The Best Toys Money Can't Buy!

All of these pics were taken on my cellphone because I lost my Lumix! I feel lost without it. Haha. I am sure it will turn up in a toy bin in the next month or two. That's how most things get found around here lately. :-)



Here's Paprika on one of our afternoon playground jaunts...notice the swim hair. She usually takes a shower right after swimming, but some days not so much and this is what happens:



On this particular day, Paprika hit one of those awesome, yet bittersweet milestones. She learned how to swing herself on the big swing - now she can pump using her own legs. I have been trying to teach her to do it for about two years now, and she has always refused. She's been too scared, or wanted to give up before she even got started.

But this time, she did it! And then she was so proud of herself, she wouldn't stop. She wanted to swing herself for hours and go very high.



She said, "You never have to push me ever again! I can do it all by myself! I will never need someone to push me on the swings. This is amazing!"

And then my heart sank a little. Never push her again?! So, then I asked her if I could push her for just a few minutes. And she said yes.

So, my heart was happy and maybe just a teensy bit sad, too. I guess that's what this growing up thing is all about. ;-)



Ginger (age 3) loves to build towns - she does it at home with Duplo blocks and Legos. She creates lots of buildings and puts them all together into little cities. When we were at the playground, she made this "city" out of sticks.



It's funny, you think your kids need fancy toys, but really what my kids like best are sticks and dirt. Or sand. Or leaves. Or rocks. Or flowers. Or bugs.

Ginger's current favorite thing in the whole world is Big Ice (that's what she calls it). Basically, she takes a quart sized ziplock bag and fills it up with water. Seals it up. Then, puts it in the freezer. Once it's frozen, she takes it out and wraps it in a little towel. She wants to carry it around all day long and play with it.



When she first did it, I thought it was just kind of a kooky fluke. But now it's been going on a month, and every day, her favorite thing in the whole world is playing with her Big Ice.

I will admit, it is a little messy because the ziplock bags ALWAYS leak the water. But, she's so happy with it, I cannot refuse. So, if you come to my house and see a bunch of ziplocks bags in the freezer filled with blocks of ice, you will know why! Haha.

Happy Weekend!