Top 5 Toddler Halloween Activities in Southern California

Here are 5 of our favorite Southern California Halloween events that are perfect for toddlers:

1. Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland: At $70, this is by far the most expensive activity on the list, but with the ticket price you get free parking and you get into Disneyland's main park at 4 pm (3 hours before Mickey's Party actually begins, which goes from 7 pm to midnight). Also, their candy is far superior to the other trick or treat events we've been too, and you get a ton of it, so if Reese's and Snickers speak to your heart this is a good place to go. (You can read more in this post.)

2. Scarium of the Pacific: This event was a lot of fun, mostly because none of us had been to the aquarium in a long time. I think it would have been just as fun if it wasn't Halloween-themed, and probably less crowded. There's no trick-or-treating at the aquarium, but there were several craft stations set up, and the fish and animals were given pumpkins to play with, which was pretty cute in the case of the penguins. There were also a lot of activities we didn't take advantage of, like spooky storytime and taking photos with creepy critters (not my thing). We bought the Aquarium and Zoo combo tickets for $39, which saved $10 per ticket. (You can read more about our visit here.)

3. Boo at the Zoo: If Ez were really into trick or treating, this would've been great, but for some reason he freaked out when a stranger tried to give him candy (and we didn't even teach him that yet!), so this may be a better slightly older kids. We still enjoyed wandering around the zoo and Ez loved the zoo playground. (Read more here.)

4. Rise of the Jack O'Lantern at Descanso Gardens: This was such a cool and unique event, and perfect for a certain pumpkin-obsessed toddler. I found out about it through Groupon, and got us tickets for $16 each (instead of $28 regular price). You can see all of our pictures here - the giant dinosaur sculptures were my favorite!

5. Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch in Irvine: This is hands down my favorite pumpkin patch because not only do you get to pick the pumpkins off the vine (pretty rare in So Cal), but they have a ton of pumpkins. Kellogg Farms in Pomona also have pumpkins on the vines, but they were all picked over and rotting when we went last year. There's also a corn maze, which makes me all nostalgic for Halloweens in Modesto. And it's a good corn maze, with a clearly marked, dry path - unlike the Pierce college corn maze which we went to two years ago. That maze was muddy, with narrow pathways that just looked like corn rows and we had no idea if we were following the maze or blazing our own trail. Tanaka Farms has other activities like tractor rides, shooting pumpkins in the air, riding mini ATVs for slightly older kids, Ez's favorite: riding in the wheel barrow, and a farmer's market that's open year round. I also may be slightly nostalgic toward Tanaka Farms because I went to UC Irvine, and because it's where we took Ez for his 1st pumpkin patch visit. (Read more here and here.)

Since it's Halloween, I've got one more Halloween-themed toddler list for ya! Here's Ez's top 5 favorite Halloween board books (the ones that I have a feeling we'll still be reading well into Christmas season).

1. Five Little Pumpkins: This started as a library book, but Gangy just sent us a Halloween package with Ez's very own copy, which is great because he can't get enough of this book. It rhymes, it's short on words, and it features lots of pumpkins, which Ez loves to point out. What's not to love?

2. Peek-a-WHO?: I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the author of this book is named Nina, so it automatically goes to the top of the list ;)  This is technically not just a Halloween book, but there is a ghost and an owl, so it works with the theme. There's also a train, and you can never go wrong with trains + little boys. Ez loves shouting "BOO!!" on the ghost page (one of the few words he knows).

3. Five Black Cats: Ok, this might be more my favorite than Ez's, but I'm a sucker for black cats and the illustrations are so cute. He'll sit through it a few times before requesting 5 pumpkins, so he likes it, just not quite as much as me.

4. Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin: This was another gift from Gangy, and it quickly became a favorite for Ez. He especially loves it if I yell "No!" (Is our pumpkin in the leaf pile, Duck? NO!!). We have to hide this book to give our sanity a little break, otherwise Ez would read it all.day.long.

5. I Love You Little Pumpkin: Ez has had this book forever, and it's a year round favorite. We started off the month reading this on repeat daily, but as his Halloween book collection has grown it's been pushed to the back of the pile in favor of newer books. It's one of those lift the flap books, and once Ez got a huge kick out of those once he finally figured them out.

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday! & The Good Life Blog, Carolina Charm, A. Liz Adventures, & Hello! Happiness for 5 on Friday.

5 Things My Toddler Suddenly Understands

1. How to lock a door. Thankfully we were both in my bedroom when he decided to show off that handy trick. Not. I was quietly enjoying a cup of coffee (major warning sign there) when I hear pounding and crying from the back of the house. Long story short, I had to break into our bedroom window to rescue him and I have never been so happy that we own a single story home.

