A Busy Toddler

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I just recently finished my local mothers-of-multiples club's consignment sale, and thought I would jot down some things before I forgot!  (Most clubs have semi-annual sales, one in the spring and one in the fall.)

Here's my table!  As you can see, I didn't have that many clothes to sell this time, so I could get away with hanging them off the edge of a basket, instead of doing the clothing rack route, which I address below.

If you're selling:

• Keep seasons in mind.  If you're selling in the fall, it's true that you're probably trying to get rid of summer things, but most people will be shopping for winter gear.  
• $100 in change is more than enough.  You'll need a couple twenties, some tens and fives, and $20 or more in ones.  The ones and fives are what you'll probably need most.  You may not even need this much change, but better than running out!  Bring a roll of quarters if you're selling things for less than a dollar.
• Watch your items!  It saddens me to report that at this most recent sale, one mother had a very high-quality coat stolen from her rack.  It's easy to get into conversation with those around us, but be sure to keep one eye on your items.  If you leave your table/area to shop or go to the bathroom, take your money with you and be sure to have the person next to you help keep watch while you're gone.  
• Racks and hangers.  If you have a lot of clothing to sell, they go faster when hung up, and this is easiest to do with a clothing rack.  Ikea has them for $13 ($10 for a rack without wheels).  At first I thought this would be a frivolous purchase, but the racks really do attract more customers.  Also, a friend of mine uses her rack for guest's clothing at her home, year-round, so if you have no actual guest-room closet, this is a good solution.

  

  Image from Ikea.com

   As for hangers, not all stores allow you to take the hangers with you when you buy clothes, so it's easy enough to get a pack, such as these from Amazon (Just don't be like me and forget to take the hangers back when selling the clothing!)                                                                                                                                                                 
  
  
• Keep prices fair. When setting up the night before I took a lap around the room to get an idea of how other people price.  Then I had to adjust some of my things accordingly.  If you really want to just get rid of items, price them fairly.  If you need to make more money on things, go ahead and price it high and see what kind of offers you get.  Have a number in your head and stay firm.  (Perhaps something was more expensive, you bought it new yourself, or you never even had a chance to use something.)
• Be realistic.  You won't sell everything.  You'll sell some things.
  
  

  

  Image from memestache.com

  
  No, you won't make millions!  In my first sale I made $180, this time I made $160.  You could make more, you could make less, depending on what you're selling and how much traffic can be generated for the sale event.  
• Remember you can sell elsewhere, too.  If you haven't tried it yet, consider joining Facebook pages for local sales, or perhaps your local multiples club has a classifieds page for members.  Also, a friend told me you can often sell larger things well on Ebay.  If you offer free shipping, then factor that in when setting a price.  Take as many pictures as possible, and note any and all flaws!  If you are overly critical of the product, then you can avoid the scenario of a customer complaining that it didn't meet expectations.  
• Bags.  Bring plastic shopping bags for customers to carry around their purchases.  Most people won't remember to bring their own, and this will be an added, appreciated gesture.  

If you're shopping:

• Bring cash!
• Make a list.  Write down beforehand what you need, and then what you want.  If you're looking for big-ticket items, you may even want to look online to see retail value, so that you'll know what kind of deals you're getting.  Also, with a list, you're less likely to feel overwhelmed walking into a big venue, and more likely to stay focused and self-disciplined when it comes to spending!
• You can negotiate.
• Look first, buy second.  Circle the whole venue first, that way you can compare similar or even identical items.  

In case you missed it, I have another post on this subject here:  Preparing for a Consignment Sale.

Happy selling and happy shopping!such as these from Amazon.

Get Fresh Air

It's undeniable:  kids need exercise, and they need fresh air.  And it's September!  Which means, here in Texas, we know that soon...okay, soonish...okay in a few months...it will cool off!  And in the north, it means that warm weather hasn't completely given way to snow...yet (hopefully...?)  So take advantage of the autumn and get outside with your kids!  

