Unwind Outside

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Happy New Year! We took advantage of an unseasonably warm January day to get outside… This simply activity felt magical with a baby who was born just before the weather turned cold, and hasn’t had many opportunities yet simply to be outside.

As long as it’s relatively warm and dry, head outside and let your baby nap in the fresh air. The air and sunshine will feel so wonderful, even as they doze!

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After a little while, Veronika woke up. I laid down a thick picnic blanket, and put her on her back under a tree.

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Even with no leaves, the pattern of the branches against the bright blue sky was just gorgeous. We took a great pause together, and I pointed out colors (blue sky, brown branches) and let her feel blades of grass.

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A beautiful pause in our afternoon.

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Edible Constellations

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Travis and I put together this super smart snack on the heels of fun starry night exploration. Your kids get a sweet treat plus an astrology lesson – a win-win!

Using Dandies mini marshmallows and pretzel sticks, we mapped out what the Big Dipper would look like. Attach 1 marshmallow to the end of a pretzel stick for each star.

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Repeat three times to make a square.

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Stick a fourth “star” into the marshmallow at the upper right corner to begin the Dipper’s tail.

Break a pretzel stick in half, and add two smaller pieces of pretzel + marshamllow to complete the constellation.

Travis watched as I tested out a couple of others, too, including Cassiopeia (the Queen)…

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… and Cepheus (the King). These didn’t last long before they were gobbled up!

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I noticed he wasn’t eating the Big Dipper, and asked if he wanted more of his snack. He said he didn’t want to ruin our constellation!

If your kids want to get even more creative, test out Cygnus (the Swan) or Canis Major, too.

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Travis wanted to know if we could make Orion (which he calls Bow Hunter), next, and I was so proud he remembered that constellation without any prompting.

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Happy snacking!