Fun Stuff!

I've finally allowed Kaylee to hold her baby brother and she just loves it! Now whenever she wants to hold him (which is almost always), she says "up-up Husson?" I can't say Hudson likes it very much however. He almost always has a concerned look on his face. I have to stay close of course because when he begins to fuss or something else distracts Kaylee, she puts her hands on his back and gives him a good shove. Who knows where he'd end up if I weren't there to catch him!

It is far too easy for me to rely on the "electronic babysitter" to entertain Kaylee while I nurse Hudson, clean, make dinner, or just to fill up some time in the day. I've been trying to keep the TV off lately so I'm looking for quick and easy fun things for her to do when I need to get other things done.

One idea I had is a tub full of oatmeal with various bowls, spoons and gadgets:

Kaylee can stay occupied with this activity for quite a while. Of course you have to be willing to buy some oatmeal that you'll never eat, and also not mind having to clean up afterwards. But it cleans up well and I think it's good for their little brains to scoop and pour, stir and dump.

Another quick and easy idea is plain old cups. You can use paper cups, but I have a gazillion plastic cups of many different colors. I just take them out and plop them on the coffee table. Kaylee can sort them by color and stack them in various ways. Then if you're really brave, you can add the secret ingredient that makes anything fun - water! I fill one cup about half full and she pours it from cup to cup. She also likes to dunk her superball into the water and swish it around. Again, you have to be willing to let things get a little wet. I figure it's just water. It won't stain and it'll dry.

Today we made a fun craft project at our weekly art class. I just had to write about it. Kaylee wasn't feeling very expressive today, so I got to enjoy this fun project. All you do is paint vinegar onto a piece of paper, then stick tissue paper onto it:

When the paper dries, the tissue comes off and leaves this:
Pretty neat, huh? And...it's a neat project. No messiness. You could do this with Christmas trees for Christmas, eggs for Easter, just about anything for anything! I love it! It's a great project for toddlers.

Well I was all excited because I had both kids down for a nap, but now Hudson is awake and screaming at me for some reason. Better go see what's up.