We only gave Sy a couple of presents for her birthday since she has such a huge and generous family. The first thing we got her was the Plan Toys Gas Station because the girl has always been obsessed with gas stations. Why? We don’t know, and we don’t ask. Some three year old mysteries are better left unsolved.
I thought this toy was going to be a huge hit since it’s two of her favorite things; a gas station and the world of her very vivid imagination. All those hungry cars getting filled up at her very own gas station, what’s not to love?
A lot, according to my girl and me.
So this gift is a little over the top, I’ll admit. One of Sy’s pals has one of these Galt “Nursery Folding Trampolines” and it’s just too much fun. I figure Sy will be going stir-crazy from being so housebound the first few weeks of new babydom, why not get her something that helps her get her ya-yas out? We haven’t purchased it, but wouldn’t it be cool to come home to your own personal gymnasium after visiting the interloper at the hospital? Nothing shouts I’M A BIG GIRL like careening off of a trampoline at an alarming clip.
Sy and her pals tend to argue over turns a lot. Hours of entertainment. OK, well, maybe 15 minute stretches of entertainment AND exercise. Nobody’s broken anything yet, so they keep on jumping. Let’s be clear, the folks at Galt say one kid max (77 pound maximum), but I’ll be the first to admit Sy does her share of tandem jumping with a pal. When have I ever read the instructions before I let my kid play with a toy?
I think a coloring book is a great thing to have in your hospital bag if your older kiddo wants to stick around and visit for a while but isn’t stoked to just stare into their new sibling’s eyes. Taro Gomi’s Doodles: A Really Giant Coloring and Doodling Book is one of my favorites.
And, dude, it is just so much more than a coloring book.
I have one of these kid-sized sling packed in my hospital bag to give to Sy when she comes to meet Version 2.0. It is designed to carry dolls, trucks, dinosaurs, etc. Sy spends most of her time trying to tuck her most beloved lovie into her shirt to carry it around, so I think Jo Jo will fit in just perfectly in this little sling. It’s made by Hotslings, so you could of course have matching slings if you so desired. And then you could get matching Laura Ashley dresses and really paint the town red. Do they still make Laura Ashley clothing for kids? Ah yes, they do.
Anyway, the cutie pie little sling is shoulder-tacked for easy use. One size. Fits toddlers and preschoolers best. I’ll let you know Sy and her lovie, Jo Jo, like it.
Not too bad at $15.00 in the “Gifts” section over at the Nurture Center.
Sy’s aunt got her this wicked fun teeter totter for her birthday. Part of their Naturally Playful® line, the little ride is made by Step2, the geniuses behind my favorite sand and water table.
It has two wide, contoured seats with easy-grip handle bars plus it can accommodate an additional rider in middle. The maximum weight 120 lbs, so (3) three year olds can easily take it on. We put it out at Sy’s birthday party and it was a huge hit. She and her pals have a three-person see saw at school, so they understand how to ride as a trio. But the great thing about this one is that it’s light enough so the kiddo can sit by themselves in the middle, and they can rock back and forth like a rocking horse.
If you have a big tree and a big blue Ikea near you, you should get yourself on down there and pick up one of these nifty little ladder swings. Micky has one in her backyard and it reminds me of Helen, our shopping cart. As in, Helen of Troy, because this swing used to launch a massive battle every time we’d go over there, just like the cart used to do. It is the most coveted of all things at Kara’s house. Sy often asks me if the swing is still there and if so, perhaps we should go visit Kara? She also tells me we need to get a big tree in our backyard so she can have a swing, too. I tell her that the Rolling Stones sang it best, “You can’t always get what you want...”
The whole Ekorre series is pretty bitchin, actually. There are hand rings (Only $8.99 and also hanging from another cool tree in Kara’s yard), a swing, a rocking moose and balls. The swings and rings are meant for both indoor/outdoor use, so I suppose if we wanted to figure out where the load bearing beams are hiding out, we could install a swing in the house. But call me crazy, I don’t think my living room would look all that fancy with a big swing hitting me in the head every time I sat down to watch “So You Think You Can Dance.” (It’s better than me admitting that I watch the Bachelorette, right? I can’t believe she sent Graham packing.) I digress. If you have a cool playroom or basement, then I think indoor swings would be awesome. Maybe even in the hallway so your kid could swing to bath like Tarzan or Jane? Yeah, probably not, hunh?
It’s birthday season around here and boy, was Saturday’s soiree off the hook. Micky outdid herself on Kara’s Pinwheel Party.* There were pinwheels galore, including pinwheel sandwiches, pinwheel decorations, pinwheel party favors - pinwheel barrettes for the girls and hats for the boys. It was all just too fabulous. But the item that most wowed the kids was that Kara got her very own bounce house. I’m not referring to the kind you rent, I’m talking to the super cool Jump N Slide Bouncer made by the folks at Little Tikes.
I was very sad that I was not 3 to 8 years old (not to mention about twenty months pregnant) because dang, did I want to go bounce in there! Micky had it filled with inflatable beach balls and the kids went bananas for it.
