Badger's Wonder Baskets

 

Last month when Panda started a more structured Preschool at home I began making wonder baskets for Badger to play with. These keep him occupied while I am working with his brother. I had planned on doing separate posts for Panda's school and Badger's activities... But that has been proving difficult. I will be adding these into my regular school posts from here on out. That being said; for Apple Week Badger's wonder basket held a chiming apple, and nesting measuring cups that he took great delight in stacking and unstacking and banging together. I found some silicon measuring spoons to add in. They have been a favorite teething soother all month. We also worked on sorting apples into muffin tins and tasted all sorts of apple treats together.

For Talk Like a Pirate Day, Badger has a special one day pirate basket. He enjoyed playing with the boat the most out of this basket, so I followed his lead and gave him a bin of water to float the boat and splash around in while Panda was at therapy.

For our Good Night Moon Week Badger had a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush... errr... Make that a bowl and spoon. I also dug out a ball with a moon and a bunny for this basket. During the day we made a night sky by putting paint into a Ziploc bag and then smooshing the paint around.

For Squirrel Week I really wanted an acorn, but didn't have the time to stitch a felt one together. Instead I opted for several different wood slices, a squirrel, and a pine cone. Badger was fascinated with the pine cone. We spent most of our one on one time out on nature walks along the river this week.

And for Michaelmas and Dragon Week I put together a basket with a knight, dragon, crown, shooting star, and a marigold dyed play silk. Badger is starting to take an interest in hats and had a lot of fun playing with the crown. We also have a wooden dragon pull toy that he had a lot of fun studying and pulling around the house.

I don't remember where I first heard of the idea of Wonder Baskets for Babies, but they are wonderful tools to keep on hand for safe and fun exploration.

Thanks for Reading and

~Shine On~

Baby Sensory Beanbags

 Panda loved the Scented Thanksgiving pillows I made the other day. They were a new texture, a yummy smell, and just the right size for his tiny hands. That gave me an idea; so yesterday I made him several bean bags filled with different sensory items. 

First I picked out several different fabrics from my scrap bin and cut them into 4" squares. I tried to choose different textures and patterns as well as colors. Next I sewed them into little pillows (leaving the bottom open for stuffing). Then I stuffed them with scrap fabric and an added a sensory item:

Red upholstery fabric + Dog toy squeaker

Green mushroom print flannel + Dried lavender buds

Thick tan striped trouser cotton + Homemade egg shaker (described in next step)

Yellow felt + Crinkly cellophane

Cranberry velor with gold embroidery + Jingle bells

Burlap + Cinnamon twigs (because Panda loved the Thanksgiving ones so much)

Red starry fleece + Fiberfill (because things don't always have to "do" something)

Denim + Rattle

 To make the egg shaker bean bag I put some rice in a small tin and sealed it shut with some duct tape (left over zebra duct tape from Ehlers Danlos awareness projects). Yup, that simple. After they were stuffed I sewed the pillows closed and placed them in a basket for Panda to find.

I was able to make these all with things I already had on hand. Panda loves them and has played with them pretty much constantly since he got them yesterday. I want to make a knitted square and possibly a vinyl square for a total of 10. Then we can use them for counting games when he is older. This would make such a great gift  that I had to post it. Sight, scent, touch, taste, and sound, all covered by these little bean bags. I hope this inspires you. Be well and Have fun!

Baby Shower!

 Warning: This post has many pictures and is very long!

My dear friend SARN was so kind to throw a baby shower for us. After many months of planning the day of the shower arrived. The day was filled with laughter and love. This baby has many people who have stepped in and are fighting for the title of Grandma. Bear's mother gracefully sat and took it all in with a warm smile. She is the only person who has a true blood right to the title since my mother has opted to not be a part of this child's life. I let them all banter back and forth about this for a while. There is Nana, and Nona, and Grandmama, and Grams, and a whole army of Aunties, and so on and so forth. I don't know how I will keep them all straight in the end. What a lucky little boy this is to be so loved. You are all so precious to us. Thank you for being a part of our lives and letting us be a part of yours. Thank you for your love.

 The Decorations: The shower was a tea party and the decorations were based off of the nursery's decor. The leaves and animals hanging from the chandelier are going to be part of a project in the near future, so please check back in a week or so.

 SARN made these  trees for the shower and insisted that I have some of my felt table puppet animals present as decorations. The whole things was adorable.

 This owl greeted people as they came in my front door. I am tempted to leave him up.

 I had a hard time weeding out which decorations to post. There were so many trees, leaves, little animals (felt and paper), and so on and so forth tucked around the house. It was truly  beautiful.

 The Food: I have to mention the food. Everyone worked so hard. Even though my midwives have put me back on a dairy and gluten free menu I was still able to enjoy a lot of these things. There were a lot of finger sandwiches, berries, cookies, a few other sweets, and of course 4 different types of tea.

The Games: We played a few games such as:

      Hot Dolly. We passed around a dolly and everyone had to say a boy's name in alphabetical order before they passed it on. There could be no repeats. The timer went off every minute and whoever was holding the dolly when it went off was out. The last person standing won.

 Daddy knows best. I made a list of questions up for Bear to answer. Then I made a multiple choice list to go with them. The guests had to guess which answer they thought Bear answered. It was not necessarily always the right answer and it made for a lot of laughter. The person with the most correct won.

  Guess the Baby food.  There were 10 jars of baby food without the labels  They were numbered 1 -10. The guests had to write what they thought each food was without opening the jar to smell or taste. The person with the most right won. 

Our Wish Tree. This was not really a game but it was so beautiful I had to share. Each guest was handed a leaf and a ribbon at the start of the shower. On one side they wrote their name and address and on the other side they wrote a piece of advice or a wish for the baby and soon to be mum. Later in the shower we collected them, read them out loud, and tied them to these branches. There were so many beautiful things written. When I can finally bring myself to take this beautiful tree down, the leaves will be saved in a memory book.

The Gifts: Thank you everyone for your generosity and love. There were so many beautiful and thoughtful gifts and it was hard to pick what to post; but since this is largely a crafting blog I chose to post these two. This hat, sweater, and booties set was made by my lovely friend L. You can feel the love stitched into every inch of this set. L is a master of all things yarn. I know this set will be loved and carefully folded away when our son out grows it to save for his children one day.

 This amazing baby quilt  was made by my friend SARN. It is breathlessly beautiful. I had to take a picture before years of love turn this blanket into a velveteen rabbit. I know it will be treasured by my son. It is already a treasure to me. 

 The Favors: These adorable buttons were to perfect to pass up. I found them on Etsy at Pandalove Shop. The owner of the shop was very helpful and wonderful to work with. I know I will be going back for party favors in the future when our son is old enough to have birthday parties. 

We put the pins in bags with a few chocolate eggs and a little raffia to look like a nest. I think everyone was happy with them. They certainly were adorable. 

Thank you everyone for making this such a beautiful and memorable day. I know that there were a few of you who could not make it but wanted to be there. I know your love and support was with us in spirit. I am so lucky to have so many beautiful friends. I can't remember ever feeling such a beautiful outpouring of love like that. The whole day I felt like I was wrapped in a cocoon of love, laughter, and comfort, but most of all love. It was the type of shower every woman dreams of and I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and now these beautiful memories to look back on for many years to come. You are all my family and I love you all. Thank you and God bless.