Space Saving Idea

I used the space behind her chair. 

As you might have seen, space is something we are having trouble coming by in our little house. I saw this great idea on pinterest and I gave it a go today and I love it! I took 2 cup hooks, one in the ceiling and one in the floor of a corner of Hail's room. I tied a piece of clothes line tight between the two and then used large clothes pins I got from the dollar store to hand her stuffed animals. She has so many animals, and yes she plays with them, but not often enough that I have the room to spare. Some will stay out in her basket, ones I know she plays with a lot or if they sing (she has a lot of the hallmark special singing animals) or if they go with a story.. but I loved this idea to keep the other ones off the floor but available to her if she would like to play with them!

Tot Spot: New Activity # 30 - Build a Fort

Our fort!

Today we woke up to a stormy morning. The house had that stormy darkness that made you just want to curl up in a blanket with a good book... well instead of doing that (because, hey, who can really do that with a toddler...) we decided to take a blanket and read under it in another way!

We took a sheet, some large clothes pins, and near by furniture and created a fort over Hailey's play space! Then I gave her a flash light so we could play and read some books! Hailey loved it! It was such a different experience playing under a roof. The only hard part was that our dining room/play space doesn't offer much light, so the blanket blocked most of it and with it being a dark and rainy day, the flashlights we definitely needed! She loved coming in and out of it and letting it hit her on the head a little as she walked (maybe it made her feel tall!)

What a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon and such easy building and take down! Luckily the skies cleared and we got to spend some of our evening outside in the yard, so we did get a change of scenery!

Rainy Day Toddler Activities

We love rainy days! Before we had Hailey, Danny and I would spend rainy days just relaxing with our dogs on the couch. We would play board games, video games, watch tv... just be lazy with a darkened room! Well, now that Hailey is in her early toddler years, we know that isn't going to happen! She isn't old enough to enjoy snuggling on the couch watching a movie and she can't play board games... so here are so things we have come up with to make rainy days fun!

1. Jump in the puddles - When the rain stops, we like to go outside and jump in the puddles! We go out in bear piggies and jump and splash! Hailey loves to just hop around on dry land, so puddles make it extra fun!

2. Make a fort - Extra sheets thrown over furniture, secured with close pins or chip clips. A great place to read together as a family. We use pillows and cushions on the floor and cuddle up with a pile of books!

3. Read Read Read - Even without a fort, we do lots of reading in our house! We read everyday, but a rainy day means more books for some reason! Hailey and I are little bookworms and there is nothing like her sitting on my lap and reading to each other!

4. Bake some cookies - Something about a stormy day makes me want to bake cookies! Although I am not a big cookie eater, Hailey and her daddy love them! I sit Hailey on the counter next to me and she helps pour and mix the ingredients! It helps take the rainy dampness feeling out the house as it fills it with the delicious smell of cookies!

5. Dance Party - We love to throw a dance party, and a rainy day is the perfect excuse to crank up the music and dance! It takes the dreary away and we have so much fun! Hailey loves to dance, so rain rain  go away...we can dance any way!

Tot Spot: New activity #29 - Colored Water Chemistry

 Materials:
- Water
- Food Coloring
- Various Sized Containers

We took a bunch of clear containers and filled them with different amounts of colored water. Hailey poured the water from one container to another, making new colors and super messes (definitely an outdoor activity). This was another activity she LOVED! We played with these cups for at least 2 hours. We refilled the containers quite a few times because all the water ended up getting poured out, but the point of this activity was to practice our pouring skills, so we knew it was going to be a mess! Her daddy calls her a little chemist because she loves to pour water back and forth, so I knew this activity would be something she would super enjoy. I think the only reason she stopped when she did is because she heard our neighbor let her dog out and she wanted to say hi. We also put some color in her water table, so she played with that a little too. So much fun on a beautiful day! I am definitely going to be looking for some different sized containers to repeat this activity! She did best with the measuring cup with the handle, so I hope I can find some different sized handle plastic cups! I LOVE playing with the simple things in life, like pouring water in a cup! Such a great and fun learning opportunity in so many ways such as seeing new colors being made and being able to pour from different sized cups!

Tot Spot: New activity #28- Shaving Cream Paint

Materials:


- Shaving Cream
- Food Coloring
- Muffin Tin
- Paint Brush
- Bath tub (or other place to paint)




Today I mixed some colors into shaving cream in a muffin tin and let Hailey paint away in an empty bathtub before her actual bath! She loved it! She painted the walls a little, but she really enjoyed painting herself, her rubber duckies, and me! This kept her occupied for a good 45 minutes or so before her bath! The best part about it was that we could just rinse it away with the shower head! We rinsed her off and then filled the tub and she got her bath! Anything with painting is one of Hail's favorite activities, so of course she loved this!

Tot Spot: New activity # 27 - Chalk Spray Paint

Chalk Spray Paint Recipe

1-2 tsp. washable paint

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup cornstarch

squirt of dishwashing liquid

1 squirt bottle per color

Add cornstarch to one cup of hot water whisking to mix so that there are no clumps.

Add one teaspoon of washable tempura paint and a quirt of dishwashing liquid.   Mix well.

Pour it into your squirt bottles and shake well.

I got this idea from Pintrest (what would we do with it??? LOL!) I used the recipe above using spray bottles I bought at the dollar store. Hailey had a tough time squeezing the nozzle. I don't know if it was because she doesn't have the motor skills yet or if the bottle was just too hard. I'm glad I only made purple and didn't make a bunch of colors. We did it on our chalkboard wall (also from pintrest) and it did not show up very well. I had the same problem with the color water balloons... I think I need to make a white (or just lighter color) wall for activities like this. 

Well, even though it did not work as I had hoped, we are going to keep trying with the spray bottles. Maybe if I find a different kind I will get them, but I still have them available for Hailey to try and work with to get the hang out it. After all, this is all a learning experience!!! 

18 Month Doctor Visit

Paging Dr. Hailey

Reading a book while she waited

Today we had our 18 month doctor visit. Hailey is doing remarkable! She is 22.6 lb which puts her in the 75%ile and 31 1/2 inches which is the 50%ile! She also got 2 vaccines today, which she was not too happy about. Today I remembered to bring the m&ms with, so after her shots she got some chocolate! The endorphines in the chocolate help with the calming effect so it was an easier situation that normal this time! Our biggest hurdle was that today of all days, little miss decided not to nap! I think that made it a little rough, but not too bad. We went to our favorite diner after her appointment and Danny won her a littlest pet shop iguana "iggy" from the toy crane machine. AWESOME!

Aside from the typical height and weight being great, the doctor confirmed that Hailey is way ahead in her speech development and she can jump, well hop, off both feet and that is a super achievement because it is a 2+ skill!

Enjoying the diner!

The doctor also said she is probably right brained because she seems very musical. She loves to sing and dance and because a lot of her words and phrases come from songs, it is a good indication! That makes momma very happy! I am right brained, daddy is left brained (he is a super math guy... he counts for a living!) It makes me excited to think of her in school plays and loving broadway like me, well I didn't do the school plays... but I love to watch them! :) Do you think that how your child is now is a good indication of who they will be when they grow up? I like to think Hailey will always be a little singing star, but even if she's not, I just hope she stays happy, healthy, and lives life to the fullest!