All Wrapped Up!

I first learned about babywearing when I was at the end of my pregnancy. After, lots of research I was amazed to find that there are many benefits to wearing your baby. I didn't get around to buying a ring sling until W was 4 months old. I'm a little upset that I didn't get a wrap sooner. W was happier when we had to run errands, go on walks and when I had to do household chores. He was seeing the world from a whole new perspective. He was close to his mommy, not laying down in a baby seat staring at the ceiling. I think our society gets caught up in what a baby needs...crib, swing, bouncy seat, bumbo, high chair, jumperoo, stroller etc. YOUR BABY NEEDS YOU!!

Here are two links that discuss the benefits of babywearing
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/fussy-baby/baby-wearing/benefits-babywearing
http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbnovdec04p204.html

To this day, I still wear W and he loves it! Every afternoon, we go for a walk. He usually walks for a few minutes then he is in the ring sling for the rest of the walk. We talk about what we see, hear and smell (there is a bakery down the street that makes homemade donuts, yum!). "I see a bird, tweet, tweet. Do you see the bird?".

Who else uses a baby wrap? What type? I've been thinking about switching to a more toddler friendly wrap, maybe a Girasol or Ergo. Anyone have any suggestions?

W's 1st Field Trip

We have been doing an art project everyday even if it's just something simple. I really enjoy handprint and footprint artwork. I love to look back on past artwork to see how much his little hands have grown.Handprint and Footprint artwork doesn't have to be boring. Get creative! My favorite blog for this type of art is http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/. This blog is fantastic! Tons of ideas.

On this particular day, I decided to make the day all about fish! We started off the morning with reading   "One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish" by Dr. Seuss. Love, love, love all books by Dr. Seuss! After reading the book, W made hand print fish.

Later in the morning, we went to the pet store. This pet store has tons of animals. Dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, ducks, chickens, rabbits, reptiles, birds, fish and I'm sure much more that I didn't mention. W had so much fun walking around the store, pointing to each animal and making animal noises (more like listening to Mommy make the animal noises). I'm sure we were a very interesting bunch to the staff working that day.

Once we finally broke away from the cute and cuddly puppies, W picked out two feisty little goldfish and some cute fish toys. I'm such an animal lover, it's surprising that we didn't come home with more than just two fish!!! Since our day was all about fish, we spent some time making fish lips at the fish bowl and each other. We had salmon for dinner then we watched Nemo.

This was such a great 1st field trip! I think that our next field trip will be to the Zoo. Keep an eye out for that post!

Cool Whip Finger Painting

This morning, my wonderful mama came over to watch W while I had some me time at a local spa. I thoroughly enjoyed my time alone but I missed my little guy. While my hair was baking (the pain women go through for beauty), I was brainstorming an activity W could do. A few months ago, a mom commented saying that she had done cool whip finger painting and that her baby loved it! Seemed easy enough! 

I put a few drops of food coloring in 1/2 tub of cool whip (I decided 1/2 was plenty on the off chance he decided it was delicious and was going to eat it all) which by the way, if you were wondering, he did! I shouldn't be surprised.

"Yum"

"What color is the cool whip?" I talked to W about the color blue and other things that are blue. I talked to W about the temperature of the cool whip saying "cold".

"Are you ready to get cleaned up?" I feel like he actually understands what I'm saying. 

If I ever do this activity again, I will be sure to use sugar free cool whip.W had a sugar rush afterwards. Luckily, it wasn't raining and we could play outside. Happy May Day!

Mommy & Baby Yoga

I LOVE YOGA! Always have, always will! It's relaxing and energizing at the same time. Every morning, I do a few poses to greet the day. W amazes me everyday. He is extremely observant. He must be watching mommy each morning during yoga time because now when the yoga mat comes out he tries to poses too! 

Abc's of Yoga. Thought this was cute!

Downward dog. "What sound does a dog make? Woof, woof".

Spinal twist! Go W!

Chair...well kind of. "Toes".

Cat pose. "What sound does a cat make? Meow, meow, meow".

The link below is a site of 10 benefits of yoga for children.

http://www.positivelypositive.com/2012/09/24/giving-kids-the-gift-of-yoga-top-10-benefits-of-yoga-for-children/

Inspiration & Sidewalk Chalk Paint

I have to admit that I was a little discouraged about blogging...always wondering "Is anyone out there reading?". Last night, for no reason I decided to look at AEIOU Mommy and I had a new comment!!! I was thrilled and inspired! Many new posts to come...and hopefully more comments.

