A view from my world

Introduction by Nataliya:
Pipidinko got ahold of my digital camera (very basic, nothing fancy) and walked around his playroom snapping random pictures. Now, these photos might not be of any artistic significance yet, but they are cool to look at, as we can see Santino's world through his eyes and from his level. Kinda cool, if you ask me, isn't it?

A Cardboard Christmas tree and other decorations to make together with a toddler

I love using cardboard in my son's playroom, its easy, cheap (or I'd rather say free, most of the time), fun, personal, different every time, and when we are done playing with it, I have no problem discarding it by putting in our blue bin for recycling.

Thank you Anna!

I was going to hold this report of our finger print art until tomorrow, but it so happened that I felt motivated to publish it asap by a nice something-something! Santino's personal "secret" Santa... or I would rather say Ded Moroz,... or even Snegurochka had yet again surprised us with a thoughtful present: truck stickers, dinosaur stickers, finger puppets! And chocolate, yay!

Homemade playdough fun. Dinosaur, fire truck and hippo tracks

I actually made playdough before, like half a year ago. Pipidinko wasn't interested much in it. I made some playdough pictures for him, and he admired those, but that was it. Then I bought a playdough set a few months later, and he enjoyed stuffing it in different tubes and kept asking me to open a new jar until all the playdough was dried out. I find commercial playdough very tough, not really suitable for a toddler.

Christmas sensory play

Sensory play is so much fun! It is an easy activity to make with the things you already have lying around your house, occupies your 2 year old for a while, teaches him new words, lets him practice colors and shapes, develops fine motor skills.

Christmas holidays with Santino

We had a Christmas eve dinner at our house last night. Family members came to celebrate the occasion together. There was lots and lots food, Santino got cool trucks as gifts, and I managed to fill the house with the smoke from the fireplace. Yay, fun times!

Santino's Christmas concert

I took Santino to the mall to meet Santa. Santino wasn't interested, he didn't want to wait in line, didn't even want to say "hi" to him.

Then we went to a Holiday brunch at a golf course. There was Santa, but Santino wasn't interested to even come close to him. I understood, that there will be no photos with Santa this year. Not sitting on his lap, no holding his hand, not even standing close to him.

Simple DIY quiet activities with a toddler

Here is a simple set of activities I like to offer Santino. It is something inexpensive, actually more like free, very simple to do, although promoting hand-eye coordination, attention, concentration, and a whole bunch of other skills.

Yay! He is coloring!

Santino never liked coloring in the color albums. Usually I would sit there coloring dinosaurs and Elmos, while Santino is stuffing markers and crayons in whatever odd place he would find at the time.

But a few days ago, he - yay! - took out a coloring book and actually started coloring! This is such a big step in his development! I am so happy :)

Creative play - a present for nonna Lucy

Santino loves painting, holding a paint brush and mixing the colors. Well, for now he mixes all the colors together, until they turn brown, and then he paints careful stripes here and there, swooshes, calling them dinosaurs and fire trucks.
 

I wanted to channel his love for painting and help him make a present for nonna Lucy for her birthday.

Me T-rex

(a short one) Santino now not only roars as a dinosaur, he says "me t-rex! Big! Rroar!"
When I asked him "are you a big dinosaur?" He said "yes. And you baby T-rex". Lol