I belong to MOPS:  Mothers of PreSchoolers (which I praised in this post), and at a recent meeting our speaker was Nell F. Bush, Ph.D, mother of 4 and university professor.  Her talk was "Positively Parenting Your Preschooler," and she emphasized the importance of children's physical development.  For young children, having time to develop their gross motor skills is just as important as developing their fine motor skills.  LOTS of FREE play outside is good exercise for them, and helps build their muscle tone and coordination.  During this outdoor play, a child's central nervous system is actually making the connections they will need when they're older, sitting still and learning math concepts!  

Sometimes our children seem to have so much energy to burn off, and show early interest in sports, that we think an organized sports activity will be good for them.  We think they'll be more coordinated, more disciplined, more socialized, more whatever, if we sign them up for a sports team.  However, Nell Bush pointed out that sports for children has become a money-making industry.  Now that I think about it, that makes sense:  just because the amount of sports and teams available has risen since I was a child doesn't necessarily mean it's because we've discovered how much it benefits children; it's because people figured out that parents would pay for it.  In organized sports, a child must spend more time not moving than if you were to go to the nearest park.  For an organized sport, the child may have to sit in a car seat on the way there, and back, be still while listening to directions, and be still again while taking turns practicing a skill.  According to Professor Bush, in such a structured environment, the child is actually making fewer neural connections than if they were to be running free and using their imagination.  She also pointed out how having too many structured activities can set yourself up for more discipline issues: "I don't want to go to soccer, I'm playing!" or "I don't want to wait my turn!" etc.  (She did concede, however, that swimming and gymnastics are two sports which do tap more into a whole-body experience in which the child can engage with their environment.  Also, it's certainly not wrong to put your toddlers and young children in structured athletics, but keep your expectations low and enjoy the practices and games as opportunities to be outside.)  

And let's face it:  most of our children won't grow up to be pros.  If a child has had plenty of time to freely develop their gross motor skills, then in early or even later elementary and beyond, it can take a child less than an hour to catch up with the skills it takes to play most team sports.  Did you know, Michael Jordan didn't start playing basketball formally until high school?  So, get those kids outside!

I feel strongly about this subject, and I've written two other related posts:

Old-Fashioned Friday: 3 Hours Outside?

How Much Time Outside?

3 Hours Outside?

Welcome to my second "Old-Fashioned Friday!"  (Click here for my first Old-Fashioned Friday post.)  My dad might cringe when he reads that today's tidbit came from a book he read in his childhood:  "The Junior Instructor."  I occasionally like looking through antique shops for interesting old books, and bought Book 1 and 2.  When I showed it to my dad, he said he recalled reading these at school.

Cover of The Junior Instructor Book 2

These books began in 1916, but my volumes were published in 1959.  It's like an encyclopedia, or general reference book, for children, with lots of pictures, rhymes, and small paragraphs on anything from birds to the circus.

One of the sections, titled "Healthy Children," includes a "letter," written as though from a child to the mother.  Read it and see if what caught my attention the most, sticks out to you as well:

"Dear Mother,

 I need outdoor exercise to stay healthy.  All small children should play outdoors at least three hours every day, in good weather.  I need the right equipment to help me exercise my large muscles.  The small muscles of my hands and fingers are not yet well developed.  I need a fence or a jungle gym to climb on, and bars to hang on  I like to run and skip and dance.  I need to slide on a slide and swing on a swing and ride a tricycle.  After I am five years old, I will need roller skates and a jump rope."  

Page with Letter to Mother

So, what stood out to you?  For me it was the 3 hours outside every day!  Now that I think about it, that sounds ideal for my active little guys.  Decades ago, children did spend more time outside, and it probably did them good.  But we're lucky if we manage just 1 hour a day.  I let household chores, errands, laziness, and other things get the better of me, rather than making sure we're in the yard or going to a park as often as possible.  And as I wrote in my post on how much time should children spend outside, modern specialists only suggest a little over an hour for kids of about 2 years old.  But, inspired by this little "Letter to Mother" that I found, we've been making more of an effort to get outside.  The other day it was just 30 degrees outside (Fahrenheit), but we bundled up and spent an hour at the park.  It sure paid off at nap time!  

