Gift Ideas for Your Toddler

I love toys!! I have always loved going to Toys R Us, and I get so excited when Owen gets a new toy.
These are some gift ideas that I have come up for Owen based on what he seems to like, so a lot of these may be more geared towards boys. Leave me a comment if you know of some good gift ideas for toddlers (girls or boys). Also, I would love to know if you have any of these toys and what you think of them.

Outside Toys
Owen loves to be outside, so we are definitely interested in getting him some outside toys. We think he would enjoy having a slide, a little car or tricycle to ride around in, a t-ball set, and a golf set.

Books
Owen enjoys playing with his board books, especially ones that have special effects. These are some books I think he might like.
Poke A Dot: 1o Little Monkeys by IKids http://www.amazon.com/Poke-Dot-Little-Monkeys-Poke-able/dp/1584769386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260238091&sr=8-1
This is a counting book. This book has little pop dots that remind me of bubble wrap. I just realized it says ages 4-8, but I still think he would like this book.
Rock & Roll: Colors by Salina Moon http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Roll-Colors-Scholastic/dp/0545149746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260238352&sr=1-1
You have to tilt this book back and forth to make the colored disk move. This book says baby-preschool for the age range.

He also really likes the Slide and Find books, the Peekaboo books, and Goodnight Teddy (a fabric book). I'll be on the lookout for anything similar to these books for him since he loves these so much.

Educational Toys
Owen loves our laptop and also wants to play with it. I wonder if he would like Fisher Price's Seasame Street Lots to Learn Elmo Laptop. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2659755

Fisher Price's Seasame Street Lots to Learn Elmo Seasame Bus looks fun too. He loves to press buttons. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2659756

Musical Toys
Xylophone or little piano

Misc.
Building blocks

Don't forget to let me know your ideas and/or opinions. :)

December's Little Lunch Recipe

Owen and I love this applesauce. I made it in the crockpot, but you can also make it on the stove if you would like. I used red apples and only 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar. Next time I will try it with out any sugar. Enjoy!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/crockpot-applesauce-recipe.html

December's Theme: Christmas

Vocabulary/Sign Language
Santa Claus http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?search=santa+claus&find=1&submitSearch.x=47&submitSearch.y=26
Reindeer http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?search=reindeer&find=1


Song
"Rudloph the Red Nosed Reindeer" or any other favorite Christmas song

Book Suggestions
The Elf on the Shelf by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell
The Twelve Days of Christmas by The Five Mile Press (board book I got at Borders on sale)
Santa Claus The World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee
Toot & Puddle: I'll Be Home for Christmas by Holly Hobbie
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Activity
Play your favorite Christmas music and dance in front of the tree.
Find a Christmas event in your area and take the whole family.

We are doing The Elf on the Shelf with Owen. https://elfontheshelf.com/indexnf.php
He is still a little young for this, but I was so excited to start this tradition with him. Do you have a special tradition for this time of year. I would love to know your ideas and suggestions.

Please leave me a comment if you have any other ideas or suggestions for December's theme.
Merry Christmas!

Monthly Progress

Owen has really enjoyed trying to feed himself. We are still working on it, as it is a very messy process. He really likes to put Cheerios on his spoon and then practice putting the spoon in his mouth which is not as messy.

He also seems to recognize pictures of turkey and seems to enjoy when we say "gobble, gobble."

Leave me a comment if you would like to share anything your toddler has recently learned.

Making some changes

From now on, I am planning to focus on only one theme each month. I am hoping this will make things a little more user-friendly.

Baby Einstein Videos?

A few weeks ago I heard on the news that you could return your Baby Einstein videos to Disney for a refund because they found the videos were not educational.

If you have purchased these DVDs /videos and are interested in a refund click here: http://www.babyeinstein.com/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.html

Here is a link to an article from the New York Times about the issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/education/24baby.html

This is a link to Baby Einstein's response:
http://www.babyeinstein.com/Refund/

If you would like to share your thoughts please leave a comment below.

November's Little Lunch Recipe

Turkey Veggie Chili
Owen loves this and you can freeze it. Enjoy!
http://weelicious.com/2009/02/03/turkey-veggie-chili/