DIY Spooky Googly Eyed Goblin Sensory Project + a Fun Flower Child Hippie Costume Idea

Today was a day like any other... until this little hippie demanded we do some type of arts and crafts project - then things got real spooky.

Okay well... maybe, things didn't actually get spooky.

And if I'm being totally honest, she didn't verbally demand we get artsy, but her little hippie outfit and get-into-everything disposition lead me to believe she would enjoy getting crafty! I'm happy to say, I was totally correct in my assumptions, she loved it.

Do you and your little flower child want to get crafty and make a little googly eyed goblin sensory project?

This project is super easy, although it's a ton of fun for kids to be involved in - I had D help me by holding the items I wasn't using and then she of course helped mix up the food coloring and pour in the googly eyes and such. For an older kid, this project could even be done with minimal supervision!

With that said, it's time to get crafty! To make this little gawky guy you will need:

A ziploc baggy

oil or soap

water

food coloring

googly eyes

washi tape

To get this project started you'll want add a handful of googly eyes into your ziploc baggy, then have a partner hold it or find a sturdy place to pour!

Next, pour about a 1/4 cup of baby oil into the bag.

Then you'll want to mix in enough water to make the bag about half full and add in about 3 drops of any food coloring shade.

Seal the baggy, add washi tape to the end for added protection from leaks and then tape it down to a surface or hang it up on the wall!

Now is the time to poke it, talk about it, squish it, and just have fun!

So tell me, what's your way to have fun while learning? Delainey and I can't get enough of sensory activities lately and can't wait to share more fun ways to learn with you!

Wondering about her little hippie costume? You know I have you covered!

Her tie-dye, fringe embellished top is from Peekabippy Designs (she only accepts orders on Fridays, so mark your calendar), you can mention Delainey sent you for a discount! And her bow is from 21 blessings, one of our favorite shops for little everyday bows! Check them out and help them on their adoption journey!

Simple DIY "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" Baby Costume Idea

If you give Delainey a cookie... she'll squeal with delight!

Okay, so maybe her cookie is felt, but she still loved it... and as is tradition in the book, she also needed a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, a look in the mirror... etc.

That's right, we decided to dress up as another one of her favorite book characters today and this may be my favorite costume yet.

Not only was it a simple costume to make, it's also super adorable and special since "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" is one of my absolute favorite books from my childhood and now it's also one of hers.

With that said, if you want to make your little cookie lover into this precious little mouse character you won't have to work to hard to put together her costume! For your little one's outfit, just have a pair of overalls handy... and if you don't live in Florida, you'll probably want to add a neutral colored undershirt. Roll the bottom cuffs on the overalls and add some ears and a cookie and your all set!

If you want to make yours out of felt like me. Here's how I put it all together!

For this project you will need:
Felt
Scissors
Hot Glue
Nylon headband

I made her ears from light pink and grey felt and the cookie is made out of tan and dark brown felt.

For the ears, cut two grey circles about 2 inches in diameter, next cut pink circles just slightly smaller. Attach to the nylon headband and ta-da, you have mouse ears!

Next, I made the cookie. I literally just cut out an oversized tan circle, then cut up a scrap piece of brown felt to become the chocolate chips. Glue the chocolate chips on both sides so you won't have to worry how kiddo is holding it.

Let it all dry & your ready for some mischief!

But try not to let your little one get too close to the fridge, because most likely she'll remember she's thirsty and wants a glass of milk... and chances are she'll want a cookie to go with it! HA.

But... I mean, if you're feeling really crafty, you could always include a little tail, a cup of milk, a straw, a crayon, and so on! I think these little additions would be adorable and really add the finishing touches!

So tell me, what's your favorite character from a book, movie, or tv show that you loved when you were a child? We're getting pretty crafty over here and would love to dress up as your favorite sometime this month!

Unique "Wildflower" Baby Costume Idea - Inspired by the Tom Petty song "Wildflowers"

This kid is growing like a weed and she truly has the soul of a little wildflower.

