Playtime with Baby

I've been searching for fun activity ideas for Super Saturday and found some really fun websites. On one of them at http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/search/label/Family%20Fun. I found these cute ideas for baby playtime and thought I would post them here for those of you with new little ones. They had links where you could print the activities out so you may want to check out their website too.

Play Time! Newborns



Play Time! Newborns (Birth to 6 Months)


Try playing some of the little games to help simulate and teach your newborn. There are lot more games, print out these and many more for free at ExecutiveHomemaker.com.

Dancing Rattle

How to play: Gently bounce a colorful rattle back and forth across your baby’s field of vision.

What it teaches: Tracking and visual acuity. Babies can focus on a moving object when they are only a few weeks old. By two months, they may follow it with their eyes. By three months, they’ll wave their fists to try to touch the item. And at the ripe old age of four months, they may be ready to grasp and shake the rattle all by themselves. This activity encourages all of these efforts. Note: If your little one averts her eyes during this game, she’s had enough stimulation for now. Try again later.

This Little Piggy

How to play: Not much has changed here, and most parents know the toe-tweaking and sing-song verse by heart: “This little piggy went to market, this The actual words are unimportant, so make up your own version if you prefer, as long as you are consistent. After several weeks of singing the rhyme, casually interrupt yourselfmidsentence and see what your infant does to try to finish the game.

What it teaches: Communication skills and cause and effect. “Before long, your child will be familiar with how the game is played, and he’ll want to do something to keep the game going,” says Paul Toddler, a researcher and associate professor of specialeducation at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Your baby might kick and babble until you continue, for instance.


Baby’s First Seesaw




How to play: Lie on your back with your knees raised and feet flexed; lay your infant (four months or older) down on your legs with her bottom near your ankles and her back resting on your shins. Grip her wrists between your thumb and forefinger and slowly raise your feet until she is almost horizontal, then lower your legs and repeat for as long as she seems amused. And by all means, make sound effects a part of the fun.

What it teaches: Balance and bracing for a fall. All infants have a built-in reflex that alerts them to any movement affecting the position of their head — that’s why they “startle” when bumped. This exercise helps babies get used to the sensation of falling just as they’re gaining the necessary strength and coordination to prevent themselves from doing so.

There's a lot more games, print out these and many more for free at ExecutiveHomemaker.com.

One of Those Days

Today didn't start out as one of those days. When Isaac got back from doing rounds at the hospital we went to Lewiston. We had a nice afternoon and headed home so I could get ready for the Relief Society General Conference. Kaycee wasn't feeling well and fell asleep in the car to and from Lewiston. Kayden woke up with a scratchy little voice but they were very happy all day. As I got ready and was walking out the door, and early even, Kayden spewed everywhere. It wasn't a little spit up. It came protruding out all down the front of me, him, the diaper bag and all over the floor. It just wasn't once but three times. I didn't even think he had eaten that much. I ran him into the bathroom and he threw up more in the sink. Poor little guy. He was a little startled at first but was happy about it. He just grinned ear-to-ear after the fact. I gave him a bath and cleaned up the mess and cleaned up myself. As I was getting him dressed he was hungry again, ate and fell asleep. Isaac took Kaycee with him to the school while I watched the RS General Conf. on the television. I sat taking notes on the laptop while Kayden slept away next to me.

Hopefully with both of them being sick they will want to sleep more so I can catch up on sleep. I try to play with them all day and do homework at night. He has been sleeping about 5 to 6 hours straight so it makes it a little easier. After a couple days of 2 and 3 AM nights though I am exhausted.

Kayden is growing so fast. He had some sleepers in his closet that are 6 and 9 months outfits. I washed them yesterday so he could start wearing them. After his bath I put his "Daddy's Little Helper" sleeper on him and it barely fits. What a little stinker. He is so much fun. I feel so bad for him but love to hear his little voice. You can tell that he is sick when he talks, his little voice is all scratchy and cute. He likes to hear his funny voice too. He sat and made different sounds listening to his voice all day.







I guess it kind of did start out as one of those days. As we were leaving town we realized that it was homecoming and the traffic was going to be crazy. It was aweful. As it took us 20 minutes to get 2 feet on Grand we decided to go towards Colfax and take that exit to go to Lewiston. That was a horrible idea. We were stuck for 10 minutes waiting for oncoming traffic. Everyone was coming in town for the game. We finally had a one second delay of traffic and booked it across or we would have been there all day. Isaac was so frustrated. I thought it was pretty funny. I think because he gets so upset about little things like this I think it is funny.

