Taitum, like her sister, has been a busy girl this week! I am astounded at how quickly she catching on to new things and becoming a 'big girl'! Where did my baby go?! Every minute is delightful though (even the cranky, teething ones aren't so bad when I think of how quickly this stage will fly by!) and I truly love watching her learn and grow!

We spent one whole evening playing dolls! We looked after this sweet little dolly together - I would say what the baby needed and waited to see if Tait knew what to do. I was amazed at how she knew what to do for each thing I suggested! It went something like this: "Tait, the baby is hubgry!" She puts the doll in the high chair. "Uh-oh! The baby needs food!" She goes looking for some play food. (I did have to help her find some in Piper's room.) "Baby is all done! Wash her face off!" Using a cloth I provide she wipes the dolls face, giggling delightfully. "Oh! Baby is tired!" Takes baby to the doll bed. Anyhow, you get the picture! But is was mesmerizing for me to watch my little 16 month old toddling around playing Mommy and knowing just what to do!

We spent time playing with this ball pounder, a hand-me-down from Piper, but it was the first time Taitum had used it (I finally found some of the balls that belonged to it!). As you can tell from the expression on her face, she loved it!

My babies have always had a huge attraction to the computer! I'm sure this is a normal baby thing - wanting to watch what's on the screen and push all the buttons on the keyboard!! For this reason, the girls are rarely allowed near the computer. They always find the one button that will shut down the computer or do something crazy to it! But when Piper was a toddler, I came across Kneebouncers.com. It has all kinds of fun games where all your baby has to do is press any key on the keyboard! Unfortuantely, they are going to start charging a fee to use their games but are supposed to still have a few free games available. 

We did some color matching with this activity. Piper and I rounded up some red, blue, green and yellow items and then gave them to Taitum one at a time to place on the matching color file folder. She needed quite a bit of guidance with this but was a very willing participant. The cutest thing was that when I would say the color she would attempt to repeat it everytime!

This pounding block has been a great learning tool! Not only does Taitum enjoy pounding away with the hammer but she is crazy about putting the pegs back in the holes after I remove them all! Talk about good practice for fine motor skills!

It amazes me how the simplest activities are so intriguing for the kids. Both Piper and Tait spent a long time playing with these stones, a ice cube tray, tongs and a yogurt container. Having tried them and found them too much work, Taitum left the tongs to Piper and happily placed the stones in the ice cube tray with her fingers. Then I pulled out the yogurt container. I had cut a hole in the top but it was small enough that you had to push to get the stone in. Initially, Tait was a little annoyed by this but once she figured it out she got SO excited each time she succeeded! Here is a little video to show you what I mean...

Many of the other things we did this week were the same as what I did with Piper. It makes my life easier to plan things they can both do and learn something from! Together they...

Balanced 'snowballs' on spoons and raced to get them in the bucket...

Joined in the cottonball snowball fight (her strategy was to ambush you while driving in circles around you on her princess ride on!)...

Played with our ice sensory box...

Enjoyed the indoor snow play (tasting it brought on some funny faces but how else is one to test just how cold it is?!)....

And helped make snow ice cream!

Taitum's biggest accomplishment of the week was eating a full meal without using her hands once! She knows how to do it but usually tosses the spoon and digs in with her hands! One morning we had cereal and she ate the whole bowl without dipping her hands in once! I am so proud of my girl! 

And this week's trial? Climbing. She has a passion for it. These are the mildest examples since generally there is no time to take a picture, only time enough to run and grab her before she crashes and breaks a bone!

Look at that face. She's loving the adventure! In fact, I found her later on standing on this same rocking stool, balancing as it rocked back and forth! ACK!

And this was when I caught her attempting to reach her favorite perch - that kitchen table in Piper's room! Oh me nerves!

Thanks for stopping by for our Tot School adventures! Its never a dull moment!