10 Fun Things To Do With Baby in the Fall

Some people have come up to me recently and said,
 "He's getting fun now, right?"
Darn right he's getting fun!
But-to my knowledge...he has always been fun!
Babies are not blobs.  They need stimulation.  Entertainment.  Excitement!

There is a thing us speech therapists call "world knowledge."  

This, as it's title implies, is how we learn words and the way the world around us works.

When we have world knowledge about things, we have experiences to relate to that bring words and concepts to life for kids.  

SO...

given that our babies around the age of 0-24 months are wired to learn from birth about the world around them, why not start having some fun NOW!  

I don't know about you, but I can't keep my little one from exploring!

He keeps me on my toes looking for new ways to entertain and create a learning environment.

10 Fun Things To Do With Your Baby in the Fall:

1.  Explore the Leaves!

I took Cam one evening after work and just plotted him down in a big pile of fresh crispy leaves.  I can't say he oozed with excitement to begin with...but once he realized I wasn't leaving-his hands went to work exploring one of the most famous icons of the fall season:)  Next year Cam...we are so jumping in a leaf pile.

2.  Halloween Home Cinema

Every few evenings, we cuddle and watch a Halloween movie together!  It's the perfect way to unwind and enjoy the season with a big bottle full of apple juice for baby.  And a big mug of hot apple cider for mommy!  A few of our favorites have been "Hocus Pocus," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Double Double Toil and Trouble," "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," and "Monster Party." 

3.  Welcome the holiday in with a splash

I really don't know how this came about...but Cam and I are loving this idea.  We pull up the Pandora "Halloween Party" radio on my IPad, fill the tub full of bubbles, unleash Count Duck-u-la and Frankenduck, and splash around until the wrinkles come:)  

4.  Read some spooky bedtime stories:)

I love a good bedtime story before our Bible story...the holiday seasons make selecting the perfect read even easier!  I have lined Cam's bookshelves with our new Halloween collection, and given that Cam isn't in a monster mood...we enjoy a good spooky read most evenings:)

5.  Get creative and make your food your baby's food fun and festive!

Cam has just recently started enjoying table food...which...I have pretty much been waiting for this moment since before he was born!  I have had a complete BLAST brainstorming of cute festive ways to arrange our his food!  I mean...who wouldn't enjoy fruit all the more arranged as a friendly festive character?

6.  Paint fall-ish characters with leftover baby food!

I tried this out after seeing this on BABYTV.  This didn't work out quite the way I had hoped, but I can see it being a great idea when he gets a high chair and when he isn't as hungry as he was! (And when mommy is able to provide a thicker piece of paper)  I love that this activity allows babies to be creative and entertained, but the "paint" is safe should they want a taste.  Because, my Cam...he stuck his hands in his mouth FIRST thing.  

7.  Spookify the nursery...

Cam seems to love all of the new things we have added to his room for the Halloween season!  Check more of it out here.

8.  Pumpkin Patch

In case you forgot about our trip to the pumpkin patch and all of the things you can do with baby there, click here to return to that post!

9.  Attend a Fall Festival

The fall festival we attending two weeks ago was the perfect atmosphere for a baby.  Cam was completely into everything he seen.  I could tell he was taking in EVERYTHING.  The sights!  The sounds!  The smells!
We have one more fall festival coming up on the 30th at our church...can't wait to see how he responds to it:)

10.  Go Trick or Treating!

While our trick or treating will mostly consist of visiting family (and not so much of bumming candy)...I am SO excited to dress Cam, and myself up, I can barely wait!  This "Halloween to do" is mainly for the memories...pictures...And getting to FINALLY pick out an adorable costume for my baby from Pottery Barn Kids (aka the werewolf costume you see in the picture above!)  I have said I would do that for YEARS! Hehehe!

I wonder how many times I have said the word festive the past two months?
Oh well.  All I can say is you probably should get used to it because we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to go! 

Mommies...have fun brainstorming things to do for your babies.
They are never too young to stimulate, entertain, or excite! :)

Enter Cam's Spooky Nursery If You Dare!

You've seen the house,

now Cam wants to show you his "spookified" nursery!

There you'll find haunted pumpkins, spooky skeletons, spiders, webs,

a collection of eery bedtime stories, and a few friendly ghosts that we invited to stay around through the end of October:)

Enter if you dare...

This werewolf will come to life next Thursday:)

Here we have been reading our new collection of Halloween stories any chance we get! 

