 This is us. I am happy happy happy!! Being a ‘nearby Grandma’ is THE BEST!! |
Talk to them! Be silly! Here's a video clip of silliness! |
 Cuddle! Hug! Laugh! Make a ‘color-wave blanket’ from scraps. |
 A mobile is great over the crib. My daughter made this! |
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SING!! PLAY PIANO!! Very young: baby on floor by piano Later: in my lap We play music! She ‘plays’ keys! We sing! She LOVES it! Grandma singing songs |
 Write the day's plans on an easel. (I bought an infant carrier, but never used it. I just carry her—great exercise!) |
 Make a stuff organizer |
 ‘Snap’ the legs of a stuffed animal into clothes to keep it nearby. |
 Read read read You can't get too much of this at any age! We often write in the front of our books: ‘Read by Grandma and Alex, (date)’ So much fun to look back at, years later! |
 Wagon rides (or stroller/carriage rides) |
 Make a memory quilt. (This photo is with Alex at about 17 months... and 25 blocks done!) |
 Before sitting, I would carefully prop her up (constantly supervised) to watch birds in our ‘critter area’. |
 Carry her around to get the ‘lay of the land’. |
Play peek-a-boo! (34 seconds) |
 Lots of rocking (We have a double rocker inside and a glider outside.) |
 Starting to sit opens up lots of new play! Stacking blocks are a good toy. |
 Oh boy! Beef kale meatball and strawberries. Messy eating opportunities! |
 At Grandma's house, we use the ‘Sassy Seat’ for eating/more. She loves these homemade memory cards. I put velcro on them—she loves to pull them apart! |
More musical opportunities! (59 seconds) |
 Velcro fruits are perfect for a love of pulling things apart (and a love of fruits). |
 Regular trips to the park and zoo (these are musical bars) |
 Watch ducks (and turtles and frogs) at a nearby pond |
 Use ‘big kid’ stuff (with proper supervision) |
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A big exercise mat is fantastic as kids start to creep/crawl. (34 seconds) |
 Kitchen bowls/utensils are a fantastic toy! |
 Practice with a spoon! |
 Loves the toddler swing! |
 Really enjoys stuffed animals |
 The big bag of (mostly) McDonald Happy Meal toys (accumulated long ago) provides hours of fun (always supervised, since everything still goes into the mouth) |
 Who knew diapers could be so much fun!? |
 Selfies are fun at all ages! |
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She loves loves loves her books! (pushing buttons on Usborne books) (17 seconds) |
Push toys work well for developing standing/walking skills (13 seconds) |
 Fun at the piano with Grandpa |
 Getting pushed around the house in a laundry basket (with a book—life doesn't get much better!) |
 Playing with dirt and bird seed |
 The first time Alex tried this tent swing, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Shortly after, it turned into her favorite swing!! (I put a round doggie-bed inside to make it more comfy.) She likes to spin around, and around, and around! |
 Puzzles Update: Mudpuppy puzzles are extremely high-quality, with thick, sturdy pieces. This ‘kindness’ set builds in difficulty. For bigger puzzles, like Woodland Forest Search, we make the puzzle together, then disassemble a ‘chunk’ (like a corner) for Alex to put together on her own. |
 Big tubes |
 Beach time! |
 I can dress myself and be sooooo fashionable! |
 In the hammock with a snack |
 Working hard in the kitchen |
Pretend play (26 seconds) |
Little slide (1 minute 7 seconds) |
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Getting really good with a spoon (47 seconds) |
 Books with flaps |
 A special chair for reading |
 Chunky chalk drawing outside (lots of adult help here) |
 Flannel board and felt (Practice with letters, colors, shapes ... lots more!) |
FLANNEL BOARD ACTIVITIES: flannelboardfun.com is an amazing resource! Here's her full playlist.
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 Little rollercoaster car At 17 months, Alex needs help getting in, and she can't push it up the track herself yet. But she loves loves loves riding it down! Update: By age two, Alex can push it up and ride it down entirely by herself. |
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Letters (about 17 months) (‘M’ is actually one of her best and favorite letters!) (love how she stacks the letters so neatly) (1 minute 21 seconds) |
 Water play (Look carefully to see the sprinkler.) |
 Go for a ride in the mining cart (She's signing ‘more’!) |
 Wander around and explore |
 Tricycle/stroller (it has different configurations for different ages/abilities) It's compact enough to fit through our desert paths! |
 Play Doh (we have Milk and Cookies and Shape and Learn Make and Measure) At this age, she uses a booster seat together with 3" chair risers. |
 Colorforms (we have Picture Play Set—Pets) |
 Dress up! Play piano (without any help)! |
 Tiny Tears (from Carol's youth) |
Sit & Spin Grandpa Ray taught Alex (18 months) how to spin this all by herself (35 seconds) |
 Melissa & Doug magnetic dress-up doll |
August 2020 Alex got this tiny Korg piano at age 1, but didn't use it much (on her own) until about 8 months later. Now she loves it! She ‘knows’ every song in Music for Very Little People: turn to the page, she says the lyrics or does the action. (1 minute, 2 second video) |
September 2020 Grandma's big helper! (21 second video) |
 September 2020 Moving from crib to toddler bed at 1 year 9 months! (That's Grandpa Ray setting things up with us...) She doesn't really have that many boo-boos. She loves band-aids ... She loves to ‘dab-dab’ calamine lotion ... |
 September 2020 Bake and cook (standing on a chair, helping with chocolate mousse) |
October 2, 2020 Put together a jigsaw puzzle (45 seconds) |
October 6, 2020 (17 seconds) First computer game! She's practicing the one-to-five number sequence at SplashLearn. (They stopped letting us use it without paying—drat!) I created my own counting game for toddlers here. |
 October 2020 A real tea party (with chamomile tea and homemade chocolate chip cookies). The wooden pastry tower is from Tender Leaf toys. The china tea set is from Carol's childhood! |
 December 2020 (2 years old) Water Wow Activity pads Fun and mess-free—it's just water! Do a page, let it dry, do it again (and again and again). Alex now has a clear preference for her right hand. We were careful not to impose any preference. |
December 2020 (36 seconds) Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Activity Pad (She's singing Baby Shark at the end!) I peel off the paper that surrounds the stickers. Then, I logically re-arrange the stickers on the sheet, and attach identifying labels (as best I can). |
December 2020 (33 seconds) Lite Brites Alex's fine motor skills are extraordinary. It's too hard for her to push the peg through the paper: she shows me where she wants to put the peg, I punch it, then she puts it in. |
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December 2020 (31 seconds) Sorting Lite-brites are also fun to sort! (I love how she fixes the ‘mistake’ at the end.) |
 December 2020 Rocking and Reading Grandpa Vreeland (Carol's Dad's father) made the toddler-size rocking chair almost six decades ago! We have a ‘Charlie Brown’ Christmas tree. |
December 2020 (34 seconds) Pretend Play with Doll House Furniture Both Tender Leaf and Hape are high quality. We have a slight preference for Tender Leaf. (The wooden step stool is perfect for reaching the counter.) |