You Did It!

July 28, 2019Leave a comment

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Veronika loves clapping these days, especially now that she’s figured out not just the mechanics, but how to make a loud clapping sound. So today, I gave her a few tasks we could celebrate with a hearty cheer of “you did it!” and some clapping.

First up: making a rabbit pop up from a jack-in-the-box. I let Veronika turn the handle (giving a little assistance until there were only one or two rotations left).

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Pop! She looked so surprised and pleased. “You did it!” I said with a big smile, and clapped. She instantly had to clap along of course.

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Next we rolled a ball down an inclined piece of cardboard. I showed her how to hold the ball, place it at the top…

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…and then let it go. And of course every roll got more clapping and cheers.

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Another fun one for babies this age? Simply ringing the doorbell.

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What other cause-and-effect games do you and your baby enjoy? Please share in the comments!

Bottle-Top Mobile

July 28, 2019Leave a comment

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I recently recommended a Tupperware cupboard to keep your baby busy while you’re busy in the kitchen. Here’s another DIY toy you can make that will entertain your little one for quite some time.

Collect plastic bottle lids for about a week, and then make a hole in each one. The awl tool of a Swiss army knife did the job easily; lay a piece of cardboard underneath the bottle caps so the awl doesn’t damage any surface on the other side.

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Thread the caps along twine or string.

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Tie the “mobile” between two legs of a table, at about your baby’s chest level.

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Veronika was so intrigued with this toy! She twirled the beads on the string first.

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Next I showed her how to scoot them along the string from side to side.

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Note: She also just loved the string itself, giving it tugs and boings, but supervise carefully if you find that your child is playing more with string than with the bottle caps. One way or another, this certainly entertained her.

Rearrange Your Kitchen Cupboards

July 27, 2019July 28, 2019Leave a comment

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If you’re having trouble making meals (or cleaning up after them) with a baby around, then it’s time to rearrange one of your cupboards!

When Travis was little, I used to keep an entire bin full of Tupperware and other safe items (small loaf pans, spatulas, various gadgets) that I could pull out for him. Today I made a simplified version of that for Veronika, clearing out one cabinet and filling it with our motley collection of food containers.

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She was thrilled! You could just tell she was so proud that she got to rifle through mommy’s kitchen.

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There was immediately lots of reaching, bouncing (which is how you know she’s happy), and tapping the items against the cabinet.

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This is also a quick opportunity to use language about putting things in and taking things out.

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She gazed at me as if to say, “Mom, I’m helping out in the kitchen today!”

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Don’t be surprised if big siblings want to join in (although Travis preferred metal items to plastic ones).

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I also filled a small cardboard box with a few items for her to scoop up, including pom poms and soft balls.

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This little busy box added fun variety.

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In sum, having a child-safe cabinet will keep your whole crew busy while you cook!

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Baby’s First Tunnel

July 26, 2019Leave a comment

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Do you find yourself trying to encourage a budding crawler these days? Then make the temptation irresistible with a tunnel!

Right now, eight-month-old Veronika loves leaning forward to get to her toys, and my hope was that creating a tunnel archway would encourage her into a true first crawl. First, I tried to entice her with an open box.

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Hmm, the box looked interesting, and got lots of smiles.

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But she didn’t actually try to crawl through it.

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Next up was a mommy tunnel! This definitely got her attention.

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She played with my feet at first, but then made moves to go through the archway. Still, she gave up after a few tries reaching for a toy on the other side.

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This is also a great game for getting siblings involved, who may want to make a leg tunnel, or perhaps do a backbend and see if baby goes through that way! We’re hoping to have a true crawler soon!

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Story Time with a Twist

July 26, 2019July 29, 2019Leave a comment

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Story time is so important even with the littlest babies, but you may find at around eight months old that your baby is far more interested in chewing on the pages or playing with toys than paying attention to the words. This has definitely proven to be the case with Veronika, so today I made story time a bit more interactive, thanks to the help of a few stuffed animal friends!

How is it that babies amass such huge collections of stuffed animals? I’m not sure I’ve ever bought one, but through gifts, prizes, and more, we have quite a little community.

I pulled out a few and narrated a story. Veronika and her friend frog woke up and decided to go on an adventure through the forest.

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They set off for the forest, but a big noise made them stop. They looked around and heard a growl. But it was only their friend bear, who wanted to say hello. Hello bear!

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They kept walking and saw a stick move. It was their friend snake! Hisss, snake said.

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I had a few more creatures meet her and frog on the journey before the story ended and everyone went home for lunch.

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Veronika was delighted at all the colors and soft stuffies to hug, whether or not she was listening to the “story”.

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Next, I grouped some of her stuffed animals by category. Since we have a lot of dogs, I made up few stories around this puppy “family.” First, one puppy was lost, oh no!

