Looking & Learning Cricket Crate

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We’re on to Veronika’s second Cricket Crate, with themes around developing eyesight and visual ways for your baby to explore the world. As a reminder, it looks like Cricket Crate is no longer available through Kiwi Co, but look for their Tadpole line which has replaced it!

Here’s what our kit contained this month: the featured product was a mobile to put together, and we also received a new book about our Cricket pal from month 1, this time titled Where’s Cricket?

The mobile was fantastic, if not short of ingenious. First off, the assembly of it is a perfect craft to engage older siblings. Travis loved helping slot the two wooden bars together.

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The four soft sea creatures that hang from the mobile feature snaps, so they can easily clip on…

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…or off again. You’ll see why this is ingenious in a moment.

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I mounted the mobile above Veronika’s bassinet for new visual stimulation, but the kit also contains instructions for how to permanently mount it in the ceiling above the crib. We skipped the drywall anchor this time around.

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Those soft toys will be great for baby’s eyesight on the mobile, but don’t stop there. Simply unsnap and attach to a stroller or car seat and voila – take-along toys!

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This turned out to be just what we need; Veronika is at her fussiest if she’s in the stroller ready to go and the rest of us are still getting on coats and boots.

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Now there was so much to see!

You can also attach the toys to any playmat. We gave the sea creatures a little swing to further delight her.

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The toys can also be used to encourage batting for objects. We placed the seahorse near her hands, and encouraged Veronika to reach out for it, which she seemed to enjoy.

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From here, the kit explored other ways to develop a baby’s gaze, beyond the limits of the mobile. Many of the suggestions are ones I’ve already blogged, such as a position change. Veronika likes looking around now from sitting up in my lap…

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…and here she is checking out holiday cards in an over-the-shoulder pose!

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You can also use tummy time to increase vision, propping up a board book – why not Where’s Cricket – to encourage head lifts.

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Suggestions in Wonder magazine were nice reminders to return to a few old favorites, like dangling ribbons or scarves.

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We also used fun patterned socks as little puppets.

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A few final games: We pulled out the classic peek-a-boo, both behind my hands and behind a see-through scarf. Big wide eyes!

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We also repeated an imitation game, sticking out my tongue to see if she would copy. Almost there, Veronika!

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This months Wonder magazine was equally full of advice for parents, including what to expect in baby’s vision milestones, brain development, and a doctor’s opinion on screen time for this age (hint: none).

Online bonus material included downloadable black and white cards, also great for developing baby’s looking skills at this age. We tried ours in the bassinet, and then later taped up during tummy time, which got Veronika to lift her head for a few moments.

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And of course we cuddled up with suggested reading, including lots more books designed to stimulate vision:

Black & White by Tana Hoban

Gone Wild by David McLimans

I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy

Look, Look by Peter Linenthal

My First Book of Color by H.A. Rey

Cricket Looking books

See you in month 3!

Picture Frame Winter Scene

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Here’s one of those crafts that didn’t exactly turned out as I imagined! My little artist had his own plans, but the whole point was the fun and the crafting moment together, not perfection.

To start, you’ll need a simple frame (you can find these cheap at a craft store, measuring about 5×7 inches). Travis loves the mechanics of removing the back off a frame, so was delighted to discover our project enabled him to do so.

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Cut a piece of leftover holiday wrapping paper to fit the glass of the frame, and insert.

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I set out acrylic paints and invited Travis to draw any winter-themed scene that would fit nicely with our Christmas tree background. He chose white for snow, and I encouraged him to paint a snowman, thinking of how the body is made up of various circles.

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Travis had his own plans, making a big snowy blanket of white. “It’s covering the trees,” he insisted.

 

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Luckily at this point I snapped a pic, because he soon decided he needed to “snow” over the trees completely with white paint. I laughed but didn’t tell him this rather negated the point of having wrapping paper inside the frame.

He then wanted to mix other colors over his white. “I’m an artist!” he declared, doing swirls of paint.

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Well, we didn’t end up with a winter scene, but we did end up with a good time!

