Balancing Games for a 2-Year-Old

Today was a great day for playing outside - not too hot or too wet. So little guy and I decided to add some variety to our usual park playtime. I helped him try some new balancing activities just for fun, so he could get the feel of them.

First, the classic...balance beam time!

Then he showed me he could walk the white painted line on the tot rod street... I won't say he could do it without falling off but he sure liked putting his arms out to steady himself!Next we tried some whole-body balancing...sitting on a bouncing car hood without falling off! He did it...then he jumped off on purpose!Hop, hop, hop on one foot!Now for some wiggly-worm step action!All done! That was fun ;)

How to keep a toddler happy at the grocery store

Who says grocery shopping can't be fun? Little Biscuit and I had a great time using our local Schnucks store for a big-time play date earlier this week. He brought his own toy shopping cart and since mommy didn't have much on her list, I wasn't in a hurry like I usually am. I walked along with him holding him close by his harness so he wouldn't have any run-ins with those real metal carts (right, Daddy? we need to keep our baby teeth until we're at least six years old!) I carried him into the store so we didn't have to dodge cars in the parking lot but as soon as we got inside, we were off!
He found mommy some yummy bread (apparently he knows I'm watching my weight and got the diet brand without even being told)...I ought to be paying him for this service! And he got me some rice milk, breakfast fruit and diapers (mommy carried those since they were too big for his cart).
Then, like the big helper he is, he unloaded everything when it was time to pay. After all the food was bagged he was ready to roll! Wow...if he can do this much before he's even two, I might be out of a job by his third birthday!

Learning to Jump

Today at one of our quarterly Parents as Teachers meetings we talked about how, at 20 months old, one of Little Biscuit's next developmental milestones will be jumping - hopping up with both feet off the floor, down from on top of things, bouncing on a trampoline or in a bounce house, and leaping over things. So since I know he already loves trying to hurl himself off of way-too-high surfaces when I'm not expecting it, we decided to have some fun playtime practicing his jumping skills in a more controlled way this morning!

READY?SET?
GOOOO!!!!!!!!
"I did it. Again, again, Mommy!" :)
(What a fun way to build self-confidence! Now wouldn't it be nice if this kind of activity would help ease his separation anxiety!?)
OH MY WORD. The adrenaline is pumping now (mommy's, that is!) I didn't realize I'd opened a toddler gym.Yikes!! I said you could learn to jump, not train for motocross! (Please tell me I don't have one of those fearless daredevils on my hands who's going to want to skydive and roller blade across rooftops and generally give his mother ulcers.)

Top Toddler Secrets: REVEALED!

Little Biscuit's Biggest Fears:

1. Hearing someone cough
2. Elevators (but he's getting over this one)
3. Going to bed with (or following) a cold
4. Anything new (a change to his room or routine, a new bowl or plate, etc.)
5. The bulb syringe or toothbrush

Health Hints:

• won't eat, won't sleep through the night, won't play for long, more dirties, more chewing, more fussy, more clingy=more TEETH

• slightly elevated temp, runny or stuffy nose, croupy cough, rough nights, more clingy=another VIRUS

• all of the above=more teeth AND another virus

• head-banging, tantrums, eczema=possible environmental allergy and/or result of eating a problem food (milk or corn?); the eczema seems to get worse with any immune system response (even just a cold, but also shots, etc)
  

• ear-holding, slight fever, inconsolable at night=probable EAR infection
  

Hush-Hush Sleep Tricks: (what works right now when nothing else will)
1. A back rub (or behind-the-ears massage)
2. Rocking and a lullaby (hummed not sung)
3. DVD or Newsboys "Go" CD (but these are losing their effect)
4. warm milk (I know, I know)
5. prayer and divine intervention ;)

Baby Talk Translator:
tea: EAT!
ba-ba-ba: bounce, bounce, bounce!
dee: drink
wuff: dog
diddy: DVD
puh: puffs
deh: yes
bah: ball
dih, dih: kick, kick
t-t-t-t: light!
buh: book
wa-wa-wah: WALK!
ra-ra-rah: rock, rock, rock (as in, a rocking chair)
mmm: this tastes good
woo, ooov: fire truck siren
ooua, oooooooua (grunty noises): uh-oh, a dirty diaper
nana, nana: wipe my nose or no, no, no! or banana, or help me!