On a warmer day:  Chalk, cardboard boxes, and toy cars... all enjoyable outside, too! 

Time outside does wonders for kids' gross and fine motor skills, as that letter touched upon.  Get outside, if possible, and... 

Happy Friday!

Play in the Garage

In the fall, my husband and I took our twin boys to a playdate with a playgroup I was assigned to through my local mother of multiples club (another perk of joining a chapter near you!).  Since it was autumn, they had everything set up for pumpkin decorating...in their garage.  Brilliant!  There were tarps laid out, held down by mini hay bales (so cute), and paint, paper plates, brushes, stickers, and tons of mini pumpkins.  There were also a few ride-on toys for when attention spans waned.  This was a great example of using your garage for play, especially for projects that might get messy and hard to clean up if you did them elsewhere.

We normally keep our cars in the garage, so there isn't quite as much room, but inspired by my new friend, I pulled the cars out for one morning and parked them in the driveway.  I removed hazards, like our ladder, and stuck them in the laundry room temporarily, and put several ride-on toys and bikes in the garage.  This was in preparation for another set of twin boys who would be visiting us for the morning.  Running around in an enclosed space with trikes seemed perfect for four 2-year-old boys!  Unfortunately, we never even ended up out there because time flew by, but I think it might have worked out well.  

Some of you might not have a garage, and for some of you it may be either too hot or too cold to really let your kids play in it.  I have seen some people set up a gated play area in the garage and open the garage door to keep air circulating on a hot day, and let their children play in the shade of the garage.  For others the garage might be a fun novelty on a rainy day.  (All of this is assuming you can or are willing to move your cars outside.)  In any case, if you do have a useable garage, using it for play can be a great way to extend the "square footage for play" in your home!

Ideas for Garage Play:

• Use it as a space to ride trikes, bikes, and other ride-on toys.
• Draw with chalk on the floor and either leave it or let the kids hose it off.
• Bring out toy cars and/or trains and tracks and have at it!
• Set up a play "house" with cardboard boxes and duct tape.
• Kick a soccer or kickball around.
• For younger toddlers, set up foam tiles and a gate, throw in some toys, and let them play while getting fresh air.
• Keep a play kitchen in the garage.  (My aunt currently has my old play kitchen in the family lake house garage, and my boys even liked tinkering at it while we played in and around the garage and driveway this summer!)

For some more inspiration, here's a link to my Pinterest board:  Play In The Garage.  

Happy playing!

How much time outside?

When my twins were  just babies, tucking them into the stroller and getting outside for a walk was for my sanity.  Once they became mobile and could actually enjoy a playground (somewhat), getting outside was for their sanity.  Okay, and mine.  Going for a walk, to a park, or even just spending some time on our balcony or patio, was often just to have a change of scenery and help pass the time.  And I began to suspect that the more time the boys spent outside, the better and longer they napped, and sometimes it had positive effects on their night time sleep as well.  Not to mention that exercise and time outside are also, obviously, good for your kids' health.

My little J revels in the great outdoors...or at least admiring the sky while lounging in the grass.

As a fan of the PBS show "Call the Midwife," I was amused to see lots of scenes in which babies and toddlers were left in their strollers (called prams over in England) outside, alone.  Apparently this was a very common practice in the 1950s.  "Airing out your baby," was highly recommended, as mentioned in this humorous British article on a modern mom trying out '50s parenting practices and in the book "A 1950s Mother" by Sheila Hardy.  Back then they also thought fresh air positively affected sleep and health.  

