Painting with Water and a Homemade 'Motion Ocean'

 Miko loved painting with water, and I loved that there was no mess to clean up!

 Such a look of concentration :)

I used a recyclable water bottle to make Miko a 'Motion Ocean'. It was extremely easy to make and took no time at all. I just added a few drops of food colouring to the water and filled the rest of the bottle with oil.  I added a little rubber ducky right before a put the lid on extra tight.

 I think I like it more that Miko does right now :)  He just wants me to open it so he can play with the duck. I think once he gets a little older he will appreciate it more.

Little Red Wagon (Testing an Early Present)

 All photos taken by Luke

Toys

 I took these photos on Christmas morning.  I surprise Luke with a few 'toys' in his stocking every Christmas - it has become one of our first family traditions.  I think I have just as much fun watching him enjoy these presents as he does 'playing' with them.  

 I usually get him some sort of flying contraption and a brain teaser puzzle every year. Some past hits have been the remote control helicopter, tech deck, trick bolts, and puzzle cube.  

 Now that we have our little Miko to think about, we have a lot of decisions to make.  What type of toys are we going to provide him with?  How many gifts will we give him at Christmas time and for his birthday?  Will we buy toys that we enjoyed as kids or still enjoy playing with as adults? ;)

 Luke and I lead a pretty minimalist lifestyle, and we don't have a lot of storage space. I think we will have to be sure the toys we do chose have lots of play value, can be used in a variety of different ways and will inspire creativity and independent play.

 I think one of the best 'toys' for Miko will be the freedom to explore our huge yard and spend unstructured time outside.