Family Game Time

I mentioned recently that we have been playing lots of games in our home. A couple of months ago we started teaching Eva a few easy board games and then she built up her collection at her birthday party.Games are awesome for a lot of reasons. They teach skills like matching, counting, number and letter recognition, colors, sharing, taking turns, and listening. They also allow for lots of conversation between family members.

1. Candy Land: This is a great first game! It reinforces colors and taking turns. Some versions have cards, ours has a spinner. This was the first game we taught Eva after Christmas last year. Honestly the hardest part was teaching her to be still enough not to knock over the board!

 

2. Memory: A great game to learn in steps. About 6 months ago we used this to practice matching up a few cards at a time. I would lay out 3 sets at a time and Eva would find the ones that were the same. After she got the hang of deciding which ones were the same or different we would flip them over and try to make matches. A lot of times I still let her see where I put each card before flipping them over and interestingly, she still doesn't always realize that the same card will be there when she turns it over. We do 6-8 cards at a time for now. Upside, this game comes with a ton of cards, so you can have lots of variety. Downside, this game comes with a ton of cards and it is a hassle when your child accidentally drops the box and spills them everywhere.

3. Cupcake Party: I will be honest, I am not thrilled with the "game" part of this. The game comes with 3 sets of cards and then you are supposed to time how long it takes you to get each piece to make a complete cupcake, or something like that. Eva has much more fun just building the cupcakes that match each card. We went through a couple of weeks where Eva would literally spend HOURS a day building these little cupcakes. Warning, there are many tiny pieces in this game, so it would NOT be safe for a child who still puts pieces in their mouth, especially pieces that look like food.

 

4. Go Fish: This game works really well for us when Ryan and I (or another adult) can be on Eva's "team" to help her remember what to do each turn. She LOVES asking for cards and LOVES yelling "Go Fish!"
5. Crazy Eights: We haven't played this one much. I think we need to practice what to do a bunch more. I didn't really remember playing this as a kid so I had to learn it first.
6. Old Maid: Eva is so intrigued by the old maid. I like this game and I am wondering if it would be easier if I take out a few sets of cards. When we play with 2 or 3 of us there are too many cards for her little hands to hold and I think it makes looking for a pair too difficult. But she LOVES finding the Old Maid. Technically whoever has the Old Maid at the end is the loser for the game, but Eva has it in her mind that she wants the Old Maid. She is so happy when she gets that card.

 

7. Hungry Hungry Hippos: I remember my parents saying this game was too noisy when I was a kid. They were right, it is a bit noisy but it is also very fun! It's good for working on counting and I really do like playing this with Eva. It does have tiny pieces so keep this away from little kids.

8. Let's Go Fishin': Okay, is it just me or is this game tricky? I figured it would be an easy one but I struggle as much as Eva to catch a fish on those silly fishing poles! Ryan is amazing at it, so maybe it's just my hand eye coordination. Eva still really likes it and I guess it's good for her to see that some games are tricky even for me. We just laugh about it being hard and try our best.

9. Twister: When my mom told me she wanted to give this to Eva I was excited. Reinforcing colors, being silly, falling over - sounds great. I didn't consider that my pregnant body might not be able to keep up with this one very well! Eva likes that it has the huge game board. She can't tell her right and left foot, so she kind of just hops around the board like a happy little frog. We make up our own rules. When Ryan is home I get to be the spinner and that is much easier. I think this game is targeted for kids that are a bit older, but when played as a family there is still a lot of fun and learning involved.

 

10. Hi, Ho Cherry-O: This one is a HUGE hit. Great for counting, number recognition, taking turns, and fine motor grasping. We play it every single day. It also has very tiny pieces, so be careful with young kids.

 

11. Chutes and Ladders: I'm throwing this one in my list, even though we don't own it. I've played this with Eva at my mom's and it is still too hard for her. I remember liking this a lot as a kid, so I'm sure Eva will enjoy it eventurally. Right now I think the bigger numbers and direction of the game board is just too confusing. She likes to get out the board and look at it but she isn't really ready for this one quite yet.

