From the category archives:

Month 10-12

Now we’re cruising

Activity #257: Meow, bark and tweet at the pet store

September 12, 2011

My friend Mary (who had her son Del in the same hospital the day after I had Julian) gave this idea to our moms group. She said that 13-month old Del loves the pet store where he can check out the animals, especially the birds. Does your baby love animals? Mine really did (and still [...]

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Host a Margarita Mommies Group

August 22, 2011

This week’s challenge is a summery activity for babies that can sit up on their own; this is your 34th challenge. These ten-month olds (Theo, Del, Julian and Paxton) are having so much fun slurping on plastic toys and touching one another’s toes that they don’t realize their moms are having fun too. Ingredients for [...]

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Now we’re cruising

Activity #8: Go to bookstore events

August 8, 2011

Don’t miss the opportunity to let someone else entertain your baby. Go to a bookstore during story time. Some will even serve you a latte. This is your 32nd rookie mom challenge. Many of these storytimes happen during the work day but some are on weekends. Use the “search by zip code” feature on the [...]

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Activity #129: Make a mini water table

July 24, 2011

Misty’s found a way for her baby to enjoy some summertime water fun: Fill baby’s high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing! I love this activity for hot, housebound babies everywhere (especially those of us jailed by an older napping child). Baby Madeline’s high chair has a very deep lip, enough to hold [...]

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Now we’re cruising

Activity #191: Make a flipbook from your videos

April 13, 2011

When I read about the service, Flipclips.com, in Real Simple magazine a few years ago, I fell in love with the idea. During a long nap I had to myself, I hung out on the computer messing with the video clips I have of Julian. They let you upload a video and then make some [...]

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Activity #223: Make magnets

November 19, 2010

This is a crafty gift idea, posted by request. I recently made a set of magnets for everyone in my Mom’s Group. I presented them in a stack with a little ribbon around them. I chose to do 1.5 inch squares, but you can do whatever floats your boat. All you have to do is [...]

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Now we’re cruising

Activity #344: Find your rainy day meccas

November 16, 2010

What do Studio Grow, Sadie Dey’s Cafe, Habitot, and even the Berkeley YMCA have in common? They’re all fighting for my rainy day toddler entertainment dollars. Whitney challenged me to go to them all (not a problem, I was making the rounds anyway) and write up my opinions. Several years later, it has led to [...]

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Nicole and Reagan’s Very Rookie Summer

August 6, 2010

Presenting the sixth installment of our Very Rookie Summer series. Nicole sent us a photo essay of her walk on the wild side, a hike with baby Reagan in a Florida Nature Preserve. My husband and I took our nine-month old baby girl, Reagan, to The Enchanted Forest (A local nature preserve in Florida) to [...]

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Now we’re cruising

Complain to your baby

August 4, 2010

Here’s the affirmation of the month: It’s hard to listen to whining! No one will argue with you on that. In moments of frustration, tell your toddler that, and don’t take the whining personally. Sometimes we feel like we can’t complain about motherhood. But we can describe it. If someone asks how it’s going, you [...]

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A Very Rookie Summer with Alana + Dan

July 9, 2010

Voila! It’s the second installment of our Very Rookie Summer series. Baby S.A. is 9 months old and lives in Nashville, TN with his parents, Alana and Dan, who wrote it to share two summer adventures with us. Swimming at the YMCA outdoor pool. This one seems obvious, but I think a lot of new [...]

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Now we’re cruising

Activity #576: Build a fort and hide in it

June 8, 2010

If you and your baby are home before your mate, the activity/game of the day is to build a simple fort with a sheet draped over a large table and wait to be discovered. I recommend strategically placed binder clips to secure the loose edges. To make it fun for the baby, bring pillows and [...]

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Activity #363: Do Music Together

May 20, 2010

Yes, I’m endorsing a product/service here. No, I am not being paid to do so.  It’s called Music Together and two past experieinces made me decide to recommend this activity. Several of my friends had done Music Together for three consecutive “semesters” and then decided to skip a semester. During that period we met at [...]

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