She always wants to follow what her heart desires, adventuring and exploring new places are truly her favorite activities, and being in the great outdoors is invigorating to her spirit... I mean, you can literally see her light up each time we go outdoors.

She loves music, she dances whenever she wants to and it's completely to the beat of her own drum, she growls when she's feeling silly, she seems to already favor art, and she doesn't have any difficultly expressing herself...

I'm getting off base now though... What I'm trying to say is she has a sweet little free spirit and I mean, as her mama, I'm pretty proud of my little "wildflower".

So, dressing her up as a little wildflower was an obvious costume waiting to happen.

Plus, after hearing of the passing of Tom Petty, one of my all-time favorite musicians, I thought it would be a fun way to honor a great soul and a great song. If you haven't heard Wildflowers by Tom Petty, then have a listen as you make this costume.

Instead of getting all crazy with it and planting her in a garden of fabric flowers, we kept today's costume super simple.

D wore an olive The Baby Bird Boutique romper paired with a super sweet sunflower made by your favorite new place to get floral crowns, little blooms, and even fun "belts" like this - Bloomology! Then, we added a headwrap from Hello Miss Gorgeous as a finishing touch and she was all set to show off and dance around like the little wildflower she is.

Does your sweet gal belong among the wildflowers too?

Use the code DelaineyBird to save on a olive romper from The Baby Bird Boutique,
Mention the code DelaineyBloom to save on your next order of blooms at Bloomology,
and headwraps as precious as this one are available via Hello Miss Gorgeous!

A List of Tampa Bay Area Halloween Activities for Kids & A Simple "Cool Cat" Costume Idea

What do we love most about fall?

Halloween? Yeah... well, it's definitely on our list of favorites... but we all really, truly adore the cooler weather and all the fun activities there are to do.

From spending time outdoors to finding craft fairs and haunted houses galore, there's just more fun to be had during fall.

Yesterday we took this cool cat to enjoy the cooler weather at the zoo. They are gearing up for their annual Halloween festivities and we can't wait to see "The Creatures of The Night".

Looking for fun festive fall things to do in the Tampa Bay area? This little kitty and I think you should check these events out... we're hoping to make it to all of these events, they all look absolutely spook-tacular!

We'll start with the aforementioned Creatures of The Night at Lowry Park Zoo. This eerily fun event is running from October 6-28 and is sure to be a good time for everyone! Plus... if you're zoo members, you'll get in free!

Glazer Children's Museum is hosting a Halloween Spree on the night of Halloween. With an alternative to traditional trick-or-treating this super fun museum is a great way to keep the kids safe while still having a blast and showing off their glorious costumes!

Busch Gardens is known for their nightly Halloween fun but did you know during the days Sesame Street Safari of Fun also caters to kids and makes Halloween extra special! This year each weekend in October will be a special celebration! This weekend it'll be Monsters & Fairies, the following week is all about superheroes, etc. With all kinds of fun activities and trick or treating encouraged, I think we know where we'll be spending a little bit of time each weekend... and don't miss the dance parties happening each day of the event at 11am, 2pm, and 3pm!

Guppyween at The Floridia Aquarium is sure to be a howling good time! Kids will be able to trick or treat in a safe setting while also being able to view the exhibits and keep cool at the splash pad! It's only for one weekend, the 28th and 29th... but it'll be a blast!

Looking for something a little more calming to do? Check out this Kids Halloween Yoga Class at The Lotus Pond Yoga Studio!

Interested in finding even more fun things to do with your curious little kitten? Check out this list from 813area.com!

And her "costume" for the day... she was a cool cat! Easy, simple, and adorable! We put her in a cool toned little flowy set from Ricrac and Ruffles and added some kitty ears from Target... and she was ALL set for a day of fun at the zoo! She is most definitely the coolest cat I know so this costume fits her perfectly! LOL

Oh... and did I mention she rode her first "ride" at the Zoo? Yep! She officially is a train rider and she loved it, despite that scaredy-cat-eqsue look on her face.

