The AWESOME Toy Thread

[fieryred33143]

China-what did you end up deciding for O?

I just wanted to put in another ditto for the water table mentioned earlier. Sophia received one for her birthday and OMG she loves the thing (hopefully this won't be too big):






(I'm pretty sure she's not supposed to sit in it but, you know...grandparents )

 

[ChinaCat]

Fiery! LOVE those pics! Funny thing is we played with this at a friend's house this weekend and when I saw your picture I was like OH, I didn't know you were supposed to SIT in it! I think that looks just right and if O had thought about it, he would be right in there too.

Hmm, maybe I should get this instead of a ball pit? I'm having a hard time finding a ball pit that isn't massive.

So far my mom got him a Cozy Coupe and I got him his own chair. With R2-D2 on it. But still looking for one more bigger item.

I did get him some T-shirts. One says "I'm Kind of a Big Deal." And the other says "I Crawl the Line".

And books, obviously, we are book crazy in my family and O seems to have inherited that.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

fiery, T sits in her water table too. She STILL loves it and she will be three this fall. It is a great toy! S looks like she is having a blast.

 

[fieryred33143]

IDK China, if it comes down to the water table or ball pit, I'd probably choose the pit unless it is warm most of the year. Here she can use it from about March through September. Although I think Tacori mentioned earlier that you can put sand in it.

Love the t-shirt sayings!!!

 

[Mara]

for any under 12mo mamas looking for toy recs...we got J the 'Learning Table' from LeapFrog after much deliberation and he loves it so far. you leave the legs off while they are smaller and it helps him sit up longer as he can lean forward on the table slightly and he loves banging the keys and making it talk and make noises. It teaches #'s, ABCs, colors, and directions both in spanish and english and also plays music/tunes/melodies. when he is bigger we can put the legs on and he can stand at it. It's 6m+ and it was $35 at Amazon.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Mara, T still plays with her's. No joke. That is a great toy.

 

[Mara]

Mara, T still plays with her's. No joke. That is a great toy.

I think that Burk said her 2+ year old daughter still does too!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Just a reminder, the laugh and learn house is ALSO a great toy. Another one she still plays with. They go on sale often as well.

 

[MustangGal]

CC - I got the Sports Climber for Kyle for his first b-day. He wasn't even walking yet, but could make it up the stairs and slide down just fine. He figured out how to climb UP the slide in the first 15 minutes. 6 months later he still loves it, and is now starting to play with the basketball hoop. The Cozy Coup is also still a hit, he doesn't use his feet on it yet, but he climbs in and out and shuts the door. The quad would probably be better as an x-mas gift, I'd say 18 months + is a better age range for it.

 

[ChinaCat]

Thanks Mustang. I definitely am putting off the quad. I had the slide on my list, but then was thinking maybe I'd save if for Christmas. Though if I can't find a ball pit I like, maybe I'll go ahead and get the slide. Thanks for your input!

 

[MustangGal]

My daycare lady got a ball pit recently, I believe from Costco. It's a pop-up style with a crawl-through tube to access the pit. She says the tube really helps keep the balls in the pit with all the kids coming in and out of it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

CC< you can always use a kid's blow up pool too if you don't find one you like.

 

[Pandora II]

We just filled the pnp with balls as a ball pit, but they drive me nuts. D just stands and throws them at me so I'm forever picking them up...

Sadly we have almost no outdoor space - just a 2m by 7m terrace which isn't big enough to ride anything on, so I'm glad that so far Daisy isn't keen on ride-on toys - except the car-carts at the supermarket!

We've decided to ask all the relatives to give her either an individual Beatrix Potter book or an animal from Schleich for xmas and birthdays so we can build collections for her rather than miscellaneous plastic crap I have to find a home for.

She chose the Schleich pig at the zoo last week and has played with it endlessly since - I'd like to get a wooden play table that I can paint a farm background on with fields and a farmyard and an edge so the animals remain contained! If anyone knows a good one I'd be grateful - preferably with a top that goes on so it can also be used for drawing, jigsaws etc.

Wax crayons and paper are also a big success at the moment!

 

[qtiekiki]

We got Meena a couple toys this weekend that were big hit, so I thought I would share. Is it weird that we haven't buy her anything for birthdays/holidays but buy stuffs at random times?

BuckleyBoo Buckley Bear. I had been sitting on this one for a while. I had seen them on various bargain sites, but was never really sure about buying it. I finally bought one (actually ordered two - one for Meena and one for future gift) when they were on mamabargains last week. Meena had been happily unbuckling since we got it in the mail Sat morning. I shouldn't be surprised since she has been buckling her booster seat and other baby items for a while. There is also a rattle inside the plush, so she likes carrying it around and shaking it. She wouldn't let baby brother touch it. I got it for $15, so I would wait for them to show up on the bargains sites again.

Fisher-Price Doodle Pro. We got this pink one since the TRU we went to didn't have the red or purple/green. I wanted the red, but Jaron will just have to play with a pink doodle. We got this because M loves to draw, but she would occasionally draw on herself and the table with the pens, markers and crayons. We were also worried that she might draw on the wall, even though I don't think she would since we talked to her about it after nephew drew on our newly painted wall with a sharpie. So the doodler was a worries-free drawing option. She loves it. She pointed to the doodler when she asked to draw this whole weekend. She was also carrying it. Two thumbs up.

 

[lili]

QT--
Wow, is the doodler that expensive?
How is it different or better than the other ordinary maga doodle?

 

[qtiekiki]

No, it was $16.99 at TRU. Maybe there's a difference, but they look the same.

 

[lili]

Oh, because the link I clicked on said that it's $50.
Was wondering what makes it so much more expensive than the other doodlers.

 

[drk]

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Einstein-Mus ... 732&sr=1-1
Had to pop in to say we bought this jumper and love it. We've attached extra toys to the extra loops that are there for that purpose. Works great, and keeps her entertained for a good 20+ min at a time at 5mo.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Just an idea for moms with older toddlers, T is OBSESSED with dress-up clothes. Wish I had been on the look-out for good deals before but Marshall's, TJ Maxx, and second hand stores have a good selection of princess gear. I am guessing (looking at her daycare) boys also love to dress-up with police, fireman, construction, etc, hats and clothes.

 

[Mara]

For young baby Moms...had to post this one toy that J has loved. My Mom got it before he was born--and it took him a few months to actually be interested in it, but even when he was newborn I'd play the music for him and he liked listening to it.

http://www.babybuzzr.com/

We have the bee one. It vibrates, plays 5 classical music tunes, flashes lights in the bees cheeks and the entire back is a mirror. The wings are teethers. J just LOVES it and it's one of his favorite toys and one of the few that 'motivates' him to do things (crawl or roll). And he chews on the wings like no tomorrow. Easily tossed in a diaper bag or carseat for travel too.

 

[Sabine]

If your kid likes music, I HIGHLY recommend this toy:
http://www.target.com/BX1007-B-Parum-Pu ... ombrowse=0

I bought it today when we were at Target to celebrate the fact that I don't have to buy formula anymore! I figured with all that money we're saving, Jacks deserved a treat, and he LOVES it! I like that they can all be stored in the drum, and the lit of the drum fits, but is easy enough to get off that he can do it himself since he's in that stage of loving to put things in/take them out of stuff.

So far he loves walking around with the egg shakers, and a close 2nd is carrying around the drum sticks. I read the reviews online and they are all great too.

 

[mtjoya]

Ladies- There is a Fisher Price sale at Toys R US. Buy 2 get 1 free.

http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?c ... Id=2255956

thru sept. 18

I am getting J this.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.js ... Id=2264988