4th Fun

For the 4th I decided to make star-shaped sugar cookies. I hadn't tried baking with my 2-year old before. Overall I think it went really well. I scooped the ingredients for her, but let her dump them in the mixer and turn the mixer on. I let her cut all the stars out from the dough; I got about one decent star shape each time I rolled out the dough because she went a little crazy with it and keep cutting the same pieces over and over. We used our Christmas gels and sprinkles to decorate the cookies.

My great-aunt Marilyn's sugar cookie recipe:

- 1 C sugar

- 1 tsp grated lemon rind (I doubled it for more lemon flavor)

- 3/4 C softened butter

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 1/4 C flour

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp baking powder

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cream sugar, butter, and salt.

3. Beat in egg, lemon rind, and vanilla till light and fluffy.

4. Add flour and baking power mixture gradually into butter mixture.

5. Chill dough (roughly 2 hours or overnight).

6. Roll out on floured board until 1/8" thick.

7. Cut into various shapes.

8. Put on very lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with more sugar. (I omitted adding the extra sugar on top at this step since I was adding gels and sprinkles later.)

9. Bake until lightly browned at edges 9-12 min.

10. Cool on wire racks. After cookies have cooled off, decorate with gels and sprinkles.

* Makes approximately 2-3 dozen cookies depending on the size of your cutters.

"Decorating" her cookie.  Notice I didn't have time to take the camera out before she'd already eaten the whole cookie.

Izzy shook sprinkles on her cookie while I held onto the bottles. She enjoyed scooping and eating the extras.

Batch of cookies made with about half of the dough.

Stars, stripes, fireworks, and American flag decorations.

Rainy Day

I tested out some activities I've been wanting to try with Izzy since its been a cold, rainy weekend.

1. Homemade edible finger paint recipe and instructions found at the Imagination Tree. This was a fun activity though the "paint" itself was more paste-like and not very vibrant.

2. Making bubbles with vinegar an baking soda. Found idea from mama smiles. ( I previously posted on this one). For a toddler, I suggest using a straw cup with a lid (and no straw) to pour out the vinegar or a sippy cup with the no-spill stopper removed. This is a really fun, but messy activity. We end up have white spots in the "splash zone" around Izzy's highchair. I let her clean up her tray as part of the activity, but she invariably ends up splaying the vinegar and baking soda slosh on the floor.

Indoor Toddler Activities

With winter in full swing (though not a very snowy one) I have started researching more fun indoor activities for Izzy. I enjoy reading "Tot School" and Montessori school blogs for inspiration and printables. Here are a few super cool ideas I want to try next:

• Homemade finger paint. Recipe and detailed pictures found over at I can teach my child

Recipe for Homemade Finger Paint
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups hot water
Coloring:  food coloring, tempera paint, or powdered tempera will work

• Letter matching with foam bath letters. Izzy is starting to learn her letters, so I have been looking for simple activities to help encourage her. 

Letter Match tray idea from The Princess and The Tot

• Sensory play tray with baking soda and vinegar. I remember making foaming volcanoes in elementary school, but I never would have thought of this! Izzy loves bubbles in the tub, and digging in the dirt and sandboxes, so I think this may be a fun activity for her.

Clever idea found over at mama smiles