Forget the sparkles and baubles, when you’re a VO Mom on a budget, new gear is a luxurious delight. I recently acquired a pair of sweet, sweet Yamaha HS-7 studio monitors. Once all the gear was carefully unpacked, peeled out of its styrofoam casing, and plugged into the studio, I poured a glass of red and danced around the room – because, you know, new stuff is fun.
After I came down from that high, I was left with these two awesome Yamaha HS-7 boxes. Glen noticed them, too. And when your baby boy notices a very cool box… well, what else do you do but create an ugly, fun crawl space for him? (Oh, the things you can do with a box!)
Months ago, my little guy had no interest in crawling. He had cried and kicked his way through tummy time since birth; and he’s been ready to walk — no, run! — since he was five months old. Only when I started moving his arms and legs for him (“Tuck your legs under, honey, then right arm… left leg… left arm… right leg…,”), and with a shiny puddle of tears beneath him, he quickly started realizing that he was mobile.
Now, nothing slows him down.
With a few items from the craft closet, plus one of Mike’s old white t-shirts, we got to work. I used a small bath mat for the flooring, and styrofoam circles, soft foam stars, and felt strips for the walls. I also used a lego mat and a crinkled grocery bag for some exterior fun. For the final touch, I cut Mike’s shirt into 1-inch strips and dangled them at the end of the tunnel. They slid over Glen’s soft little forehead like carwash tentacles. He loved it!
He crawled through… back through… and through again.
Glen had more fun crawling through the space than he did exploring the sensory items, but that’s okay – this hair-brained idea still turned into some silly fun before bedtime. Not too bad.
Good job, Glen!
If you make a tunnel too, avoid items baby can pull off and slip into his mouth. And feel free to share your ideas on how to amp up the Awesome in your own baby’s crawl space.
On a side note, the new Yamaha HS-7 sound quality is excellent!
Hugs!