More Cute Picts

I just have to blog about my cutie. He is getting to be such a big boy. Nana sent him some clothes the other day that I thought he wouldn't be wearing for a long time, nope! He is also wearing an outfit he got at the baby shower from Mashawn. Another one that I thought he wouldn't be wearing for a long time. It was chilly yesterday so it was perfect for church. What a little stud!




Kaycee got Kobe the Study Buddy Bear from Nana and Papa for her birthday. She was playing with it with Kayden and he loved it so she let him play with it. What a sweety.

Thumb Sucker

Well, I have a thumb sucker!

No he still likes his binky once in awhile, thank goodness. He has been biting his fingers because he is teething. Kaycee teethed around the same time but gave up binky's all together when she learned that she could take it out and chew on it instead. He has learned to pull the binky out and chew on it too but will still take one at night.

He is getting so big and so much fun.

Little Slugger

Grandma Callor gave this little outfit to Kayden before he was born. I thought it would be forever before he grew into it, it is a 9 month outfit. After Sunday and grabbed it today and put it on him before he out-grew it. It was a perfect day for it too. It was warm and sunny. If fits perfectly, except for the hat. He has a huge noggin! He was so cute I had to post the picts. When he was born we went to Build-A-Bear for Kaycee's bday to let her make him an animal. He got a turtle with coveralls and the little baseball gear. That is what he is holding. He is too cute!







And again, his streaker sister. I don't know why she likes to stripped down to her skivvies. When we came in from playing she said that her pants were sweaty. Then went the shirt and last to go were the socks.

Handsome Little/Big Man

So, Q-Ball as we call him, check out the bald head, is such a stud that I just had to take a picture of him after church. I can't believe how big he is getting. At his well-check on Tuesday he was almost 17 pounds and 26 or so inches long. The pants and the vest are 12 months. Wow! The shirt is a lot bigger, 2T, but it is tucked in so you can't tell how big it is. What a stud!!!





And his streaker sister. She stripped when we got home and ran around in undies all day. What a crazy girl.

Bottemless Pit

I don't know if Kayd is going through a growth spurt or what but he has been eating like crazy. He has been wanting to eat every 30 mintues to an hour. I try to prolong it as long as possible and when I do he scarfs it down like mad. I had to add more bottles because I can't keep up with him. He is so funny. He is so hungry that he will grab the bottle from me and hold it so I let him. Kaycee has had fun helping to feed him as well. She grabs the top of his head and pulls it back so she can watch him and make sure he is eating right. He doen'st mind, as long as he is geting fed.

The Great Storage Find

Kayden has been getting pretty mobile. He loves to be up and exploring so I thought it was about time to get out Kaycee's old toys. We went to the storage shed and searched through boxes and boxes of fun things. We went for the saucer/bouncer but found some great things.

Kayc was about the same age when we bought the saucer/bouncer so I thought it was about time to get it out. It is such a good toy. I think that he likes it more than she did. The first thing he found was the monkey. Kaycee's favorite toy on the bouncer was the monkey. She would stare at it and make faces. She would spin the little green leaves on the sides. He loves to hit the monkey and watch it fly. The other favorite one of both was the rhinoceros mirror. He sat at talked and laughed at it for a long time. It is funny to watch him and remember how Kaycee was. It is amazing how similar they really are.

Big Sis!

Kayden absolutely adores his big sister. He just stares, smiles and now laughs are her all day long. Lately however he has been crying when she smothers him. He is starting to stand up for himself. Anyhow! He loves her and she loves him. She watches over him, makes sure he is happy, fed and has a clean diaper. She is so concerned about his well being. She has started taking it upon herself to change his diaper. She'll say "mom, baby pooped." I'll turn to see and she is next to him with the diaper undone and her saying, "oh no, just pee" and start pulling it off. So I run and jump in. She is a character. Kayden thinks the whole thing is hilarious and smiles and laughs. One day she is going to get peed on and I will laugh my head off.

She always has to hold him and he loves to be held by her. They would sit there for hours if I let them. I'm really glad they have this relationship. I hope it continues. I really think it is because she would talk to him, read and sing to him while I was pregnant and even after he was born.