WHAT TO PACK FOR THE BABY

The LO just had her first family vacation.  We visited her uncle, aunt and cousins in Arizona.  It was a week of firsts -- first airplane ride, first swim and first trip to the shopping outlet.  It was also a first for my husband and myself to travel with an infant and did we screw up!

I'm not going to lie, but I may have over packed for the LO. I think 1/3 of our checked in luggage was her clothes alone and she only got to use half of it.  I also brought a lot of just "in case" clothes that were not even weather appropriate.  And don't get me started with the burp clothes!  As a general rule I think, it is better to have packed more than she needed.  But nevertheless, it is a lesson learned -- pack what is just needed.

DIY SENSORY BOTTLES

I made the LO these sensory bottles out of water bottles to heighten her sound awareness.  She is now 7 months and at this age, she is highly receptive to the sounds she hears around her. 

TOYS FOR 6-12 MONTHS

After weeks of research, I have narrowed my list for the ideal Montessori toys for the LO.  The LO is now 6.5 months old.  She is at the "I want to eat everything" stage and "I'm a wiggly worm" stage.  I had to take these two factors into consideration with my choice of toys. 

PLAY AREA FOR 6-12 MONTHS

The LO is now 6.5 months and is ready for a play area upgrade.  I recently got her some toys and I needed to make some changes to her current area to accommodate them.

DIY CARDBOARD SHELF

I think I outdid myself this time. I made a cardboard shelf. I am upgrading the LO's play area and I needed a shelf to store her new toys.  The LO has started to crawl and explore her surroundings and I am not comfortable with a shelf where she could hit her head.

MAKING THE CLOSET WORK FOR YOU

How do you organize your closet? Do you take out everything, sort through your items and then put everything back only to redo everything in a week or two? For me, organizing is like doing a math word problem.  You define your problem, identify what is given and look for the solution. 

Take for instance my husbands closet.  His current "system" wasn't really working anymore.  Here is a picture of his closet.  I would not say his closet is disorganized but some things do not belong where they should be.