 

12. Kinetic Sand: Okay so this isn't actually a game, but Eva got lots of it for her birthday and it is a huge hit. Ryan and I first saw this product out at Brookstone way back in February and I can't believe we never bought it for her. It is awesome! It molds like sand, but has a more magnetic property so it doesn't make a big mess. We have ours in a huge box with some sand molds so that Eva can smush it all out and build with it however she likes. I do make her use it at the table instead of on the living room floor because it doesn't clean up quite as easily from carpet, although you can vacuum it up. When its on the table or tile it will stick to a bigger clump so it doesn't get messy. We used this for home school last week to practice letters and numbers. Eva gets this out several times a day. This is a PERFECT gift idea for preschoolers, and probably older kids too! 

That's my list of game reviews! What games would YOU recommend for playing with a little one? Our family is big on competitive games so I am so excited for Eva to join the fun!

{Review} Play Time at Gymobree Southlake

This morning Eva and I went and did a free trial class at the Gymboree in Southlake. I had gotten the coupon from a magazine and figured it would be fun to get out and try it. Years ago when I was a nanny for a 2 year old girl she was enrolled in Gymboree classes so I had a little bit of an idea of what it would be like.

Let me tell you, it was so. much. fun. The whole room is set up as a padded play area with lots of steps and slides and tunnels and balls and things to bounce on or crawl under. It is pretty awesome. The class we did had an instructor there to give us an idea of how to do each baby obstacle course and she also led some fun song and dance time.

With toddlers I didn't expect it to be super structured and I'd say it was just right. I really liked that it was totally okay if she suddenly decided to run off from the song time. When she does that at the library it's more awkward since a public library is not designed to be a playground. When it came to climbing and sliding she was pretty okay with it, although she needed some encouragement to tell her that she could actually do most of it by herself. She loved the bubble time and all the fun bouncy balls they had. She did not want to go inside any tunnel. Not under any circumstance. ME: Eva, don't you want to crawl through this fun, brightly colored tunnel???? Oooh!!! Eva: shakes head. runs away. repeat multiple times at multiple tunnels. Not a big deal but I was surprised that she was so skeptical because normally she's pretty fearless. I don't have any photos of Eva from today but I found this one online so you can see kind of what it looks like. This isn't from the location we went to but it did look similar (also I would say this photo only shows a small part of what the room looked like).

{Photo Link} 

When I read up on the reviews of Gymboree one of them mentioned that it wasn't always so sanitary. I don't know which location this was talking about (they have locations nationwide) but this was absolutely not true about the Southlake location. They had hand sanitizer to use before you entered the play area. Everybody takes their shoes off so you aren't tracking in extra dirt and germs. They announced a couple of times not to bring kids when they are sick. And at the end of the time when all the kids were doing the parachute songs and games a staff member was walking around a bottle of spray cleaner, wiping down everything. For a place where there are lots of kids and possible germs I felt like it was as safe and clean as you could expect (I mean, we play at the park and I guarantee you that nobody sanitizes that every hour).

The only bummer for the whole experience is that we really can't afford to pay for Eva to go there. I don't think their prices are crazy for what you get (especially if you go during their open play times too) but it's just not in our budget right now. I was a little worried that with their free class offer they would be pushy about registering but thankfully they were not. The sales lady printed off a list of classes and prices to hand to me on our way out but wasn't pushy. Obviously they want you to sign up for their classes so I didn't mind the print off.

So, that is my review of Gymboree. I loved it. I'd go back again with another coupon!  And they are not paying me anything for this favorable review :)

iLove

I recieved an iPhone for Christmas from my parents. This gift was one that I thought long and hard about. For a long time I was pretty convinced that I did NOT want an iPhone or any smart phone. I was content with my old standard free upgrade phone. It finally got to the point though where I had to shake my phone and hit it to get the screen to show so I knew that I needed to make my decision about what phone to get next.

