Wow!!! Such fun pictures!
We were at a San Antonio Trampoline park for a 6 year old’s birthday party, and they had a smaller climbing wall and one similar to this one. Gkids (5 1/2 and 4 1/2) did the smaller one, and none of this younger crowd went to the taller one (which needed the head gear and probably was restricted by age/height). I did get a picture of some of the birthday crowd when they sang happy birthday - I mentioned Gkids’ names and they turned around for the picture (good for mom and dad who were at work and out of town for training). School day off (Easter Monday) for Catholic School.
Doesn’t look like any helmets were used at the place @jym626 was at! It looks pretty high, but there are ropes.
Harness and tethered to a grownup (belayer). No helmet. She is on a safety rope. There were 2 areas where they let her free climb. I was not comfortable with that.
I’m thankful for Target’s Cat & Jack clothing, especially after their recent red circle deals. One yr old GD is hard on her clothes and her parents refuse to bother with bibs at mealtime. As a result, all of her tops are permanently stained. Each time we have her here, I replace her clothes either due to stains or because she’s outgrown them.
I thought big sister was busy with H last week and took a few minutes to check on the clothing sale. GD quickly came to see what I was doing on my computer and was excited to get to select some new tops, shorts and dresses for herself and little sister. She loves to twirl in a dress, and at $8 each it’s easy to indulge her. One dress she chose I’d already purchased and was waiting in her closet after nap. She was delighted.
Some of the tops for the toddler were <$3. I’m betting Target will have similar sales again this spring, but did order a few in the next size up just in case.
Target has great clothes for the little ones! Both D and I shop there for GD.
So we are not trying to get too excited about this but GD (almost 21 months) is showing interest in the potty. She is peeing in the potty in the morning, before bed and sometimes before her nap. Diapers are sometimes dry (or not as wet as usual) before that so maybe she is “holding”?
She is also starting to string 2 words together.
DD did not have ‘traditional bibs’ for their kids, but especially for messy foods, they have these plastic giant (one size) sleeves and body with velcro neck closure for oldest 3 - and the kids readily put them on. I think those were actually for paint/craft for kids and DD thought it was great for their messy meal. GS1 is especially messy, so sometimes he was the only one wearing the ‘bib’. Yes it is really hard with spaghetti/tomato sauce with the grease on clothes.
Many stains can get out with Biz and some other stain treatments, but what a pain. DD/SIL/family use cloth napkins (they are not ‘white’ but a weave with a blue stripe and do really well with washing) - but I handed out paper napkins with the heavy tomato sauce/meat balls because those stains were tough to get out of their cloth napkins. I separated out the napkins for the extra pre-wash stain treatment, as well as particular clothes when I saw they were stained.
We have some Kushies waterproof bibs, made in Canada, in both the traditional style and with sleeves for art project time. Little GD will wear a bib at our house and only pulls it off when she has finished eating. I’m glad, because I’ve tried every stain remover that I can find and nothing has worked 100%. Once a stain has been set by the heat of the dryer it’s difficult, and often impossible, to remove. I wish her parents would use them, but apparently she pulled off her bib at home a few times and they just gave up trying.
Question for the collective grandparents hive: any recommendations for baby headphones? Kid will be traveling with a very busy 11 month old and asked me if I knew of any good ones. Also, any recommendations for toys to keep said child busy on a plane are appreciated! Thanks in advance.
I don’t recall a brand, but we had gotten ones that were used I believe both for noise cancelling (eg at loud concerts) and I think could be used with musical toys/games. Sorry I am not sure that helps much 
Anyone with a grandchild with hypotonia?
My brother’s grandson has hypotonia … but he has lots of other health issues in addition to hypotonia.
My grandson does–weakness on one side. He’s been getting PT since he was a few months old. he had a brain MRI but nothing was found. At this point, it’s not that noticeable if you are not looking for it. He favors one side and has some trouble with movement that needs core strength. He walked and talked very late, but now at about to turn three, he walks, climbs, runs, and talks up a storm! But as I said, you can see the challenges if watching closely.
So you mind if I PM you?
Turning one soon and has had PT,OT and developmental therapy since a few months old.
Sure!
SIL just did this–flew solo cross country with 3 1/2 yo twins and an 18 month old.
The twins had bluetooth headphones for a shared Tonie box, a new princess coloring book, these paint with water books (My First Paint With Water Bundle - Animals, Vehicles and Multi-Themed- Melissa and Doug) and Disney movies loaded onto an iPad.
The girls got these iClever headphones because they were relatively inexpensive ($23) and came in pink. Inexpensive because one twin already broken a set of wired headphone. And because SIL wasn’t sure they wouldn’t lose them on the trip.
Each also brought a favorite stuffed animal or security blanket, (Which each girl was responsible to carry in their personal backpack onto and off the plane.)
The twins managed fine. The 18 month old did less well, but only had 2 meltdowns during the trip.
The important thing was we did a lot of rehearsing with the girls. Learning to use the headphones at home, practicing what to say to police or security officers (Their real names–not Moana or Belle or Ariel or Anna, their parents’ names, their sister’s and brother’s names). They had a sound book that played sounds you’d hear in the airport (Big Busy Airport) that we read several times a day for a week before the trip. We practiced what to do if you got lost or separated from your parent/family. And explained to them that Mommy would be waiting at the airport with Blanca* to take them to Nana & PopPop’s house where the dog and cats were waiting for them.
*Blanca is the name of the white Tesla Model Y Mommy drives. (Yes, all of our cars have names.)
I saw a YouTube item about traveling with twins. The mother said she cut off screen time several days before the trip and the kids were excited to have it back on the plane and it kept them calm for quite a while - their favorites and maybe some new shows. Not sure how much an 11 month old watches, but maybe some?
Of course that means the parents are paying a price in the days before the trip when they are busy getting ready, but it may be worth it.
So smart to have all the practice, and learning with the trip. Know those bright minds have to ‘stay busy’.
I can imagine our 10 month old GD2 doing a whole lot better on an airplane than 2 1/2 YO GS2. The 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 YO children are use to a lot of structure and following directions with their 4K and Kindergarten classes.
Thanks for the helpful advice and suggestions!