2. Shoes mean we're leaving the house. Which means about two minutes after breakfast (usually before I've actually finished mine) he's waving shoes in my face. Sometimes they're my shoes, or Joe's, or 2 sizes too big, but the message is the same: take me outside NOW. Thankfully he's a cute drill sergeant. Love this kid so much.

3. His evasive tactics are getting better by the day. Once he learned how to walk backward it opened a whole new world of escape routes. If he sees me coming at him for a diaper change he drops to the floor and army crawls away. If I want to brush his teeth or get him dressed for the day, I have to chase him down the hallway first. And heaven forbid I have to wipe his nose, cause that involves a chase and flailing arms and screaming. 

4. He has learned how to 'trade.' Aka, we can bribe him now. I'm sure most parents would agree that bribery is basically the most valuable tool in a parent's arsenal. We've been using this tactic at dinner: "I'll trade you your ball for one bite of food." Since we've learned this tactic Ez has miraculously gotten better at eating adult food. Ez also trades his toys at Gymboree now, which is basically like sharing, and is the cutest thing to watch. 

5. Piles of leaves are for jumping in. We live in LA, so fall isn't really a season which means that whole tradition of raking leaves and jumping into the pile doesn't exist here. Still, we did have a bunch of dead leaves from when we moved in that I just finally got around to raking, and Ez beelined from across the yard straight to the pile and jumped right in, throwing leaves in the air and all over himself. It amazes me how kids just know how to find the fun in every situation. I see a pile of dead leaves crawling with bugs and spiders, he sees a playground. Or when I water the yard I walk around the mud and try not to get wet, while he runs straight for the water and stomps right in the puddles. Seeing the world through your kids eyes really does make everything more magical and fun. 

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife for

and The Good Life Blog, Carolina Charm, A. Liz Adventures, & Hello! Happiness for

PS - be sure to check out the 5 on Friday giveaway - they've got tons of fall goodies up for grabs!

5 Reasons I'm Grateful for Joe

I remember a post from Courtney over at Sweet Turtle Soup about 5 reasons why she loves her husband as a father, and lately Joe has been amazing me with all the things he does for our family and so I wanted to share 5 of the many reasons that I'm so grateful for him. So Joe, this if for you:

1. As soon as we hear your truck pull into the driveway in the evening, Ezzy and I perk up. It's definitely our favorite part of the evening. Ez stops to listen which door is going to open, and then goes off running to greet you. Warms my heart every time. After working a long day, you walk through the door right at witching hour, when I'm trying to get dinner ready and Ezzy is in full-on fuss mode because he wants more attention than he's getting, and you immediately transition to dad mode without taking any time to yourself to wind down. You and Ez rough house and chat about your days while I get some peace and quiet to get things done.

2. You're constantly looking for the best opportunities for our family, whether that's buying us a house, researching the best school districts for Ez, or searching for better jobs for yourself. I love that you're always looking out for us and planning for a better future. 

3. You plan family outings or getaways for our family on a weekly basis. I know a lot of women complain that men don't plan dates, but I feel like in our relationship I'm the one who slacks on planning and you're always coming up with fun ideas for places to explore and overnight trips to take. We've created so many cherished family memories, and a lot of that is thanks to your ideas and plans for us.

4. You always stress that our family is a team, and you place equal importance on our roles outside the home, and inside the home respectively. I never feel like I get less of a "vote" in the family because I don't contribute financially, and that's a big deal to me, so thank you.

5. You are the best protector. Ez and I always feel completely safe when you're around. Whether you're checking the house in the middle of the night because we heard a creak, or your on bug patrol, killing whatever creepy insect wandered into our house, we can always rely on you to take care of us.

We love you!

This week I'm linking up with The Farmer's Wife for 

and The Good Life Blog, Carolina Charm, A. Liz Adventures, & Hello! Happiness for

5 Signs That You're in Toddlerville

Last night, after Ez went to bed, Joe and I were lying awake talking about this new place we've found ourselves in: Toddlerville. We started joking about how we'd rate it on Yelp, if we could. 

1. Toddlerville is full of little hoodlums. Any toy you've ever bought can and will be used against you. As a weapon. For some reason Ez has gotten into a fun new pre-bed routine when he's tired but still fighting sleep so he decides to start launching everything he can get his hands on at our heads. And he does it with a mischievous smile, that lets you know he knows he's doing something bad. I believe parenting books call this "testing the boundaries." But most people in the real world would call this bullying. Or being a jerk. 

2. I already mentioned that toys are weapons in Toddlerville, but it should also be mentioned that Toddlerville is basically built out of toys. Toys definitely seem to be the roadways of our house, anyway. Here's a picture of my kitchen floor right now, which is pretty standard if we remove the barricade (our ottoman) for a few minutes:

3. Toddlerville is a place where pooh defies gravity. Joe spent a lot of time dwelling on this one last night. How does pooh climb up a back? It just seems like it defies physics.

