It's so hard to be a little baby and want to stick everything in your mouth yet your "obnoxious" parents keep removing it before you have even had a proper taste! The injustice! I love food and flavor- actually who doesn't- so I do feel a bit bad that all he eats is the same liquid diet and a few plastic/wood toys- boo! Actually Parker did start solids this past month and has had a fair number of fruits and veggies without reactions (thankfully) so I felt semi-safe to try this activity with him!

We started with a plastic bag filled with "jello" and orange slices but quickly moved on to  make a mess as he was only mildly entertained or curious with the plastic bag. Because I only felt "semi-safe" with using "jello" because of the limited amount of food exposure, I went with a sugar, dye, and gelatin free version I found at our local organic store called Simple Delish. It is not quite the same texture as jello but was definitely a similar experience.  As you can imagine, we had orange "jello" everywhere- all over the highchair, baby, mommy, floor and walls but it was fun!  He actually was not that interested in eating the jello (which was fine by me!) but rather painting with it and attempting to pick up the small and slippery orange slices. I did help him eat or drink some of the juice from the oranges which he thinks is really funny! Think about the texture and surprise sweetness when you bite into a juicy piece of fruit.... now think about doing this for the very first time! 

It has been rainy and cold in our area recently which means we have been stuck inside our tiny little apartment with our same and very limited supply of toys- so boring!  I understand that repetition is good for babies and that he is probably not "bored" BUT sometimes "mommy" needs to stimulate her creativity and have different conversational pieces to shake up the day. New objects, textures, sounds and manipulatives are always good for baby so I dug out some decorating supplies from my closet to explore with Parker. We found: artificial flowers, raffia, twine, some interesting textured packing paper, a little wool scarf, and burlap.

My little guy is not quite crawling but he is strong and able to roll and move around in a circle to get at the objects he wants. It was quite interesting to see what he gravitates to... the winner was the packing paper and raffia!  Parker is constantly working on his gross motor skills as he pushes, rolls and reaches for objects just out of his reach but he is also working on hand- eye, hand-mouth, and hand- hand coordination. We play simple cause and effect games such as peekaboo with the paper, putting the flowers on our head and watching them fall, listening to the rustling of the raffia as he moves and pulls it apart, and so much more!  

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma!

Who knew green peas could be so fun! Grab some frozen veggies out of your freezer and throw them in some warm water to practice some fine motor....and laughing skills!  We made a mess! There were peas and water everywhere but it was so worth it. My floor needed mopped anyhow! :) The ability to pick up small object via "pinching" is a learned skill that takes practice but he was working hard at getting those tiny little buggers in his mouth. In case you were wonder....the answer is "yes, his dad and I ate those green peas for dinner"! Lol!

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma!

It so common and boring.... tissues and cotton balls?! But look at it through the eyes of a human that has just been on this earth for 5 1/2 months. He has just recently gained the ability (or permission) to grasp, touch and feel but a few limited objects/people. He is fascinated with everything! "It's so soft! The texture is so interesting... oh look at how the tissue floats through the air!". "Where did mommy go?- PEEKABOO!" I did not share the pictures of him trying to taste it but of course that happened as well! There is so much joy and good in the simple things!

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma!

"Red, orange, yellow, green and blue... purple on top your rainbows is through!" Spring is quite a colorful season. For weeks my son has been mesmerized by objects hanging above his head and anything that can go in his mouth. As an adult, I find all the baby toy attached boring (lol- I am aware that this is my issue not his!) so I found colorful ribbons on Amazon and secured several colors to each of the hoops. More than I imagined, this activity became a full body experience: hands, mouth, feet, and body entanglement! He has loved playing in his gym for over a week now! I will tell you that I have to keep a very close eye on him as he rolls all over and did his absolute best to knock the entire gym down on top of him which could be dangerous without me there to rescue him.  All in all this experience was good fun!

Happy Baby=Happy Mama!

Happy Easter! Parker and I had a blast playing with some home-made egg shakers I put together using some plastic Easter eggs and small uncooked pasta from my kitchen cabinet. You could use anything that will make noise inside- dried beans, sprinkles, paper clips, etc. We listened to my husband's Brazilian samba music, talked about the colors of the eggs, threw the shakers on the floor and of course broke he broke them open with his brut force to spill out the contents.  If you have an older child that is a bit quicker and more coordinated getting things into their mouth, you may want to tape the eggs shut to ensure they can't choke on the small objects. Definitely an activity worth testing out with your little one!

Looking for some Easter fun that doesn't involve a creepy looking costume bunny? ( I have nothing wrong with the Easter bunny but why are all the costumes so crazy looking?!) I wanted to celebrate this holiday with my little guy through some fun sensory experiences so I bought some Easter grass and eggs from Target ( the place I blow most of my money these days!) and made Parker into my most favorite Easter basket ever!  As you may have guessed, everything goes in the mouth so the "grass" is something to watch carefully. The texture of the grass was interesting to him... he actually shivered with the feeling ( I am still not sure if he liked it or hated it).  Daddy was home for this activity which may it even more fun as he threw the grass over his head and "rough housed" in the sweet way that only his daddy can do. Try it out this week with your little one... I would love to see the picture results!

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma!

Parker had an absolute blast playing in the water! We loved this activity so much that we repeated it the very next day. Parker played in the water for over 15 minutes until he could barely hold his little (big) head up anymore.  We used a simple baking sheet, different textured balls, water and a tummy time roller but you could use a Boppy pillow or rolled towel if your little person does not yet have great head control.  Parker thought that splashing himself and sticking his wet fingers in his mouth was the best fun! 

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma!

Happy 5 Months to my baby boy! I have seen so many amazing changes in the last month and can't wait to see what he learns during his 5th month of life. I have been so anxious to try paint with him so now that we have a highchair, I thought it was time to give it a go! I placed four generous squirts of paint inside a ziplock bag and used painters tape to secure it to the high chair tray. In truth, I think this activity would be better towards the end of 5 months or at 6 months as he enjoyed it after some time but had no idea what to do with it at the beginning. At first, the tape's texture around the edges was more fascinating to him then the actual paint splats but after showing him with my finger and a toy what he could do he started to scratch around in the paint and was happy to do so for several minutes. I will be trying this again along with other variations as he gets a little older and as the high chair becomes more "normal" to his everyday.  Did you try this with your 5 month old? If so, how did your baby react?

Happy Baby=Happy Mamma