A tip for gingerbread houses is to use melted white chocolate to build the house then use the icing to decorate......the white chocolate hardens quicker and keeps the house intact better 😊
Try putting some toys away and every month rotate out the toys so things are new to your son. I know daycare centers rotate their toys and activities every few months. Some families put like toys in bins and only get one out at a time to keep clean up easier. Can't take out another bin until you put one away. Do what works best for you and your family. I know of a family who have stayed at give kids the world village. Two of their children are considered terminal and have been granted trips to that village. That was neat to see what it looks like at Christmas.
Blues Clues was my daughter's favorite.. over 20 years ago. Recently my granddaughter has started showing an interest. Definitely a full circle moment. 💖
Some tips with gingerbread house kits and the like: (1) Decorate the walls and roof panels first while they are flat. Let the icing harden, then assemble the house. (2) If icing bag breaks/leaks, use a heavy duty zip bag and make another icing bag. Just squeeze the icing from the broken bag into the zip bag. Only catch is that you can't easily change the tips. You can use two zip bags and divide the icing for the two tips.
Oh my goodness! I know people who write songs for Fisher Price! Their headquarters are in my husband's hometown in East Aurora, NY! It's maybe the cutest and most quaint village around. Definitely one for the bucket list! They have a Five and Dime shop that's pretty well known too (Vidler's)!
I would recommend having a tote and rotating toys. He will love playing with different toys each week. We rotate the ones in their room and the family room every so often and they would think they got new toys.
Hi, Tim and Jen. My 16 yr old special needs son has been following you two (3) for the past year or so. He looks forward to your posts daily. This Christmas we bought him a GoPro 7 camera so he can now make his own videos😊. We love the attention you’ve given Give Kids the World and we want to share another Central Florida non-profit organization that is worth highlighting. It is called Spirit Horse at Windermere Equestrian Center. They offer therapeutic riding for special kids. Thanks for everything you do!!!
LOL each time they were like “i think we did pretty good on our gingerbread hou- oh man all the lights are falling down” *2 seconds later* “i think we did a pretty great job on the- oh my, look, the window is coming off.” I dont blame them, gingerbread houses are so hard haha!
Its hard because the grandparents always want to give so much! You could always rotate the toys out. Put some away for when he's bored or he just needs a little new entertainment or for a rainy day! Glad to see Tim's family back!
Yup I do the same my 1 yr old had soooo much Christmas gifts so now I just give him the other half during New Year’s Day, my birthday, Valentine’s Day, Easter etc
I might be hallucinating but I seem to remember the J in his Jackson puzzle in an unusual spot in your last video. Like it was in a box of something else. You should check that video if you haven’t found it yet!
I wish that any kid I've known would have the childhood that Jackson will enjoy. He's has parents who will enjoy ensuring that it will be the best possible experience.
Jenn loving the hair. Jackson is not old enough yet but when my son got old enough to comprehend, when he got a new toy he had to pick an old toy to give away. It couldn't be broken or junky. We would put them aside and when we got enough take them to the women's shelter where he would give them to the kids himself. It taught him so much and as he got older he actually enjoyed picking out which toys would go.
Happy 2nd Christmas! Lovely to see Tim's family again. Don't wait on that bubble mower age. I gave it to my nephew when he was about 15 months and it was perfect. He loves it
Omg.. I love this baby. What a huge amount of joy this brings me! Thank you, Jen....for sharing your family. Tim dancing to fisher price made me howl with happiness/laughter. While I realize it’s weird to love a baby I don’t know… You know the drill… I’ve been following you and feel like family even though I know we are not… I adore you guys… I got a Tim tracker T-shirt for Christmas and it was one of my very favorite gifts! From your fans in Oregon… Visit anytime LOL… But seriously do.
I always rent a scooter when I come out, as I can't walk around the parks. Most companies will deliver them to your villa too (and pick them up), so it's really convenient! They've been a Godsend for me tbh.
So glad to see Jackson got the VTech dump truck!! That was my now four year old’s favorite toy at that age! It was fantastic for development. All the VTech toys are, but that one has a special place in my heart ❤️
I think Give Kids the World is a fantastic charity spreading happiness to those who need it most. Nice to see you with family again. I remember the videos when your oldest neice was born!
