Learning the Concepts of Big/Little

E was the official holder of the cucumbers while we were working in Guhguh and Grandpa's garden last week. Since one cucumber was significantly smaller than the other, we had a quick lesson on the concepts of big and little. I asked her to hand me the big cucumber several times and then the little cucumber. She LOVES doing this type of activity, and she catches on quickly!

I didn't realize that O was paying any attention to us until she asked me to "pretend that I don't know what big and little cucumbers are and you have to teach me." Silly girl :)

Straws Everywhere!

When we went on vacation a few weeks ago, we didn't take many toys. However, I did pack a bag of straws! O, E, and my niece had a fantastic time playing with the straws! O fixed my hair using the straws as decorations. They made straw soup. E crawled around grabbing and chewing on the straws,and the big girls sprinkled the straws on E. We connected the straws to make "the longest straw in America," and on and on and on... The straws provided the girls with tons of open ended, creative fun! Go grab a bag and save them for a rainy day!

Busy Baby

E is a crawler, and she'll crawl through and on anything...

through water


on grass


on sand


on an inflatable waterslide


Research shows a correlation between crawling and later reading ability...if that is true, then baby E ought to be a fantastic reader one day!

Tiny Toes

E Loves to Swing!

After reading about how babies should swing in toddler swings everyday since it's such wonderful vestibular stimulation, I was motivated to get O's swing ready for E (the ropes were spiky due to sun exposure...I covered the ropes with duct tape, which worked perfectly).

E LOVES to swing (especially when O is pushing her)! Unfortunately, O's swingset is across the yard from E's swing, so I am constantly running from one to the other pushing them in their swings. Although, I guess that's a good thing...I need the exercise!

Stuck!

E occasionally gets stuck under chairs as she is crawling about the house. I usually try to let her figure out how to get out by herself as it is very good for her brain to do this type of motor planning. However, she was too upset this time, so we had to help her out. O lifted the top off the chair so that E could stand up, and I lifted her up. Poor baby.

E Loves Her O Ball

This O ball is one of E's favorite toys! It is easy for her little fingers to grasp and throw. She also loves to chew on it and plays with it in the water. Simple toys like this are the best! (I bought the O ball several months ago from WM for 5 dollars).

Peek-A-Boo Baby

An empty kleenex box is great for playing peek-a-boo with babies and small toys. E loves to reach in the box to get her toys. It's a little easier to get the toys out of the kleenex box than the wipes container, and she seems to prefer this box to the container.

Starting Early...

O was SO excited when E started pushing her vacuum cleaner back and forth. She said "Look mama! She's vacuuming ALL by herself! We'll never have to clean again!" If only that were true :)

I'm very busy cleaning and organizing our house and finishing O's handmade birthday presents...her birthday party is on Saturday, and there is still SO much to do. I apologize for the delay in answering email. I hope to get to them soon.

A New Sensory Experience for Baby...

lying on her back in the grass...she was not impressed! I was surprised by how aversive this experience was for her. She cringed and got up as quickly as she possibly could. She didn't cry, but she acted like this was just a terrible experience. However, she doesn't mind crawling in the grass, and she's always trying to eat it!

Drop It In...Where Is It???

E and I have fun dropping small toys (but not so small as to be chokable) into this wipes container. I put the toys halfway in the slot, and she tries to grab them out to put them in her mouth. Occasionally, she'll push them the rest of the way in, and she reaches in to try to get them out. She'll also hold the container up to her eyes to look in it and shakes it...so cute. We have lots of fun with this simple activity. We use a Huggies wipes container since it has a rubbery material surrounding the opening which makes it easy for baby hands to reach in without getting scratched.

Fun with Unit Blocks

Unit blocks (and playsilks) are my most favorite toys for my kids, and we have really enjoyed them lately. O and I have fun building towers, and E loves to knock them down.