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I encourage you to have fun with these, though. Your children could paint something quite beautiful in front of the wrapping paper background, whether snowmen or ornaments or anything else that fits the season. I’d love to hear what they come up with in the comments!

Reindeer Bell Necklace

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This adorable necklace is just right for rockin’ out to your famiiy’s favorite holiday tunes. May I suggest ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and ‘Run, Run Rudolph’, in particular?

Ideally, I would have used larger jingle bells as the body of the reindeer, but the craft store was clean out of just about every Christmas supply! We found sparkly, medium-sized silver bells instead, which were intriguing to Travis, if not perfect for the craft.

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To make the antlers, cut a pipe cleaner in half and thread one half through the bell. Twist to secure.

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Cut the other half in two again (so now you have quarters) and wrap a quarter around each branch of the other pipe cleaner, to form antlers. Travis needed a bit of help with this step.

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We glued two eyes and a red pom pom nose onto each bell, and set them aside to dry.

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Once the glue dried, it was time to shake our jingle bells! I tied a string to each reindeer to form a necklace, and we could rock out.

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Jingle bells, Jingle bells!

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First Smiles

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The time has come, parents! Veronika is nearing two months old, and I can finally be certain that those beautiful smiles are not just gas (although those smiles are cute, too!), but actual social smiles. If your child is between 1 and 2 months of age, then you should start to see the same thing.

Note: It was very hard to get pictures for this post, since the light on the camera makes Veronika squint her eyes, eliminating the full impact of her smile. But you get the idea!

Today, I made smiles the focus of my interactions with Veronika, taking the time to give her a big grin at various points throughout the day. Sure enough, if I smiled at her, I was rewarded by a big gummy grin back. If the smile reaches the eyes, then you can tell it’s a social smile, and not just a reflex. Baby smiles are cute in the bassinet…

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…or in your lap…

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…or at the diaper table.

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Invite big siblings to try this game, too. Travis has been eager for Veronika to do “more,” and he felt so rewarded when she returned his big grin.

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Tracking Toys

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Veronika and I haven’t played an eye-strengthening activity lately, so today I took some special time with her just to work on her eyesight.

Use any baby toys – particularly ones that rattle or shake or squeak – and move them slowly across the field of vision. See if your baby can follow with their eyes from one side to the other.

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Veronika seemed to love the game, eagerly following all the items.

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Once she had that under her belt, I tested out how her other toy skills are these days. Grabbing?

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Yup! She got the bird! Kicking? I was interested to see if she would kick at bright soft yarn I produced for her to see, but she didn’t do so.

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We also took advantage of holiday season and used decorations as props for the game. She loved dangling green ribbons. From here…

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…to there.

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And little present bows. From one side…

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…to the other.

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But no need for anything special. Any toy works, including classics like dangling baby “key rings”, rattles, and so much more. Happy tracking!

Yarn Christmas Trees

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Be forewarned: This holiday decoration project is a messy one! In other words, perfect if your kids love getting their hands dirty and helping deck the halls around the house.

For materials, you’ll need Styrofoam cones (available at craft stores) with the plastic wrap still on. You’ll also need red and green yarn. I had pastel shades of each in my craft bin, which would look lovely if you’re taking a pastel approach to decorating this year! Ideally, I would have had darker red and green, but we were eager to do the project so made do.

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Cut the yarn into pieces about 20 feet long. Yes you read that right, 20 feet! Travis loved helping measure out the long lengths by standing at the opposite end of the apartment from me.

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Next we needed glue. You can use watered down store-bought glue, but we made a neat homemade version simply by mixing 1/2 cup flour with water until the consistency of a thick paste.

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I worried Travis might not get his hands in there, but to my surprise, he was eager to see how it felt. Goopy!

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Soak your stands of yarn in the “glue,” one strand at a time. Once it’s coated, wrap around one of the Styrofoam cones, wrapping and wrapping until completely covered – the more the better!

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The key is not to let the yarn get tangled, or you’ll wind up with a clump you can’t continue to wrap. After a few successful trees, we encountered a tangle. Whoops!

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Luckily the cone was just covered enough.

