Matthew's Favorite Apps

As you all know by now, Matthew is big into the latest technology. In fact, the "family iPad" is really "Matthew's - that mommy gets to occasionally use and daddy never gets to use and forget about Noah, because he's just a baby who would only try to chew it - iPad"

True story.

While I try to limit his time on it, the iPad does come in handy. It keeps him calm and quiet at times when I need him calm and quiet (like when I'm trying to get Noah to sleep or need to make an important call). And bonus, he's learning. He's learning letters, how to put together puzzles, songs, etc. So, after I put him to bed for the night and actually get to use the iPad in peace, I wind up in the App Store for hours on end finding new and exciting apps for him.

Currently, these are favorites:

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox:

Yes, it's a funny name, but it's a great learning tool for Matthew. It's only .99 cents and WELL worth more. It teaches letters, shapes and matching. As rewards, Matthew gets "stickers" that he gets a kick out of.

Jellytoons:

This one is great for shape recognition, counting and even fine motor skills (which we're working on with young Matthew!). This app is $1.99, but again, very much worth it.

Thomas The Train apps:

All of the Thomas book apps are great - there are puzzles, matching games, painting pages, songs and a read-aloud book with each one. Matthew's current favorite is Misty Island Rescue. These are a bit pricier at $4.99 each.

Hallmark apps:

The Hallmark apps for their read-along books are great - and FREE! Each one has a read-along story and a few games (the Jingle app has puzzles, a tree decorating activity and a Jingle-voiced xylophone). You can even record your own voice telling the story if you want to.

The puzzles in these apps are a little advanced for Matthew, but as he gets older, he'll get better - so it's great that he can "grow" with these apps.

There are a lot of puzzle books out there too that are great for toddlers (these were all .99 cents):


His #1, All Time Most Favorite app - a little something called A Monster At The End Of This Book.

If you have an iPad or iPhone this is a MUST have for toddlers. Funny, interactive and great for early readers. Best $3.99 I ever spent!

If you have any favorites, let me know - I'm always looking to build our app library!

Wordless Wednesday: Bouncy Fun

Sick Days

Both boys came down with a cold late last week, so I took some time off of work and kept them home for a few days. We spent most of Friday in our pajamas and just sort of hung out all day.
By Saturday morning the boys were feeling a little better and were playing nicely together.
And by together I mean Matthew was playing with his toy, Noah was playing with his toy, separately, but peacefully.
Then Noah attacked. Playfully of course, but still, he saw what he wanted and went for it.
So I pulled him aside and introduced him to the train table. Problem solved.
And I went back to watching Elf.
The End.

Something to look forward to...

Next summer - Madagascar 3 comes out. Matthew will lose his mind!

Wordless Wednesday: Noah's New Haircut

Weekend Fun

We had a busy but fun weekend. Saturday was Maryann's 2nd birthday party. Matthew got to play with a whole lot of girlie toys at his best pal's house. And these reindeer antlers.
He also got a cool cowboy hat (that went along with the Toy Story theme).
Sunday we went to visit my good friend Julie in Brooklyn. We took a walk to the botanical gardens - on the way, Matthew told her his whole life story.
The first order of business at the gardens was lunch. Because Noah's tummy waits for no one.
Noah also made sure to give Julie his life story too. His was a bit shorter than Matthew's.
And while Julie and Noah chatted, Matthew relaxed.

Then he took us on a tour of the gardens.
He pointed out important plants.
And posed for cheesy pictures.
Noah was bored out of his mind the entire time.
And that about sums it up. :-)

Deck the Halls

Our decorating has begun. We have about 99% of the outside lights up.
We still need to make a few finishing touches, but things are looking good.
Our tree is up. Matthew was quite excited to put up the ornaments this year.
And while "gentle" isn't a word usually used to describe Matthew, he made sure to be VERY careful putting the ornaments on. So much so that I had to follow his every move and push the ornaments on each branch so that they didn't fall off.
While he pondered the exact places to put up his favorites...Noah came sniffing around.
He here is giving me the "Hey mom, I was so NOT going to touch anything" look.
Noah was quite nosy.
And he directed Matthew as to the best places to put the ornaments - you know, within arm's reach.
So when Matthew turned his back, I moved all the ornaments up a branch or two.
We have a few new ones this year.
And while there are a million pins on Pinterest on how to take a good picture of your tree, I obviously did not get the memo. But, good enough for now.
More to come!