Category: Miss Leyba

Backpacks for Kids

I set out to find a small, kid-sized backpack that was BPA free, Phthalate free, and PVC free. Sounds like a tall order in this day and age, right?!

Well, I stumbled on a fantastic, eco-groovy backpack perfect for toddlers:

Zoo Packs: Little Kid Backpacks by Skip Hop

My favorite part? They are sized for toddlers so that actually fit my two year old. She doesn’t look like she’s about to fall over backwards when it’s stuffed full. It’s not so heavy or bulky that she’s uncomfortable when wearing it.

My daughter’s favorite part? She can fill it up with her stuff and it’s her special bag. She wants us to bring it everywhere.

And the bag comes in other animals too!

They’re not super expensive and I think they’re adorable. Learn more.

Eyeglasses = Ultimate Accessory for a Two Year Old

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new activity from the week.

My daughter loved accompanying us to the eye doctors. She adored trying on the glasses. She enjoyed offering advice, “Go with purple, Mom!” She reveled in the idea of bringing glasses home for her.

Of course, she was all pensive for the photos. After all, trying on glasses is serious business. So is convincing mom of the necessity of procuring glasses for the toddler with perfect vision. Evidently.

“Mom, I need glasses too. I don’t see so well.”

“We’re bringing these home.”

“Oh, I think we should get me these.”

All direct quotes.

How can I break it to her that I hope she never needs glasses?! I may have to find her some play glasses… instead of the $100 ones she tried on and just had to have.

Books for Fall

We love children’s books and the plethora of phenomenal ones with a fall theme!

Here are some library finds we’ve been enjoying lately:

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert:

Miss Leyba relates to the idea of picking up plants from the garden center, then planting, caring for and growing to love them. She’s memorized this one already.

And Then Comes Halloween by Tom Brenner, illustrated by Holly Meade:

A showcase of fun fall activities, such as carving pumpkins, raking leaves, decorate yards, and making costumes, gearing up for Halloween.

Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher, illustrated by Kate Kiesler:

Beautiful imagery and verse, nevertheless I’d personally recommend this book for older children; our toddler has little patience for it unless she’s really in a reading mood. We’ll try again next year!

In November by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Jill Kastner:

Beautiful pictures, sound science, and the girls especially enjoy it. David thinks it’s a boring story, but don’t tell Miss Leyba!

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel:

A story for all seasons! My favorite Frog and Toad book, it’s quirky, fun and a very, very sweet collection of stories about best friends!

Orange Play Dough Birthday Cake

Every few weeks Miss Leyba requests that we make play dough. Usually purple, red, or blue play dough. This week I suggested we make orange play dough for Halloween and, amazingly, she agreed, the exact opposite of typical toddler behavior around these parts right now.

Picture endless games where I say, “Whatever you do, don’t drink that apple juice!” to which she replies, “I’m drinking it! Open your mouth and act surprised!” I completely anticipated having to say, “We can make play dough in whatever color you’d like, but NOT orange!” to sway her. I should have known she’d go for anything Halloween related. That’s the hot topic here these days.

So we made deliciously orange play dough together.

The recipe we use is from Green Crafts for Children, a wonderful book full of art activities using natural, recycled, and found materials.

It’s your basic cooked play dough recipe incorporating 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons cream of tarter, and 1 tablespoon oil; we then add 1 cup of water mixed with food coloring and stir the dough while slowly heating it on the stove.

After a brief cool-down period, the dough is ready to go and it’s time to make birthday cake!

She made the cake and birthday candles with flames by herself. Then she insisted on making a total of three cakes, one for each of us, and singing many rounds of “Happy Birthday” while blowing out candles and then cutting and serving us cake. What a generous hostess!


Video: Happy Birthday Play Dough Party from Carrie on Vimeo.

I ask you, who doesn’t love birthday cake?! Especially when it’s orange, made of play dough, and cooked by this cute little girl! It’s irresistible.

Pumpkin Patch Friday

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new activity from the week.

Despite the 90 degree weather here in wine country, we hear it’s actually fall in the rest of the United States. And fall means harvest activities! So we headed to a local pumpkin patch with our international play group. It was a hit!

By the way, Miss Leyba’s wearing a full-on hot pink outfit so that you can easily find her in the photos. ;)







Try getting a decent photo of ten toddlers. It’s a challenge, I tell you! (Anyone from the group have a better shot on their camera? I’ll post it!)