From the category archives:

Indoors

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #80: Let your infant dress himself

May 18, 2011

I used to see 3-year olds around town dressed in wild combinations of stripes, gingham, rainbow tights and superhero capes. I wondered when my baby would look that creative and charming.* Then it dawned on me and I began to create wild combinations and increase the creativity in my infant’s wardrobe. If your baby is [...]

Calling all DUPLO fans! (sponsored)

April 15, 2011

Today Heather and I are down in New Orleans at a conference called Mom 2.0. I’m super excited to learn from all the smart bloggity bloggers who will be there, and apparently someone thinks Heather is one of them, because she’s speaking on a panel! Go, Heather! I marked this post “sponsored” because we are [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #263: Enjoy modern art

March 21, 2011

A fun suggestion from our friend and fellow rookie mom, Rosa, is to pack yourself up and head into the city for a museum outing. Assume you go to a cocktail party sometime soon. When someone asks what you do, instead of mumbling about maternity leave or bursting into tears when you think about how [...]

Activity #62: Paint your baby’s feet

February 7, 2011

Our challenge for you this week is slather your baby’s feet with paint and commemorate their tiny size. Many paint-your-own-pottery places know how to help you get cute baby footprints on plates and mugs. This is your sixth challenge. We made trivets (the cheapest pottery available was a flat tile). I recommend tackling the cheaper [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #75: Fake ‘em out

February 2, 2011

When Julian was a little guy and I needed to remove my cell phone from his little paws, a decoy cell phone was the way to avoid a mini-tantrum. Save old sunglasses, cell phones, remotes and key chains that are no longer needed in a drawer. To keep le baby busy: pull them out one [...]

Activity #243: Play hopscotch inside

January 28, 2011

The only thing missing from this idea is the description of how I’m blissfully catching a few minutes on the laptop or drinking a cocoa while this is all going on. I love the toddler and preschooler games where I can sit in one place and still participate like if I’m the toll collector while [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Photograph your toddler’s obsession

January 12, 2011

Are you tired of every other word being “choo choo” or “car” or “princess” (am I just projecting here?)? Whatever your child’s obsession, this too shall pass, so take some pictures of your babe at his happiest, surrounded by the objects of his affection. And make sure to get in on the fun yourself. In [...]

Activity #208: Pitch a tent

December 28, 2010

My friend Jeanine once told me there’s lots of fun time to be had with a baby at an outdoor store like REI: you just set up a sweet pad in the display tent with several of the Thermarest mattresses, chirping bird toys, and bright colored water bottles and have a blast. The first time [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

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 [...]

Activity #271: Make a cheap-o rattle

October 28, 2010

Faced with all his usual toys, Holden turned toward his faux rattle and rolled it and shook it for 2 days. Here’s how to make this awe-inspiring toy: Wash and remove the label from a small container Let dry (important or it all turns to mush and is fun for noone) Insert about 6 Cheerios [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #235: Do baby bench press

June 30, 2010

Do you want to squeeze in some exercise during your day? But also just want to lay around? While lying on the floor, hold baby above you and rhythmically lower baby to your face, kiss baby’s face all over, and raise baby back up again… I used to like to say “kiss the baby” when [...]

Activity #399: Appreciate the art around you

June 24, 2010

Can you rummage through your house and find all the lady bugs…or all the elephants, or hearts? Using your child’s puzzles, toys and books, find all the examples you have of a single subject matter. “It’s interesting to compare the ways different illustrators depict the same thing,” rookie mom Becky wrote to us in an [...]

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