Spring is finally here! We were able to get outside, breath fresh air and feel the sun on our skin. Boy has it been a very long winter! I don't enjoy being cooped up inside. I wanted to try out a new activity. Homemade sidewalk chalk paint. I have slowly been converting to homemade, natural and fresh in our household. (More to come on that note later) I've become very worrisome what is going into W's tiny body... especially during art time. He has been known to eat globs of paint. That's why I like homemade...if he eats some it's not a big deal. Plus, the recipe is super simple!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup water

food coloring

Stir until combined. Easy peasy lemon squeezey!

I gave W a paintbrush for each color. I was surprised that he was actually using the paintbrushes. He is usually more "hands in" when it comes to art.

We talked about the different colors that he was painting with.

He did try to drink it...but I didn't stress as much as I normally would if it was store bought paint. 

We will most certainly be doing this activity again. It was tons of fun! Plus, not much clean-up. Outside art is the best! FYI: It did take a few rain showers to completely wash away. I didn't mind looking at his beautiful artwork for a few days though.

Jello Play

I wanted to make a sensory bin with a texture that W has yet to experience. J-E-L-L-O (singing the song in my head :) ). I made sugar free strawberry jello, dumped it in a container then stuck a few shape blocks in. A few hours later, we were ready to get messy!

He's also so happy to do our daily activities!

He kept poking the jello. He was confused why his blocks were stuck. I talked to him about the color of the jello and how it was jiggly.

"Mmmmm". He managed to get a block out and eat some jello. I talked to W about the shapes of the blocks. "Circle, triangle, cross, star".

He didn't want to miss any jello. His faces made me want to fall out on the floor laughing!

Another funny face.

After, he threw all of the shapes on the floor, it was time to explore the jello. 

Well, this was by far the messiest activity I have ever done with W. It was worth it for all of those funny faces!

FYI: The jello stained his skin but with a good soak in the bath, W was back to his normal color.

Bath Time Activities

Tired of the same old rubber duckie for bath time? Try out these W approved bath time activities.

Shaving Cream Bathtub Paint
I mixed shaving cream with food coloring and then put all of the different colors in a cupcake tin, grabbed a few different paint brushes and headed upstairs to W's bathroom for bath time fun. W painted the bathtub, his belly and my hands. We talked about the different colors, how it smelled and how it tasted (of course, he had to taste it!).

Balloons
I blew up some different colored balloons and put them into the bath with W. At first, he was not sure what to think. He had played with balloons a few months ago on his father's birthday, but I wasn't sure if he remembered. He eventually warmed up and was splashing around the tub, playing with the balloons. Pretty basic, but still fun.

Glow Sticks
Glow sticks in the bathtub? Bath time in the dark? W was confused too. I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while holding a glow stick.

Bubbles
The Dollar Tree has scented bubbles that smell amazing. I blew the bubbles until I felt like I was going to pass out. I had his attention the entire bath!

Colored Bath Water
I've started introducing colors to W. I figured bath time was a perfect way to make this fun. I put a few drops of food coloring into the bath water and then added matching colored toys. Each night, I did a different color. I grabbed any toys that wouldn't ruin in the water...balls, blocks, cars etc.

Sensory Bottles

I am a recycling maniac...almost to the point of OCD. Seriously, our neighbors probably hate us on recycling day. I had a ton of empty water bottles and diet coke bottles, so I decided to put them to use. First, W and I had to take a trip to my favorite store, Hobby Lobby, to pick up some crafty things to put in the bottles.

Sensory Bottle Ideas

• Different colored beads
• Jingle bells
• Feathers
• Pompoms- large, small, all different colors
• Pipe cleaners
• Water with a few drops of food coloring (you could also add baby oil or dish soap)
• Rice
• Noodles

It's been a few months since we made these and W still plays with them. He actually prefers them over his expensive toys. He carries the bottle with beads in one hand and the bottle with jingle bells in the other, around the house. I've been thinking about making new sensory bottles using mason jars. Does anyone have any sensory bottle ideas? Any thoughts on my mason jar idea?

Still playing catch up. More posts to come. If anyone is actually reading this, I hope that they are enjoying my posts and getting some ideas to do with your own little one.

Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin

I've been waiting to introduce a sensory bin to W until he was older because most of the blog posts I have seen, are for older kids. But why wait? I decided to make something simple and keep a close eye on him while he explored. Super colorful rice sounded like a perfect idea for his first sensory bin.

