree Picking

I just want to be very upfront when I show you these pictures. They look like we were all happy, but behind the pictures is a whole different story.  I'm lucky I even snapped these. Lets just start by it was way colder than anticipated and took much more time than we thought.  Noah wanted nothing to do with walking in between the trees and just wanted to have a snack and go home.  Finally we bribed him to walk with us to "look for other people".  He's so insistent on playing with new people and saying hi that every time we heard someone else in the area he ran towards them.  We followed him around hoping to find a good tree.  By the time we found the tree Noah had enough and sat in the tree sled while we cut the tree down.  Lesson learned for next time.  Bring snacks, leave earlier, dress much warmer.

By the way, the tree we got was pretty amazing.

Setting it up was way more fun.  Noah was a great helper.