Quiet Bag Ideas for the Pre-Nursery Rascal

People- sometimes taking Henry to church is just crazy. He is all over the place, he doesn't want to sit still, and I often find myself wandering the halls. He's been much easier to manage since Kyler has been released from the Bishopric and now sits with me, but sometimes he is still a handful! 

I have been trying to find good projects and quiet activities for him to do while at church and was scouring Pinterest for about a thousand years. I kept feeling frustrated though because most of their ideas were for children a bit older than Henry, and he just wasn't quite old enough to enjoy those types of activities. 

I asked around to other moms and found little bits and pieces from every source of things that worked for them, and now I've finally been able to compile a little bag of tricks to keep my son entertained at his pre-nursery age (16 months), and mamas, it works!

This past Sunday we had few issues and no need to take him out in the hall. He just sat and was so distracted with the various things I had for him that Kyler and I actually got to LISTEN to the speakers! Say what? Can I get a WOOHOO!?! Some of you may have already heard about these, but sheesh, they have really helped this mom out that I want to make sure you know about them! 

So what is in this magic bag? Let me tell you. 

1. Gospel Picture Book

I got this idea from my friend Sarah Jane. Her mother made Sarah Jane's daughter a cute little picture book with cut outs from church magazines (the Ensign, New Era and Friend.) Her's is made out of a small photo album and her mom just slid the pictures into each slot, which I thought was genius. All I had at home was a .5 inch white binder and some sheet protectors, so I went with that (because I'm impatient and really wanted to see how Henry would like it.) It's been a hit! He has a lot of fun pointing at all of the pictures and Kyler and I are able to teach him different things on each page. I hope to keep adding to it as I receive more magazines, right now I have 6 pages. 

2. Pipe Cleaner Activity

This idea came from my sister. It's simply a cleaned out Parmesan cheese container with different colored pipe cleaners. You can do different sizes, and I've even heard of this same thing with straws. The idea is that they put the pipe cleaners through the little holes until they fit them all in. Henry LOVES this activity. He will do it over and over again. My sister said that a lot of the children in her church ward will come over and play with her son's because they are all amazed by it. 

3. Cheap Calculator

I think this calculator reminds Henry of a phone, and since we rarely let him play with our phones, he gets down right giddy that we're actually handing him this item and letting him push all of the buttons. He loves carrying it around with him and since he loves it so much, we save it for the really restless moments and it works like a charm. 

4. Sponge Blocks

I saw this idea online here and thought it was adorable. Quiet blocks in fun colors, what could be better? They can build and play and they don't make a sound. Even if they throw them (because lets be honest, this is the stage of throwing) they don't go far or cause chaos. Win!

I cut them in simple wedges that I thought Henry would be able to work with the best, but I have seen some that are in cute triangles and in different sizes too. 

5. Snacks

I try to pack a lot of different snacks, and things that he often doesn't get during the week so it's a special treat. We typically rotate through grapes, apple slices, teddy grahams, pretzel sticks, a type of cereal, puffs, raisins, fruit pouches, milk in a sippy cup, or his water. (these are just options of what we've used, we don't have all of these things every Sunday.) I saw a cute idea for a cheerio necklace to keep little ones occupied, so I whipped this up really quickly and it completely baffled Henry. He was so excited about it that it kept him busy for quite awhile. 

6. Books/toys

Of course we have a few books and simple toys, but often we don't even have to use these items because of the other quiet activities we have now. 

Look at that cute kid, sheesh. 

As Henry gets older I'm so excited to use an adorable quiet felt book (made by my sister in law Joanne) and a cute felt/white erase board (made by my sister Laiken) that they gifted us for Christmas. Henry doesn't quite grasp their concepts yet (as in he'd rather eat the dry erase crayon and felt pieces. :) ) There are a few more options of activities to make for kiddos when they are older, but for now I'm glad I found these ideas to help with my busy boy for the stage he's in currently. :)

Now, I feel triumphant and at ease at church instead of stressed out and broken down. I hope these ideas can help you too!

2nd Pregnancy- The First Trimester

Well, if you haven't heard yet, we're pregnant with baby number 2! Yay! 

It's interesting- this pregnancy has been pretty much exactly the same as my first one. I wanted to recap what symptoms I felt each week so that I can remember and compare for future pregnancies. I love remembering all of the little details, even the ones where I am sick and feel miserable, because it's amazing to me to remember what it takes to bring these little miracles into the world. With Henry my first trimester was really, really hard, but the second and third trimesters were so wonderful! They definitely had their quirks, but I remember thinking "if I can just get through those two months of nausea in the first trimester... I can do this!" This first trimester has also been very difficult (and a little harder in some ways because I have a crazy and adorable toddler), but I think I was able to handle it better emotionally this time because I knew what to expect. 