What You Will Need:

• Rice
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Food Coloring
• Mason Jar or Baggie
• Foil
• Cookie Sheets

How to Color Rice:

Put 1 cup of rice, 2 tbsp of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food coloring in a baggie. Then mix it up. Line your cookie sheets with foil and dump the rice out onto the foil to dry. Easy peasy lemon squeezey! After the rice had dried, I dumped it into a container forming a rainbow. It was beautiful!

I set up the rainbow rice sensory bin on the floor with measuring cups, then I bought in W. He stared at the rice for a few minutes, we talked about the different colors and how it looked like a rainbow. Then, in went his hands...it all happened so fast. Before I knew it, there was rice EVERYWHERE! He was so excited, he was throwing handfuls of rice on the floor then crawling through it. I talked to him about how the rice felt and how it sounded as it fell onto the floor. We put rice into the measuring cup and then dumped it out. This entertained him for about a half an hour, which is a long time (he didn't even try to put any in his mouth!). I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures to share but this kid moves fast!

All in all, the sensory bin worked out great. I'm so excited to make another. Maybe colored noodles?

Exploring the Kitchen

Sometimes I think that I'm just a tad bit too overprotective with all of my baby gates, locks, plugs and padding. So, I've started letting W do more exploring around the house (of course with my very close supervision). 

I was putting away the dishes and let W help. He discovered that the bottom rack could roll. We talked about how it was like a car. After, He got the rack out of the dishwasher, he rolled it into the living room. He crawled back, pushing the rack, ready to explore the rest of the dishwasher.

W was very excited when he realized that the baby lock wasn't on the cabinet. He pulled most of the pots and pans out and started banging them on the floor. We did some singing and dancing while banging the pots on the floor.

W is currently taking a baby tumbling class and this has definitely nurtured his climbing abilities. He pushed the paper towels over to the counter then proceeded to climb up. I could not believe my eyes! He was so proud of himself.

Cardboard Box Town

It seems that W's favorite toys are homemade, which is AWESOME!!!!! We recently got a wine cabinet and were going to have this huge box laying around until I was able to go to the recycling center, so I decided we better to something fun with it! While W was napping I cut the box so it would lay flat, made a road and collected markers and crayons. Once W decided to wake up, we got down to business.

I drew the everyday places that we go... Home, Park, Zoo, Beach, Grandma and PopPop's etc.

W did some coloring and some crayon eating. Boy, I sure do hope these teeth come in soon but he is gnawing on everything in sight!

I'll admit it... I HAD A BLAST DOING THIS ACTIVITY!

After, we finished drawing and coloring our town, we broke out the cars. We drove the cars on the road talking about what we saw. (I even drew animals so, we were able to practice our animal noises). We sang "The wheels on the bus" ALOT. W loves that song.

If you have a box laying around, I highly recommend doing this! 

Foil Painting

I've recently become obcessed with Pinterest (which is easy to do). There are so many great ideas for kids crafts and activities. I've also started following Play At Home Mom's blog, they have a ton of great "invitations" for kids of all ages. I love their ideas!!

W has been trying to eat everything...even if it's not food. I've been told that's normal? So, I decided to make an edible finger paint just to be on the safe side, even though I normally use a non-toxic finger paint.

Flour Finger Paint
2 cups of flour
5 cups of water
1/4 cup of salt
Food coloring

Mix the flour and water together in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Then, mix in the salt and let the paint mixture cool. I divided the paint into 4 cups then added food coloring to make red, blue, green and yellow paint.

Now, to set up the activity for W. I put foil on his high chair tray, put the cups of paint on the tray then set 4 paint brushes alongside the paint. Time to get messy.

Smiling ear to ear. Very excited for art.

I'm so happy that I put the different color paints in cups. He had so much fun dumping each out. Normally, I put the paint directly on the paper.

He's fast! In the blink of an eye, he had dumped the paint out!

We talked about the shiny foil, different colors of the paint, how the paint felt and of course how it tasted. I tried to emphasize "eww, paint is yucky" but W kept trying to convince me otherwise. 

Saying "mmmm"

Lots of mess = Lots of fun

FYI: I wasn't too happy with this recipe for the flour paint...it was very watery. I even tried to thicken it up with more flour, but I ran out of time because W woke up from his nap. But I will experiment with other recipes and post all about it.

Playing catch up

Wow, it has been a long time since I have last posted! W will be 10 months old tomorrow. He babbles, is starting to walk and is learning something new each day. Time flies! Now, it's time to play catch up on the activites we have been doing.