Love your hair Jenn! Jackson will love his bubble mower. I’m so happy for y’all to be able to see family. My son is five and adores his older cousins. Not seeing them has been one of the challenges of this crazy time. Yay for developing bonds between the cousins!
Hi Tim and Jen! Read about toy rotation, I have a friend who has tried it and it helps with the overwhelming amount of kids toys. Also have different toy stations around the house for him to use
"Fisher Price writes some bops!" -Tim. You said in the last video that you wouldn't lose a piece of the puzzle, it happened haha. You two look so fancy in your get up for brunch and outing at the Christmas lights. Merry second Christmas and soon a very happy new years 😊
I think the chocolate house looks great. Jackson is such a lucky little boy to have the family that he does. It makes me so happy that he’s so loved. ❤️😊
Tim is wearing the same green GKTW shirt that I’m wearing right now! I’m glad you guys got to witness it again, I loved volunteering there the times I did. truly a very magical thing they’re doing 💚
My nephew got the Blues Clues notebook too. he is the same age as Jackson. he LOVES Blues Clues! I'm sure Jackson would love it as well! He walks around the house with it, like an adult does with cellphones lol. He loves playing with it!
What wonderful memories! This reminds me of my Mom on the scooter at Disney 😍Yes, we did save toys that our kiddos got for Christmas for later dates due to the age suggestions. They loved getting all the new things! Great gifts! Such super fun things to hold a toddler's attention for like 5 seconds 🤣🤣
I had Blue's Clues growing up on sick day. I've shown the new one to my 1year old, and she loves it. This year's Christmas episode had all 3of the previous hosts, awesome! I love your chocolate house, Jenn did great piping, with a broken bag too! Thanks for sharing your family time. We got a lot of gifts for baby's Christmas too... Definitely a slow roll out
Thank you for your videos of Give Kids the World. We were down Christmas week and really wanted to go but they were sold out (which is great for them). I'm so glad to hear they are going to re-open. My best friend's daughter has since passed, but when she was nine they had the chance to stay at Give Kids the World and my friend has such nice memories of their family's time there. Thank you for supporting them and sharing with others the great things they do. Happy New Year to you guys!
Get three or four big boxes, put a mixed selection of toys in each one then rotate them every few weeks. It will be like Jackson has new toys each time you swap over!
Yes Jen, save those toys, even if they’re doubles. You can either return items or keep them to regift or as prizes for birthday party games. Or give toys through out the year. Lol I’ve gone through this so often when the kids were toddlers.
You just caught our villa we stayed in at gives kids the world at the end of your walk around all decked out in blue lights - I too am so happy GKTW is re-opening for families to return we stayed Oct 2019 and are so thankful for our stay & the experience it gave us at Disney we’re from the UK so it really was a once in lifetime trip for us made even more special by give kids
We do gingerbread houses every year but we buy extra candy to put on and we make our own royal icing. Royal icing hardens very fast and holds really strong. (Its powdered sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar or lemon juice) I hope you give it a try next time :)
I’ve never heard of parents saving toys for their kids. Is this a new concept? Will Tim’s family get mad you’re putting some away? Good job on the gingerbread house!
Hi Tims family lovely to see you all spend time. And go grandma on your scooter! Jackson getting spoilt why not he so deserves it my kids always had loads growing up too much but it cant be helped. And yes blue clues my children loved. sending love from Ireland 🇮🇪
Love building gingerbread houses! I had the same issues with our house and i found putting it in the freezer to help it harden faster before starting the decorating 😉 but hey it turned out great!! And gotta love 2nd christmas!! But holding some back is a great idea! My sons birthday is 2 days before christmas and we do exactly that with all the present overload from that and the holidays especially to help save your sanity haha. But you could always give him a few to play with and then every once in a while get him a new toy out 😉
Merry Christmas. We use extra candy we have around the house for our gingerbread house and it never looks as good as the box,.you guys did a great job.
