My Morning Make Over.

We have had a break-through in our house over the past few days. It is something that could easily revolutionize my mommy-hood for at least the next few years. Logan no longer has a problem with the play yard that my mom bought us for Christmas!

A few months ago he would scream every time we put him in there to play... no matter what. We could be in the same room and he would be screaming. It was still great for those days when I really needed to get something done and he needed to stay safe, so sometimes I would put him in there for a few minutes and just let him scream. Let's face it though, it isn't easy for any mom to listen to her baby screaming for very long. For a while we would do very short bursts of time in there to get him used to the idea.

Finally, about two weeks ago I decided that if he was going to drop the morning nap he needed to have some quiet play time by himself in the morning. I need to be able to shower and cook breakfast without him getting hurt or climbing all over me. I started to think about some fun activities that I could make for him to play with during that time. A lot of times I will put a show on for him in the morning, but I wanted to make sure I gave him what he needed to keep himself busy.

The other day I tried it out for the first time, and to my surprise... there was no screaming at all! He sat down, played with his toys, and didn't think twice about where I was for a good forty five minutes! It was amazing. This morning I brought his video monitor down from his room and just put it in the living room so that I could be cooking in the kitchen, taking a shower, getting ready for the day, etc. while keeping an eye on him.

I think this will make a huge difference in my sanity level over the next few months and possibly years. It is so nice to have a few minutes to gather my thoughts in the morning. To listen to praise music in a quiet house, and even to be in the bathroom without him knocking on the door, screaming "MAMA". It gives me just the fuel I need to be able to keep up with him for the rest of the day. I am so thankful for this wonderful tool and that he is finally okay with being by himself for a little while.

So anyway I thought I would share two of his favorite activities from this week. I had seen the following one on a blog a while ago and thought it was a good activity for church or any quiet time really. It was free too! I just love free. :)

It was just this:

I just used the dog's nail clippers to cut the pipe cleaners that I already had kicking around the house.
You could add colored ones and use a wire cutter if you are super fancy... unlike me clearly.

And this:

And we just happened to finish up with
a bottle of Parmesan cheese this week.

So all I did was cut the pipe cleaners into about 2" segments and show Logan how to stick them through the holes on the cap. I dump out a pile and he spends the next ten minutes sticking them through the holes... what fun! He can get them through the "sprinkle" side of the cap, but after he got bored with that I opened the other side and let him pour them out and put them back in that side too. We also got out some dried beans and did the same game with those.

The second activity I found for a few dollars at TJ Maxx (my favorite store ever). I have been wanting to get him magnetic letters to go on the fridge for a while now because he absolutely loves magnets. The only thing stopping me was that I secretly hate having magnets all over the kitchen floor. I know... it is probably something that I will need to get used to, but for now I put them all over a cookie sheet for him to play with during his quiet time. He loved pulling them off and then sticking them back on this morning. This will also be great as he gets older and he starts to learn his letters.

Here are some pictures of what he has been up to...
*side note- I am aware that it appears that I never dress my child-
 I swear I do like three times a day. He just likes being in a diaper. :)*

Daddy snuck in to play with him :)