Archive | gift guide

Full disclosure: this is a sponsored post. :)

‘Tis the season for having babies among my friends, I tell ya. One friend had a baby on Saturday, another is due next week, and still another is due in three more weeks! These are such happy days.

I recently discovered a website called Baby Cubby which has so many beautiful baby and children’s things assembled all in one place. Baby Cubby price-matches with Amazon and other stores (and has free shipping for orders over $50), but it also carries many boutique brands that Amazon does not, such as Tea Collection clothing and Little Unicorn products. They don’t carry everything, though, and that is because they have done a lot of research about what are the best/safest products and try to only carry those. Their desire is to be a resource for parents, not just another baby store.

Baby Cubby asked me to write about some of my favorite products on their website, and I had fun browsing and dreaming of what I would buy if money were no object. No, they aren’t going to give me all of them now — I wish! But for those of you who are in a baby registry mindset, here are a few ideas, some of which I can personally vouch for after using them myself for Forest.

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Mamaroo — I know this baby item seems hyped up, and some reviews I read online said it didn’t work for their little one. That has not been our experience, however. Forest has relaxed happily in it since we first brought him home from the hospital, and I love having a safe place to set him down. I haven’t let him lie on the floor or anywhere where our dog could get to him (she’s a sweetie but we are super safety conscious), and so the Mamaroo has been a safe spot in our main living space.

Kickee Pants onesies — So soft and cozy! These are expensive, though, so might be nice to buy in larger sizes after your baby isn’t growing out of things after only a few uses.

Tegu magnetic blocks — We have a little Tegu car made of blocks, and those magnetic wooden blocks are incredible! This little set would be great for keeping a little one occupied on a plane or in a car, and they don’t make a mess and they do stick together.

Plan Toys xylophone — We love Plan Toys products in this house, both for their quality and for the ethics of the company. And what a gorgeous, happy instrument for a little child!

Dock-a-Tot — We’ve co-slept a little bit with all our babies, and even though we like some aspects of it, overall we find it very stressful to have a tiny baby in bed with us. Even if we’re sleeping with just a sheet, no blankets — what if something happened and we were sleeping too deeply to realize? Dock-a-Tot is a way to keep your baby next to you but surrounded by a secure buffer to keep you from rolling onto him or her. Brilliant. Wish I’d thought of it, haha.

Little Unicorn crib sheet — I love my Little Unicorn swaddle blankets! They offer the same prints in their crib sheets, which are just darling. I’d love to get this “Forest Friends” print in a crib sheet for my Forest when he moves from his mini co-sleeper bed into a real crib. Which, actually, will be soon, as he is about to outgrow that little cot. Oh babies, why do you grow so fast?

World Map Rug — Give your child the world! What a soft and wonderful place for your children to build, read, and play in their room. And the rug is washable, too.

Little Unicorn swaddle blankets — Again, I love these. Aren’t those fruit prints darling? They are made out of the same muslin material that has become so popular with Aden + Anais, but with even more creative and beautiful prints.

Briar Handmade Bonnet — I’d love to get Forest one of these for the cooler months! What a darling little bonnet that even a boy can wear.

Numnum Dips — Sadly, Forest will soon be ready to graduate to pureed foods, and a whole new life stage will begin. I love the milk-only stage; so much easier and much less mess! These clever spoons catch purees and other soft foods in their grooves, though, making it easier for the baby to feed him or herself. I would love to try them when that day comes… too soon.

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And there you have my dream baby registry! It’s so much fun to see the beautiful and creative products that are out there for children these days, and maybe to enjoy some of them ourselves. Do you have any favorites that I left out?

Last month I had so much fun putting together a list of 1st birthday gift ideas. The list was inspired after talking to my cousin, who is fostering-to-adopt a little girl. (By the way, my cousin’s little family is doing great — better than great — and continues to be an amazing inspiration to me! Will I ever adopt, become a foster parent, or permanently welcome someone new into my home other than pets and our own children? My cousin and her husband are doing it, all for God’s glory, every day. It is such a gift to watch that happen.)

Anyway, the fun continues with a 2nd birthday gift guide today! We have a lot of these toys for Lena, so I can recommend them wholeheartedly. Here are a few ideas for a little person in your life:

1. Play kitchen — Lena’s grandparents and great-grandparents all bought this together for her second birthday. I had researched various kitchens, and I knew I wanted it to be made of wood, aesthetically pleasing, and affordable. This IKEA kitchen fit the bill. I keep it in our kitchen, so the kids always have an easy source of entertainment while I’m cooking.

2. Wooden play food — If any of Lena’s aunts and uncles wanted to get her a gift, I told them she’d be getting a play kitchen and that she might need some play food. They enjoyed this simple and affordable gift idea, and Lena and Gil play with the food almost every day. (FYI, after comparing Plan Toys vs. Melissa and Doug wooden food, I recommend Plan Toys. The paint on our M&D food is already chipping off after a year of use, but the Plan Toys paint is more like a rich, colorful wood stain, so the carrots and cucumbers still look as good as new!)

