Diaper Bag

Diaper Duty...As a momma of a proudly potty-trained superhero in training I have to admit I'd forgotten the depths of the duty whilst on haitus from diaper department.  While the perks of toting my newest little baby bundle never cease to outweigh the smelly side, the same can't always be said for my diaper bag. As with any multi-tasking tote, my bag is bit of a monster! While it survives mostly on a diet of diapers and baby wipes, my diaper bag has quite the appetite for pacifiers, teethers, cellphones and has a record of holding hostage my to-do list in the heat of the moment.

Leave it to posh pregnancy guru, Rosie Pope, to turn my monster into a fashion moment. On my second tour of diaper duty I have stumbled upon her London Shopper Classic, Rosie's dreamy and durable answer to every momma's prayers and the perfect accessory to her on-the-go lifestyle. Later this month I'll be channeling my inner Oprah and sending a little London to a Little Nook Momma in need, gifting one of these great totes to a deserving diaperer in need. Stay tuned for contest details!

Want one?

Yes, you do.

In the meantime, I am going to share a few tricks and important features that moms should look for when selecting the tote to accompany a trek with her tiny ones...

1. Stylin'

While there is nothing in the world like seeing big brown eyes look up at you and call you "Momma", you still want to look cute ; )

2. Compartments

Mine has a removable and washable bag that snaps inside.  This is where I keep all of my diaper-changing items so I can grab it and go or re-stock it easily.

There are 3 pockets in the main bag, 2 on the outside and 4 in the interior bag...perfect!

3. The List

{Diapers, wipes, Aquaphor, Hand Sanitizer, Burp Cloth, Plastic bag for wet clothes or diapers, Extra Outfit, First Aid Kit, Notebook*, Blanket, Bottles, Pacifier}

and in mine I always have 4 extra things:

{snacks for 3 year old, sunscreen, Fire truck undies, and an activity bag for restaurants}

4. Notebook

I keep my Archie Grand's "Brats I Met and Liked" journal with me everywhere that I go.  Even if I only write down one word on any given day, it is so nice to have a place with all of my children's fun thoughts. Kids do and say the funniest things...

...another great book to keep near you is "My Quotable Kid" and I found my copy at Baby Braithwaite in Atlanta.

So, if you are looking to turn that monster bag into a fashionable friend, stay tuned for contest details.   

Pumpkin Patch

Sweaters are on and so is the apple cider as we finally make the jump into Fall here in in Atlanta. Our Little Nookers have taken note of a few friendly jack-o-lanterns that have recently moved into our neighborhood. It appears these orange fellows love to glow in the dark just as much as we do so we figured we'd investigate their seedy heritage before we stuck one on our Little Nook stoop.

Taking a cue from the curb, we hitched a hayride to the pumpkin patch were we would learn all about pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, and all that business in-between.

Our little pumpkins got right down to work with pretty cute pumpkin tale, 

This is NOT a Pumpkin by Bob Staake

Everyone knows that pumkins don't smile...jack-o-lanterns do!

Our number this week was 5...the perfect excuse to sing one of our favorite pumpkin songs

Five Little Pumpkins (Sitting on a Gate)

We sought out of few seeds (and our handy crepe tray) to help us practice our counting and skills.  

Big boys and girls practiced planting five seeds for every hole in our 'pumpkin patch'...

While tinier paws practiced one-to-one correspondence. Big or small, it was a fun way to fine tune our fingers and motor skills.

 

We also picked a few pumpkins to help us point out our 'touch math' counting points on the number 5. Momma, this is a great skill to help little fingers connect with the numbers we see and hear!

Next, we used our sequencing cards to discuss and illustrate the life of a pumpkin.

We got up close and personal with a jack-o-lantern-to-be. It was the perfect pumpkin platform for discussing emotions and how our faces tell a story about how we feel...

Luckly, we have some pretty happy pumpkins in our patch :)

 

We decided it was time to head to the field, also known as our Little Nook pumpkin patch,  to collect some data...

Before we got to the picking we sang a little song to get us in the right frame of mind...

 Pumpkin, Pumpkin: sung to 'Twinkle Twinkle'

Pumpkin, Pumpkin on the ground, 

How'd you get so big and round? 

Once you were a seed so small, 

Now you are so great and tall. 

Pumpkin, Pumpkin on the ground, 

How'd you get so big and round?

Then we got down to business...

Once we'd selected the perfect pick, we played a little Simon Says with our pumpkins. 

Simon says, put a pumpkin on your lap...

 Simon says hold it up high in the sky!

Simon says take a whiff...sniff sniff sniff

  Shake it to the left and shake to the right...

Point to the stem and do it all again!

 Once we'd gotten an up-close look, we knew it was time to plant a pumpkin or two of our own in the art room. 

Like every green-thumbed gardener, we started off this story with a simple seed. 

Which grew into a stem. 

 Which grew into a plant and then a perfectly plump pumpkin of course. 

We had a few spare seeds, which we used to discuss the season's changing leaves. Check out these autumn trees!

 We ended the week with a slimy sensory pumpkin bubble bath...
shaving cream + pumpkins = as many happy toddlers as you can fit around the picnic table :)

 All in all, it was a perfect week in the patch...

Stay tuned to see what these feet are getting into next week!