Anyway, moving on! These are little excerpts from my journal: 

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Week 4 and 5: Found out I'm pregnant! Henry and this baby will be 20 months apart. We are so excited! At first not experiencing many symptoms, but definitely tired. Cramping a little bit here and there. Starting at week 5 I began to feel like I had to eat every 2 or so hours or else I felt completely famished and sick. I whipped up a few freezer meals so that when nausea hits I can still feed my family some yummy meals. Last time I recall that cooking dinner just did not happen and Kyler had to cook a lot. 

Week 6: Hello nausea! We had wicked colds last week and I couldn't understand why I was still waking up and feeling so gross all day when Henry and Kyler have been better for days. Finally it hit me that I was experiencing morning sickness!! (well, all day sickness in my case.) Also SO. MUCH. CRAMPING. It makes me nervous because they feel very comparable to menstrual cramps, which can be a sign of miscarriage. My doctor gave me nausea medication and that has helped a bit. 

Week 7: Bloating is the worst! How do women even hide their second pregnancies?? My belly is quite ready to tell the world. Flowy shirts it is for the next few weeks! We really want to wait until we know the gender to announce. (If I can hide my belly until then!) I didn't get to keep my pregnancy with Henry a surprise for very long, so I am determined with this one.  I am starting this pregnancy weighing less than I started with Henry, but my body is just ready to show. Gah! Nausea is still bad. I feel best in the mornings but by night time I just feel gross and tired.

Week 8-10: Cramping on and off. Hungry every hour or so (even during the night.) So tired. Feeling like a lame wife and mom at this point. It's so hard to play with Henry or get things done. We moved during this time and Kyler has been a huge help to me. It's been hard to find the energy to unpack and clean, but if I do it in the mornings I'm able to make some progress. Kyler has been amazing at picking up my slack without complaining. He is so helpful and positive even though he has a ton on his plate right now. He's pretty much superman. 

I also feel like a lame friend because socializing and play dates haven't happened in months. I just do not feel like pretending I feel well unless it's for a special occasion. I keep thinking I've gotta be having twins in order to be this bloated, but still haven't gained weight.

Week 11: First doctor's appointment. I really love my doctor. She is so chill and relaxed but is great at answering all of my questions. She used the Doppler to find the heartbeat and found it immediately, phew! The instant she put it to my belly, there it was. 178! Music to my ears. Now it's totally real. We are having another baby! I get to have my gender ultrasound at 16 weeks, probably a few days before Christmas. I can't wait! We will announce it to everyone around then. :) I have only gained two pounds so far, and I'm still below the weight I was when I first became pregnant with Henry, and yet my belly is just ready to poke out. :) 

Week 11-16: the nausea is subsiding, which is amazing. But now it's replaced with a sour stomach and throwing up. I was so hoping I could skip the throwing up this time, but as weird as it sounds I take comfort in my pregnancy sickness because I know it's a good sign for baby. I seem to throw up every other day, so it's nice to have a little break here and there. I threw up on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning, you'd think I'd get a free-holiday pass or something but I guess not. :) With Henry I recall feeling back to normal around week 17/18, so hopefully that's the case with this baby! Also my baby bump is official as of 14 weeks. I don't think it's only bloat anymore. :) harder to hide but still possible!

(although technically I passed the 1st tri after 14 weeks, since we're still keeping it a secret I'll still log how I'm feeling with this post.) 

December 22 (16 weeks): had our ultrasound and saw baby is healthy and precious, and it's a GIRL!!!!! I was so sure I'd be having a boy since my pregnancies have been almost the exact same. Can't wait to have my precious little daughter. :) 

Christmas (16 weeks): Announced to all our family, friends, and Face Book! I actually was able to keep it a secret for the most part, success! It was so fun to keep the secret for so long, and we really appreciated all of the excitement and support we received with our happy news. :) 

Week 17- I have had a terrible cold for the last two weeks, but it's starting to ease and I actually have energy again! Huzzah! I have had no desire to do crafts or cleaning or anything really, but yesterday I had the energy to make 22 adorable bows for baby girl. (lest you think I'm nuts, it only took an hour. They are just so easy to make. :) I am just a little excited. I am so happy to be starting to feel good again. It has felt like a lifetime of chronic illness has gone by, and I am ready to feel (almost) back to normal! I also felt baby girl kick every day this week, which is so fun. I didn't get to feel Henry until I was almost 22 weeks because I had an anterior placenta, so it's lovely to feel her sooner. 

Week 18- It's like I am a new person. I can't believe how great I have felt the last few days, I had forgotten what it feels like to have energy and to behave like a normal human being. :) I had a cold for about a month, and once it was almost gone it developed into laryngitis (lost voice and terrible sore throat.) Kyler gave me a priesthood blessing with some pretty amazing promises and ever since I have been feeling SO much better each day. After 3 months of some seriously crazy sickness, I am enjoying feeling so well and am feeling so excited for baby girl. :)

I can't even tell you how many pictures we had to take in order to get this semi-blurry one. This kid never. stops. moving. :)