DIY The Pout Pout Fish Baby Halloween Costume [Inspired by the Children's Book]

This post is not sponsored, but it does contain affiliate links.

As I mentioned yesterday, we're BIG fans of Halloween... what I didn't mention is we're also pretty big fans of books!

Whenever I was pregnant with D, we would seriously go book hunting at second hand stores, trying to find all the best books to stock up her library... and we also asked for books in place of cards at our baby shower, which rewarded us with quiet the collection!

What's awesome about our hoarding of books other than a plentiful library? Delainey already has a list of favored books and she will grab them and hand them to us, insisting we read them over and over again. I may be making assumptions here, but I think she already has a love for reading... and I'm hopeful it's because we encouraged story time from day one (and even read to her in the womb).

One of her favorite books for us to read to her is The Pout Pout Fish. So when I was brainstorming a list of Halloween costumes we could easily make DIY projects, of course her favorite little fishy friend was one I knew we would have to make come to life.

With that said, this costume is a little more involved than some of the others I'm going to share but definitely not difficult... I will say, the time I spent making this costume was under a couple of hours and the results are epic. So, here it is... I hope this DIY Pout Pout Fish costume spreads the cheery-cheeries around instead of the dreary-wearies, cause it's so cute I couldn't help but smooch, smooch, smoooooochhhhh this sweet little fishy!

For this project you will need:

A decently sized cardboard box
(Amazon Prime Pantry boxes are perfect)

Exacto knife
Scissors
Paint - Blue, White, Purple, Green, Black
Gold glitter (optional)
Purple and Black Felt or Fabric
A baby blue romper from The Baby Bird Boutique
[discount w/ code DELAINEY15)
(or something similar)

To get this project started, you'll want to begin by cutting out the tail. I literally just used a pen to make a rough draft shape of his tail and ta-da. It worked out perfectly. Be careful cutting and be sure to try and keep your edges clean and the sides of his tail even.

Next you'll want to break out the paints. Go ahead and paint his tail, I used an overall coat of light blue, then some blue-green, then green, then a few lines of white, etc. Adding a little glitter at one point and then continuing to paint on top of that added the perfect shimmery effect I was looking to create.

After that, I used scrap pieces of cardboard from making the tail and painted eyes, two circles, with little half circles and tiny circles inside - super simple. Followed by little fins!

While all of this was drying, I took the time to cut out some circular spots from the purple fabric I just happened to have laying around - from an old dress of mine! I also cut out THE most important part of the costume - The Pout Pout fish's mouth!

Next I attached everything to our baby blue romper... and this is where I went wrong. I used tape because our Baby Bird Boutique items are coveted pieces of treasure to us - but I know this costume would have held up and been a lot tougher had I used hot glue or even velcro pieces. With that said, tape totally worked, it just also was tempting and way too easy for Delainey to peel off her Pout Pout eyes or spots!

Last but not least, I added a DDBB itty bitty bow to her head piece and secured it to a nylon headband for comfort!

Now my little Pout Pout Fish is ready to take on the sea and maybe get a few more smooches from her Daddy and me.

So tell me, do you and your kiddos have a favorite book to read together? Is there a book character you would love to see us create a costume of? I'd love to hear your input in the comments below!

Staying Comfortable and Cute in Gerber + a DIY Elephant Planter Project inspired by Gerber Childrenswear

I'm super excited to share that Delainey and I are now paid Brand Ambassador for Gerber Childrenswear! What does that mean exactly? It is just is a fancy way of saying this post is sponsored, as always all opinions expressed below are mine alone!

As you know, I have quiet the fashionista on my hands, she loves to dress up and one of her first words was "bow"... so it's safe to say she's a little diva.

WHO does she get that from? Don't look at me! HA.

While we're constantly loving on our favorite brands, Gerber is one that we just keep coming back to. Maybe it's the fact that it's a brand that's been around for generations, so there's a bit of nostalgia while I slip a bodysuit on her that's the same brand I wore when I was little?

Maybe we love Gerber Childrenswear so much because they offer all the basics we'll need, as well as fun coordinated sets like the new ones you can find at Walmart...?

