Sesame Street Cupcakes

Before my son ever saw an episode of Sesame Street, he fell in love with some of the characters from toys and books. Baby Bear loves two of these characters so much that he does impressions of Cookie Monster and sings the la-la-la parts of Elmo's song (original, not Elmo's World). So, for his first birthday party, I knew exactly what theme we should use!


Finding decorations was fairly easy as this is such a popular kids' show. Finding a cake to go with the theme was easy, too, but I did not want my Baby Bear filling himself so full of sugar all at once and for the first time. This meant searching through hundreds of "healthy" cake recipes as well as cupcake decorating ideas to go with the theme. Whereas an applesauce cake recipe I tried was pretty tasty, I succumbed to the convenience of Pillsbury's new line of sugar-free cake products. I also found a couple of creative, yet simple ideas for making Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes. This was the result of my first attempt at said cupcakes:

I used cans of Betty Crocker decorating cake icing for the fur (on sale for $1/can at Kroger!), marshmallows and chocolate chips for the eyes, orange peanut M&Ms for Elmo's nose, and halved Oreo cookies for the mouth. For the fur I used the star tip, started in the center, and worked my way in a circular pattern out until the top of the cupcake was covered. I cut the marshmallows into thirds and used the outer portions for the eyes. I also used a touch of frosting to make the chocolate chips stick to the marshmallows. Not too shabby for a beginner!

Peanut Butter Playdough

I have not tried this recipe yet, but I chose this one from cooks.com based on the good reviews it received. This one is not for children under the age of one because it uses honey. However, I have heard that you can use corn syrup instead of honey, or you can use only the peanut butter mixed with confectioner's sugar. The first time Baby Bear and I try using peanut butter playdough, we will probably only use the first two ingredients to keep it simple and cut down on cost. We will also probably cut the recipe in half because it sounds like this makes a very large batch of playdough.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups peanut butter

4 cups confectioner's sugar

3 1/2 cups honey

4 cups dry milk powder

Directions:

In large bowl, cream together peanut butter and confectioners' sugar, then beat in honey and fold in milk powder. Divide into 15 equal portions and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Duct Tape Roads

My Baby Bear loves toys with wheels, especially if they are cars! He can entertain himself for 10 minutes easily just by holding these little toys and spinning the wheels. In my activities research, I have seen many ideas for making homemade roads and car ramps out of cardboard or construction paper. These ideas sound great, but my Baby Bear still puts everything in his mouth. That is why when I read about using duct tape to create roads on imaginationsoup.net, I just had to try it out with my son!

I created a simple intersection with two long strips of duct tape on the living room carpet. I tried adding a city block, but Baby Bear was quick to pull that up. Simple intersection it was! Baby Bear was not overly interested in this activity, and it only held his attention for a few minutes. He liked watching me put the duct tape on the carpet more than driving his toys along the strips. I think it would be worth trying again in a few weeks, though. He liked watching me make the vehicles drive along the roads, and he helped make them drive a little, too. I think I will make an intersection inside a square next time so the vehicles have corners to turn.

The thing I like most about this activity is that it can grow with my son. As he gets older we can add more roads and make them more complex. We can also start drawing little lines along the tape for lanes. Perhaps in another year or so we will start making our own little cars to drive along the roads, too. There are so many possibilities for this activity. It can be as simple or as complex as you want! It also helps with those fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and it teaches a little about how road systems work in a simple and fun way.

Fire Truck vs. Horse

Baby Bear putting the fire truck on the road to drive

Pudding Painting

I wanted to do an art activity with Baby Bear, but I needed something that was safe for him to put in his mouth (the inevitable result). I found this idea for pudding painting, and it was perfect for my son who was 10 months old at the time. All I did was make a box of instant chocolate pudding (I used about 1/4 less milk so it was thicker) and grab a sheet of card stock. At a later date, I used a chocolate pudding cup instead, and this proved to be even easier and accomplished the same result.

Baby Bear was apprehensive to make a mess at first, but he enjoyed squishing the pudding in his hands. It was a great tactile, exploration activity.

Pretty soon the pudding was all over the paper and all over him. This painting project is definitely best done outdoors. We let him play in his baby pool after this.

Idea credit: The Imagination Tree

Pudding Painting 2

This is a variation on pudding painting. Rather than using chocolate pudding and having Baby Bear paint in brown, I stirred just a drop of food coloring into a vanilla pudding cup, stuck a large sheet of white construction paper to the table with double-sided tape, and let Baby Bear have at it!

At first Baby Bear was content just painting, only tasting a little here and there. I held the pudding cup, and he dipped his hand in to get the "paint."

Then he wanted the whole cup. Half went on the paper, half went in his mouth.

In the end, he had more fun painting himself than he did painting on the paper. We participated in some water play after this activity! :)

Bath Toy

While looking for ways to entertain my little toddler, I stumbled across an idea for a homemade watering can of sorts. On the site I read about this on, it was suggested to make holes in the lid of an empty plastic bottle. This seemed like a lot of work when the bottom of the bottle is much easier to puncture. So, with a thumb tack and an empty Coke bottle, I set to work.

I peeled the label off and poked 3-4 holes into each little section on the bottom of the bottle. That's it! During next bath, my husband filled the bottle with water and held it up for my son to see. Baby Bear was instantly intrigued. At first, he just watched intently as the water streamed down. Then, he held his hands under the running water. After a few more bath times, he began giving his toys showers, sticking his head under the streaming water, and filling and holding the bottle himself. It took all of 3 minutes to make this bath toy, but it has lead to as much as 20 minutes of entertainment at a time.

 

*Note: This will not work with the lid on.

Sensory Bottles

There are so many ways to use an empty plastic bottle to entertain a baby! Water bottles are especially great to reuse as baby toys. Just make sure the cap is on super tight and recheck it often to make sure it is still secure! Hot gluing the bottles shut is also an option. Here are a few of the sensory bottles I made for my son. Baby Bear enjoyed shaking them, watching the little objects inside float around, and pretending he was taking a drink like mommy and daddy. He enjoyed these toys from about 4 to 9 months old.

• I added a little water (about 1/4 full) and a drop of food coloring.
• As a variation of the above idea, I have tried adding something to the water. A teaspoon of glitter is fun, or some cut up pipe cleaners. A friend of mine tore little pieces off a colorful sponge and tossed them in for her daughter. Basically, anything shiny, colorful, and/or floaty will do.
• Add a little oil to the water, preferably clear, for a lava lamp effect. This one was not a hit with Baby Bear, but I can see how some babies may like this toy. I read somewhere that adding a couple drops of glycerine can slow down the motion of the oil, which might make this version of the toy more entertaining.
• Baby Bear's favorite reused bottle toy was the one I added half a cup of dry rice to. I also added a few drops of food coloring just for visual interest. It made a great noise-maker!

Just water with food coloring... a big hit!

Water with cut up pipe cleaners: Fun to shake, rattle, and roll!