Month: March 2019

Comb Waterbending

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Hive mind! Travis and I need your help with this one. We set out to do some science, which unfortunately didn’t work. The idea is to use polarity to make water bend, using nothing more than a comb, a ruler, and some freshly-shampooed hair. But our water stayed straight – rats! So will this work for you?

First, we turned the faucet on to just a thin stream, and placed a ruler across the sink for an accurate test – the water hit right about the 6 inch mark.

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We held the comb up to the water, to ensure we were starting with no bend to the water stream.

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Travis was fresh from the bath, so we ran the comb through his just-washed hair to generate static. These negative particles should then attract the positive particles in the water, which kids will be familiar with if they understand magnets and “opposites attract.”

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Online testers of this experiment seemed to have no trouble, saying the comb bent the water stream as much as 3 inches! But we saw no movement.

Did his hair need to be dry? We waited for it to air-dry, then tested again. Still no movement.

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Knowing that it was static we were after, we then tried running the comb through a blanket right out of the dryer – one that was full of static! And still our water didn’t bend.

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So, posting this game here for my readers in the hopes that someone else has better luck. If so, what worked? Can you figure out why? We’re eager to make the water bend next time!

Jack and Jill Go Up the Hill

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On the heels of The Grand Old Duke, here’s another fun rhyme with movement play for your baby. Oh the giggles this one got, when Jack and Jill reached the top of the hill!

I sat down with Veronika on my lap, my legs straight.

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As a refresher, here are the words:

Jack and Jill went up the hill.

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack feel down,

And broke his crown.

And Jill came tumbling after!

On the first line, I brought my knees up, up, up and up. You can just prop up your baby, but Veronika particularly loved being lifted to the top of my knees. What a gummy grin!

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On “Jack fell down”, lower your legs quickly (but be sure to support your little one!) Finally, on the last line, give a little tip to one side – whee.

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Here’s a quick clip!

Where’s Bear?

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This game is a fantastic way to teach your four-month-old about object permanence, i.e. the idea that something still exists even if he or she can’t see it. We hid bear in layers upon layers, and then had to find him!

First, I showed her a stuffed teddy, saying the word “bear” clearly for her.

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I slipped bear into a brown paper lunch bag, letting her watch, then crumbled it shut. “Where’s bear?” I asked.

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The bag next went into a toy box (any box will work, including a cardboard box from your latest package delivery). The lid went on, and again I asked, “Where’s bear?”

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Finally, I draped a scarf over the box. “Where’s bear?” I asked again.

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I accompanied the words with the sign for “where” in baby sign language – a simple waggle back and forth of the hand with the pointer finger up.

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Now it was time to undo the layers. First off came the scarf…

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Then the box lid…

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She helped pull out the brown bag – what strong hands, Veronika!

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And finally, we opened the bag for the big reveal!

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You can add even more layers if you like, bags within boxes within bags, although don’t go too crazy or you might lose baby’s interest.

We played again with her favorite toy; oh no, she looked almost alarmed when he first disappeared!

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And so relieved to find him.

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Sweet Potato Breakfast Strata

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If you do the prep work for this strata the night before, all you need is 1 hour to bake it in the morning. Perfect for weekends, in sum – or heck, any weekday before school if you have early birds like I do!

Ingredients:

  • Cooking spray
  • 4 Lightlife bacon pieces, chopped
  • 1 cup peeled and chopped sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 2 cups cubed whole-grain bread
  • 4 Ener-G eggs
  • 1 cup oat milk
  1. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add the Lightlife bacon; cook for about 4 minutes, until crisp and browned. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
  2. Recoat the skillet with cooking spray and add the sweet potato and onion; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the apple, maple syrup, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for a final 2 minutes, then remove from heat and return the bacon to the pan.
  3. Arrange 1 and 1/2 cups bread cubes in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Top with the sweet potato mixture.
  4. In a bowl, whisk together the Ener-G eggs, oat milk, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour over the sweet potato mixture. Top with a final 1/2 cup bread cubes.
  5. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, and up to overnight.
  6. Bake at 325 degrees F for 50 minutes, uncovered. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

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And although we do like this for breakfast, it’s also great as a side at dinner! Try serving with Gardein chick’n and peas.

