I have an iPhone, and there are many apps that are available for simple photo editing. Many offer a selection of effects to change the lighting and color balance for different looks. I have one called Instagram, and I think it’s fun to play around with various pictures. Here are a few I’ve done:

Sunlight

Stacking cans

Bathing beauty

Leaf in bucket game

Lunch at The Oasis

Going for a walk with Cody

I recently needed a special birthday gift. I wanted something unique, fun, a little educational, and preferably not very expensive. Luckily, I’m willing to do a little work to meet all those goals and was able to present this handmade felt board to two happy two-year-olds.

To make the board, I followed the instructions on this post, though I used all hot glue and not staples. Then I just cut out shapes from several pieces of felt, some with pinking shears and others with regular straight scissors. I found the adorable printed ladybug felt at Hobby Lobby with the rest of the supplies and cut out several to be the stars of the project. Everything I bought totaled less than $12, and I have enough felt and ribbon left over that I could probably make two more.

The girls seemed to especially enjoy that they could put a piece on, then take it off, put it somewhere else, take it off, etc. unlike stickers that can only go in one place. They are also starting to name shapes and colors, so there’s a little educational practice snuck in. Project success!

This morning, Meghan and I tried out a fountain/splash pad area downtown. It’s easy to find, just turn in at Doherty Arts Center and park in the lot behind. Then look for the fountain.

We got there early in an attempt to beat the heat and some UV rays, and at 9am we were the only ones there. This was okay to start out, but it was fun when some other families came a little later. Next time we’ll bring more water toys; Hannah ended up playing with a plastic cup I had brought for snacks. We stayed for almost an hour, and it was a blast.

Today we deviated from the traditional swimsuit. Hannah is wearing a “rashguard” shirt which provides UV protection and dries quickly. We are also trying out a cloth swim diaper which comes in a colorful pattern and can be worn by itself. It’s a great combo – UV protective, modest, “green” and really cute!

Hi, Hannah here. I know there are some other toddlers who read this, so I wanted to let you know about what I’ve been doing lately.

I don’t get to watch a lot of TV. We don’t have cable or a DVR, but we do have Netflix. My attention span is pretty short, so I don’t make it very far through anything, but I like to try.

Most recently, I’ve been watching the movie “Babies” which comes streaming through Netflix. When I want to watch it, I point at the TV and say, “Babies, babies, babies!” I usually only watch things for about six minutes at a time, but this movie was so interesting that it only took me four sessions to finish the hour and 15 minutes. My mommy thought this was pretty impressive.

From http://focusfeatures.com/babies.

If you are not familiar with this movie, it is a documentary that follows four babies in different countries through approximately their first year. My summary of the four babies:

• Ponijao – Namibia – My favorite baby. She is always happy and has dogs. She gets to play a lot and is an awesome dancer.
• Mari – Japan – Not very exciting. Too much of a perfectionist.
• Bayar – Mongolia – Poor kid has a mean older brother. But I like him because he has lots of animals, especially cows.
• Hattie – USA – They say this is Hattie, but I know it is really me. I try to tell my mommy this by pointing at the TV and saying, “Hannah! Hannah!”

I like to narrate the movie with things I recognize like “cow,” “truck,” “sad,” “eating,” and “bucket share.” Tonight, I was watching with my daddy and telling some of the babies to share.

There is no dialogue in this movie, so it doesn’t matter that I can’t follow a long conversation yet. I just get to watch babies do stuff. Even though some of them are growing up in very different environments than me, I can find the things we have in common. Sometimes my mommy only sees the differences; I notice what’s the same.

So far, this is my favorite movie, and I would recommend it to my fellow toddlers, though anyone would probably like it. Especially because they apparently picked me to be in it! Check out the trailer on their website and learn more about each of the babies. Maybe next time Mommy will let me get on and tell you about Chick-fil-A – I’m really confused about why we eat chicken at a place that has pictures of cows everywhere.

I often cruise online resources for free family activities in Austin. This is how I came across a summer concert series in nearby Sunset Valley. Sunset Valley is legally its own little town with its own city hall and police force, but it’s in the middle of Austin. They are hosting outdoor concerts every few weeks during the summer, so we decided to check it out last night.

The main draw was the featured group, a jazz sextet led by Butch Miles who I had never heard of but he has a Wikipedia article about him, so I guess that makes him cool. The major drawback – the time – the concert didn’t start until 7:30, and Hannah’s usual bedtime is 7. But we were in the mood for some live music and thought Hannah should have the experience.

The venue was great – behind their city hall, the musicians sat under a large porch and spectators sat in chairs or blankets on some very excellent grass. Along the back of this area are six large wooden porch swings; these were very popular and filled up fast. We opted for a blanket, though Hannah did try out some chairs.

She didn’t stay sitting anywhere for long. We took turns following her around as she meandered through the area. Luckily, at these events the audience is very casual and friendly, and they don’t mind toddlers wandering around mid-concert. Hannah enjoyed checking out the other toddlers there and attempting to take their snacks. She has also recently figured out buckles, so she was briefly entertained by the buckle on the backpack.

The jazz group was standardly formulaic – they would play a couple minutes of a song and then would all do solos. According to jazz listening etiquette, we would all clap after each solo which Hannah thought was fun. At the end of a song, she would say, “More! More!”

The music was great, the weather was surprisingly pleasant, and Hannah was happy walking around. At 8:15, we decided it was enough past her bedtime that we should head home. I think we’ll be adding more Sunset Valley concerts to our family calendar.

Yesterday was our first trip to the pool this year. We are fortunate to have a public pool very close to our house, and it is FREE during the summer. They have a large baby pool that is separated from the big pool by a fence, and there is a full-time lifeguard just for the baby pool area. Excellent set-up for toddlers.

Hannah loved it. She just walked around the baby pool and watched the other kids. During the “pool check” time, she thought it was fun to sit on the towel and eat snacks. There were some really fun fish murals next to our snack spot.

Looking at fish while eating fish.

I think we will be spending a lot of time here this summer. This morning, Hannah somehow found her swimsuit, brought it to me, and tried to put it on. Then she brought me her swim diaper. And finally her towel. Hint hint, mommy.