Let dry overnight. Travis had to come over and touch our flour glue occasionally, to see how the drying process was coming along.

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In the morning, snip the plastic wrap from the cone, and slide the yarn tree off – you’ll have to tug the cone out a bit forcefully. Remove the inner plastic, and the yarn tree now stands alone.

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We thought it might be fun to decorate one with little gems and beads, although it was hard to get them to stick on, as the beads were heavy.

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Pinecones made lovely tree toppers though!

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Visit a Fire Station

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Fire Station (4)Fire stations are the latest on my list of places to visit with a baby. You may have already done so with kids aged everywhere from toddlers on up to big kids – but infants will love the sights and sounds, too!

As with other field trips Veronika and I have taken, firehouses are full of vivid colors (babies can see red quite well), and of course sounds. Note: you may want to take care that sirens are not too loud or flashing lights too vivid.

If you’re worried about the sirens in the fire station proper, see if your local firehouse has an adjunct museum. This space will have all the excitement of fire vehicles without the noise.

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And of course, that means big siblings get to play!

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Handprint Wrapping Paper

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Parents and grandparents will love any gift that your child gives them – but make it extra special with this fun hand- and footprint paper. The paper itself may very well charm them more than the gift inside!

First, I set up everything for footprints, the messiest part of the project. I recommend using tempera paint, and having a pack of baby wipes right next to you to wash off messy feet.

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Note: you can use acrylic paint, but it will simply require a more thorough scrubbing with soap and water.

Travis sat in a chair in front of a large sheet of butcher paper (alternatively, you can cut open brown bags from the supermarket so they lie flat), and giggled as I brushed paint onto his feet.

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I held his hand as he walked across the paper, leaving tracks behind. He loved peeking back over his shoulder at his trail!

A quick wipe, and then we were on to the hand prints. Travis was giggling again for a nice coat of Christmas red.

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He loved pressing his hands down, making sure each print had all 5 fingers.

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We left the paper to dry, then used it to wrap a package for daddy.

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If multiple children are decorating the same sheet of wrapping paper, you can add names and the date next to their prints.

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A Christmas surprise for under the tree!

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Classic Thumbprints

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This classic Christmas cookie is the perfect recipe to make with little kids: an easy dough that comes together with few ingredients, plus the magic of shaping the cookies with the best instrument of all – your child’s thumb!

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Note: to make Ener-G egg yolks, use 1 tablespoon powder in 2 tablespoons water. For other vegan egg substitutes, aim for a similar volume.

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup Earth Balance butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Ener-G egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 and 1/2 cups flour
  1. Beat the butter in a stand mixer until creamed. Add the sugar and beat until combined.
  2. Add the Ener-G and vanilla; beat until combined.
  3. Gradually beat in the flour. Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.
  4. To bake the cookies, roll into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Press your thumb into the middle of each cookie.
  5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 11 minutes. If the thumbprint starts to puff up during baking, press back down with the back of a teaspoon.
  6. Let cool on wire racks before filling as desired. For

For a uber-classic version, use strawberry jam. We updated ours with a carrot cake jam filling!

 

Movie Pillow Fort

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You’ll score points as the coolest parent on the block if you trot out this idea on a cold winter afternoon. Arm yourself with this idea for the winter school break ahead, and you won’t get cabin fever!

I told Travis that we were going to make a fort – not necessarily an unusual occurrence – but this time for a special purpose. He was so intrigued, and trotted about gathering pillows, blankets, and stools for his special fort.

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We made it bigger than we ever had before, with an entire bed sheet for the ceiling. Soft pillows made the perfect floor.

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He loved testing a flashlight inside. Neat shadows!

Now for the big reveal – I brought in a computer so we could watch a holiday movie right inside the fort.

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Of course you could do this with a regular movie any time of year, but something about it felt so cozy and right for the holiday season. Don’t forget to arm yourself with yummy snacks!

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The fort was just the right size for a boy and his movie – peek-a-boo!

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Even better, make it big enough for the whole family, and you can all snuggle in there together, matching holiday pajamas optional of course.

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Was this the coziest winter afternoon ever, or what? A big hit!