Keeping Allison Busy

One of my goals during maternity leave was to really embrace the mid day activities only a stay at home mommy or part time mom can do. This is especially because she was watching way too much TV while I nursed Drew in those early weeks (no easy feat occupying a 2 year old when you're practically stationary!)

First we checked out tumbling classes. Watching a group of 2 year olds trying to do somersaults, running and jumping like animals, singing and dancing is hilarious for us parents. They're all saying and doing the most random things. It's unpredictable and incredibly entertaining! They pick everything up so fast and it gave me lots of ideas for silly things we could do at home too.

Next up was SoccerTots. This one filled up fast so I ended up in a late April class. The good news is that her buddy Ethan made it in too :) Of course we've been having record temps in AZ this spring so it's been a little on the warm side. I was hoping this would be an activity where I could lounge on the sidelines but coach needs lots of help getting 2-3 yr olds to do the drills so Craig and I are outside sweating, running, and kicking balls too. Turns out the only activities where I got to stand on the sidelines were at children's museums (kind of) and Tumbleweed Park Courtyard events. Allison's favorite was bikes, bounce, and boogie with trikes, an amazing bounce house, and silly music to dance to.

On the crafty side, Allison has been all about stickers and drawing. We've unfortunately had two crayon on wall incidents. I have to remind her daily that crayons and stickers stay on...PAPER!! Although with all the spring birthdays in my family, she's had a great time making cards :) I'm still not brave enough to try fingerprinting or markers but I may pick up some Play Doh next time I'm at the store. And definitely more Reese pieces, because Allison earns those for listening to mommy and daddy, a critical skill when your hands are full taking care of an infant!