4. Clearly this Yelp review isn't looking too good for Toddlerville. I'd say we're at about 1 star. (Having a toy car launched at your head will remove a lot of stars real fast.) But the amazing thing about Toddlerville is that a little thing like an impromptu dance party or a smile (of the non-mischeivous, not plotting-harm-against-you variety) can completely wipe the slate clean. I can't even count all the nights when we've finally gotten Ez to sleep, and then we spend our free time looking at pictures of him and contemplating if we should maybe wake him up for just one more snuggle.

5. The learning curve in Toddlerville is pretty astounding. No day in Toddlerville ever looks the same, because Ez is just changing so fast these days. One day he's crying in frustration because he can't make his puzzle piece fit, and the next day he's mastered the puzzle. And the words are starting to come. Real words. Not only ones that start with "B" - this makes Toddlerville a very exciting place.

Final Yelp review for Toddlerville? 5 stars - just like every other stage Ez has gone through. Though this stage is definitely not for the faint-hearted, and is much more challenging than the newborn phase, it's also so fun, and much funnier. That kid cracks me up every day. And watching your kid figuring things out and learning how this world works is one of the most rewarding parenting experiences, if not the most rewarding.

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife for the Oh Hey, Friday series!

Oh Hey Friday: DIY Projects

TGIF and yay for 3-day weekends! I hear some people are getting 4-day weekends...lucky you if you fall into that category! 

We don't really have any grand plans. We do have a lot of home and garden projects to cross off our list though.

1. Garden Inspiration: One of our main to-dos this weekend is to rent a rototiller from Home Depot and get our garden ready for planting. I'm envisioning lots of walkways, a little patch of grass for Ezzy to play on, lots of hearty, easy-to-grow plants, and a few raised beds for veggies. That sounds like a lot for someone who has never gardened before! Here are a few of my inspiration pics for our garden:

2. Storytime: Remember how earlier this week, I mentioned we were going to the library to stock up on new books because I was sick of Peter Rabbit on repeat? We pick out half a dozen new books, come home, and what does Ezzy choose to read? That's right. Peter Rabbit. I will admit the last page is pretty sweet (see below), especially because every time I read "Peter's mother wants to hug, safe at home, warm and snug," Ezzy lays his head on my lap and hugs my leg. I'm all for anything that gets me extra cuddles. I tried to call Joe in to witness it, but of course once Joe was there, Ezzy just stared at me like I was crazy when I read that line. So then I thought, maybe I needed to start from the beginning. I read the whole book start to finish, get to the last line, and Ezzy gives Joe a look like "she's crazy" then runs out of the room. So yeah, you'll just have to take my word for it!

3. Painting. Currently one of the walls in our hallway is just drywall, so we picked up some paint and are planning to spruce it up this weekend. I've never painted anything before (well, besides paper or canvas for art projects), so this is pretty exciting to me. I have a feeling I will want to paint everything once I get started. Here's some of my inspiration for the hallway (I like the color of the first picture, but the functionality and simplicity of the hooks in the second pic):

4. Hats. I've developed a bit of an obsession with hats lately. Specifically men's caps. Perfect for sun protection & hiding unwashed hair. Here are ones I've scooped up this summer:

1. Floral 2. Faux Leather 3. Gray & Black Woolblend 

5. More DIY: If the wall paint job goes well, I'd like to revamp a thrift store bookshelf we bought awhile back. Something along these lines:

I'm loving this Oh Hey Friday linkup. My mind is pretty random and unfocused by Friday (especially after a sleepless week like the one we just had), so this is perfect! Head over to The Farmer's Wife to check out Amy's post, and all the other links.

Favorite 15 Month Toddler Activities

Ezzy's idea of fun is constantly changing (just like everything else about a toddler!). I remember at the beginning of summer we went to a splash park, and he was so tentative, holding my hand the entire time and not wanting to get soaked. When we went today, he was running through the water, shrieking like a little madman, falling on his face, getting right back up, giggling hysterically, and chasing after the other kids.

Now that he's a little lightening bolt of energy, and getting into everything is pretty much his favorite pastime, we've had to put more effort into channeling his energy into less destructive activities. Here are five of Ez's faves:

1. Cars. I keep all his toy cars in a separate basket that I put away and bring down when I need a few moments without a child under my feet. Works like a charm every time. Well, until he decides that we need to race or crash cars together. Since we've recently moved, I saved one of the boxes, (because everyone knows kids love boxes more than toys), and every now and then we like to set it up as a car/Ezzy tunnel. He loves chasing the cars through the box, or he'll sit inside the box and I'll roll the cars across the top and they'll come crashing down next to him. For some reason that really cracks him up.  (Sorry for the blurry picture - there's a lot of movement involved in chasing cars, so this is the least blurry of the bunch.)