I need to find a new storage solution for the blocks...when they are put away in their bin on the IKEA storage unit, we almost never play with them. We left them out for a few days and played with them everyday. It's interesting how the placement of a toy is so key in the amount of playtime it sees...

Baby in the Mirror

I've planned to write a post about E's Montessori bedroom, but I never have...mainly because we spend so little time in there. We sleep on the floor bed, but that is about it.

Lately, I've been trying to spend more time playing in front of these mirrors on her floor. She really enjoys them, so I'm trying to set aside some time each day to play in this space with her. I'm thinking of putting a baby gate in her doorway so I can leave her in her room to play by herself while I wash clothes. I have a feeling that she may climb the gate, but I may try it anyway...

Tunnel Time

O and I have been setting up obstacle courses in our den for E to crawl through and this tunnel was a popular addition! We set up the tunnel for E to crawl through, couch cushions for her to crawl over, chairs to crawl under, etc. I was really surprised by how quickly she crawled through the tunnel and then continued to crawl through it over and over again. It's amazing how different she is from O...O didn't even start crawling until she was 10 months old. E is only 9 months old, and she is crawling, climbing, standing, etc and I'm very afraid that she may be walking soon. Slow down baby girl!

Piano Girl

Playing her piano is one of E's favorite things to do! She loves to pull up to her piano, and I couldn't believe when she stood up and started playing her piano a few days ago. Our baby girl is growing up way too fast!!!

MMM...Smells Good!

I recently found a set of 6 glass spice jars at the thrift store, and I could not resist buying them to set up a scent sniffing activity for E.

To set up this activity, I put a cotton ball with a different scent in each bottle. (I plan to change the scents every couple of weeks). Right now the bottles have the following scents: vanilla, apricot oil, banana flavoring, pineapple flavoring, tea tree oil, and rubbing alcohol. O, E, and I sat in a circle and passed the bottles around and talked about the scents. O and I described what we smelled...she said the rubbing alcohol smelled "horrible," and the vanilla smelled "sweet." Matching scents is one of O's favorite Montessori activities, so she was very excited that "baby sister" has a similar activity for her shelf.

Imbucare Box

We gave E this Imbucare Box for Christmas, and I introduced it to her last week (I found it for around 5 dollars and could not resist buying it for her). She LOVES it! I think I may have another Montessori girl on my hands!

E's Velcro Board

E is always right with us when O and I do Montessori work, but last week I laid out a rug for her and set her up with her own activities. She was so excited that she was practically vibrating :) Her arms were waving, and she was kicking her feet. She loves to be included in everything we do, and she felt like a big girl with her own rug!

I introduced the velcro board, and she thought it was fun (and tasty!). To make the velcro board, I put 2 strips of sticky backed velcro on a board. I put velcro on the bottoms of several objects for her to stick on the board. She loves to pull the objects off and immediately taste them. I watch her very closely and frequently check the velcro to make sure it is not getting loose. Also, I took off any small objects that could be choking hazards. (I made the velcro board for O when she was a toddler). I'll be setting up E's activities on our Montessori shelf soon, and we are all (O, E, and me) very excited about it.

Exploring a New Basket of Treasures

I gave E a new treasure basket this week. It's filled with coral that her grandmother brought over for E and O, and she loves it! I watch her carefully since she puts everything in her mouth. I don't like for her to gnaw on the coral, but I let her put it in her mouth to experience the taste and texture (and I even tried it myself to make sure that the coral wasn't too abrasive for her tender gums).

I love to watch my girls play with natural objects, such as rocks, shells, and coral, and it's nice to know that they actually prefer these things to junky plastic toys (usually!). I love how E has her sweet feet propped on the basket as she explores the coral!

Playing Drums

After playing What's Inside? E enjoys playing the tin like a drum. We make drums out of empty mixed nut containers and other random containers. She also thinks it's hilarious to slap my stomach like a drum :)

A few days ago I took out several pots and pans to use as drums. I enjoyed playing these drums even more than the girls did!