Lately, Grace has a new favorite activity, dropping things in the toilet. So far this week, I have found 2 pairs of my shoes, including my favorite pair of Toms, 3 wooden blocks, 2 bath toys, and a diaper in the toilet. She is so sneaky about it, too. As soon as someone forgets to close the door to the bathroom all the way, she crawls as fast as she can to the bathroom, pushes the door open, lifts the lid on the toilet and drops in whatever she is holding. Then she laughs and laughs. It has been quite the week.
In order to keep Grace's mind off of the bathroom I have been trying to entertain her with all kinds of different toys. Here is what mom and baby are loving this month.
Hape Pyramid of Play
- Great wooden blocks for making towers. Grace loves stacking these blocks and then knocking them over. I love that they help develop her fine motor skills and problem solving skills. She also loves to sit and look at them while I point out the colors, letters, numbers, and animals.Little Tikes Play Table
- During the winter I bring the water table inside and fill it with all kinds of different materials to create a fun sensory table experience. Since Grace loves to eat the contents of the sensory table, I try to stick with food based fillers. I normally fill the table with oatmeal, cous cous, rice, and lentils. It's messy, but Grace loves it and would play with it all day if I let her.Melissa & Doug Jumbo Knob Puzzle
- Another great toy to help develop her problem solving, hand eye coordination, and motor skills. Grace cannot quite get the pieces in the correct spot yet, but she loves to try and is really getting the hang of it.Hohner Baby Band
- Grace loves to shake, clack, and drum these baby safe instruments during music class every week. She loves discovering the different sounds they make and I love to watch her find all kinds of creative things to do with them.Ball Pit Balls
- I bought a small blow up pool on clearance last fall at Target and filled it with balls to create a makeshift ball pit. Grace loves to crawl around the ball pit and then put the balls back into the pool when finished. I love that she works on developing gross motor skills and sensory development while having so much fun. It is also a great way to work on her color recognition.Books
- I have always heard that reading to your child is one of the most important things a parent to do, and always felt guilty that I never read to Grace because she hated books. Anytime I came near her with a book she would scream and crawl away as fast as possible. She was always focused on her physical development over language acquisition. In the last couple weeks Grace has finally started to enjoy having books read to her instead of just pulling them off the shelves. I can actually get her to sit down for a minute or two to listen and look at one. She especially enjoys the touch and feel books. Since we started reading to her more, her language skills have really picked up. She loves to repeat the words we say.Boon Dive Bath Tub Appliques
- The best bath toys! Grace loves to stick them in her mouth and on the tub walls. I love that they don't absorb water so no fear of mold or mildew.Melissa & Doug ABC Block
- These toys are so versatile. You can stack them, clack them and put them in other containers. Grace loves to put them in her dresser drawers over and over. She has also started putting them in her diaper pail, and I have been finding them in the washing machine.