I think it's safe to say, we both like Gerber apparel because these bodysuits make it easy to complete the inevitable diaper changes through out the day with higher-in-the-front snaps. Plus, the ability to slip these on and off her quickly is a huge bonus!

I just know I love that she's snug, safe, and comfortable in her Gerber bodysuits no matter what we're doing. Running errands, gardening in the backyard, or even if we are just having a cozy day around the house crafting... we throw her in a Gerber bodysuit with some matching accessories and she's all set and still perfectly stylish for a one year old.

We love our new set of Gerber Childrenswear bodysuits and socks so much, we dedicated our recent day of crafting to the adorable little elephant design on our favorite suit of the bunch.

Next time maybe we'll attempt her giraffe friend, but for now, here's the deets on how we made this adorable little ele-friend planter inspired by our Gerber bodysuits.

For this project you will need:

Newspaper
Scissors
1 Gallon Jug
Paints (and painting materials) - purple, white, and black for us
Ribbon (if you want to add bows)
Soil & An elephant ear seedling (or a seed of any type of plant will do)

You'll start this project by laying down newspaper, to protect your surface from a toddler with a paintbrush. Next, you'll want to cut the top portion of the jug off, leaving the handle of the jug to play as the trunk of the elephant.

Next you'll want to paint the entire jug one color, in a thin even coat - we used a light purple. Let this dry.

Then add on the details like the D on both sides of the "body" of the elephant to make the ears in a coordinating color, we used a darker purple to match our Gerber bodysuit.. and then add a little half circle for the eyes! Don't forget to scribble on a little tail too!

Next you'll glue two pieces of ribbon together, wrap a smaller piece around that, and glue the ribbon to the ears of the elephant.

Once it's all dry and ready, go ahead and plant your little seedling (or seed) and your little elephant planter is good to go!

It's that easy to get crafty with your toddler and you better believe they will have a blast... well, at least Delainey did!

Oh yeah... and once your done crafting up an elephant planter friend, just a reminder: you don't want to forget to check out Gerber's coordinated baby apparel collection at Walmart! Whether you're looking for your little one or an expectant mama in your life, I guarantee the comfortable, adorable and affordable items in their apparel collection are perfect for any occasion!

Weaning at One Year Old & Six Reasons to Choose Munchkin Grass Fed Milk

  This post is sponsored by Munchkin.

Now that I officially have a one year old, things are changing in our house! She is learning new things on the daily and with that we are implementing new rules. It's an exciting stage in all of our lives, especially hers... and I'll be completely honest, she's got the energy of a fire ball, the curiosity of a kitten, and the wit of a genius - I am definitely in trouble y'all.

While we may be in for it in the future, I need to acknowledge a huge milestone we just hit... it's official, we made it to our ultimate GOAL! We went one whole year with mama milk, but now we can officially start to wean and I'm seriously doing a little happy dance with all my free time ( on the other hand, I have to admit I may be crying a little too... my itty-bitty baby is so big now)!

This bittersweet moment is one that I looked forward to during all of our rough patches - you know, the newborn stage, the sleepless nights, the teething spells, all of it was tough. But I will say - nursing her (on demand) until one year old feels like it was the right thing to do for our family... and while I'll miss that bonding time, it also feels like now is the right time to start encouraging her to wean. While I want her to learn to be a little less focused on mama milk, she still needs another source of nourishment to help her grow... and that's where Munchkin's Grass Fed Toddler Milk Drink comes into the picture.

You may be asking yourself, why this Grass Fed toddler milk? What makes this one the right choice?

Here are SIX reasons we decided to make the switch... and if you're in the same "weaning off the breast" boat we are, I think you'll want to take notes and grab a can of this goodness for your babe!

My number one reason for choosing Munchkin Grass Fed Toddler Milk is in the name, it's grass fed! I became a huge fan once I learned it's made with 100% grass fed milk from New Zealand! You may be thinking... what exactly is the benefit of grass fed milk? It provides high levels of Vitamin A & E and a proper balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids. Meaning your baby's tummy will not only be full, but happy and healthy... The way every mama wants their baby to feel after a bottle!