Great vlog. Loved the Hershey's house! I think you guys did great, especially since the bag got a hole in it. So cool to see you were able to get together with family. Jackson's holiday haul is intense, so it seems appropriate that you would separate out some of the gifts for introducing throughout the year.
Tim & Jen, get some plastic storage trunks/boxes and split his toys into different boxes. Then vary the box he has to play with every few days/week. That way he always has different toys without being overwhelmed.
Such a lovely vlog ! We missed our long awaited Disney holiday ( were from 🇬🇧 UK ) fir obvious reasons - so these vlogs when you go to Disney are wonderful to watch
We change the toys every 3 to 4 weeks. You do like 3 or 4 batch of toys and rotate from one batch to the other. It's like they have something new every three to 4 weeks. so like this the baby don't get bored with his toys.
I think you guys did an AWESOME job on the chocolate house - looks good - and i like that you did it together!! Brunch looked delicious. Golden Oak is definitely livin' the life. Jackson looked SO cute in this outfit at GKTW, with his suspenders!! So cool to see Tim's Mom, glad she had the ECV to make it more enjoyable and comfortable for her. Wow -= Jackson made out like a bandit!! Socially distanced hugs to both of you, and the ADORABLE Elvis, and Crosby. Stay strong, stay positive, stay healthy! !
I just have to say that your Christmas tree is absolutely beautiful! I love the blue. I am so glad you all had a nice holiday. Have a Happy New Year and thank you for sharing with us.
Haven't been able to celebrate Christmas with my kids, I co parent with my ex wife, and my current wife has covid 9 months pregnant, and we've been in quarantine. Won't have Christmas until they can be with us. This brings some joy until then..
Hey guys. A tip from a baker...decorate your walls and roof before assembly. Let it harden and then put your walls up. It will stop things from sliding and give you more control. Assemble together using caramelized sugar it hardens quickly and holds strong.
Keep some toys set aside and when something breaks, or he grows out of it replace it with a new one. We also used to donate new unopened toys to local community services. Too much at once is for sure overstimulation, so store and rotate always worked! Happy Holidays to the Tracker family and Healthy Hopeful 2021 ahead for all!
The last time we visited from the UK we used Orlando Medical for a rental of a wheel chair for my Mom and they were great, we visited their offices to collect it because we weren't sure which one we were going to get but they collected from our condo at the end of our stay, highly recommended. It made life so much simpler for us and my mom!
Y’all should check out Camp Barnabas as an organization to highlight. They offer a summer camp experience for those with special needs in southwest Missouri. An awesome organization!!
Jackson is a loved little dude! We did that with our littles! We would just put away a few things and when they got bored with the stuff they had we would pull out new stuff and donate or put away the other stuff, so that it could be pulled out later and just rotate it. Keeps them interested and fresh.
Tips for future: 1) Decorate First! Makes it cleaner and more enjoyable 2) if you are not going to eat the house, use a hot glue gun to assemble house 3) if you want to eat the house, let the icing slightly dry before building the house 4) start with the front and a side and allow to harden 5) add other side 6) add back 7) add roof 8) enjoy!
I had a hole in the exact same type of bag. It was a Target gingerbread treehouse. Ours actually did solidify pretty quickly though. We visited GKTW twice this season and it was amazing!
We used to hide some toys and cycle them In and out as our kids (now 20 and 18) got bored or grumpy. Also we would hide all the noisy electronic toys and bring them out AFTER I had my coffee.
Love the chocolate house! Good enough to eat! And nice to see Tim's family. Is Jen's family around? It would be nice to hear about them too. Give that gorgeous little Jackson a big New Year's smooch for me!
Jackson is cutie🙂. He's walking so good now. I think you and Jenn did a great job putting the gingerbread house together. It's messy putting them together but that's part of the fun Happy New Year to you Jenn and the cutest baby ever..Jackson.🥰🥳
Even though your Hershey Chocolate House wasn't perfect, you had fun doing it and we had fun watching you.Thank you for another fun vlog, and all the ones In 2020.All of you got us through some not so great days.Here is to 2021, love , luck and happiness.Happy New Year♥️
As he gets older switch out the smaller baby toys for the older ones. The year of the transition from one to two it’s crazy how much they grow! He’s one loves little boy!