I’ll start by saying I was not going to be the kind of mother who let her daughter watch Go, Diego Go or Dora the (Totally Irritating) Explorer. I was only going to buy wooden toys and never let her within 100 yards of the golden arches. And then I actually became a mother and lookee here! My daughter is still alive after her first (and not last) hash brown and has clearly licked her share of plastic toys. I’m still disappointed in myself that I ever let her lay eyes on Diego and Dora. Not because I think their message is horrible (Lots o’ girl power! Learn about endangered animals!), but mainly because whenever she watches one of those shows, she wants me to sit right on down next to her and enjoy it, too. It’s 23 minutes I’d, uh, rather spend otherwise, but let’s just say I’ve written my share of reviews for this site while sitting next to her as we chant “...This rough and tough adventurer is workin’ all the time! Diego...Diego…Diego…Go, Diego, Go!” Excuse me while I go hit my head against the wall.
That said, my kid has actually learned a lot about the rain forest from Diego. The other day she looked at Roger and said, “Daddy, iguanas keep their food in their tails.” And she was right on. I am pretty sure neither Roger nor I knew that iguanas stored fat in their tails for hibernation. Diego:1; Mom and Dad:0.
So when Micky got Kara the Loud As Hell Rescue Center by Fisher-Price, Sy just about went nuts. She begged me to go to her house pretty much around the clock so she could play with it. I have to admit, while it’s one big ass piece of plastic, it’s a cool toy. Don’t tell anyone I said that, OK?
We’ve had the Boon Frog Pod bath toy receptacle for about 2.5 years. I think it’s a mediocre device. Because it’s on the wall, it’s sort of out of sight, out of mind. I forget it’s there (even though it’s huge) and we tend to play with the same four cups and shark we play with every night at bath. Today I went in to get bath ready and the poor ol’ frog lay at the bottom of the tub. The stickum finally lost its stick. It’s pretty easy to get some new stickum, but I’m not sure I want to put it back up. The toys stack up and it startles our guests when they shower, although that’s the fun part.
Micky suggested her favorite - the Toy Hub Organizer Tray by One Step Ahead.
Here’s why she likes it:
Andie’s son Max got this Click Clack Tree by Plan Toys for his third birthday. Andie and I were playing with it and we honestly could not figure out where the “hours of fun” would come from. I’ve never seen a Plan Toys toy I didn’t like, but there is a first time for everything, right?
This toy is beautiful: a little wooden “tree” with tracks for the bug balls to roll back and forth along. And that’s all it does. The bugs roll back and forth and then you pick em up and do it again. It says three and up, most likely for the size of the bug and possibly dexterity of putting the bugs back, but most three year olds I know would do this about three times and then be off and running onto the next activity. Andie and I played with the bugs while the kids were on the floor doing something else. Sy, queen of the long attention span, sidled up and watched for a minute before skittering off to the next thing.
I was looking at Land of Nod for some orange crib sheets (no dice) and came across this groovy 72 piece train set on sale in their Nods and Ends outlet section. The trains and tracks are compatible with other sets. European made. On sale at $49.95. Good deal!
Sy is not a girlie-girl at all. She likes to pick her own outfits in the morning and they generally include stripes and spots and mismatched socks, sometimes with a dress on top for color. She usually looks like the pile from the bottom of the dryer, but I think it’s fabulous. The only princess she knows of is the Paper Bag one. But now, at the cusp of three, she is really getting into dress up. She clonks around in her plastic high heels and refuses to take off her “butterfly wings” that we have. They are a sad pair, those wings. Hand-me-downs like most of her girlie dress up gear, they are torn and limp, threatening to unravel at any minute.
I feel I owe it to her to get her a pair of really fluffy, girlie, pink wings for her birthday. But where to start? I grew up wearing black and listened to New Wave. I don’t know how to be a fairy princess or even where to look. So I called on Dawn from Pink With Sparkles to review her favorite fairy accoutrements for us. Her picks after the jump.
Someone mentions the word Spring and I am already daydreaming about Summer. So much for living in the present, eh? It doesn’t help that all you have to do is walk into a Target to be completely assaulted by rows after row of Summer! Fun! Specials! Either way, I’ve begun daydreaming of warm, lazy days and dusting off some of our outdoor gear. Sy’s all time favorite outdoor toy is her Step 2 Naturally Playful Sand and Water Activity Center. Dumb name, Step2, but a wicked cool device.
Sy is still working her way through all the cool new gear her pal Max got for his birthday. While we were there for dinner the other night, Max started preparing a fine feast for us. What’s a delicious pretend dinner without a perfectly cooked fried egg?
These little eggs are hilarious. The child-friendly (read: fairly easy to open) metal egg shells hold a fabric fried egg inside. They slide around in a play skillet just as you hope they would. The Haba site doesn’t mention what the egg is made of, but since it’s part of the Biofina line, I am assuming it is either felt or velour. It feels like a super soft fleece, it’s really nice to the touch. The egg is a bit smaller than a real life egg, but I think it fits a little better into a real life three year old’s hands better that way.
Coming in at $5.49 over at Oompa, it’s just like ordering an expensive egg for brunch.
Sy’s pal Max just turned three and she was thrilled to go over and take all his new toys for a test drive. First up: the Doctor’s Suitcase from Haba. I’ve wanted to see this toy in person since I mentioned it back in December.
Sy was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She loves all doctor’s kits, which I find amusing since she loathes going to the doctor with all her heart. We have this little fabric one I found at Cost Plus World Market that she likes just fine, but I could tell she felt like this one was the real deal. I sat down with Sy and Max and was immediately given shot after shot, wrapped in a yellow bandage and covered in band aids.