Fun ways to celebrate a toddler's "14 month" birthday

This weekend was busy and loads of fun ;) Saturday Little Biscuit turned 14 months old so to celebrate, Big Biscuit and I packed him up for a drive...we went to the hospital where he was born to visit the nurses at the special care nursery (he had to stay there for several days as a newborn for some serious medical concerns). The staff enjoyed getting to see the "results" of their loving care over a year later (of course we know it was all by God's grace!!) And we enjoyed thinking back about what an adventure these 14 months have been so far!! Biscuit's favorite part was bopping the big monkey balloon he brought for them :) Here's the pics we gave the nurses of "then" and "now" for their album .... (one of these days I'll post the birth story on here too so you can get some background info):














What a difference, huh!? Well, so, that evening we went to the mall - the real treat there was go-kart watching! Biscuit is obviously too little too ride them (even the 'tot rods' have to be 36" tall) but he sure enjoyed watching the 'big boys' whiz by, around and around the track! He also enjoyed playing at the indoor play space, exploring the toy store and eating tomatoes off mommy's plate at Chevy's Tex-Mex! (It's okay...I was already full on chips n salsa!!) Big Biscuit liked stopping in at the Soda jerk and guarding the stroller from "car-jackings" (which was attempted once by a pint-size thief!) We also went into the glow-in-the-dark putt-putt just to let Biscuit see the eerie effects...indeed he was in awe and liked seeing the stripes on his shirt light up ;) Sunday was another first because not only did Biscuit stay the whole time during church in the nursery (without one of us being called back to console him), he also went again that night! He is improving so much in the area of separation anxiety! It was just one more reminder that our little baby is growing up way-y-y too fast!! :)

Let's Dish! (Servin' up some indoor fun)

Biscuit had a rough night last night since he's still feeling yucky from his cold (or whatever it is), so we were both pretty tired this morning; we decided to entertain ourselves at home. We broke out some plastic containers with easy-snap tops and practiced putting lids on. He had fun trying to match the right lid with the right container (and just as much fun putting the wrong lid on, just to see the result!) :D He also liked seeing what would go inside the containers, and dumping them out.

A week to remember :)

Well, it’s been something of a tough week with Big Biscuit in Mexico and Little Biscuit missing him on top of a nasty cold, so I wanted to write down some of the happier highlights to cheer us all up!

Okay, so here they are: the top 10 most memorable events of the past seven days around our
house:

10. In mid-preparation of applesauce meatloaf we realize we are out of eggs, necessitating a near- world-record-setting speed run to the store.

9. I decide to try out an unadjusted reel mower on our front yard during Biscuit’s naptime which
happens to be around noon (and yes, this is a Missouri summer).

8. Biscuit discovers the meaning of “slippery” while chasing the bar of soap around the bathtub.

7. Biscuit further discovers “slippery” as he goes headfirst down a slide for the first time.

6. Biscuit continues his new hobby of finding his belly button on command.

5. His next favorite hobby becomes looking for yours.

4. Biscuit gets the hiccups during lunch. Every time one hits (which is usually during a big, sloppy
bite of peas), he almost chokes laughing.

3. The homemade spicy sweet potato fries my sis tries to cook turn out to be, um, let’s say, very smoke-flavored sweet potato briquettes.

2. Biscuit jumps off his seat as an unexpected loud burp from his aunt scares him half to death; I’m not sure what was funnier - his initial shocked reaction or the 10 minutes of hysterical laughter (from both of them!) that followed.

1. Biscuit uses his newfound skill of pointing to acknowledge the cars beside us as we wait at a red light; unfortunately he only knows how to point with his middle finger.