THE NEXT SKATE CHAMP

I think C Monster started showing interest in skateboarding around 18 month.  He had an old board that he found on the side of the road that gave up last summer.  We had been talking about getting him a board ever since so a few weeks ago off we went to Hogtown Extreme Sport and got him geared up.

We got him a helmet, pads and a mini board. The pads I have to are really nice. We had bought him some pads from sellers for about 20$ a few years ago and those look like junk compared to these. They are from Little Tricky and cost about $35. Worth every penny.

For those of you who do not know what a mini board is. The board is approximately 28x7.5" instead of approximately 32x8" everything else is the same as a regular board.  This makes them a much better size for little kids to handle and learn on.

The board he selected is by Golden Dragon this is a good starter board as it's pretty well made but is cost effective at right around 100$.

After only a few times out on the board we realized that getting him to place his feet above the trucks was going to be much easier if the screws were not the same colour as the grip tape, so we changed the screws to coloured ones he selected pink, orange, green and blue.

As I am writing this the C Monster is playing on his board right beside me while waiting for papa to be ready to bring him to the skate park. He seems to be really getting into this and we go out about 3 times a week right now if not more.

He has mastered getting on and off.  He has pretty good kick turns considering he is 4 and is currently working on learning how to push off with no assitance.

C IS FOR COOKIE

I wanted to share these awesome cookies that Geoff made with C Monster a little while back.  The recipe comes from "Kitchen for Kids" However I am pretty certain you could make them with almost any cookie cutter style recipe.  You want the dough to be dense, but other then that it should work.

To make the letters you basically roll the dough out into a snake then shape them in the letters you want.  After they are cooked, you paint them with icing (icing sugar, gel icing color and a tiny bit of milk).

I thought this was a great idea and not only did C Monster get to do some baking, he also practised spelling his name.

Cupcakes and Snow

Cupcakes are iced decorated and ready for C Monster's birthday tomorrow...















See I told you - you wanted to check in to see them. If you want to make your own here is how:

CAT:
eyes - mini m&m
nose - cinnamon heart
whiskers - liquorish
ears - sour grapefruits

PIG:
eyes: mini m&m
nose: pink chocolate with white frosting
ears: wafer cookies cut in triangles

CHICKEN:
head piece: swedish berry cut in 4
eyes: m&m
nose: sour grapefruit with small slice cut out

BUNNY:
eyes: mini m&m
nose: mini m&m
whiskers: chocolate sprinkles
ears: marshmallow cut in half diagonally then dipped in pink sugar crystals

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow

It's been snowing on and off now all week I love it. We barely had any snow this year and as C monster puts it "more sno". We made it out to play in the snow this afternoon; I really want to make an effort to get out with him everyday while the snow is still here and not too slushy because as fast as it came it will go even faster.

There are so many way C Monster can learn while playing in the snow:

• we count snow balls
• make snowmen
• draw in the snow with sticks
• experience the sensation of cold
• talk about how snow sticks to some things and not to others
• experience how ice is slippery
• look at foot and had prints (or animal prints when we are really lucky)
  

The exercise you get is also insane, C Monster helps perfect is walking and running skills as everything is harder to do in a snowsuit.

I want to try an art activity with him this weekend - you take a spray bottle and fill it with food coloring and water (or paint and water); then you spray the snow outside with the colours. It's best if you can have a few bottles with a few different colours. It will make a great little piece of art and at the same time you can talk about colours with your toddler.