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Could Veronika help mommy dog find her puppy? Hurrah, a family reunion. Next, the puppies went for rides in cars…

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…and then we had a story about a stuffed animal parade.

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Later in the day, we continued the fun with a “birthday party” for a few stuffed animals. I set them up with pretend food and sang the happy birthday song.

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Veronika loved this “story”!

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In sum, you can involve stuffed animals as actors in your baby’s story time in so many ways. What will your animals do next? Climb a hill? Go on a journey? It’s a little different than reading a book and will engage your little one’s imagination and senses.

Outdoor Peekaboo

July 25, 2019Leave a comment

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Parents, let’s not forget the original purpose of peekaboo: to help a child remember that even when you disappear for a moment, you always come back! So here’s a fun outdoor variation on the game, in case you’re tired of hiding your face behind your hands at home.

While in the park, I first hid my face behind a big straw sunhat.

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Peekaboo! Veronika was immediately delighted.

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After a few rounds like this, I knelt down beside a picnic bench. I stayed where she could just see the tip of my head and she leaned forward eagerly from her stroller.

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Peekaboo! This was rewarded with huge smiles.

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She liked our final version best of all. I went behind the trunk of a nearby tree. Say peekaboo first from one side…

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…then the other.

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It was so fun to see her delight! Veronika loved guessing which side I would pop out from next. In sum, this easy game will take your next park stroll to the next level, for parent and baby both. You can try lots of variations, too, popping out from an umbrella, a playground slide, etc.

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Make a Sensations Rug

July 24, 2019Leave a comment

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This project is great tactile way for your eight-month-old to explore different textures with his or her hands or with the full body, if crawling. I made the project with quite a few hacks, since I’m no seamstress. If you’re skilled with a needle and thread, you’ll want to sew various fabrics onto a larger piece of fabric and present that more elegant version to your baby.

But this mama wields a hot glue gun! I used a pliable piece of craft foam as the backing and firmly hot-glued down: reflective paper, burlap, fluffy fabric, smooth cotton, two corks, an old sock, and a second piece of bumpy craft foam.

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Veronika couldn’t wait to get her hands all over this! She dug little fingers into the soft and fluffy fabric, and ran fingers over the scratchy burlap.

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She pulled insistently at the bumpy corks…

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…and otherwise just had a ball.

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The reflective material definitely caught her attention.

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I then put the “rug” down on the floor alongside another tactile blanket that we own, featuring tassels and a nubby fabric. My hope was that this expanded surface might encourage her to crawl across both (note: she’s thisclose to crawling), but she preferred to lie on her tummy and let her fingers get busy.

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There was flicking, rubbing, and pure enjoyment of all the different elements.

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In sum, this is a cute riff on board books that feature textured pages, and has a charming homemade quality that you and your baby will love.

Ding-a-Ling

July 23, 2019Leave a comment

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Does your baby reach for your smartphone all the time? Curb the move by introducing a far safer baby toy… A telephone in the shape of an old-fashioned rotary version!

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These toys are a classic for a reason and it hardly matters that little kids don’t even recognize this as a phone anymore. Between dinging noises, twisting dials and a slim receiver to hold, little babies need no prompt to play.

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But for added fun, today I sat down and made “calls” with Veronika. I pretended to have a conversation with her grandmother, chatting about what we would do that day. Make sure you use big facial expressions and exaggerated voices.

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When she saw me talking into the receiver, she had to be part of the action of course.

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She started babbling along and reaching for the mouthpiece to hold up to her own ear. Games like this are fantastic, since you’ll be playing but also teaching your little one about real-life interactions and etiquette.

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“Cooking” with Flour

July 23, 2019Leave a comment

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Many parents I know resist flour play, saying it’s either too messy or too much of a hassle. But I love this sensory material for babies. First, it’s edible, so no worries if little fingers make it up to little mouths. Second, as long as you cover your surface, clean-up is a breeze. Set down an old shower curtain or plastic table cloth for this one, and you’ll be able to contain the mess.

I stripped Veronika down to just a onesie (go all the way to the diaper for even easier clean-up!), and gave her a few measuring spoons and cups. She was having fun already, and wondering about this interesting bag.

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I sprinkled a little pile of flour in front of her. In went the hands right away!

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There are so many ways to play with flour and your baby. Demonstrate how to make squiggles in it.

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Use the spoons and cups to scoop and pour.

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Sprinkle a little light dusting of flour over toes and hands for a tickly sensation.

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And just get good and messy!

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She loved wiggling her legs through the flour until her thighs were completely coated!

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Basically she just had a blast, which gave me time to get a few other things done in the kitchen.

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When we were done, I just plopped her right in the bath!

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This Little Piggy… and Rabbit?

July 22, 2019Leave a comment

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“This Little Piggy” is a favorite and anticipated game around here now for Veronika, especially since she’s at an age where she can anticipate that tickle under the chin. Today, we mixed it up with other animals. First she had piggy toes, of course.

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