This easy project will engage your baby’s senses in multiple ways! To make the fun twirling spinner, use any piece of patterned paper. Draw a large spiral and cut out along the lines; use a hole punch to make a hole in the center. Tie a string, then simply hold it up!
This can be great outdoors if the wind is blowing. Indoors, give it a gentle blow to make it spin.
Veronika loved looking at it from on her back…
…and sitting up. Though then she was tempted to grab it, too!
Here is my gift to my baby girl on her first birthday, a silhouette that might not mean much now, but hopefully that she cherishes for years to come.
To start, cut a piece of patterned paper to fit a picture frame; I chose one that was 5×7 inches.
Have a photo printed that shows your baby in silhouette. You’ll probably need to orchestrate this carefully, and if needed, zoom in and enlarge so that the face fills nearly the entire photo print. Place underneath tracing paper and carefully trace the silhouette.
Cut out the tracing paper, transfer to black cardstock, and cut out the shape. Glue the cardstock onto the patterned paper and insert into the frame.
I doubted my ability to get this to come out right, but she looks adorable! What a moment in time to capture and frame.
With only a few days left before her first birthday, it was time for another set of hand prints with Veronika. I haven’t done this since she was nine months old and those little hands have grown.
Anyone who follow this blog knows that handprints with Veronika are a risky endeavor. I had plates of paint ready, along with a thick soft paintbrush, and wet wipes right next to me.
Gently brush paint over your baby’s palm. She seemed to like the soft sensation!
I pressed her hand firmly down on a small canvas tote bag. The idea was to make gifts for upcoming holidays! Other fabric like t-shirts or hand towels would be fun, too, if you use acrylic paint.
You can also just press the prints onto thick paper for pretty commemorative artwork. Add a border with marker, and don’t forget to add the date!
Now compare these prints to your older sets and marvel at how much your baby has grown.
No doubt you’ve been talking to your baby from the start. Having full conversations and exposing babies to the words and rhythm of conversation helps immensely with language development. But now there’s an exciting new development; Veronika isn’t just babbling nonsense, she’s saying real words back.
My soon-to-be one year old has 3 words officially under her belt. Her first word is “cat”.
She pronounces it more like “dat” but there’s no mistaking what she means; she says it whenever our cat walks by, or when she presses the cat button that meows on her musical piano, or when holding a toy cat.
She’s also just started making a “ffff” sound when I say “woof” or she hears it on her toys. Listen for these moments, being aware of the word your baby is trying to shape or say.
Her second word was diaper. She started signing this word to me during diaper changes. I realized she also thinks it means having your pants off in general on the day I tried on a new pair of jeans. Seeing my pants come off, she dropped her toy and signed diaper and said “dai!” in glee. I guess mommy needed a change, to! Again, be in tune with what your baby is saying, as the words won’t quite be like yours yet. I get down at eye level and sign and say “diaper” back to her so she can practice further.
Finally, she signs “bus” and says “ba” whenever the bus brings big brother home from school. Knowing the sign for bus helps me understand that’s what she means, to differentiate from the thousands of other words that start with “ba”. But there’s no mistaking her little pull-down of the arm (like you’re pulling a bus chain for the next stop).
She also signed this when she saw the UPS truck in town, so we had our next chat about a new word: Truck!
Be on the alert for these signs of early language. “All done” is more of a “ahda”, but in context I can understand it.
I chatted with her about what she might want instead, and we settled on banana.
I can’t wait to see what word she learns next!
Here’s a fun way to introduce your baby to rainbow order: with snack time!
I set out a little plate for Veronika with bite-sized pieces of nearly all the colors of the rainbow. We had:
Red: tomatoes
Yellow: soft peaches
Green: avocado
Blue: blueberries
I placed the foods on her tray in rainbow order, and pointed out the name of each color and food to her. Which would be her favorite?
Blueberries got a tentative try.
Peaches were the clear winner!
For extra fun, we watched a song about the rainbow while she snacked.
Veronika’s big brother loved books from the earliest age, engaging directly with them and sitting still for story time. Veronika has way more of her own agenda, which means I often find myself reading solo while she crawls around the room. But she does love to pull out a book and flip through pages on her own.
To encourage this early “reading”, I set up a cozy book corner that can be her own special space. Think: blankets, pillows, and anything else that makes the nook cozy.
Next, add a dedicated book basket. You can decorate it, but I had a hunch Veronika would just view the decorations as invitation to tear them off, so left the basket plain.
Now fill it! I put in copies of her Hello magazines, as well as books that engage with more than just pictures: tactile elements, jigsaw puzzle books, you name it.
Imagine my delight, then, when I saw her scoot over to the corner, pull books from the basket and “read” to herself.
Veronika does this with a little drone or humming noise, almost like she’s pretending to read the words as I do.
She loved the big flaps of one book, and was quite content to read for a while.
This is definitely our new go-to story spot! Do you have a story nook in your home? Please share in the comments!
The spooky decor continues! On the heels of eerie snack cups, Travis helped make a mobile to hang in the house this Halloween.
First, wrap 2 dowels in orange. Thick yarn would have made quicker work of this step but since I only had orange needlepoint thread, so I was proud of Travis sticking with it.
Secure the thread with tape. Tie the two dowels crosswise to each other with more thread.
For decorations, we cut simple ghost shapes from white craft foam. Travis loved adding their spooky faces, including one with “fangs”.
I also cut the letters B-O-O from orange craft foam. Attach these decorations to more thread with tape, and tie each thread to one end of the dowels. Hang with a final piece of thread, whether in black or orange.
Boo!
With Halloween a week away, Travis is starting to demand spooky decor around the house. We put together these eerie snack cups, perfect for holding candy or portions of little snacks or dry cereal.
Cut an upcycled egg carton into separate compartments. Decorate half of them as the top of the eyes, with a circle right in the center.
Add wiggly lines of red marker for the bloodshot veins. (Note: You can use paint, but we preferred marker since there was no drying time).
For the other half of the cups, omit the iris and just make wiggly veins.
Fill the bottoms with treats, then stack an eyeball cup on top.
Spooky!
This sweet potato-based spread is so versatile. Serve it smeared on slices of toast for breakfast, or over graham crackers for a snack. Babies might just enjoy spoonfuls of it plain, too!
Ingredients:
If you like, add a little pinch of nutmeg, too!
I made a floor sensory bag for Veronika some time back; today I added two twists for a new version of the game!
In the first, I added 1/2 cup water and then various small items from our craft bin: translucent pony beads, buttons, and wiggle eyes all fit the bill. I got the idea after noticing how much she loved a drum with floating beads under the plastic at music class.
I taped the bag firmly to the floor on all four sides, almost like framing it. Now she could squish the items inside, but not move the whole bag.
The second version was even squishier! This time, instead of water, I squirted in a generous dose of shaving cream. I sprinkled in even more beads and buttons, using lots so they showed up through the thick cream. This one, too, I taped firmly down on all four sides.
Veronika loved pressing her fingers in! Or scooching her whole body across.
She could move beads and buttons with one little finger or a whole hand pressed down, and the visual effect was dazzling.
If you make these while your baby is still young enough to need tummy time, it’s a sure way to keep them entertained!
joyful parenting 