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Cary Family Photographer | Rebecca Keller Photography
Article by Ericka of Little Apple Styles
If the temperature is less than my age, I do not get out of bed – Ellen
If we have met in real life, you would notice I have a strong southern accent. That is of the South American kind. I am originally from Peru and moved to the United States when I was 24 years old. Why am I telling you this? So you can understand why I am not into cold weather AT ALL. You will also understand how I prefer to go into hibernation mode as soon as the weather falls under the 30s. And if it happens to snow – wow, MINDBLOWN! Antarctica called… They want their weather back.
Unfortunately for me, hibernation and a very active 3 year old are a terrible combination. Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse under my blanket with a cup of hot chocolate sounds like a wonderful idea. However, we have a no TV policy at home – so I am “forced” to find ways to keep the littlest entertained inside a heated building and without electronics being involved. I obviously love challenges!
One cold morning in January, I woke up with the brilliant idea to fight cold weather boredom with a budget of $5. Right away my Starbucks Grande latte was off the list. The morning was off to a bad start! Surprisingly, I was able to manage five great activities with my three-nager. I can proudly report we had so much fun!
We started our morning with a breakfast picnic. We put a blanket in the middle of the playroom and had breakfast with Ethan’s favorite stuffed animals. We also invited his sister’s stuffed animals and talked about what were their favorite things to do. He is normally a boy of few words, but he was rambling all the things he thought his toys liked to do. So adorable!
When we were done with breakfast we started playing UNO
After a couple of UNO rounds, we moved into our most favorite balloon game – Do not let the balloon touch the floor (I wonder if this game has an official name?) We add a little twist though – we closed down the blinds, playing with a glow in the dark balloon and turned the music up! These balloons just bring the giggle to both of my kids, especially Mr E! The balloons I use are called Illooms and I ordered them from Amazon but just learned they are also at Target and Walmart.
When we were done with our balloon party, we bundled up and headed to Petsmart. It is so funny yet refreshing to me. Kids can find joy in the little stuff for sure. We had a great time looking at the fish, the birds and the reptiles. Thankfully Ethan is not interested in bringing any animals home…yet! We walked around in there until is time to head to our last stop – the library!
We LOVE, love, love…love storytime at the library. We go to West Regional Library and try to attend Toddler Storytime whenever
I normally let Ethan pick a book to take home and head back for lunch driving the super long way – hoping he would fall asleep in the car. If he does, I detour to the closets coffee shop so I can finally use those $5 in my latte and enjoy it in my driveway while I scroll down my facebook newsfeed. Oh, the little things! haha!
Ericka Jimmerson is a busy mom of two who runs Little Apple Styles, photography + event styling. Contact her at littleapplestyles@gmail.com if you need help making your event picture perfect!
Rebecca Keller is a Cary Family Photographer featured in People Magazine who spends her time sipping iced coffee, chasing after her two little ones, reading, running, and editing.