Shelling a small quart of peas with a 9 month old is NOT for the faint of heart nor for the busy mom that needs to get supper on the stove... however it was a great learning activity that lasted about 30 minutes! I have such great memories of picking and shelling peas with my grandma at our family farm! I really want Parker to know and understand where our food comes from.... we picked up these delicious sugar peas from on weekly farms market and had them later for dinner. Just like candy!  It takes a lot of find motor skills to not only shell peas but also to eat them!  We still may have a few rolling around our kitchen floor for later -ha!

Happy Baby= Happy Mamma!

Who doesn't love play dough?! Well Parker and I had fun! I made my own dough using this recipe- with just salt, flour, water and a plant based food coloring. I loved how it turned out except I did not use enough of the non-toxic food coloring powder so the blue was quite dull.  

I used an ikea non-shatter mirror, a few shape cups and we played with the dough for almost an hour! Of course Parker did a little taste testing but it was so salty that he didn't try that more than once! I love to watch him figure out how things work!  After showing him to cut the dough with the shape cups, he would place the shapes on the dough and try the same way.... clapping for himself as he was very proud of his accomplishments. It's amazing how much a child learns in just a 9 month period of time!

Happy Baby= Happy Mamma!

Who knew an old box and some string could be so entertaining? I am behind on uploading activities to my Baby Learn And Play blog so I made this box almost a month ago and we have been playing with it ever since. I poked holes in the sides of the boxes and knotted different textured and colored strings, ribbons, material through the holes connecting them so that when he pulled on one side the other side disappears inside the box.  It is such an simple and cheap activity but is great for developing fine motor skills! I keep this box up and bring it down when Parker seems boarded with his toys. I find that he is much less interested in adult made toys these days and much more intrigued by objects that I prefer he not touch - the garbage can, a hot coffee mug,  a tv remote, a sharp corner,etc. I can't turn my head these days so I am always looking for safe objects to keep him occupied in my vision while I made dinner, washes dishes, etc.

I would love to see photos of your discovery box! Let me know how it goes!