Playgroup

I've been taking Alisa to a monthly playgroup since September. It was started by a few of us that met at the breastfeeding support group. It has been so fun to talk with other moms, watch our babies interact and see how much all the babies have grown each month. The babies are Alisa's age (within a month or two).

At the September group, Alisa could roll over and move around a bit (not really crawling though) but couldn't sit up on her own. We had her and Benjamin on a blanket so they wouldn't spit up on the carpet at Tara's house.

She cried a bit here and there, especially at Brady who was too close for comfort:

Benjamin was so sweet and put his hand on Alisa's arm to comfort her after she cried when Brady was too close:

Alisa and Brady were fine together after the first shaky encounter:

Abigail (the oldest by about a month) and Tristan:

Redhead Claire (2 months younger than Alisa) and Nicolette:

In October we dressed the babies up in their Halloween costumes and took them to the park:

Bumblebee Alisa and mummy Benjamin watched pirate Brady most of the time during the picture taking time:

Savannah made Benjamin's mummy costume and I think it's fantastic:

Savannah and Benjamin:

It was a warm day and Alisa was roasting in her snuggly costume so I took it off after awhile. She played with her "Hello Bee Hello Me" book by herself for a long time and was oblivious to those around her:

We met at the park again in November because the weather was still nice. It was a small group this time:

Joaquin and Alisa:

Redhead Claire and Nicolette:

At the December group, Alisa shared toys with others--she offered to trade one toy for another toy from Abigail and it worked (in fact, she offered the trade and then ended up with both toys so it worked out well for her!):

The playgroup was at Savannah and Benjamin's house:

Baby Savannah watching Alisa:

Alisa and Abigail:

Brady and Abigail (who took her pants off):

Several of the babies watched Alisa for awhile because she was talking up a storm:

Choosing next toy from the box:

Heidi, the lactation consultant that helped us all at the breastfeeding support group, came to the playgroup this time and passed out ornaments for the babies:

The January playgroup was at Tara's house again:

Julie and Jillian:

Lisa and Emma (their first time to the group...I met her at the childbirth education class):

The babies frequently gathered around the learning table:

Benjamin kept roughly reaching for Tristan's face:

Brady was showing off his walking skills (he's a month younger than Alisa and he ended up walking unassisted a couple of weeks after the playgroup):

Jillian reaching for Brady's toy:

Emma and Jillian suck on toys:

Emma, Brady, Jillian:

Alisa loves these toys:

Today we hosted the February playgroup. It was a great motivator for cleaning the house really well (knowing all those babies were going to be crawling everywhere). 6 moms and babies showed up so we all fit in the living room and had quick access to all the snacks in the kitchen (I had prepared to have babies in the downstairs room too but we didn't need it). Usually moms leave the playgroup when their baby is tired and fussy (if they won't fall asleep in their arms). Alisa woke up earlier than usual this morning so she took her nap early (right before everyone arrived) and didn't get fussy at the end like usual.

Eddie:

Claire (her hair just keeps growing...it never fell out like the rest of the babies):

Benjamin:

Tristan and Kathy:

Brady handed out a Valentine card and treat to everyone:

After everyone had left except Tara and Brady, Tara played with Alisa and got her to stand many times for a long time without holding onto anything (something she rarely does).