New Toys.

Ellie's birthday a couple weeks ago led to some fun new toys in our house, but one of my favorites was Squigz.  I had never heard of them, but check these things out.

The Squigz Starter 24 piece set is on Amazon.  Ellie used them to make a reindeer and to practice fine motor skills.  I was pretty surprised that there was such an awesome toy I'd never seen before, but they're pretty fun for the grown ups, too.

Ellie just got out her #squigz and told me "I made a reindeer!"

A photo posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Mar 14, 2015 at 3:05pm PDT

Ellie also loved another fine motor toy, which I've seen before from my kindergarten friends but I hadn't purchased yet.  These Magformers are another big hit in our house.

She loves these! #ellieturns4

A photo posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Mar 4, 2015 at 5:05pm PST

Fine motor skills have been the bane of Ellie's existence ever since she figured out how to walk, and her now consistently-worn glasses are making a big difference.

The day after Ellie's birthday was a snow day, which meant we stayed inside and did lots of crafts.

A garden, a pizza, the previously pictures starfish and scratch art. Not pictured: lots of stamping and more scratch art.

A photo posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Mar 5, 2015 at 8:45am PST

A few days later, we picked up the new glasses.  Ellie has worn this pair much more consistently than her first pair.  A few things helped this time around.  First of all, Ellie was willing to try on glasses, which led to a better fit.  Secondly, Ellie is much more aware that "glasses help to see!"

Despite the weekly photo yesterday featuring her very sad face in glasses, Ellie likes them and wears them fairly consistently.

#elliegetsglasses

A photo posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Mar 11, 2015 at 1:57pm PDT

And some more, just for fun...