Let's Play a game!

Hiya friends!For all those workin' hard for a living peeps, YAY it's almost time for a long weekend!I love having Mondays off when I work- almost every year I've used up vacation by taking off most Mondays in December.Something psychologically satisfying about skipping the day, I guess.Of course, every day is sort of the same for me right now, so I'm just happy on your behalf.Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?We have a picnic to go to Saturday (hopefully little man is up for it....so glad it's right down the road!) And then working on some fun Sunday plans.We shall see.

Of COURSE I want to talk about the little guy.Well, maybe not so little.Last night started boxing up some of his newborn clothes (some even unworn!) and it gave me a major case of the sads.I am adoring him more and more very day as he grows into a little person, but it's kindasad knowing that he will never fit into his little monster onesie.Or the turtle overalls.Awww, shuckers.I bet that's why people have more than one turd, isn't it?(No, that is NOT an announcement.Yikes).

Anyways, as my little man gets bigger and bigger, we work on strengthening that mind and body at the same time-especially when I am home and can devote 20 hours a day to him (hey, even momma's need sleep).When I was pregnant with the lil guy, we got a gift for one of thosepuppies that are so popular right now.It was super cute...until one morning at 6:30 when Greg was going upstairs to brush his teeth and he heard a voice coming from the empty nursery..."Let's Play a Game!".Freaky.And while I'm not sure he's recovered, the puppy is almost ready to come play.Until then, we play our own fun games like....




1.Puppet Play - We have finger puppets that I use to help Rob track things with his eyes.I make up little stories and talk in funny voices with the different animals and he does a great job following where they go!The zebra is his fave - we call him Marty after the Zebra from Madagascar!

2.Tummy time - Pretty self explanatory.At least once a day, he spends time on his tummy to develop his neck muscles.He actually really likes it and has been able to lift his head with control since about week 3- now we even scootch on the mat.He'll probably be running 5ks next week-stay tuned.

3.Reading stories - Not sure if this is a game, but I read to Rob almost every night.So far he really likes most of his stories (Mommy may have shed a tear when she read "The Night You Were Born").One caveat - We have discarded the Runaway Bunny.That book just screams "mommy issues".For real.

4.Rattle Play- We have a penguin rattle that we play with every day to help him discern sound.He does a great job turning his head to where the penguin is!

5.Back mat - It's not quite "play" yet, but we have an activity mat we picked up at a garage sale for 2 bucks that is pretty cool.He lays on it and we talk about the different animals and colors.The cat seems to like it a decent amount, too :-P

6.Adventure Time! - We either do this inside when it's raining, or go for a walk in the yard or neighborhood.I point out all of the cool things to see and Rob just drinks it in-he loves being in motion!

7.Singing/Signing - Sometimes the former turns into a dance party- we listen to music all the time.Some of it's nursery rhymes (he likes Head, shoulders best!) and some of it's Flo Rida and Guns N Roses (hey, diversity!).We also are teaching him sign language - we are up to 8 basic signs so far- Mommy, Daddy, Hungry, Diaper, Kitty, More, Milk and I love you.We introduce a new one each week- Greg read that babies pick up on sign language well, so it's worth a shot!



What games did you or do you play with your baby?Always looking for new material!
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