But let's get back to the present day.  In the January 2014 issue of Parents magazine, there was a little snippet titled "get enough exercise."  Apparently the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an hour a day for young kids.  But a new study from Europe suggests (based on risk for heart disease in blood-sugar levels and body mass index) more exercise per day, as follows:

Boys:
Age 2 - 6:  73 minutes
Age 6 - 9:  85 minutes

Girls:
Age 2 - 6:  58 minutes
Age 6 - 9:  66 minutes

You'll notice the recommended time for boys is more and the time increases with age.  Unfortunately, it seems that right as children begin spending more time in school (mostly sitting down all day), their need for physical exertion actually increases.  I know this is a lament of many parents and teachers alike, especially as recesses across the country are cut out, for various reasons.  So, without going into the politics of all THAT, I'll just say for now it's up to me to make sure my boys are active enough.

My sons are still toddlers, so we have the time to go to parks and playgrounds.  The Parents article mentioned above doesn't indicate if the exercise needs to be inside our out, but when the weather is either too hot or too cold, I feel that even an indoor play area fits the bill.  That way they may not be getting fresh air, but they're at least getting physical activity.  But having grown up in Wisconsin, I let my kids outside in weather that many Texans might not:

I used to think if we managed half an hour a day outside, we were doing well.  But if today is any indication, the more the better!  Today we spent two hours playing at a park, and this afternoon they slept for almost 3 hours!  (Unheard of in months, now that they're getting older.)  But once my twins start school, recess and PE may not be enough active time for them, so we'll have to make sure they either play outside after school, or sign up for sports!

Even before the boys were 18 months old, we were going to playgrounds regularly.  

Once the boys were older and we moved to a house with a yard, we invested, with help from grandparents, in a play structure and a little plastic pool.  

And now to end my thoughts with a random article on how parents in Finland let their babies sleep outside in sub-zero weather!  (Not that I'm recommending this personally.  But it sure was interesting.)

Play in A Small Home: Under the Table

We are currently enjoying the blessings (and extra maintenance, chores and bills, believe me) of living in a house!  I was so excited when we moved, partly because it was our first home purchase, I would feel more "settled," but also because it meant we'd have a yard and more space for the boys.  But we have lived in apartments before, and a small townhouse, the downstairs of which consisted of a galley kitchen, big enough for one person to cook, and a living room.  So I know what it's like to have to make the best possible use of your space, especially after the arrival of a baby...or two babies.

Have you made a play area under the table?

One day I just threw a sheet over our table and voila!  A new fort!  A little "house"! Or whatever you want it to be, limited only by your and your children's imaginations.  I threw in some pillows, stuffed animals, and books.  Now the boys like to occasionally crawl under the table to "hide," or they play with their little cars there.  I keep an old sheet that I don't mind getting dirty in a drawer in the kitchen for whenever the fancy strikes.  This is something you can do no matter where you live!

Another related idea is to use the space under a bed or couch for a roll-out play surface.  For ideas on what's possible, check out my Pinterest board:  Play Under The Table.

Play In a Small Home: The Playpen

Sometimes in an apartment or small home with multiples, the walls seem to be caving in on you!  I tried to get out at least once a day with my twins.  Even a stroller walk in the neighborhood or a Target run counted.  As they get older, it's also good to get them out often to experience new things, get some exercise and fresh air, and provide a break in the form of a change of scenery for you.  But sometimes you just can't get out, for whatever reason, and/or there are still many more hours of the day to fill...so, get creative and use your space to your advantage!  (See my posts on using your windows and patio or balcony (if you have them) as play areas.)

Have you used a playpen to create a new play area?

A pack 'n' play, a box, a tub, a playpen, or a gated area all fit the bill, in my mind.  Keep in mind, these usually only work for babies and very young toddlers.  As your kids grow older they'll either be able to get out anyway, or need to start walking more and exercising those legs, and also exercising their new-found independence.  But, there can be some advantages to using a playpen when they're younger:  

• It keeps them safe and contained if you need to step out of the room for some reason.
• Being in a contained area with fewer choices can help them to focus on a toy or activity for longer than if there were more options, hopefully building up their attention spans. 
• A room can be broken up into different areas with playpens and gates, making it more interesting when going from one area to the next.  