I absolutely love art work by kids...they are the best pieces!
Cam's little friend Cassie created the spooky masterpiece displayed above:)

This little guy stands watch on the changing table.

Nothing wards off a ghost like a cozy blanket shield!

Gotta throw in the Snoop!

Just wait til' Christmas!;)  I started planning for that LAST YEAR!

Haunting Your Home

I can't imagine a holiday coming and going without it making a mark on our home!

To me...there is nothing more "homey" than walking into a house decorated for the season!  
Here are some of my favorite ways to bring the holiday to life:

1.  Garland:  If you can't tell...a favorite touch of mine for decorating our home this year is felt ball garland.  I have a feeling you are going to see a lot of this year round in our home!

2.  Keep classic holiday movies playing:  (ya know "Hocus Pocus," "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," "Casper," etc.) This just makes the season come to life and sets the mood:)  And FYI: ABC Family just launched their 13 Days of Halloween...just sayin!

Next year our little werewolf will live in that frame:)

3.  Place pumpkins EVERYWHERE!  No explanation needed...

4.  Fresh Flowers and Scented Candles!  No matter what season it is, fresh flowers and scented candles add to the seasonal scents:)  My favorite all year for fall is pumpkin spice!

5.  Chalk!  I LOVE that our chalk board is a center piece in our dining room that is always changing with the seasons...ya never know what your gonna see when you walk in our house!  

Some of the  best places to find reasonable priced holiday decor include: Target, Home Goods, The Dollar Store, and Etsy.  Pottery Barn is on the expensive side, but I do love all of their holiday decor-sometimes it's just a toss between whether you can wait for it to go on sale or HAVE to have it for the upcoming holiday!

Sometimes I struggle with how to balance fall and Halloween decorations because they really go hand in hand. It can be a challenge!

6.  Shelf Styling: I love that you can style shelves for each season...again it is a center piece that is always changing so it never gets boring!  For fall, throw up some fall-esque pictures with a few random fun fall pieces.

7.  Fall Barista Station:)  I like changing our coffee corner up with the seasons.  For Fall, switch up the monotonous cream and sugar by adding pumpkin spiced flavors, cinnamon, nutmeg, festive straws and seasonal trinkets!

And given that this is a blog that shares fun ideas for babies and kids, it's hard not to mention that "spookifying" your home will make an environment that will be fun, memorable, and special to your kids for years to come!

I know that helping my mom decorate for the holidays are some of my fondest childhood memories...let the whole family get involved with planning how to spook up the home place!

I may have a future Clark Griswold on my hands...who knows?

So ladies...in what ways do YOU and your family haunt your home for this spooky holiday?:)

A Boo-tiful Weekend

Close your eyes and imagine the perfect fall day.

One with crisp fall weather, leaves falling in every direction, halloween costumes, movies, and music, festive tees, UGG Boots, carefully choosing the family pumpkin to carve at a pumpkin patch after a hayride and a stroll through the local fall festival...`

Well THAT was a perfect description of our weekend:)

{Blanket, Target}

Halloween movie?  Nightmare Before Christmas after a stroll outside to enjoy the fall weather that finally decided to pay us North Carolinians a visit! 

Perfect lazy Friday evening in...but we missed daddy.

Then it was Happy 18th birthday Aunt C!  Time to crank up the Halloween Party radio and heat and drive off for costume pictures, pumpkin patch and fall festival fun!

My Little Werewolf

{Costume}

Pumpkin Patch?  Darnell Farms in Bryson City.

Costume Photo Shoot?  Dana Cochran...LOVE her!

{Great Pumpkin Tee} {Orange Soda Cap}

So much fun with Lolli and C:)

The hayride was a big hit!  I mean...it had me plotting ways I could arrange a hayride at midnight when bouncing is the only way to soothe him!  Minus the temptation to eat a bunch of hay straws in the process!

The Fall Festival?  At the Stecoah Valley Center...I tried to capture some of my favorite booths, not to mention some say today is National Caramel Apple Day, although some sources claim its October 31st! #whoknew

And our pumpkins?  Drum roll PLEASE!

Sunday was no exception...Cam was a baby doll in this outfit for his first time in Sunday school!

'

I have to brag a bit though...He was so well behaved in class besides the crayon he tried to eat and I totally pulled a DIY and made this tie before church!

Kinda inspired to make some more:)

Cam and I kinda love them!

{Shirt} {Pants}

Off to cross more fall to do's off our list!:)

Fall home decor to come soon...