Getting Creative

With the heat (and humidity) of the summer in full swing, we've had to get creative with things to do inside.  There's only so much TV I want Charlotte to watch and her toys get boring quicker than they should.  Oh me oh my.  Since I want Charlotte to learn to self-entertain and don't exactly enjoy her bugging me every few minutes, I needed to think of something new to keep her distracted and be fun! Lately, Charlotte has developed a love for the water cooler.  She found where I kept (notice past tense) disposable cups and started taking them over to the water cooler, filling up the cup, taking a couple sips, then disposing of the remainder on the floor or in the trashcan.  She'll also use cups from her play kitchen if she can't find another cup.  Since one of us will soon break our neck from the amount of water on the floor, I'm trying to discourage her from playing with the water cooler from now on.  Instead, I thought I'd try to get her to play with water in another way.  Enter the inflatable duck tub.  I received the duck tub as a shower gift and thought it would work today as an indoor pool for Charlotte.  I laid down a bunch of towels, filled the duck tub with bath water, and then got out a few of Charlotte's bath toys.  Success!  She was distracted for a good hour and probably will be again after she gets up from her nap.  Here's some pics:

 Inspecting the tub.

I should've known to put her in a swimsuit from the very beginning.  I have no idea why I was dumb enough to think she'd sit next to the tub and play with the toys instead of actually sitting in the tub to play with them.  You'd think I'd know my daughter better!  By the way, if you like her tank top, it's a free pattern from Oliver + S, found here.

 Oh boy.  That is one soggy diaper.

 Charlotte's, lets go put you in a swimsuit.

 That's better!

 This is fun, Mommy!

Of course, this didn't go without complications.  There are still trails of water all through our house - just not from the water cooler this time. I don't think the towels I laid down quite soaked up all the water, either.  And we currently have 4 blankets and one stuffed Tigger on the drying line because Charlotte thought it would be a good idea to swim with them.  :-)  Even so, doing this was worth it and Charlotte had a blast!