What I do All Day With a Year Old Baby

Baby Activities

When my husband arrives home from work, the first thing he does is ask me, “So what did you and Little Fox do today.” Sometimes, I can’t think of the answer. Well, we were together the whole time, and there was a nap in there somewhere… Yet it is still difficult to figure out what we actually did. Since implementing a Rule of Life, I have had a lot more success answering that question.

In this article I’m going to discuss five activities I do everyday with my year-old baby. They are all easy to implement. So if you need something to do with your baby, there will be something for you here!

Reading Time

On of my favourite activities to do with Little Fox is reading. The first thing we do after breakfast is spend some time reading. Usually, we start with three board books. However, since we are moving, and I’ve packed most of our books away, we use one book. Little Fox doesn’t mind when we read the same book over again several times. In fact, even when we have three books she tends to grab at one favourite and we reread that one several times.

Of the all the baby activities we do, reading happens the most often. Even when Little Fox is playing with other toys, I’ll read aloud to her. Sometimes this is children’s literature. But often this is whatever non-fiction I happen to be reading at the time. If I am not reading, Little Fox will bring me her board books throughout the day to read to her.

The other great thing about reading to babies is that it encourages cuddle time. My busy baby likes to always be on the go. But when she brings me a book she will cuddle on my lap and turn pages for at least a little while.

Prayer

I like to get Little Fox involved in my prayer life. Even at a year old, she participates in Icon Corner Time by being in my arms. She also kisses the icons and the cross, and mumbles along to any hymn or prayer I sing. Besides Icon Corner prayer, we do the Angelus and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy prayers together. Prayer is the most important of the baby activities we do, and I even have alarms in my phone to make sure we do these prayers together.

Climbing Activity

Little Fox loves to climb things. She is constantly trying to reach new heights. I am not eager for her to get on top of chairs, but she has a mind of her own.

Instead of leaving her to test her abilities in dangerous situations, I like to give her a safe climbing zone to practice in. Piling pillows and couch cushions presents a fun challenge to her. And if baby activities have to be fun, this one takes first place. As her skills improve I’ve even included an ottoman in her obstacle climbing course challenge.

Art

Of the baby activities, this one is the most dependent on development. Some babies are ready to pick up a pencil sooner than others. Between twelve and thirteen months, Little Fox discovered how to scribble. Since then she has been magnetically attracted to all pencils. I like to set her down with a paper and writing implement for a few minutes each day. She can scribble until she gets bored. Mostly because she already managed to mark up some furniture with a pencil. But she loves it and it is so cute to see her draw.

Dance Party

Little Fox’s gross motor skills are improved through two of our daily baby activities. Climbing helps, and so does dancing. Little Fox does these cute squats and bounces along to the music we listen to. Ukrainian music is her favourite – particularly one about the river Danube.

We like to dance together too. Clapping, foot tapping, and waving our arms are some of the easiest moves we do. Now that she can walk, we move around holding hands too. Dancing is also nearly inseparable from giggling, so that is a bonus too.

Everything Else

Is there anything else you like to do every day with your baby? Share your thoughts in the comments. Napping almost made this list, but for now I’m getting enough sleep at night. (God willing this will last). Eventually I want to start consistently working on counting and colours with Little Fox. We also haven’t been as consistent with baby sign language as we should have been.

I also figure eating is a big on the baby activities list. Little Fox turns it into a one person full contact sport. I don’t even know why I bother to put a bib on her. She is so good at not making use of it. Her lap and diaper seem to collect most of the food scraps…

Speaking of food, you may be interested in reading our article on Baby Led Weaning. See you next time on TheByzantineLife.com and don’t forget to subscribe to our emails if you haven’t already.