Watermelon Pops

Watermelon Pops
Family Fun

Materials
Watermelon
Popsicle Sticks
Cookie Cutters

Instructions
Use a cookie cutter to cut juicy star shapes from 1-inch-thick slices of seedless watermelon. Insert a Popsicle stick into each star, then set the pops on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Cover the stars with another sheet of foil and freeze for 1 hour or until firm.


We made half the watermelon cut-outs into popsicles and took the remaining along to a family gathering; our relatives were impressed with my son's work for art. While my two year old prefers fresh watermelon, my teething ten month old is digging the frozen fruit on his gums.

Ball Drop

Ball Drop
Baby Play (Gymboree)

“Balls, bowls and anything that bangs are big hits with older babies. How can you get all those elements into one playtime? Just provide your baby with some lightweight balls (like whiffle or tennis balls) and a big metal bowl or plastic basket. Then show your baby how to drop the balls into the container. When the balls hit, they each make a different and interesting sound. Your baby will be intrigued by this simple activity and will gain and understanding of cause and effect. “

My First Photo Album

My boys were given a cloth photo album for Christmas (similar to this) ; with the hustle and bustle of the holidays it was tucked away and forgotten until I recently stumbled across the album while preparing items for a semi-annual children’s consignment event. I decided it was time to add pictures; I used our home printer to print out photos and then cut the photos down to size. This was an instant hit, the boys love looking at pictures of themselves and our family and I've been hearing giggles from both of them.

Muddle Puddles

An unplanned but a kid exciting activity, our inflatable pool sprung a leak causing the water to steadily pour onto the deck, down to the grass below- creating a lovely waterfall like flow and a nice muddle puddle. While my two year old was more interested in playing in the extremely wet sand in the sandbox, my baby was all about splashing in the mud.

Over the past two years I’ve hung up my neat freak apron, realizing boys will be boys and if their wearing the same clothes they started the day in…well then it was a boring day. :)

Teething Relief

At nine months my baby boy has a whopping ZERO teeth! While I don’t see or feel any bumps in his mouth, he’s been less smiley, slightly fussy, sucks/gums on anything and everything (including our family dog)and my poor little guy has a horrible diaper rash. All these signs lead me to believe that teeth are in his near future. *Sigh* I’m going to miss his adorable toothless smile; I guess its part of accepting the fact my baby is closer to being a toddler then an infant.

Yesterday morning a light bulb came on, Hayden is a thumb sucker and we ended up with a lot of unwrapped but unused pacifiers; I decided to try a little “science experiment”. I filled a bowl with water, took a bunch of Nuks (and Soothies), squeezed the pacifier end under the water to fill and placed them in the freezer. Hayden doesn’t like pacifiers but he’s digging the “frozen” Nuk.

Searchlight

Searchlight
Baby Play (Gymboree)

Increased mobility brings with it a whole new range of games that involve chasing and catching. Most of these games have you pursuing your baby. But he can play the pursuer when you show him how to “catch” a flashlight beam. Wrap and secure a layer of colored tissue paper around the end of a flashlight, shine the colored light on the floor, on the wall or on low furniture and encourage your baby to “go get it.”

Scoop up Some Ice Cream

Scoop up Some Ice Cream
Highlights High Five

Materials:
Construction Paper
Glue
Scissors

Instructions:
1. To make the cones, cut brown triangles.
2. To make the scoops of ice cream, choose four colors. Cut circles from each piece of paper.
3. To make the cherry, cut small round circles.


Make a Picture
Glue the cones to a piece of paper. Glue the scoops of ice cream on the cones. put the cherry on top of the ice cream cones. Use crayons or small pieces of paper to add sprinkles.

Make a Game
Place 16 scoops in a bag. Give each player a cone. Take turns drawing a scoop from the bag. If you draw a flavor that you don't have, add it to your cone. If you draw a flavor that you already have, return the scoop to the gag and pass the bag to the next player. The first player to scoop up all four flavors gets wins.