​Due to COVID rules and the timing of their appointments, I had to handle both kids well visits at our pediatrician alone. Layla had her nine month and Lincoln had his two year. When I planned them together, I thought it was such a smart idea to get it over with and to streamline the visits into one. However, on the way there when Lincoln was kicking the backseat because he wanted to go back on the playground and Layla was crying because she was already overdue for a bottle, I knew I had f’ed up. 

It's very simple, but what you say is what extends the learning for this one. I start with the ball and toss it to the baby across from me (or in front of us if baby isn't sitting). More likely than not, they won't catch the ball. Say some power words like "oh no!" "uh oh!" "bounce!" "catch" as you do different motions. These sort of trigger the language mechanism and your baby will know the cause and effect of throwing the ball, noise, catch, noise. 

I really like to do "ready, set, catch!" with babies around 8-12 months old. They'll start to connect the one, two, three pattern the more you play this game. I also like to shout different colors when they go beyond 12 months old. Sometimes the dialogue goes like this: "One, two, three! Throw! Catch blue! Yay! Blue! Mama get!" It's really all about the easy to mimic words you say and repetition.