100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 73: Pinwheels

It's been way too long since I've taken the time to create and post a toddler activity on my blog.  It's time to catch back up!  Today, I'm posting about an activity I did with the kids a couple days ago.  

Our house doesn't have air conditioning, but this summer has brought with it record heat.  Our city set the record for the hottest day ever on record as well as most days in a year over 100 degrees (six so far!).  So, we spend a lot of time playing in front of our box fan.  

One morning, as I was straightening up, I handed the kids their pinwheels that they'd gotten in their Easter baskets.  I'd picked them up shortly before Easter for $1 in the dollar section at Target.  Off-season, I'm not sure if they're as easy to come by, but you might be able to get lucky by browsing a craft store, a dollar store, or looking at Target or Walmart.  

Oliver kept asking me to blow on them to make them spin because he doesn't blow hard enough to do it himself.  I admit it was frustrating to stop every few moments from getting the room picked up to make the pinwheels spin.  So, I showed him how to do it in front of the fan.

Both kids loved it.  Jo just liked to watch them spin, and it made her laugh.  Oliver quickly picked up on how to turn the pinwheel "on" and "off" by moving it away from the fan and then back in front of the moving air.  I stuck the pinwheels in between the bed and frame to hold them in place so they could watch them spin. They played with the pinwheels for about twenty minutes!  I finally got my camera to snap photos of their pinwheel fun.

Every time Oliver's gotten bored over the last few days, I offer to take him upstairs to play pinwheel.  He jumps at the opportunity every time.

Here's Oliver in front of the portable swam cooler:

I took a few quick-exposure shots to prevent blurriness but realized you couldn't see the pinwheels spinning, so I took some more:

Obviously, if you don't have a pinwheel or fan, this activity isn't an impromptu activity for your little one.  I can't say it would be worth it to go out and by a fan for solely this purpose, but I would say it's worth it to spend a dollar on a pinwheel.  For my kids, at least, it was very good, cheap fun.  I give pinwheel an A grade!

Easter in Texas

My in-laws treated our family to a trip to visit my mother-in-law's family in Texas. When we visit, we normally stay in the Austin area. This time, we met them at their new vacation condo on Padre Island. A blog of our travels can be found here: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/WhirledPeas/Trips/18721

Oliver loved the beach! Uncle Gene showed him how to find all sorts of sea life. He also built sand castles and splashed around a bit. It was the perfect vacation for him. We also celebrated Easter while we were there, and here are some Easter photos from Texas.

The Easter Bunny came! The Easter Bunny brought bunny ears, pinwheels, bubbles, a toy rabbit for Jo, an egg full of candy for Oliver, and the buckle toy that I'd made for Oliver. The toy bunny was actually sent to Jo from my cousins Missy and Jana. However, I thought they'd understand why the Bunny put it in the basket. Jo is too little to care about much, so the Bunny probably didn't want to spend money on new stuff that wouldn't have made a difference. The Easter Bunny actually didn't come for Oliver's first Easter at all. He came for Jo's because that just makes more sense for Oliver.

The Easter Bunny almost always brings a pinwheel.

Seriously, I love these stinkers.

You might recognize Jo's Easter dress from a previous post. It was the first outfit I bought for her, back when I was pregnant and suffering pregnancy complications. I am so happy that she is here today, wearing the dress.