Some Updates

(This post contains affiliate links.)

October is off to a nice start.

We’ve been using the Very Hungry Caterpillar shopping cart cover I bought after the shopping trip a couple weeks ago that taught me why we needed one. As you can see, Bitsy seems to be really happy in it. The cart is more comfortable for her now, and there are loops to attach some of her favorite toys. It’s great to have some things for her to play with that she can’t throw out of the cart. Since she has her butterfly and fox, she won’t need to try to play with the groceries! And I feel more confident that she is secure in the cart.

The toys don’t come with the cart cover. These were some fun developmental toys gifted to me from my baby registry. They’re soft and cuddly, and are good for sensory development. Different parts make crinkly sounds when touched, and they have different textures and colors. The butterfly has a mirror, and Bitsy is sooo into mirrors right now.

Baby Rosary

We go to a mothers and babies playgroup each week. The children play together while the mothers chat. The head of family outreach does a wonderful job with this ministry. She creates a handout each week with the upcoming Sunday’s gospel, her own reflection and discussion questions. We read these together and pray together while the children play. This week we did this wonderful baby rosary craft. It was very easy, and gave us moms something creative to do with our hands while we talked. We used string, a plastic crucifix, and beads. Tape on the end of the string made it easier to run the string through the beads. The babies will enjoy feeling the different textures of the beads, and as they grow can say very simple prayers, like “I love you, Jesus,” “I love you, Mary,” for each bead. Now Bitsy gets to have her own rosary like Mama.

Fall is Coming Slowly

Even though October is here, it’s still pretty hot. The mornings and evenings are a little cooler now, so family walks with Bitsy are much more pleasant now. Having her walk in shoes is going to be a process. They still feel awkward to her, and she prefers to be barefoot. She loves being outside and exploring. She chases her shadow, and stops to look at every little thing. She’s been reading The Poky Little Puppy a lot lately, so I tell her she’s like the Poky Little Puppy, stopping to learn about whatever she sees, hears, and smells. I tell her this is a good way to be: curious, and taking time to experience the little things.

I’m getting excited about Halloween. I don’t like to put up decorations too early. I’ll wait another week or two before I put up a Halloween wreath. I’ll make it in the next few days. Last year, Bitsy was adorable in her Wonder Woman costume. I’m really looking forward to taking her trick-or-treating this year, now that’s she’s so social.

Things are pretty busy with school right now, but I’ll get a little break between big assignments in a couple weeks. I’m taking Collection Development this semester. I’m working on a weeding assignment in which I choose items from a particular section of the library to weed. Weeding is one of the things I miss the most about working in the library, so this is like a dream assignment for me.

I hope you’ll all have a happy October. Even though I’m so busy, I will be slowing down and taking time to enjoy this fun season, and I hope to have plenty to share with you here.

 

 

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Bitsy’s Very Hungry Caterpillar First Birthday Party (Part I: Birthday Fun for Little Ones)

Celebrating Bitsy’s first birthday brought so much joy! Some may feel  a first birthday party doesn’t matter much because the little one doesn’t understand she’s having a birthday party and won’t remember it, but I feel differently. A birthday isn’t just an opportunity for one to celebrate another year of one’s own life. It is also a chance for those who love you to celebrate you. Family, friends, and neighbors were happy to gather together to celebrate their love for Bitsy, and when she gets older she may happily look back at pictures from her first birthday party. Besides, I can honestly say that even though she may not have understood that a party was being thrown in her honor, she really had a great time! I made sure to have baby and toddler-appropriate activities that she and her guests would enjoy, and those activities really were a hit! Here’s what worked:

Ball pit

This one was such a hit! The age range of most of the kids at the party was 11 months to 3 years. Even the one older kid had fun playing with the babies in the ball pit. Here’s what I did:

I ordered these play balls. They were one of the best deals I found on play balls, plus I liked that they’re BPA-free and the colors went well with the Very Hungry Caterpillar theme (more later on choosing the theme).

I kept my eye out for inflatable pools in end-of-summer clearance sales, but wasn’t finding any. I thus ended up buying the inflatable pool the day before the party. The pool I found was a lot bigger than I’d hoped for, but a very helpful Walmart associate helped me get it for almost half off the price by tearing the box a little for me! I guess it helps to shop with a cute baby 🙂

So I would say the one mistake I made regarding the ball pit was buying the pool after I bought the play balls and too late to order more play balls in time for the party. The one box of play balls I ordered didn’t fill up the pool, but that was totally okay. I added some bouncy balls and small pillows to fill up more of the space. In the end, I think it may have been better that way since it gave the little ones more space to crawl around and play.

The parents and kids loved this, and it ended up being the central activity of the party. The pool is 9-feet wide and parents could sit close by and supervise in the shade while the little ones could safely play in the ball pit. I highly recommend this idea for any baby/toddler party.

Feed-the-Caterpillar Tossing game

I wanted  to give a good party, not reinvent the wheel. Much of the planning of this party was done using Pinterest, and this is one of those ideas that originated there. It’s also important to me, once I get an idea from Pinterest, not to get too caught up in imitating it exactly. Start with the idea, then use the resources you have access to and your own creativity to execute it the best way you can. I used cardboard shipping boxes, two pieces of red poster board, construction paper, scissors, a box cutter, and my trusty hot glue gun to build this activity. The toy fruit for tossing into the caterpillar’s mouth was entertaining enough on its own for the youngest babies, and Bitsy’s been enjoying playing with it ever since the party.

Bubble machine

This was an additional, last-minute touch I added when I saw the Blitz Bubble Blowout on sale. If you have little ones, you know how much they love bubbles. This added a lot of excitement to the party, and the bubbles were so pretty! My honest take: I’m glad I bought this. It was great for the party and will be fun to use for a long time to come. The one drawback is the frequency with which you have to refill it. One fill-up gets you several minutes of bubbles. You have to have some other activities to redirect the kids to so you’re not constantly refilling the bubble machine. The bottle of solution that comes with the machine got completely used-up during the party. If you’re going to use this toy, it’s a better deal to go ahead and buy the large refill bottle. I didn’t break into the big bottle yet, because when I ran out of the small bottle, the parents and I just told the kids that bubbles were over for the day. They were fine with it, because by then it was time for birthday cake!

I also planned a couple crafts in case it rained or the kids got bored and needed a new activity, but we ended up not needing them. I kept some of the craft materials to use later and returned others.

As you can see from the links, I got several items for the party from Amazon and recommend those items to you. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

In the next post, I’ll talk about the birthday party theme, decorations, and food.