2. Collecting leaves. Or really any little bits of nature he can find. The picture below was taken at a park, but was he playing on the playground? Nope. He was nature exploring. That's my boy! I still marvel at how few toys Ezzy needs to be entertained. (Of course that doesn't stop anyone from buying him tons of fun toys.)

3. Yardwork. I'm sure this will only last until we actually want him to pull weeds or mow the lawn. Ezzy's name means "helper" and so far it really suits him. He always wants to join in and help Joe and I with whatever we're doing. I'm actually a little teeny tiny bit worried that once we plant stuff we actually want to grow he's gonna "weed" it all out. He's very thorough with his work.

4. Dance parties. Lately the music channel has taken priority over cartoons. Ezzy loves Taylor Swift. And apparently Lil John too. And he's added a few new moves to his repertoire, like twirling:

5. Basketball. I went to Toys R Us for some sidewalk chalk, and came out with this Little Tykes basketball hoop. I know I said the boy's happy with non-toys, but it was on sale for $30! We'd been scoping them out for awhile, and so far the cheapest we'd seen was $45. And Ezzy loves to throw his ball into anything that resembles a basket. Toy box? Of course! Grocery bag? (with eggs in it!) Sure, why not? Toilet? Yeah, I had to block that one. Sorry, Ez. And, as you can see below, he's clearly a natural:

So that's pretty much what our days are looking like round here. Any favorite toddler activity recommendations we should try out?

Linking up with Amy for Oh Hey, Friday!

Oh Hey, Friday

Linking up with Amy!

I don't know about you, but this week has felt long. Since I stay at home, my comprehension of what day of the week it is is pretty low on a normal week, but this week it's felt like it should have been Friday for the past three days. I have just enough brain power left for a completely random blog post.

1. Sleep.
I've written a few posts about our sleep struggles, and let's just say that between vacation and moving, our bedtime/naptime routine has been non-existent around here. We're really working hard on establishing a routine, and if all goes well I'll share that later (we've been referring to this article a lot: Helping Your Toddler Learn to Put Himself to Sleep). For now I'll just say that we skipped one nap earlier this week, and when it looked like we were going to skip another one on Wednesday I got a little desperate and decided to pack us up in the car and drive Ezzy around till he fell asleep. My sanity was kinda hanging on by a thread, so I decided to make the best of the situation and get me a little Starbuck's energy/mood pick-me-up from the drive-thru, conveniently located right around the corner from our house. I ordered my venti iced green tea (extra ice please), get to the window, and realize I didn't even bring my purse with me in my haste to get Ez in the car and napping. Whoops. Pretty sure I looked every bit the disheveled, frazzled mom that I was to the young guy at the drive-thru window.

2. Closets.
My Pinterest boards have been filling up with home-related stuff lately. My current obsession though? Closets! This is the first time in my life I've had more than enough room for all my stuff in my closet. I've even got my dresser in there. Planning on hanging a full-length mirror and my Johnny Depp poster in there too. Home tour pictures will come later, in the meantime, here are a few of my inspiration pics:

Clearly I'm a sucker for color coordination and shelving!

3. Backyard.

Who needs a park when you've got a backyard?? Of course we'll still be making park trips for variety and interaction, but for the past two weeks Ez and I have been house-bound for various reasons. Either because we had to be home to let the a/c guys, or the gate guys in to work on the house, or because we keep forgetting Ez's carseat in Joe's truck. Thankfully we actually have a yard now, so Ezzy can still run off some of his energy. His favorite outdoor activities: chasing his giant yellow ball around, and splashing in his little wading pool:

Unfortunately, all this backyard exploring brings me to #4:

4. Scars.

Yesterday afternoon was brutally hot. In other words, it was the perfect day for some wading pool splashing. Everything was going great. Ezzy was splashing like a champ, surrounded by his toys, and giggling up a storm. Then he spots his ball on the other side of the yard. He climbs out of his pool, takes exactly two steps onto the sun-baked cement, and then turns around screaming. I cooled his poor little feet off in the pool, retrieved his ball, and all was well in his world again until he threw the ball across the patio, started to chase after it, and almost immediately face-planted on the cement. Hard. I picked him up to cuddle him, and realized there was also a poo explosion creeping up his back. Times...

5. Smart phones.

My Samsung went on the fritz this week, which was frustrating for a day, and then exciting, because truthfully I hated that phone, and I hated Sprint and this was my chance for a clean break. Now I have an iphone 5s through AT&T with no contract, and so far I'm very happy. That being said, I'm contemplating a break from smart phones this weekend, and hoping Joe will join me. Anyone else feeling a little too dependent on their phones? I'm not talking about cutting off communication altogether, but just using the phone as a phone (for calls & texts) - and maybe a camera too, but no social media, no mindlessly scrolling through news sites, etc, etc. Check out this blog post, and this one, for more inspiration if you're feeling the same burnt out smart phone dependence that I am.

Happy Friday everyone!