The second reason I decided on Grass Fed Toddler milk is the amazing Lactoferrin, included in every bottle. It's the same immunity booster in breast milk. 

Speaking of breast milk, the third reason I chose this milk over others is the fact that it's Lactose based, just like breast milk. While other toddler snacks and drinks tend to use syrup solids or corn syrup, I love that Grass Fed is lactose based providing D a more fulfilling milk just like her mamas!

My fourth reason is that the milk is free of GMO, rBGH, grain, and antibiotics! I'm a big fan of keeping all of those out of her system so I jumped on the chance to grab some of this delicious, healthy milk for her.

That's enough about the things this milk doesn't have in it... I'm excited to share the fifth reason we chose this milk is the fact it contains DHA & ARA to support her brain!

While this wasn't a reason for ME to make the switch, this giveaway is a FANTASTIC way to get brought over to the Grass Fed side of life! It's simple to enter and you could win a ONE YEAR SUPPLY of Munchkin Grass Fed Milk and $1,000 to stock up on all the toddler stuff your heart could desire! Click here to enter!

Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Munchkin via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Munchkin or Momtrends.

How I'm Teaching My Daughter to "Give Back" & Help Children's Charities at Only 1 Year Old...

Now that my little sass is officially one, it's like a little learning switch was clicked on and she's absorbing everything. She repeats a lot of what we say now, she is suddenly standing on her own (I have a feeling she'll be taking steps any day now), and she is constantly wanting to explore. It's pretty amazing watching her mind act like a sponge, really soaking everything up and I feel so blessed I get to teach her all of life's lessons and more.

While I'm so excited D is learning new words and physically developing, I also want to nourish her soul. I want her to learn to always have a giving, caring heart, to do the right thing, and to just be a good human and I think that's something we need to start fostering now. So today, now that her birthday celebrations are winding down, we decided to set up a little lemonade stand.

And... instead of her pocketing all the proceeds, we are raising funds to help a charity that we feel passionate about supporting - We are dishing out some delicious lemonade #ForRMHC!

The Ronald McDonald House Charities provide places for families to stay within steps of the hospital where their children receive the medical care they need. I know what you're thinking... it's a hard pill to swallow, thinking about a child being critically ill - but it's a reality. While it's something I never hope to face, it's something several people are dealing with right this second. To give you an idea of what I mean by several, in 2016, RMHC provided 2.4 million overnight stays to families with sick children!

Let's do the "math"... That means 2.4 million families were able to spend the evening with their little one a tiny bit less worried, 2.4 million people were able to snuggle their sweet child to sleep, those same children were able to feel the comfort of knowing their parents were just seconds away.

It's amazing that RMHC was able to help so many children and their families... but the numbers are still growing in 2017. So, they have challenged everyone to truly raise love. Their goal is to raise enough to help provide 12,500 more stays for families, so that they may share a smile, hugs, and just simply spend more time together.

I guess you can see why I knew this was the perfect way to teach Delainey about giving back, it's practically common sense to want to help these families out. So on that note, I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What can I do to help?"

And the answer is simple - donate... or you could always start your own RMHC fundraiser to help give back! Find out more about how you can do either here!

Once you decide to start your own fundraiser, whether or not you're hosting a bake sale, planning on juggling your heart out to entertain the masses, or setting up a chalkathon... it's easy to do your part and help these families going through a tough time out. Just spread the word and let the magic of caring hearts work, at least that's what I told Delainey. Raising love and funds for these kids was easy peasy once we had our lemonade dished out.

While we were only making proceeds one quarter at at time, we're proud to say we made enough to send over a tiny sum to RMHC and can't wait to set up our little "lemonade shop" again soon to continue raising funds for our favorite children's charity.

So tell me, how will you raise funds for these kids and their families? I'd love to hear your plans for fundraising and how you plan on giving back in the comments below!