When the boys were still learning to sit up on their own, I propped them up with boppy pillows inside of a pack 'n' play and gave them some books and toys.  

Another idea is to create little ball pits!  Thanks to grandma for the idea! See picture and video below:

J in his bathtub ball pit at grandma and grandpa's house.

While living in a townhouse, I sectioned off part of the downstairs (which was just one room and a small kitchen) with Playzone gates, a great gift from family!  They have adjustable panels, toys and music buttons built into some of the panels, and a swinging gate door that can be latched.  I put in a few pillows, an activity table, and a tub of toys that were regularly rotated.

Gates we used to create a separate play area in our dining/living room.,

We used two sets of Playzone gates to create a space big enough for 5 kids to enjoy!  

If you don't have enough room for our kind of set-up, the adjustable panels make it easy to create any size space you want.  Below is a picture of a smaller area I made as a reading nook.  Sometimes I would lock the gate and only let them in as a "special treat" (to make it more inviting), but when I had it set up with books I always left the gate open so they could go in as much as they wanted.  You might also be able to see how we used Velcro to lash the Playzone to more baby gates that we had set up around the TV.  (A baby-proofing post is in the works!)

Along with creating different play areas in the home, I also try to break up how much time is spent in each area.  Unless the boys are having a great time, my rule of thumb is no longer than an hour in any one area of the house, usually more like half an hour.  An hour of getting ready, drinking milk, and playing in the bedroom in the morning (maybe more "bedroom playtime" later in the day), then breakfast, then half an hour of playing in the living room, then maybe an activity like play-dough on the kitchen floor, then some time outside, then time upstairs, then back downstairs, and so on.  This suits the short attention spans of babies and toddlers.  And I find if we try to stay in one room or area for too long, everyone gets antsy and fussy.  Which means it's on to the next thing!  

For more ideas, here's my Pinterest board "Playpen Time."

Play In a Small Home: The Window

We've lived in several different places in the twins' first two years of life, see my post here.  Of course, when the babies are little, sometimes all you need to do is throw a blanket on the floor and you have an instant play area.

Fun at grandma and grandpa's house.

But one area you may not have thought of to turn into a play-place is the window.  Any window!

Do you have a window that is accessible to children?

We used to have a large, sliding glass door to our back patio.  When the boys were first learning how to  sit up and didn't move around too much yet, sometimes they just liked to have a few toys and look out the window.  The view was pretty grim, to be honest, but I think humans just respond to natural light and even a few pieces of greenery.  

As the boys got a bit older, I tried out an idea from one of my favorite blogs, The Imagination Tree.  Here is a link to her wet foam shapes on windows idea.  I used the idea on the same window pictured above, with foam shapes cut into various shapes.  I wet the foam and stuck them on the window, then let the boys do the same and play around with it.  We also did it on a towel in the middle of the living room using a large plastic tub as the surface, as you'll see in the video below.  It can also work in the bathtub, another great play place!

                                  

Even if your window isn't low to the ground, as your kids grow older and more coordinated, you could place sturdy step stools near them to allow access.  

Another idea is to put contact paper on the window and let kids stick things on it!  I haven't done this on the window yet, but I have put contact paper on the floor as part of our play.  

For more inspiration, check out my Pinterest board on the subject:  Window Play.  

Play In A Small Home: The Patio

When our identical twin boys were born, we lived in a 2-bedroom apartment for their first 6 months.  Next we moved into a town home that wasn't much bigger than the apartment, square-footage wise.  When the boys were 19 months old we moved to a house with a yard.  So we've lived in a variety of places, but when we lived in smaller homes I tried to find creative ways to use the space.  Not only do you need to find storage for all your stuff (and once you have kids there seems to be so much more stuff...) but you need to find ways to keep your kids occupied, and having a "change of scenery" every now and then can help.