3. Latches board — My great-grandfather made me a latches board when I was a girl, and my siblings and I loved locking and unlocking the doors and latches throughout our childhood. My children still play with it at my parents’ house! This latches board is a smaller, more colorful substitute. Lena has learned to lock and unlock all the latches, so now it’s Gil who puzzles over it in fascination.

4. Noak’s Ark by Peter Spier — This beautiful book is a Caldecott winner with magnificent, detailed illustrations. Elliott and Lena will unintentionally delay her bedtime as they get lost in their observations of the animals and discussion of the story. (Amazon lists all Caldecott winners on this handy list.)

5. Just-my-size backpack — My mom always put dollar store treats in our backpacks before long plane flights, and we had to wait until we were sitting in our seats before we could see what was inside! In June, my mom bought Lena this adorable backpack, and her grandparents and I had fun collecting M&Ms and Target Dollar Spot goodies to surprise her. Since I was flying home solo with Lena and 8-month-old Gil, I also was very grateful that she could carry her own treasures and entertain herself for a few hours of the trip.

6. Wooden bear family dress-up puzzle — Lena has spent countless hours playing with this puzzle, which was a hand-me-down from some friends. I also like that it includes a whole family (papa, mama, and baby bear) and is gender-neutral (ie. no pink!). We have fun imaging various scenarios and dressing them to go for a hike, to the beach, or to bed after a long day.

7. Lacing cards — Like many of the toys on this list, lacing cards get Montessori and Waldorf stamps of approval for teaching fine motor skills, life skills, and… patience! I love the bright colors, and Lena loves the recognizable characters and fruit from one of her favorite books. I keep them in a cloth drawstring bag, and they often end up in my bag or the car for entertainment on the go.

8. Wooden alphabet magnets — I did some research and learned that most alphabet magnets (like these popular ones) have small magnets glued inside hollow plastic frames, and the magnets can fall out and present a choking hazard. (Plus that aforementioned toy talks to you, and I do not like talking toys!) These beautiful magnets are colorful and artistic, and the solid magnet backing means they’re safe and sturdy.

9. Crayons — For the little artist! These beautiful German crayons are made from high quality raw materials, so they are safe for little ones and leave strong, smooth, bright marks on paper. I love the tin carrying case, too. We spend a lot of time coloring in this house, and I recently bought this jumbo coloring book so we could talk about the Bible as we color together.

10. Giant floor puzzle — Lena loves puzzles, and she’s been having so much fun putting together the puzzles in the Charley Harper Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles set that her aunt and uncle gave her for Christmas. For the younger child, this alphabet puzzle would be a fun way to learn the ABCs and practice fitting jumbo puzzle pieces together.

11. Tea set — Lena was given two tea sets for her 2nd birthday and — after some deliberation — I chose to keep this one and return the wooden set. Why? Because the wooden set couldn’t hold real tea. It didn’t even have an open spout. This tea set, though, holds warm herbal tea, real sugar, and a tiny pitcher of cream for Lena’s weekly tea parties. Imagination and reality converge as Lena practices pouring, serving, and sipping.

12. Punch and drop tower — This was our gift to Lena on her 2nd birthday, but I think our cat has enjoyed batting the balls around the house even more than Lena has enjoyed the toy…! It’s fun and beautifully made, and most of the glowing Amazon reviews state that their children enjoyed it just as much — or even more — than their cats.

13. Freight Train by Donald Crews — Another Caldecott winner and another perpetual favorite in our house. After reading this book every day for awhile, Lena suddenly knew her colors one day. “Red caboose at the back, orange tank car next, yellow hopper car…”

14. Sorting board — We don’t have this toy, but I’d love to buy this or a wooden shape sorter for Gil for his 2nd birthday. Children love figuring these toys out with their parents, and they get such a sense of accomplishment whey they can sort everything themselves!

15. A doll of her very own — When Lena was nearing age two, I did some research to find a “classic” baby doll for her: solid and realistic limbs and head with a soft cloth torso, well-made to last through years of imagination and games, and about the size of a regular baby. I learned there are basically two on the market: the Corelle doll and the American Girl Bitty Baby. Lena’s grandparents surprised her with the latter, and Lena has named her Eden. Even though I rotate most of Lena’s toys, I never rotate Eden. She’s always in the background: in and out of Lena’s bed, getting dressed and undressed, reading stories with us, getting breastfed, and taking airplane rides. She has a lot more stories to tell, I think!

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And there you have our favorites! Anything I missed that your young children love day in and day out? With an almost three-year-old and a rapidly-maturing one-year-old — and the onus on me to entertain them all day long — I’m all ears! What toys are your favorites?