YAY for Babies

Greetings Everybody,


YAY for Babies.
And YAY for finding joy in watching my grandson learn so many things.


We are blessed to be a part of watching him grow and want to do all 
that we can to help him.


And soooo....the arsenal of Baby Stuff at Gigi's House just keeps on growing!

We have 1 grandchild right now, with a granddaughter due in June.  


We all live in the same town which means that there are frequent visits here at 
Gigi & Grandpa's house .


And lots of Grandson Sleepovers.


In fact...LAST NIGHT he had a sleepover with us.
We picked him up from our daughter & son-in-law's place


And on the way back to our place, we made a stop by Babies R Us.


(insert cash register sounds here lol)


And errrr...we ...errrr...picked up a few things lol.


Let me remind everybody that my daughter says she wants 4 kids.  
And we are kinda gearing up for that...which means there will likely ALWAYS be a few more purchases that "NEED" to be made.  lololol 


Our nearly 9 month old grandson has a few new skills.
     -he can raise himself to a sitting position now,
     -he can propel himself on his belly like a soldier, 
     -he can pull himself to a standing position,
     -he's probably a day or two away from really "getting" this crawling thing.
     -basically he is one ACTIVE LITTLE MAN! 


He's a Really Happy Kid.


He laughs alot.


And when he cuts loose with a genuine Belly Laugh, 
my soul does "The Happy Dance".


I am totally smitten by his laughter!!!

Last week my daughter got a walker for him and he is diggin it.
She says he happily maneuvers all over the house now.


Well, in "Grandmother-Think", it makes sense that if he is going to be at our house very much we need to get a walker for him to use here too.


Thus the trip to Babies R Us on the way back home from picking him up.


Here's what we got:

Kolcraft Step Starter 2-in-1 Walker from Babies R Us.

Our Grandson LOVES this thing.


The permanent tray has:
- 2 little owls with faces on them (the faces are turned TOWARD the baby)
- 2 toggles switches that make soft sounds and cause lights to flash
- 2 buttons that make soft noise
- and an easily gripped center toy that causes music to play when the baby spins it.


Needless to say, he was highly entertained by all of this.


But the funny part is that he wants to TASTE that thing in the center, so he leans forward and takes steps to try to get to it. 

He is learning to take steps toward the thing he wants and he's having to work for it.

Kind of a major life lesson

going on there huh!!!

While I am on the topic, let me say that I am really impressed with a couple of Imaginarium Products we have also gotten for him.  


Their foam blocks are colorful, soft enough to be safe, yet still sturdy. 


We got the Jumbo ones so that he will be able to play with them for a long time.  
He can easily pick up all of them, and he has fun bashing them around. 


Meanwhile I don't have to worry about one of them going into orbit 
and knocking over a lamp lol.


             He went bonkers over them. 

Imaginarium Jumbo Foam Textured Blocks

The only problem with all this playing on the floor that he does now, is that we have these stained cement floors, (which are really pretty, but are rather slippery), and of course cement is not at all Kid Friendly to a little fellow who tips over easily.  


So to keep him from bonking his head on the cement floor, we have, 
for months now, been putting down layers of quilts.


Great Idea Right?  Cushie & Cozy right? 


People always do that for babies right?


Well YES to all of the above...BUT keeping him ON the quilts is the trouble.


When my daughter was a baby she stayed ON her quilts...her son is not so docile lol!


It seems that the quilts just aren't big enough for my action-packed grandson 


He needed more Kid Friendly Space.


Soooo...You guessed it...we found another 
Imaginarium product that works really well.


We got The Alphabet Numbers Mat:
36 squares foam puzzle pieces form a nice play area.

Imaginarium Alphabet Numbers Mat

All of us are quite fond of this thing.
     -If you use all 36 square pieces it makes a "36 square foot" area. 
     -Comes in a heavy duty clear zipper bag for easy storage.
     -Easy cleanups.
     -Easy assembly.
     -Major :Cool Points" for this product.
     -"Hard Cement vs Soft Baby-Skull Problem" Solved.


Now if he topples over he won't hurt his head or break his little teeth.
Plus, he is fascinated with the textures and colors on the mat.  


YAY for a Kid Friendly zone in my house.


And YAY for all the fun that will come in the years ahead when the grandkids learn to assemble this play mat for themselves and can use it as the giant puzzle it really is.


 (FYI...Not only are the square mat pieces a puzzle, but each of the letters/numbers and their center parts will come out as well. Its a huge puzzle!)


YAY for learning the Alphabet and Numbers in such a Hand's-On way.


OK...I realize that Grandparenting is not new, and that it's only new to ME.
And I realize that I am prattling on ...but here's why:


There is something magical about being around a baby and watching them learn EVERYTHING.


And having your home set up to be able TO watch them learn to play is FUN!
I am reminded that to a little person, learning IS play.
It's only after we get older that we think learning is dreary work.
Babies get such joy out of new experiences,


I mean Really...Think about it...When was the last time you gave somebody something that made them so excited that they bounced and belly laughed...or opened their mouths so wide the drool ran out??? Well??? 


Babies are like that. 
They express joy(and every other emotion) freely.


So if it's confession time around here...I confess to being more than a little addicted to seeing JOY in that little boy's face.


Sorry about prattling on about Baby Products, but if you've ever been a Grandparent I bet you understand :)


Happy Easter Weekend To You All!




In Him,
Grace