DIY HOUSE DECAL

The LO has a new spot! She has her own little nook tucked in our bedroom.  It has a mattress on the floor, "Baba" the bear and some books.  To complete the space, I decorated the wall behind it with houses using washi tape.  Yes! washi tape!

HOW TO PACK BABY CLOTHES USIING ZIPLOCK BAGS

 It is common knowledge among my friends that when I travel, I travel light. I once traveled with a back pack for a 3 day weekend.  Now, however, that we have a toddler, packing has taken a new meaning.  It now means check in baggage, mixed up clothing and looking for things in a haystack.  On our first family trip, I over packed.  Half of our check in luggage was LO's; and her clothes are tiny compared to my clothes and my husband's.

DIY TENT

The LO got to play house today.  I was doing my end of year cleaning and I took out her gray mat. I realized I can assemble it to make a tent!

WHAT TOY STORES REALLY DO TO YOUR CHILD

The LO and I were at K-mart last weekend looking for a toy.  I was amazed by how much toys there were! It was aisle after aisle of toys; and this is just one section of the K-mart.  Then we went to Toys R Us since K-mart didn't carry the toy I was looking for and lo and behold!

You see, I'm a newbie when it comes to the toy department.  For the last year, I have been limited to the baby section; and the baby section is calm, uncluttered and spacious.  So, coming into K-mart and Toys R Us where you have toys that goes from floor to ceiling is just a bit too much compared to Target's toy section.  It was very overwhelming for me to be surrounded by all the toys and I'm an adult! Can you imagine how overwhelming it is for a child? Let alone a 14 month baby?

PAPER PLAY

This is an accidental activity for the LO and it kept her occupied for 20 minutes! (20 minutes of free time for me! wow!) I was going through our mail and tearing the ones we don't need while the LO was having snack.  When she finished eating, she tried to reach for one of the envelopes so I figured "why not?, what's the worst thing that could happen?". I handed her my pile of torn papers and she looked at each one of them as if its the most interesting thing. 

ENTERTAINING A BABY IN A RESTAURANT

I love the LO to the moon.  But I have to admit, it gets pretty challenging to entertain her when in a restaurant.  She's strapped in high chair unable to move as she pleases... of course she'll be antsy and make every available effort to squirm out of those straps.  I'm amazed at how flexible she can be! The average time for a meal is about 1-1.5 hours so we need to be pretty creative in keeping the LO occupied.  I refuse to give her my iphone to entertain her.  That being said, I've adapted a few tried and tested tricks to keep her busy.

OLD SCHOOL TOYS

We spent some time last weekend at Toys R Us and I found these classic Fisher Price toys. These toys brings back memories from my childhood.  This music box was one of my favorites.  I really can't remember the songs it played or if it actually played but I know its one of the things I've always played with.  

DIY SENSORY BOX

This is my friend's son Duke.  (He is also my daughter's soon to be boyfriend).  My friend Cita made him this amazing sensory box using common household products and a diaper box.