Do you have a patio or balcony?

When the boys were infants, I had visions of turning our apartment balcony into a play area in lieu of a yard, though we moved before it was necessary.  The townhouse we lived in next had a slightly larger patio on ground level.  Water play was one easy outdoor option:

Tub play on grandma and grandpa's back porch!

Water play in the townhouse patio, just a plastic tub and random kitchen items!

Should have anticipated he'd want to walk right in before I put on the shoes...

Even if you don't have a yard, a kiddie pool and water toys can be done on a patio just as easily as a plastic tub, see below

                                          

                                                  Playing in a kiddie pool in their great-grandpa's patio in Wisconsin!

There are many sources for weather-resistant "padding" or you can use an indoor/outdoor rug, if you're worried about new walkers falling onto the concrete (such as SoftTiles).  A small climber (such as this one) would be great either on a patio or in a corner of the home for a little exercise and fun.  Blowing bubbles and painting are great outdoor activities for older babies and toddlers that also don't take up a lot of space.

A friend of mine with triplets gave me  the great idea of putting your little ones into swim wear in hot weather and then letting them paint old cardboard boxes outside.  When you're done, just wash off the paint with water from the hose or a kiddie pool.

For more inspiration, check out my Pinterest board on the subject:  Patio Play

Things To Do With One-Year Olds

Things To Do With One-Year Olds

We went through a tricky phase with our twins leading up to the one-year mark and even afterwards, when they were awake for longer periods of the day, but not yet old enough for certain activities.  This is a list I made of EVERY single thing I could think of, or of things I found online, to do with older babies and young toddlers.  Some are outings and some are easy, fun things to do at home.  Get busy!

-       Cup of water, paintbrush, go outside on a warm day and “paint” the driveway, garage, deck, yard, etc.

-       Sandbox in the yard

-       Stroller walks/go to the park

-       Zoo

-       Children’s Museum

-       Play with water: swimsuits in the bathtub with toys, bathtub paints and bathtub crayons, sit on counter with feet in sink and play with water, cups, plastic toys, etc.  Water table outside.

-       Play Pen Time

-       Bedroom Play Time

-       High Chair Play Time/Table Time before meals: toys, plastic kitchen things, etc.

-       Sidewalk chalk

-       Walkers/toys you push as you walk/toy or cheap umbrella strollers or play shopping carts to push around the house and fill with things

-       ABC magnets on the fridge

-       Baby musical instruments

-       Play music and dance

-       Sesame Street

-       Blow bubbles outside for them

-       Board books

-       Sign language for babies DVDS

-       Add food coloring to white pudding and let them paint with it (and eat a little), when done add sprinkles and let it dry.

-       Baby/Toddler Story Time at the Library

-       Grocery store trips

-       Build a fort and play peek-a-boo in it

-       Fill a purse or bag with things and let children explore and dump out: old wallets, plastic grocery store cards, pictures, play set of keys, pretend or old cell phone, picture books, little toys. 

-       Make a house out of cardboard boxes, cut doors in a large moving box and tape pieces together with packing or duct tape

-       Play in a load of laundry (use a basket and a bunch of old clothes or clothes that you don’t mind being messed up/wrinkly)

-       Play cars and trucks

-       Blocks

-       Stacking cups

-       Visit a pet store

-       Non-toxic finger paints; tape paper to table or highchair tray.

-       Use washed-out juice containers or plastic cups and a ball to play bowling

-       Video chat on computer with family

-       Make shakers by filling plastic Easter eggs with rice, tape or hot glue it shut

-       Tupperware containers with dried lentils of different colors from grocery bulk section to play with on a blanket on the floor

-       Build towers, roads, and cities with empty food boxes.

-       Make paper bag puppets: have them color it and put on stickers

-       Begin simplified version of hide-and-seek

-       Hide stuffed animals around the house and have a “safari,” using a flashlight to find the animals.

