No/Low Cost Ideas

Hi H.!

Shopping exepcially at North Park is so much fun! Have you looked into some play/movement classes for your little girl. I checked out Gymboree (not the clothing) and they had a some classes that sounded like fun or Little Gym. Maybe some mommy and me fitness/yoga classes. I have twin 4 month olds that I am trying to come up with some ideas also.

You should get involved in a Stay at Home Playgroup. I am the assistant organizer of a group that does activities in the Garland & Mesquite area. There are groups all of the Metroplex, so go to meetup.com and search for a group in your area. If you are close to Mesquite check out our group: http://playgroup.meetup.com/467/

Our group has 3 or so playdates a week, with one specifically for pre-walkers every other week. Our members always come up with different and usually inexpensive ideas to keep our little ones (and ourselves) occupied all week long. Other groups are not as active, while you may find one that is more active. If you are not interested in a group, here are some of the activities we do:
Mall playgrounds: Galleria, Frisco, Mesquite, Willow Bend, and even North Park has ducks & turtles to look at.

Baby storytime at your local library or bookstores.

Dallas Arboretum: free passes available at Dallas Recreation Centers. During the Spring & Fall they have Mommy & Me MOndays & Tiny Tot Tuesdays. This includes face painting, kindermusic, a petting zoo, and much more.

We often take my girls to local airports to watch planes (they are a little older though).
We've taken them to the Rain Forest Cafe to look at the huge aquarium and 'pretend' animals. Eat lunch before, try a dessert there, then go discount shopping!

I hope you find this helpful... I love our group and my girls love it too. I cannot tell you how many wonderful friends we've made just in the short 7 months we've been members. These groups are such a great resource so I hope you decide to become a member of one.

http://www.ci.farmers-branch.tx.us/ParksRec/Historicalpar...

This is an old city park type thing with old buildings etc in a park setting and it is free....

Ooh the crawling stage is so difficult I think - as everything goes right in the babies mouth making outdoor activities difficult. I have a nine month old and a 25 month old and here are some things we do. We have to get out!

Look at the dallas parks and recs page for Sprayground locations. There are several and they are like a playground with sprinklers - the ground is a sort of squishy foam - so its great for crawlers - and unlike a pool they can be in the water without worring about them going under.

We got a membership to the zoo. It was pretty inexpensive for me for the year and the kiddos are free. We went almost every week this spring. They open at 9 it's not too crowded then and there's a lot of place to walk around. I never tried it - but I know they have several "stroller groups" for mothers of infants. Check their webpage.

I like the Willow Bend mall for a indoor playplace for crawlers - it's kind of a haul to Plano - but the space is really nice for crawlers and unlike the Galleria - the kids don't seem too big or too wild to mix with my crawler.

When they get to the walking stage - we used to like to wander Lowes/Home Depot or Costco - as these all have large items that are difficult for a toddler to grab/make a mess/destroy.

Playgroups are awesome if you can find one - particlarly at that age. Mine in Austin with my daughter was amazing and a total lifesaver. I haven't found one here yet though.

I often dream of creating an indoor gymnasium type place for crawler/toddlers as there just seems to be a real hole in the market for places to entertain/excercise these youngest ones. Mine are very active and demand activity. : )

I look forward to reading the others suggestions!