Places to go with babies and toddlers in Leiden/Leiderdorp

Since M was born, I received an advice from my kraamzorg (I know, I haven't explained much about that process and it's been almost two years now) to go of the out house everyday. 

I can certainly say that I'm not much of a stay at home person, even though I'm a SAHM that doesn't mean I have to literally stay inside all day all week. But I also enjoy being at home some days. The thing is that M normally NEEDS to go out, otherwise he gets fussy, sleeps less during the night and that doesn't make this mom very happy. 

Anyways, when he was a baby, we went for walks around the neighborhood, or went visit some friends in town or in other towns close by. 

As he grew up we started having play dates and playgroups in Leiden but that wasn't enough. So we started taking him to the aquarium, the zoo and other nice places around with other mama friends and their little ones. 

Now, there is something else to consider for going out in this country: weather. During the months of November to April it can be cold to spend the mornings or afternoons outside, but for their own good (and your peace of mind too) you still have to take them for a stroll. 

Then all year round it can rain A LOT! Even  it is summer time, it rains a lot. So you have to look for places where kids can safely play inside. One of those places is called Bubble Jungle. We went the first time when he was about 11 months and stayed there a couple of hours. There is a small place for babies to play but big children don't respect mug of the rules and can get inside too. Also parents go there to sit on a table and enjoy a chat with their friends and a cup of coffee or a snack, that they just let kids play around the place, which is very big, and some of these kids are bullies and don't mind hurting small kids. 

We went again this past week on a rainy morning just after the start of the summer holiday and it was HELL! I spent my time of course chasing M and playing with him because I was afraid someone might hurt him and he is still little to be without adult supervision. So there I saw all this big kids taking toys from babies or jumping hard next to them and the parents are nowhere around to tell them to stop. 

I love going to this place and it is a lot of fun for my little one, but for us it's not the right place to be on a rainy, summer vacation day. It will be best to try it again once school starts in September on a weekday morning when all kids are at school. 

There are several more playgrounds Id like to review and post my opinion here. Our favorites are Zuiderkwartier an De Speelschans, but fee haven't been there in a while so I'll go soon, take some pictures and let you know the comparison between going on a school day and going in the summer. 

But yesterday we went to our FAVORITE place to be with babies and toddlers. It is a beautiful cafe inside a huge park called Cronesteyn (I'll check spelling later) and the restaurant is called 'De tuin van Smid' . 

It is so comfortable to be there on a sunny afternoon. It has a sandbox and a small petting farm with chickens, horses and donkeys. There are duckings and swans around a small canal surrounding the cafe and it is far away from the roads. So there is almost no danger that your kid will go out and be crushed by either a bike or a car or fall down into the canal water. Also the place is surrounded by a gate which makes a loud noise when you drop the door, so you always look and see who got out. This makes easier for distracted moms to see if their kids went out. 

It has an indoor place too with sofas and tables and a small corner with toys and books for the kids to play. It's so friendly with kids and quiet for moms to enjoy a nice afternoon either alone with their little ones or with the company of good friends. 

I'm definitely not a lazy mom, but in this summer months where parks are full of bigger children with parents that just leave them play alone and a kid who is very independent and wants to try every game around and that thinks he can go anywhere and doesn't walk but run, those places are not the best idea for us. I'm afraid I will loose sight of him or someone might take him. That's why I prefer quiet places for the moment. Once he understands not to go outside my sight and to check with me before going to a new attraction then we can go on the summer to this busy, full of kids and parents parks. 

But even though we have these situations, I enjoy going there with him, and see what works for us and what doesn't. I'm always open to try new locations and see how safe they are to spend our beautiful afternoons there. For the moment I can't have enough of 'De tuin van Smid' it's just perfect in every way. 

Más actividades con los niños

Hoy les quiero compartir otras de las actividades que hemos hecho con pintura. Conforme el vaya cambiando de gustos iremos probando otras cosas y otros materiales pero por lo pronto, ama la pintura y con eso seguimos. 

Aquí le enseñé a usar sus deditos para pintar y trabajamos la letra e. En Youtube hay varias canciones de las vocales y los colores y entonces le canto sólo el pedacito correspondiente a lo que estamos practicando.

En esta ocasión estábamos trabajando círculos y la letra A. Así que usamos un rollo de papel de baño y pintura amarilla para hacer círculos. Claro que término con todo embarrado pero es parte del desarrollo sensorial y de su aprendizaje y creatividad. 