Here are my reasons why I was very hestitant:
1. Did I really wanted to be connected to the whole world all the time? Before this I did not have internet access on  my phone and sometimes it was nice not to have to be connected.
2. People who have iPhones are addicted to their phone. They are constantly on it and it can be hard to feel like you are having a genuine converstaiton with somebody when they are looking at their phone all the time. I didn't want to become that person.
3. When I'm with Eva, or really anybody that I care about, I want my full attention to be one them. Not only did I not want to be addicted to my phone, I didn't even want the option of constantly checking my phone or the internet.
4. I'm not that into the latest technology fads. VCR? Had it until a few years ago. Blue Ray? No thank you. Most of the time technology upgrades are just an added expense and I don't feel like they improve the joy in my life. Yes, it was nice a few years ago when we got a new TV but my life was fine with the old one.
5. Thievery. I never worried that somebody would take my old phone when we were at the swimming pool and it was in the stroller. If they had the joke would have been on them. The same thing applies to letting Eva carry it around the house. Now I'm more cautious about where I leave my phone. 

But obviously, I did end up deciding to get an iPhone. I went with the 4s because it is more compatible with things we already have (like our iHome) and Ryan and I could share car and house chargers (he has a 4S too). And honestly.... I LOVE IT. There. I said it. You totally won my over Apple company. You were right iPhone users before me. You told me so, Ryan Bradley.

Here are my reasons why I love my phone:
1. The quality of camera. My old phone had a camera but it wasn't good. This camera takes great photos and even the video quality is so clear. Before I always carried my extra camera with me but now I can save space in the diaper bag.
2. The quality of texting. I thought I would hate not having a key pad but I don't mind at all now. I like how the texts look like a conversation. It is so easy to send a quick photo of Eva to my mom. My old phone only held a limited  number of texts so I was constatnly having to go in and delete them, the iPhone holds a gazillion texts. Plus I can now read group texts! Before I would have to awkwardly text the person back and let them know that my phone wouldn't open their message. Lame.
3. Instagram and Pic Stich. For somebody that loves sharing photos from their life these aps are awesome. And I enjoy seeing everybody else's photos!
4. Pinterst Ap. It is so conventient to have this. I actually do/make a lot of what I pin so this is so conventient. I can use it to cook from in the kitchen (instead of my laptop) or I can look up something in the store.
5. Pandora Ap. Free music? Fun!
6. Target/Walmart/Costco Aps. I can see what is on sale.
7. AnyList Ap. This allows me to make my grocery list on my phone, store the items I buy weekly (so I don't have to renenter them), and cross off things as I shop. Seriously, this ap has changed how I make my grocery list. It even puts things in catergories so it is organized and trips to the store are quicker. Get this ap!
8. Facebook Ap. Because let's be honest, who doesn't want to instantly know what everybody thinks and is up to?
9. Hobby Lobby Ap. The 40% off coupon is just a click away.
10. Internet Broswer on the go. Want to know anything about anything any time of the day anywhere you are? Google it.
11. Email. I am not an email junkie. I mostly assume that people wouldn't email me important info very often so before I was terrible about checking my email. Having it on my phone makes it easier for me to check it and delete it quickly, no more 350 messages left waiting in my inbox. I also get coupons emailed from different stores and restaurants and it was so nice to be able to just show them my phone instead of having to print off a coupon and remember to take it with me. 
12. Toddler Aps. I do not use my phone as a babysitter but it is nice to occasionally be able to let Eva play games on it when we are waiting at a restaurant or the doctor's office. We even got the Fisher Price apptivity case that holds your iPhone more securely so that when we are all three in the car together I can put my phone in it and hand it to her in the backseat during long car rides. She doesn't realize that I almost always have this with me so she doesn't expect it, but it's nice when we need it.
13. Google maps. When we got a Garmin for the car a few years ago it would be an understatement to say it was a good thing. So long Mapsco and printed Mapquest directions! And with the map ap on my phone I can even find a place online and it will tell me exactly how to get there!
14. Voice command. Yes, the 4s is worth it for Siri. I like being able to ask, "Where is the nearest__?" or saying, "Call__." I realize that some other phones have this feature but my old one didn't.
15. I'm cool now. Before, kids I knew would ask to see my phone (as in younger kids, not teenagers) and when they would ask me what my phone could do I would answer, "Make calls." That was basically it. Now when people see me stroll into the room they can tell I'm a iPhone user. Hahaha, okay so  I know that doesn't really make me any cooler, but it's fun to pretend.

There you have it. My confessions about all the wonderful things an iPhone can do. I am still very guarded against using it too often when I should be doing better things or having real conversations. But I would recommend that you get one. UwillLove it.