-       Sock puppets, use markers

-       Visit wading pools/kid splash pads

-       Indoor playgrounds

-       Basketball with a bucket

Step-by-step: Folding fabric for tissue box

If you do make a tissue box toy for your children, and would like the pieces of fabric to be folded together so that only one comes out at a time, yet leaves the next piece sticking out of the top (just like real tissues), then I hope these instructions help!

Start with one piece of fabric laying flat, doesn't matter which way the print faces.

Lay another piece halfway covering the first.

Fold the exposed half of the first piece over the second piece.

Cover the second piece of fabric halfway with a third piece.

Fold the exposed part of the second piece over the third piece.

Continue with another piece.

Fold again, and repeat with as many pieces as you can fit into a tissue box!

Homemade Toys

We were fortunate to receive many, many toys and baby entertainment items as gifts or hand-me-downs.

However, no matter how you come by things for your children, whether you spend the money or someone else does, it's inevitable that some days all your kids want to play with is the remote control, the pots and pans, and the coasters sitting on the coffee table.  I think my boys knew at an early age which items were "toys" and which items were "grown-up things" that mommy and daddy would use, and thus held more fascination.  So I try to let them play with as many "grown-up things" as I can around the house, or I try to recycle household items into toys.  One of my absolute favorite sites for inspiration is  The Imagination Tree.  I got the following ideas for homemade toys from this very creative mother of three.

First I made a "discovery bottle" for the twins, following her recipe.  I would recommend using a bottle with a very tight, sturdy cap, and adding tape around it, as I did, since you definitely don't want children to be able to open the cap and eat the contents.

Inspired by this idea in general, I made two more types of bottles for the boys.  One is simply rice poured into a washed out juice bottle.  The others are made with washed out parmesan cheese shakers, filled with washed caps from beverages and baby food that I saved.  For those I also taped the lids shut.

Tons of similar ideas can be found here.  Babies and toddlers just love things that shake and rattle, and these fit the bill!

One more thing I made for the boys is a tissue-box toy.  When I first introduced it, they didn't understand and had no interest in it.  A few months later I noticed that every time they got their hands on a wipes box, they would instinctively begin to pull out wipe after wipe with glee!  So I pulled out the tissue-box with fabric squares again, and now it's a hit.  The Imagination Tree calls it a material box.

Thanks to my wonderful mother who obtained and cut many squares of tissue-box-sized fabric, each in a different print!  If you'd like a step-by-step for folding the fabric, go here.

Entertaining Baby Twins

In the first few months, it seems more about sleeping (or trying to), eating, and diapers.  Just keep ‘em alive.  But as the months roll by in your twins’ lives, it can be a challenge to keep them entertained and busy all day.  Taking two babies out at once can be daunting and tiring, so more time is spent at home by default.  Here are some of the things we did with our babies:

Activities By Month:

1 – 2 Months:

o   Bouncy seats:  Watching people move around the room or look at the hanging toys (eventually interacting with the toys)

o    Back and tummy time in activity mat

o   Holding them to sing, talk, or read to them

o   Walks in the stroller outside (they usually fell asleep quickly though)

o   Swing

3 – 5 Months:

o   All of the above, plus:

o   Exersaucer

o   Jumperoo

o   Doorway jumpers/swings

6 – 8 Months:

o   Tummy Time on the floor with toys, especially ones that light up and play music, or that can be easily chewed.

o   Floor Time:  time playing with toys on the floor either on their tummies, or rolling around or on backs.

o   Playing with toys, magazines and junk mail in their high chairs while I made them food or cleaned up.

o   On occasion, when I really needed to get something done for a few minutes, or they were sick and lacked energy, I would let them watch Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, or similar programs/DVDs while in their high chairs.

o  Practice sitting up on the carpet or in a pack-n-play, using pillows or an adult for support.

9-12 Months:

o   -Ride-on toys indoors

o    Crawl, cruise, or walk around exploring

o   Use activity tables

o   Begin building attempts with blocks

What are some of the things you did with your babies at home?