The Fun Rundown Jan 12

 I had a few pictures lurking around that were cute, and showed us doing fun things, but none were enough for an entire post, so I am cheating and combining them.
Above is Quinn (6months) playing in a giant water table at a local science museum.

 She loves to splish and splash. 

 Kenna (35 months)  and I built and huddled in a fort (in another area of the museum).  The giant poles, attaching easily with velro, and the lightweight material made for some really fun toddler work. She was very specific about where everything should go. We could have done this for hours. She's been completely entralled with everything "fort" and so this addressed her high interest level perfectly!

 Quinn, playing dress up. She loves peek-a-boo and this hat was new and different than playsilks and blankets.

 Little Man is taking steps! (15 months) All of his therapists are beside themselves with happiness.  He loves walking and is really getting brave.  Of course, two days after he took his first steps we got an appointment to get him special shoes, inserts and braces, but that's a small price to pay to get to say my CP kid is WALKING!!  Here he is attempting to push a basket full of sisters. (notice Daddy has ahold of the other end with a belt, so Little Man feels like a rock star!)

Kenna showed immense joy in watching our 6 foot giant inflatable snowman inflate and collapse each day. Pure joy. I wish we could leave that thing up all year. (Don't worry, I've finally packed up the Christmas. Why is it that even when you think you've gotten all the decor packed up, you suddenly sit on the couch and notice a GIANT Santa bowl you missed. Um, how is that possible?)

Sensory Shaky Bottles

This is an easy way to add some sensorial play to any baby's day.  (My Little Man is 12 months old).  I used some clear containers (breastmilk storage tubes, in this case) and added some things with visual interest, that would also make nice shaky toys. ( I added pony beads, glass "gems" and colored paperclips.) The content possibilities are endless, of course!  I meant to take a closeup picture of the bottles, but apparently I didn't.  Sorry! I think you get the idea!

Little Man loved them!  He studied the contents, rolled them around, and shook them like crazy.  And lucky me, the lids screw on really tightly- so try as she might, Kenna (32mos) couldn't break into them.  Whew! That means I don't have to glue the lids on, which means I can refill these containers and reuse them another day!

For older toddlers, you could add things that are quiet (like cotton balls) and ask them to compare the sounds. Ask them to find the loudest shaker, the quietest shaker, etc.  You could make this a matching game if your containers are opaque- make matching sets- two bottles with the same objects, and let them use their ears to match them up. :)