Favorite 15 Month Toddler Activities

Ezzy's idea of fun is constantly changing (just like everything else about a toddler!). I remember at the beginning of summer we went to a splash park, and he was so tentative, holding my hand the entire time and not wanting to get soaked. When we went today, he was running through the water, shrieking like a little madman, falling on his face, getting right back up, giggling hysterically, and chasing after the other kids.

Now that he's a little lightening bolt of energy, and getting into everything is pretty much his favorite pastime, we've had to put more effort into channeling his energy into less destructive activities. Here are five of Ez's faves:

1. Cars. I keep all his toy cars in a separate basket that I put away and bring down when I need a few moments without a child under my feet. Works like a charm every time. Well, until he decides that we need to race or crash cars together. Since we've recently moved, I saved one of the boxes, (because everyone knows kids love boxes more than toys), and every now and then we like to set it up as a car/Ezzy tunnel. He loves chasing the cars through the box, or he'll sit inside the box and I'll roll the cars across the top and they'll come crashing down next to him. For some reason that really cracks him up.  (Sorry for the blurry picture - there's a lot of movement involved in chasing cars, so this is the least blurry of the bunch.)

2. Collecting leaves. Or really any little bits of nature he can find. The picture below was taken at a park, but was he playing on the playground? Nope. He was nature exploring. That's my boy! I still marvel at how few toys Ezzy needs to be entertained. (Of course that doesn't stop anyone from buying him tons of fun toys.)

3. Yardwork. I'm sure this will only last until we actually want him to pull weeds or mow the lawn. Ezzy's name means "helper" and so far it really suits him. He always wants to join in and help Joe and I with whatever we're doing. I'm actually a little teeny tiny bit worried that once we plant stuff we actually want to grow he's gonna "weed" it all out. He's very thorough with his work.

4. Dance parties. Lately the music channel has taken priority over cartoons. Ezzy loves Taylor Swift. And apparently Lil John too. And he's added a few new moves to his repertoire, like twirling:

5. Basketball. I went to Toys R Us for some sidewalk chalk, and came out with this Little Tykes basketball hoop. I know I said the boy's happy with non-toys, but it was on sale for $30! We'd been scoping them out for awhile, and so far the cheapest we'd seen was $45. And Ezzy loves to throw his ball into anything that resembles a basket. Toy box? Of course! Grocery bag? (with eggs in it!) Sure, why not? Toilet? Yeah, I had to block that one. Sorry, Ez. And, as you can see below, he's clearly a natural:

So that's pretty much what our days are looking like round here. Any favorite toddler activity recommendations we should try out?

Linking up with Amy for Oh Hey, Friday!