Little Lukka's Camera Eye, Part 2

Lukka loves taking pictures. Here's what he's been up to, expanding his art.
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Self Portrait, #1, lots more of these found on the camera. Hey, who can blame him, he is an interesting subject. :)

Still life. Nanny's birthday tea set.

Camera Obscura. Which way is this supposed to go? What IS that thing? Who knows. :)

Self Portrait #2. The red must mean something to him. :)

Baby Anikka's Birthday Present

Our little Nanners turned one on Feb. 17th! Here she is with her birthday present. She always gets ::Something to read::Something to wear:: Something to Play with::. A sweet little fawn dress for summer, My Friends by Taro Gomi , and Plan Toy's little wooden tea set. Read about her first year HERE.

2nd Batch of Books or WHEN IS SUMMER COMING?

Alright, I know, I shouldn't be whining. We have been reading tons and tons, Lukka & Anikka have both been loving it and I have been loving it, but I am ready for this ever-lasting snow to be gone! We've had snow on the ground for 2 months and I am pretty sure that is a record for as long as I can remember. So while we've enjoyed our lovely outings to the library & toddler time, I am really looking forward to the sun, some green grass sprouting, a melting of everything white around me, and some temperatures above the teens!

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We hope you enjoy these reads as much as we have. ..Up to 5 times a day, every day. Like us! :)

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Humphrey's Corner by Sally Hunter is such a sweet little story about an elephant who is trying to find the perfect place to play. While he makes his way through the entire house with his Mooey (blanket) and his best friend, Mop, the bunny, he picks up random objects that through the eyes of a toddler become great treasures. A very slow and simple story great for relaxing before naptime or bedtime.

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Little Boat by Thomas Docherty is also a fun read, with very little words but wonderful and grand illustrations. The little tugboat in the story feels very small and alone in the big, wide ocean, until he finds his friends. Perfect for the boys in your family (complete with scary seamonsters) or those of us more adventurous girls!

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Polo and Lily by Regis Fallen is a book without words, just pictures about two friends who play with each other for a day, showing each other tricks, like going fishing, and jumping into the water. Lukka loves this story, or rather, my running commentary-turned-story that goes along with looking at this book. A very sweet ending always makes him laugh, too!

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This I saw at the library and checked it out before Lukka even saw it. I knew he would like this, because it is about something his little 2 1/2 year old heart is passionate about--all things TRUCK. A rythming book, This Is The Firefighter, by Laura Godwin, is hands-down always requested. A glimpse into a busy firefighter's day is just what my little bug loves.


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The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra is my personal favorite of the batch. It has hilarious illustrations and funny and clever rythmes about putting the alphabet children to bed. Lukka has even picked up a few phrases from this book "What's the matter?" and "Skitter-skatter" to name a few that we often hear around the house these days!

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Hope you enjoyed our second little book tour! What have you been reading?

Books for Snow Days

We have been hunkered down here in the Mast house recently with temperatures bordering, if not below, 0 degrees and a wind chill in the negatives this past week. We've been reading a lot of "snow/winter" related books from the library and I will share a few that we have been loving! And one that just happens to remind us of the coming spring!

Snow Sounds: by David Johnson is a sweet little story using just onomatopoeia words (like "Whoosh!", "Beep", and "Whomp!") to tell a story about a boy waking up to a snowy day. Lukka has loved this one, a very quieting, relaxing story to read before bed.

Flannel Kisses by Linda Crotta Brennan is a sweet, simple story that is about a family who lives in the woods and is enjoying the day, from morning til night, in the outdoors and indoors with family. I loved the illustrations in this story and found that the pictures resembled a similar household I would love to have, stockings & mittens drying by the fire, fresh bread right out of the oven, and imaginative play happening all throughout the day!

Snow Day by Komako Sakai is another one we picked up, this one for the second time. Lukka has really taken a liking to this book, and I have too, since I love the illustrations in this book! This book made an impression the first time, too, since I did a review of it here back in August, when I was only dreaming of snow!

Last but not least is All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. This book has us wishing it was Spring, already! It is a large book with nostalgic pictures and places that interweaves a community through good days and bad, and all of the activities that happen to us in between. This might be Lukka's favorite book of the lot, since he loves ryhming books!

What have you been reading this winter?

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You Should've Known It Would Come to This...

You bet I did. And I'll do it again, probably until she's five. The little lady rocks the piggies!

Puppy Back - Pack

Here is a roughly thrown together version of a child-size mei tei carrier. I first saw child-size carriers HERE (of course!) and Lukka was always trying to get me to tie a blanket around him and his puppy. We are big into "child-sized" over here so I thought, hey, why not! About 10 minutes later it was complete. It is very unattractive and like I said, thrown together, I think once the holiday season is over I will work on making him a really nice one! He loves to carry his puppy like this.

Can't Get Between Em'

Nothing comes between the men and their dogs. Nothin'. In case you can't tell, they're watching The Fox and the Hound together. Ahh, boys!