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Shiny Whale

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Poor Travis had a sick day today, which meant lots of extra snuggles and okay, perhaps a little too much extra-special TV watching. But it’s good to still engage your little one, even when they’re under the weather, with quiet activities like puzzles and coloring. This minimal-effort art project was perfect; it helped distract him for just a bit, and he created something pretty to boot!

First, I traced a whale shape onto cardboard and cut out.

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We’ve done several whale projects lately, but this one got to be extra shiny. Wrap the shape in aluminum foil, folding the foil on the backside so the front stays smooth.

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I gave Travis lots of sharpie markers to decorate his whale, for even shinier effect.

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As I said, simple but pretty, and a good way to distract your kid from that runny nose or sore throat – at least for a few minutes!

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Footprint Plaque

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I’ve already made a beautiful keepsake of Veronika’s footprints with paint, and today we tried a version made with clay! I had leftover air-dry clay from a project with Travis, so it was the perfect opportunity for Veronika to play with this material.

Roll out a large piece of clay with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Be sure to let your little one watch, even though they are too young to help with the process!

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Use a bowl and knife to cut out a circle large enough for both your baby’s footprints.

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Here’s the hard part: hold your baby carefully and press one foot into the clay at a time. This might be a bit uncomfortable for them, and indeed poor Veronika let out a little cry! So you’ll notice that her prints are not very deep or pronounced, but at least I was able to capture the size and shape.

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Punch two holes in the top using a straw, then lay the plaque flat to dry.

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Once dry, thread a pretty ribbon through the holes, and you’ll have a beautiful plaque to display.

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Don’t forget the name and date!

Introduce Family Traditions

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It’s never too early to start a family tradition, whether your baby is your first child or a new sibling. Certainly, Veronika’s birth has us thinking about new traditions we can incorporate into our home. Here’s a quick rundown of a few we’ve begun and hope to continue!

Afternoon Walks:

Obviously you won’t be able to do this every afternoon, but I highly recommend finding a pretty spot or route that your family loves, and make it a tradition to head out walking at least once a month (yes, even in the winter)! To wit, we have three walks that now belong to our family: one in a local state park along paved trails; one around the pond at our local park; and one secret trail through the woods. This last we call the “Kerber Walk”, because there is a restaurant of the same name nearby, but it isn’t the actual name of the trail. We love that the moniker is a family secret.

Wherever you go, visit in multiple seasons and your family tradition will be firmly in place.

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Festive Customs:

I held off on buying much for the holidays when Travis was my only child, knowing I always wanted a second. Since Veronika’s birth, I can coordinate each holiday as it comes around! Most recently, this has meant brother-and-sister Easter baskets with monogrammed bunny ear liners. I’ll be coordinating the gifts they receive, too: a spring-themed book for each child, as well as a treat (candy for Travis, pureed carrots for little Veronika!).

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Whatever traditions feel unique to your family, introduce them to your baby early; he or she will never remember a time without the custom.

Connecting with Cousins:

If your lucky enough to have cousins in the area, make it a point of playing together. It has been so fun to watch Travis bloom into buddies with the two boy cousins who live close by. Meanwhile the baby girls are only two months apart in age! Our goal is to pencil in a date monthly. These kids can grow up together and forge their own traditions.

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And big teenage cousins have the perfect laps for sitting.

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Saturday Play in the Park:

Weekends get busy with kids – sport practice, birthday parties, art classes. But usually are mornings are free, so we try and make it a custom to head to a playground for quality family time. Family obligations might mean you can’t do so every Saturday, but it’s a great goal to aim for. Little Veronika can’t play yet, but she can watch big brother play!

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I like to think she’s soaking up the adventure that awaits, and big siblings will love that they can run and play and not worry about indoor admonitions to avoid waking the baby.

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Sunday Snuggles:

Travis has always been a big one for snuggles (boy do I feel lucky!) and now Veronika is in on the snuggly action. We decided that now when we cuddle up for special Sunday snuggles on the couch, we’ll snap a Sunday Snuggle Selfie. Moving forward, we’ll have a week-by-week record of these cuddly moments!

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Family Games:

Even though Veronika is too young to play still, it’s great to pull out games and make it a family board game night (or day, if that works better!) and make interactive time a priority. Right now, Travis gets the thrill of playing, while she gets to sit on a grown-up’s lap or lie close by and take in the action.

