Tuesday, February 11, 2014

{Real Mom Life} 10 Entertaining Activities for My 10 Month Old



For any of you mamas out there who have babies younger than 10 months old, I thought I'd share a bit of what I've found to be fool-proof ways of entertaining your Boddler {aka the human in the phase between Baby and Toddler, one that is usually crawling, pulling up, and putting everything in the mouth}. If you come to my home, these are activities you will find Maylin doing on an hourly basis. She rotates from one of these activities to the next, all faster than I can keep up with her saggy-diapered booty. I've never said the word "no" more often in my life, even when I was teaching.

Pulling Out/Off::
  1. Pulling all the magnets OFF the fridge.
  2. Pulling folded clothes out of drawers.
  3. Pulling books off shelves.
Canine-Related::
  1. Splashing in the dog's water bowl.
  2. Throwing Cheerios on the floor for the dog to eat. {Yes, this is intentional. She loves watching him eat.}
  3. Chewing on the dog's bones.
Pulling Up::
  1. Pulling up on the lips of trashcans.
  2. Pulling up on the diaper pail.
Playing::
  1. Touching electrical outlets and playing with power cords.
  2. Playing near the edge of the brick hearth while a fire rages temptingly in the grate.
I believe experts refer to Maylin's favorite activities as "exploring the environment." I call it driving a Mama mad.

There is a story to accompany each of these activities, each of which has been done many times, but I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say the endings of said stories are usually as follows:: Maylin ends up flat on her back underneath a trashcan covered in trash/food; Maylin ends up crying in frustration or in pain; Maylin ends up soaking wet with water all over the floor.

Greatest fears at this point are that {1}she'll  discover she can pull up on the toilet seat, and {2}that she'll discover the dog food is edible. Please, dear God, delay those developmental milestones just a liiiiitle longer. Thank you.

What are your Boddlers into right now? Any tips for a struggling mama who has said the word "no" a thousand times but still gets clueless looks and smiles? And why, oh why, won't she play with the many brightly-colored musical toys scattered around the house??

2 comments:

  1. We are so there!! Mia has figured out that she can pull up on the toilet :-(. She has also decided that the rocks in our gas fireplace are fun to put in her mouth. I think I say no every minute! Riding the dog is a new fun activity-I have no clue where she even learned this from. It's exhausting!

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  2. BWAHAHA!! YEP, right there with you. WHY are electrical plugs SO entertaining??? And if there's something plugged in, she wants to unplug it.

    But she has quit feeding the dog. She does NOT share her food, lol.

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