Toddler-inspired innovations

Several months ago, a local clothing store was going out of business. At their liquidation sale, they had these huge bins of t-shirts that advertised the 2001 Japan tour of a now-defunct band. They were something like 15 for a dollar, so I picked up a bunch of child-sized small and medium shirts.

The shirts are big for a toddler, but I bought them thinking that they would make good smocks for mess-inducing activities. I was inspired by my sister-in-law's efforts during my niece's birthday party. They had an outdoor messy party, complete with paint, glitter, glue, and decorate-your-own-cupcakes. They also had a pile of old t-shirts that the kids could wear if their parents wanted to protect their clothes.

I never thought I'd use them like this, though.

Olivia pulls off most bibs now, but she's still a messy eater. So covering her up with a bigger t-shirt is perfect! Today, she protected her red shirt from the beans and sausage she was eating. That is, until she reached the end of her food and tried lift the plate and pour the remaining handful of beans into her mouth. She ended up with a face-full of beans and two messy shirts!