This is Zain’s new smile and I kind of love it 😉

Good morning friends!

Hope you are all having a good week and aren’t currently hungry because this post will not help. I have been devouring this Hudsonville Peppermint Stick Ice Cream ever since we picked it up at Fresh Market. I’ve been trying to be creative with my toddler dates with Zain and really cherish the time we have together. With work, the blog and everything else we don’t spend nearly as much alone time as we did when we were in Chicago. Obviously I was with him full time then and I miss that so much so I try to make our ‘dates’ as special as possible. 

Now that it’s gotten cold outside I’ve had to become more creative with these. We can’t spend hours at the park or on walks so I’ve come up with a few things we love and I thought I would share them with you guys and see what you all do with your toddlers! 

 

Ice Cream Date

We’ve done sundae bars where he can pick the toppings but usually just make cones and Zain obviously loves it either way! We don’t give him a ton of sweets and don’t allow him to eat candy or drink juices so this is something fun for us to spoil him with. 

We’re pretty biased to Hudsonville Ice Cream and love that it’s a Midwest company. We discovered it when we were living in Chicago and it is by far the creamiest ice cream we have every tried. We buy it locally at Fresh Market but you can use this Scoop Locator to find it near you! 

 

Science Center

This is a new favorite around here and I finally bought our family a membership since we’ve been so often. Zain absolutely loves it there and the water area may be his favorite. Now that I’ve learned to always pack a spare set of clothes we are pro’s. I think any museum or science center is a great idea!

 

Bookstore

Zain and I have started frequenting bookstore’s! It’s nice to support local business and besides that we spend hours in there. They always have books for him to read in store, games to play and other kids around. You can always check your local libraries for story times too!

 

Mall Watching

Although I’m not a huge fan of malls, Zain loves them! Now that it’s cold it’s a great place to walk and let him people watch. They have a play area in ours that he will occasionally explore but more so he just wants to walk around and interact with people. We will usually grab a coffee and pouch and sit on the benches for a while!

 

What are your favorite things to do with your toddler? 

 

PS I also included a coupon below so you can try Hudsonville out yourselves! Just make sure to enter your zip code and it should pop  up 🙂