Thanksgiving Crafts 11/23/2011

It’s officially the beginning of the holiday season! And what better way to celebrate than to do some fun and crafty activities with your little ones? Do they like to finger paint? Listen to music? Or just giggle in cute outfits? We’ve rounded up some adorable undertakings for you to introduce to your babies in the name of Thanksgiving fun!

Sing the Songs of Thanksgiving:

Albuquerque Turkey (sung to the tune of “My Darlin’ Clementine”)

Albuquerque is a turkey
And he’s feathered and he’s fine
And he wobbles and he gobbles
And he’s absolutely mine!
He’s the best pet you can get yet
Better than a dog or cat
He’s my Albuquerque turkey
And I’m awfully proud of that!
And my Albuquerque turkey
Is so happy in his bed
‘Cause for our Thanksgiving Dinner
We have spaghetti instead!

- Original Author Unknown

Hello Mr. Turkey (sung to the tune of: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)

Hello, Mr. Turkey how are you?
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?
His feet go wobble, wobble
And his head goes Gobble, Gobble.
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?

-Original Author Unknown

Handprint Turkey:

You can create a fun memento of this stage in your baby’s life while creating a meaningful, festive decoration you’ll get to keep forever.  Cover your little one’s palm and fingers with an orange washable, non-toxic marker, using an ample amount of ink. Immediately stamp hand on paper while marker is still wet, slightly off center and diagonal.

Draw a triangular brown beak and a red wattle on the turkey’s head. Then draw 2 short brown legs at the bottom of its body. You can hang your baby’s masterpiece on the fridge, or frame it.

DIY Thanksgiving onesie for baby!

You can take the Handprint Turkey idea further by making a festive onesie for your little one to wear on Turkey Day. Buy a plain onesie, and some non-toxic fabric paint. Paint the palm of your little one’s hand and place it on the chest of the onesie and let dry. Paint on the triangular brown beak, feet, and red wattle. Once dry, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind outfit for baby’s first Thanksgiving! Get creative — the sky’s the limit!

What other kinds of fun Thanksgiving activities are you planning to enjoy with your little ones this year?

Playground Chatter: Your First Thoughts When Your Baby Was Born 11/10/2011

Having a baby can be a different experience for everyone. We recently asked our fans and followers what they first thought when their little ones entered the world. From shock and surprise to love and gratitude, there was a wide variety of responses. Check out what they had to say below.

Lenny thought, “Wow, he’s perfect!”

Sarah shared, “That 9 lb 8 oz boy just came out of ME?”

Karen commented, “He is so big!!!”

Lindsay said, “Oh my god I just gave birth to a handsome boy all natural! How did I do that?”

Caitlin noted, “Wow, he looks just like his daddy!!!”

Jessica shared, “Wow, we did it! Our daughter is amazing and finally a part of our family!”

Kimberley wrote, “Wow!! THANK YOU LORD!!! HE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!”

Angela added, “thank god she is out!!”

ShivaD19 tweeted, “Whoaaaaa!!! That’s my baby!!! Lol”

yyc_mom commented, “it was: “What? He’s out?!? I thought I still had to push!” And then it was “oh my God! I’m so in love!!!!”

corndogwalker remembered, “My first thought when my baby was born was count the fingers and toes.”

Nicole exclaimed, “Oh thank God that’s over … then I looked at him and in a choked up voice said, Hi, I’m very pleased to meet you”

Lindsay said, “The most beautiful thing I even saw, and I knew from that moment on I would worry for the rest of my life!!!!”

Cassandra added, “Finally. My little girl.”

Karla thought, “I just wanna sleep!!!”

Amrah wondered, “I gave birth to a smurf?!?”

What were your first thoughts when your baby was born? Share with us in the comments!

Guest Blogger Spotlight: Baby’s First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch 11/01/2011

This past Saturday we took a trip to the pumpkin patch! The patch we visited is about an hour away from our home and it was the first time any of us had ever been. To say that it’s a popular place in the fall would be a big understatement.

The sunflower field was our first stop. Kynlee enjoyed running through all of the flowers! They were simply gorgeous and made for a perfect photo backdrop! However, getting Kynlee to sit and “pose” with the pumpkins proved to be a much more difficult task than I had anticipated. She was too busy looking at everything else but she did stop to check them out every once in a while . She also enjoyed playing with some cotton for the first time.

At the patch, they had hundreds of pumpkins already picked, but you could also pick your own pumpkins if you wanted to! Other fun things included (several) face-in-hole setups, a huge pumpkin bounce house, a spooky trail, a painted pumpkin display & so much more. While we were there, we also got some homemade ice-cream and it was Kynlee’s first time having homemade. She was a big fan!

Watching Kynlee explore everything at the pumpkin patch was so much fun. It’s always fun to watch her discover new things and in this case there were several new things! Being a part of her “firsts” helps me to see things in the eyes of a child again – and I absolutely love it!

We had such a great *first* time at the pumpkin patch and will definitely be making this an annual trip! This really got us in the Halloween/Fall spirit!

Guest blogger Whitney Jordan is a first-time mom who enjoys chronicling her adventures in parenting. When she's not busy keeping up with her one-year-old daughter, she might be found enjoying a Starbucks Caramel Mocha Frapp or rooting for the Georgia Bulldogs. You can read more about her and her family at Keeping Up With Kynlee.