Por lo pronto seguimos trabajando vocales y colores. La próxima semana estoy pensando en hacer juegos de separar y dividir por colores así que ya les enseñare las fotos y les platicare como nos fue. 

Las actividades de pintura hasta ahorita son lo máximo. 

Con cariño, Marcia 

Mommy is my teacher

Since before I had any kids, I dreamt on making activities for them to stimulate their abilities and entertain themselves (and me with them) 

Sometimes I have time to plan ahead and sometimes I just play with him with things we already have at home. Every time I go shopping I look around for crafts, art and other educational supplies that I can use with him in the present or future. 

So I have a closet full of things for him... And today is one of those days I planned ahead. So he is playing with paint to keep him busy and I can do some other things around the flat. 

I will try every time I can to share the ideas with you. I think moms should help each other because sometimes our miss close and we get desperate around the house with them. Specially us, stay at home moms need to find as much activities and other resources as we can to keep them busy, learn and socialize (that's why we go to every playdate or playgroup we can, but that's another story) 

So here...  You will need ziplock bags, paint and tape. 

And since a picture says more than a thousand words here you go... 

Thank you Eliza for sharing this activity with me... I saw it on Pinterest long time ago and totally forgot about it until you shared all your mommy-wisdom with me.  Bless you! :)

With love, Marcia 

Can we freeze this moment?

On moments like this I will like time to just stop. 

Today has been one of those (few) days when the only thing I can do for him to fall sleep is snuggling with him in bed and pretend I'm sleeping too. 

But who am I lying... I love it! He is growing so fast that I feel I'm loosing my baby to time. He already stop breastfeeding, he already allows his daddy to rock him to sleep, he feeds himself 95% of the time, he almost drinks from a cup without a lid by himself and getting more independent each day that when he needs me to fall asleep, I really don't complain. I just love it! 

I wish I could stop time to keep him like this. But I do recognize I love watching him grow and learn new thigs each day. For the moment I'll keep enjoying this moment and save it in my heart forever. 

With love, Marcia 

16 meses

Mi pequeño cumple hoy 16 meses, o sea 1 año 4 meses. Es increíble lo rápido que se va el tiempo. Siempre me acuerdo del primer día que lo trajimos a casa del hospital donde nació. Y como desde ese momento ha sido aventura tras aventura.

Este post va dedicado a el, espero algún día lo leas y sepas todo lo que hacías. 

A los 16 meses ya caminas perfecto y de hecho ya corres jajaja... Dices algunas palabras como mama, galleta (lleta) así le dices a todo lo que te gusta sea lo que sea... Le dices en ocasiones yeya a mi mamá (por abuela), titi a Mickey ya que es tu show favorito y de ese programa cantas la tonadita y dices hotdog y cheers! Jajajajaj

Te gusta pintar con tus marcadores, te encanta que te cuenten cuentos y ayer por primera vez dijiste cuento (ueto) 

Te gusta bailar y cantar. 

Todavía te gustan también cosas de bebé como dormir en mis brazos y sobretodo abrazados uno del otro. Quieres estar cargado y me lo pides diciendo ma ma ma que es 'cargame' jajajaja

Te gusta ir al parque y agarrar las piedritas y te fascinan los resbaladeros además de que le encantan las escaleras. 

También todavía no lidias bien con la frustración cuando no te salen las cosas y te pones a llorar. No te gusta estar sólo si no estoy yo. Y a veces pasas por etapas sobre todo cuando estás enfermito o te salieron dientes donde no quieres comer más que cosas que le gustan como chícharos o plátano o yogurt.

Por cierto yogurt es otra palabra que dices (yogu) y ya empiezas a decirme que NO cuando no quieres hacer algo. 

Ya comes con cuchara y tenedor, aunque se te caiga poquita comida y prefieres que estos sean de verdad y no los de bebé de plástico. Gracias a Dios tenemos unos chiquitos de postre o mariscos que son los que te damos. 

Mi pequeño M, eres un changuito novedoso, súper inteligente, compartido, coqueto y bien activo y me retas a cada día ser mejor y enseñarte cosas nuevas y llevarte a lugares divertidos donde juegues y aprendas y construyamos momentos inolvidables. Te amo mi cielito. 

Con cariño, mamá :)