Mommy needs a break!

My little two year old is into everything these days. He loves to dump out every toy in the playroom or climb in the fire place. He is a joy, but he does wear me out at times. He is also not sleeping as well as he used to. He does sleep all night, but he is up before the sun every morning and his naps aren't as long as they used to be. All of this is the making of a cranky boy and a tired mommy by dinner time. The last few days I have been pulling out the high chair and giving him things to keep him busy. This has really helped a lot. He likes being with me in the kitchen and I like not having to clean up huge messes.

One day I gave him this spice container and tooth picks. I have also used dry spaghetti noodles and various containers.

Yesterday I gave him some cooked spaghetti and told him to help me make dinner. I just gave him an old formula container and a little bowl. He had fun moving the noodles back and forth. When he got hungry he ate a little spaghetti.

When he was tired of that I gave him a bowl of water and sponges. Other ideas I have used are spooning beans or rice back and forth, stringing beads onto pipe cleaners, or playing with pots,pans, and muffin tins. He also likes to draw with markers. If anyone has any other ideas of how to keep a busy toddler still for 15 minutes please let me know. TV doesn't really work for him. He has a few videos he likes, but they don't keep his attention for long. I am just glad we didn't get rid of our high chair. It is really the only thing that keeps him contained since he learned how to get out of bed. As long as I keep him busy he doesn't mind it.