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What other traditions are you building for your baby? Please share in the comments!

 

Liquid Hourglass

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Are you passing the hours during a snow day, or the latest winter storm, or just having a day that’s too cold to venture outside? Then this hourglass project is for you! It will make watching the passing hours into a fantastically cool experiment.

To start, you need two identical bottles (we used empty water bottles that were 1 liter).

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Hot glue the caps together, pressing for a tight seal.

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Next add a piece of duct tape, to make a water-tight seal.

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Mark two dots where you will insert straws, then (grown-up step!) drill through the holes.

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Cut straws into pieces that are 2-inches long. Insert one straw 1/3 of the way into one of the holes. Insert the other straw 1/3 of the way in the other direction.

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Fill your first bottle with vegetable oil. Definitely use the cheap stuff here, folks, since the bottle needs to be filled completely. We used a funnel to avoid any mess.

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Fill the second bottle with water. We added blue food coloring for visual effect.

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Now screw one half of the bottle cap onto the bottle with oil. Quickly and carefully, flip over and screw onto the bottle with water. Immediately you’ll get a big bubbling result as the two liquids start to mix.

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After a few minutes, the bubbles will settle down and you can really see what’s happening. Because the oil is less dense than water, it will bubble up, bit by bit through the straw, at the same time that the water bubbles down.

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First, we were simply in awe of how cool this looked.

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Then we decided to get more scientific: Had we really created an hourglass? We timed it and discovered it took 45 minutes on the dot before we had one completely blue bottle, and one completely oil bottle.

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And then there’s the fact that this is simply mesmerizing to watch. Seriously, I could have meditated in front of these bubbles.

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And Travis’s glee made it apparent he felt the same.

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Although not necessary, you can decorate your bottles, too. Since the blue and yellow effect reminded us of sand and water, we added a little octopus and his cave…

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…and these fishy friends.

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What a way to watch the hours pass!

 

Many Mobiles

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Veronika needed some new mobiles to look at, so I had fun making her a few, very easy and (and very inexpert!) versions this morning. The best thing about these mobiles is that I could craft them at her side while she kicked and played on her playmat.

I like using mobiles during diaper time instead of in the crib; Veronika isn’t lying on her back in her crib other than at night, but she sure loves checking out what’s hanging above the diaper table during changes!

For the following four mobiles, I simply suspended the objects from a baby hanger using colorful string. No points for elegance here – but lots of points for delight!

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Here are the four variations I made:

The first was easy as pie; simply tie small stuffed animals onto string and loop onto the hanger.

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This one had the added bonus of sound, since a few of our animals squeaked or mooed.

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The second was equally easy; I threaded large gold jingle bells onto string, and looped onto the hanger. She absolutely loved running her hands across this one, so I placed it over her playmat later, too.

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Just be sure to supervise any play baby does with dangling strings.

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For the third, I cut cardboard into various small shapes – circles, triangles etc.

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Cover the shapes with aluminum foil. Punch a hole into the cardboard, add string, and loop onto the hanger.

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These were so sparkly when sunlight hit them!

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The final mobile was the least elegant of all, but also got big smiles. I stapled string to a few empty food boxes with bright colors, and then looped the string onto the hanger.

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These were fun for her to bat at and hear them knock against each other.

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In sum, there’s lots of visual delights here! We’re going to keep all these versions on rotation and change up what’s hanging from her mobile hook so she never gets bored.

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Grab and Scrunch

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Babies at four months old are all about texture, and this game couldn’t be cuter or easier! All you need are some common household items to introduce new sounds and textures in today’s play session.

I pulled out a brown paper lunch bag and a box of wax paper. For each one, I first showed it to Veronika completely smooth and uncrumpled. Let your baby feel the material at this stage, too.

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Next, I crumpled each up. Hold the paper or wax paper close to baby’s ear for this; the sound is nearly as neat as the texture!

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Finally, I handed her the wadded up ball. She loved passing the papers from hand to hand.

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And of course giving it a test with her mouth, which is okay, but supervise since you don’t want a baby mouthing on wax paper for long.

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Alternatively, don’t scrunch up the materials; instead, let your baby take them while smooth, and scrunch them up solo.

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What other items does your baby love to hold at this stage? Please share in the comments!

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