Mommy Mondays: 15 Month Favorites

 Thatbaby definitely has second-child syndrome.  I was so involved in stimulating Thatkid when he was a toddler, playing with him, documenting and feeding into his loves.  Like when daycare said he sat "reading" a book the entire time they were outside, I just had to purchase a copy to have at home.
Thatbaby on the other hand?  Well he spends most of his time following Thatkid around, so I don't work as hard at entertaining him.  He rarely gets new toys, frankly, he rarely plays with his own toys, preferring to get his hands on whatever Thatkid is playing with.

So, loaded with guilt, I figured I should document some of the things that keep him interested lately.


Books
Thatbaby has reached an age where if you want him to sit down for a hot second, you just need to pull out a book.  Of course, you then need to be prepared to read that book over and over and over again.  These are his current favorites.  (The first got read 5 times consecutively yesterday before I found "Hungry Caterpillar within arm's reach.)

It's Pumpkin Day Mouse
Touch and Feel: Wild Animals
Pat the Birthday Bunny
Corduroy 's Trick or Treat
From Head to Toe



Color Wonder Markers
Thatkid loves to color. It's a fairly typical weekend morning activity.  The only problem is that Monkey See Monkey do.  And it's really hard to color with a 26 lb monkey hanging all over you. We also ran into the problem that he enjoys writing all over his face with markers.  Color Wonder markets address both issues.  Now when Thatkid starts coloring I grab these for Thatbaby.  He colors in his book, Thatkid colors in his. And since they only mark on their specified paper, I don't need to worry about marker on faces (or couches or rugs or tables).

Water Table
It's been really warm here, so often when we get home from school/work/daycare I'll fill up the water table and let the boys play while I get dinner on the table.  We never had a water table with Thatkid, so he's making up for lost time.  Thatbaby has a double bonus of having an activity he likes, and that his brother likes to do with him.

Swings/Slides (Playset)
This is a blessing and a curse.  The playset was a gift from Thatmom to Thatkid for becoming a "big brother."  The idea was that it would give him something to do that didn't require parental supervision while I was taking care of the new baby.  Except now it requires parental supervision, not for Thatkid, but for Thatbaby who is capable of climbing up, reaching up the beams and swinging out. 

He also has discovered his own way of swinging that doesn't require anyone to push him.

Scooter

Roller Boys on Vimeo.

This is one of those "it's good to be a second child" things.  Thatkid didn't have any scooter experience until he was 3.  Thatbaby gets to play on his brother's much earlier than that.  And he loves it.