Family Fun, Recipes, & Healthy Living
Thank you Mentari for sending these amazing toys, so we could work on healthy eating habits with Izzy. As always all thoughts and opinions expressed here are 100% my own. Healthy eating starts with you in the home and what your child sees you buy at that grocery store …
I’m honored to share Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and their partnership with Little Partners. Thank you Little Partners for sending this amazing cook book to go along with our Learning Tower. One of my biggest fears as a parent is seeing my child fall ill. Childhood cancer is …
I received this Bento Box from Stuck On You & decided to share it with you all and how we have been using it.
Being a chef to a toddler has proven to be a difficult thing.
Izzy ate EVERYTHING as a baby (except avocados, she hated them). As she grew into a toddler her taste changed and she became picky, so I had to get smarter.
I’ve always been crafty, I love art and creating things. So naturally I took this strength of mine and put it towards food for Izzy.
I made fruit and veggie pops & chocolate hazelnut “fudgsicles”. I also create smoothies in the morning with veggies and fruit. I talk positively about vegetables and foods I’d like her to try.
Making mealtime fun is important. I never force Izzy to eat or try anything. She does get a lot of attention and praise for trying foods. I always give her a tiny bit of what we are eating on her plate and ALWAYS give small portions. Large amounts of food and be overstimulating, remember, you can always give them more food. We do this thing, where I tell her to stick out her snake tongue and see if she likes it. So like a snake she sticks her tongue out and tries the food. If her tongue likes it, she then knows she can try to chew it and see if it’s crunchy, chewy or mushy. “Oh I’m going to try mine, oooh it’s crunchy. Is yours chewy or crunchy?” If she has it I her mouth and doesn’t like it, I’ve made it clear to her that she can spit it into her napkin.
For lunchtime I wanted to get creative, especially if we were on the go. The personalized bento boxes from Stuck On You are really a fun way to give lunch, even if you are at home. We have picnics (again making food a positive experience). Izzy gets to sit in a little chair and I use a basket to be her table. Then she gets to pick a favorite show to watch. It’s a special lunch idea that we do at least 1 time a week.
Fall Inspired Bento Box
1. I like to cut bread or sandwiches with a cookie cutter with a theme. For September and October I’ll be using fall themed cutters. Shown above, I used a ghost, then created a mouth and eyes with peanut butter.
2. I cut Izzy’s carrots into leaves, I’ve also seen people make pumpkins on Pinterest.
3. Slice fruit to create fall fun as well. Izzy is obsessed with jack o lanterns so I cut her apple into one.
When food is fun, your child is more likely to give it a try and trying gets them one step closer to eating.
XO Eryka
Thank you PinkBlush and SkipHop for this collaboration & for partnering with me on this fashion post. As always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. “I never met an animal print I didn’t love.” I don’t remover where I saw this quote but it …
Thank you Stylin Sophie for collaborating & partnering with me on this fashion post. As always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Fall is here! One of my favorite things along with going to the pumpkin patch and planning for halloween… fall fashion! Having Izzy has …
Thank you Oriental Trading for collaborating & partnering with me on this educational post. As always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Fine motor skills, what the heck are those?
I forget a lot of people don’t know terms such as fine motor or gross motor. I went to school to be a teacher and a birth through five major at that. So child development takes up a large amount of storage in my brain. Now being a mother to a toddler I’m using a lot of tools and tricks I learned along the way as a teacher.
Fine Motor
Is the coordination of small muscles, in movements. Those large muscles, in movements would be gross motor skills. This usually involves using hands and fingers & coordinating with the eyes.
Why are these skills important?
These skills will allow your child to do tasks such as buttoning, zipping, coloring, writing and more.
Fall Activity for Fine Motor Development
Fall Sensory Bucket
1a. Get a halloween bucket and fill it with fall sensory items. (Depending on your child’s age and maturity: fall inspired beads, corn kernels, pumpkin seeds, tiny pretend leaves etc). Now let your child explore these objects. They won’t be able to focus on an activity with them until they have a chance to explore them first. We sorted and created patterns while we explored them (early math skills).
We got these little foam fall inspired “beads” from Oriental Trading.
1b. Tools, you need tools for this activity. This is what makes it more exciting, fun and challenging for your child. I snagged this Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set from Oriental Trading. I’m loving their new LEARN365 section!
1c. Model for your child(ren). This is most likely the first time they used tweezers or a handy scooper. They need to know how they work, and the best way is for you to model that, then let them try. Introduce one at a time so they are not overwhelmed and can focus on doing it correctly.
1d. Get creative! Have them put them from one bucket to another. If they are older or competitive, set a timer and see who can move more from one bucket to another on the other side of the room. If you get this tool set, try using the twisty dropper to puff air on your sensory item on a hard surface.
More Fall Fine Motor Goodies
XO Eryka
Thank you Tomorrow for sponsoring this post. As always all thoughts and opinions shared are 100% my own. I’ve been working very hard to become a healthier person. Changing my diet, exercising regularly and of course sleep is so important. Changing my diet helped my sleep …
Thank you to Nicole and Healthy Mom Handbook for the access to your program in exchange for an honest review. As always all thoughts and opinions shared are 100% my own. As you all know by now from following along my foodie blog posts, my Instagram stories & …
Thank you Pink Blush for partnering with me on this post & sending these darling pieces. As always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
The fall brings lots of weddings & holiday get togethers. No matter the “fancy” occasion I get chilly in the fall so I like to have either my arms or my legs covered.
I wanted to share 2 affordable options that have me swooning from Pink Blush.
One of the best things about these fashions, they can be worn while pregnant as well. So if you plan to get pregnant down the road you can easily wear these during that time. Buy these pregnant and wear them later. This is an amazing shop for women because it allows you to save money as your body changes. No need to over buy maternity clothes.
My first choice is this long elegant, mesh dress.
Navy Mesh Neckline Ruched Bust Evening Gown
It has been a super comfortable dress. This was perfect for a fall wedding because here in GA it’s just starting to cool off in the evenings. This dress comes in many colors and I kind of want it in every color! I feel this style runs a bigger in the top. I’m wearing a small and had some room in my bust.
My second choice is this darling fitted dress.
Navy Blue Floral Off Shoulder Fitted Dress
This is a fall date night dress for sure. The stretch in this dress makes for a comfortable fit. This dress runs very tight and fitted so if you want more room, size up. I’m wearing a small in this dress.
The dresses worn here are super comfortable and mommy friendly, if you already are an active aunt, mother, or grandmother they will be a great dress for your fancy fall occasion.
Happy Shopping Friends!
XO Eryka