Category Archives: Age 1-3

Little People Learn About Town

Little-people-madelynWe've had Little People in our home since 2001 when Sebastian was about two.  Granted, they've been in the actic for a few years since but Madelyn is 2
1/2 now and loves Little People.  A few months ago we pulled Sebastian's old Little People Zoo and Airport out of the attic and now she has one in her room and the other in her play room.  The Airport just about went with us to Grandmother's house yesterday, but it's not the most convenient size for traveling with.  From what I see of the new Little People playsets, they are more compact now than they were in 2001.  

The Little People Learn About Town playset is compact, unfolds, has a carry handle, and is jam packed full of fun activities and little people.  Madelyn can take Sonya Lee and Eddie to the doctor, the pet
shop or the tree house to play.   There are 4 parts to the Little People Learn About Town with each part having two sides.

The Little People Learn About Town playset is available for about $45 at Amazon.com

Continue reading Little People Learn About Town

Four toddler & elementary age building block sets I love


Bamboo Collection Contina blocks

Ages 4+

Continablocks
This is one of my favorite block sets. The eco-friendly bamboo blocks measure 1inch wide, 3 3/4 inches long, and 1/4 thick making them perfect for little fingers. The bright colors give me the perfect opportunity to teach Madelyn but there have been a couple of times when she put one in her mouth and ended up with green dye/ink on her lips. I quickly washed her mouth out, but I am pretty sure that the dye/ink is 100% safe.

Sebastian builds tall towers while Madelyn lays the blocks down in patterns, builds little houses with one color, or lines the blocks up flat one behind the other and plays choo choo.

Price: About $20


Gorilla Blocks
For ages 9 -36 months


Gorilla blocksGorilla Blocks were featured in our special Educational Toys segment.
These quickly became a favorite of our younger product testers. Gorilla Blocks are huge blocks that work like LEGO's. The different block sizes and themes make for endless building possibilities, all the while being an educational tool. How are Gorilla Blocks educational you ask? I can tell you first hand. Madelyn, 18 months, enjoys sorting the blocks by size and color. I was so excited the first time I saw her sorting them, I tried to catch it on video but of course she quit as soon as the camera was rolling.

The blocks can also be used to teach basic math. Take a block that has two dots on it, add a block with three dots.. what do you get? Yes, your kids can learn from Gorilla Blocks! And, the nifty weatherproof factor means that kids can even play in the bathtub. Just don't let the dogs get hold of these!

Price: About $30

Gorilla Blocks 24-pc. Standard Set
are available at Amazon.



Mega Bloks Wonder Builder block set

Ages 12 months – 3 years

Megabloks

Mega Bloks are a classic. Big blocks that snap together. What's better than that to a toddler? The Wonder Builder block set has developmental elements such as knobs to turn, buttons to press, and beads to rattle. The friendly animals include a tiger, a turtle, a squirrelly squirrel, a rattling snake, and a hiding baby kangaroo. Using the star-shaped key, kids can unlock a secret behind a block with corresponding shape and color. I haven't reviewed these myself yet, but based on what I see this looks like a fun set of building blocks for toddlers.

Price: About $30

The Mega Bloks Wonder Builders Bag is available at Amazon.com.


My First LEGO DUPLO Set


Ages 18 months – 5 years

  • Duplo
    Like MEGA Bloks, LEGO's are a classic building toy for toddlers. This DUPLO set has special elements including a window, cat and flower to help jump start imaginations. I love that some of their DUPLO sets come in a sturdy container so I can just throw the blocks in and store them away when the kids aren't playing with them.

Price: About $30

The My First LEGO DUPLO Set is available at Amazon

Personalized painted baby onesie’s and tee’s – Hip Kids Shop

Hipkidsshop1If you are a regular reader, you know that I love personalized clothes and gifts. 
Madelyn has personalized pacifier clips, clothes, and piggy banks. 

A great online store for personalized kids clothes, is Hip Kids Shop.  Celena Apple, the artist behind the clothes, creates one-of-a-kind hand painted clothes for infants, toddlers and older kids all the way up to size 12.  The clothes are American made and are 100% cotton.

You will also find personalized gifts including toy caddy’s in several different styles, personalized growth charts and piggy banks at Hip Kids Shop.  Your toddler will be the cutest on the playground when she’s wearing a tee with her name and cute little butterfly painted on it.  Each shirt is made to order and no two are exactly alike.

Price: $29.95

Coupon code: Use code ‘insider’ to get 15% off of your purchase.

Available at: Hip Kids Shop

Elmo Live is available for pre-order (I highly recommend) and hits shelves October 14th!

Elmolivepreorder
Before you read any further, take note that Elmo Live is available for pre-order at Wal-Mart.com, Amazon.com, and eToys.com. Prices for Elmo Live start at $59 at Wal-Mart and go well over $100 on Amazon.  Prices vary because some people have pre-ordered Elmo Live knowing that stores are probably going to run out and they will get a lot of money re-selling the toy themselves.

Elmo Live will be on store shelves October 14th. I highly recommend pre-ordering.  You can use the links above to buy Elmo Live online.

Chris Byrne, aka The Toy Guy®, calls Elmo Live an industry changing toy. “Elmo Live delivers a rich play experience that is engaging and interactive. It’s as close to being with Elmo in the fur as any toy has ever been,” he says. “We anticipate that this will be sold out very early in the season, so taking advantage of this pre-sale opportunity will be a key strategy for anyone who wants to score one of these toys.”

Continue reading Elmo Live is available for pre-order (I highly recommend) and hits shelves October 14th!

Designer baby & kids clothes: buttery soft dresses, and whimsical fairy tanks

When you shop Baby Eggi, you not only get amazing designer clothing for your little ‘chick’ or ‘dude’, but you also get incredible quality and best of all it’s affordable.    Founders, and parents themselves, Jennifer and Julie are well
aware of the need as parents to dress our children in fashionable, high
quality clothing that is affordable priced.  Who would have thought?  They accomplished both with their line of baby and children’s clothing.   Several of the tees and tanks feature the artwork of famed LA based tattoo artist and father of two, Mark Mahoney, making them truly unique.

The ribbed tank for ‘chicks’ has a whimsical fairy on it while the ‘dudes’ tee’s have designs including dragons, tigers, and tattoo style lettering saying "Forgive Me".  How funny is that?

Madelyn is wearing the fairy ribbed tank and the hooded dress below.

Babyeggifairy2

Babyeggi1

Baby Eggi’s hooded dress is buttery soft.  The first time Madelyn wore the hooded dress, she twirled around and rubbed the dress against her tummy with a huge smile.  It was adorable! 

The hooded dress is $20 and the ribbed fairy tank is $10!! You’ve got to stock up on these.  You can get a pack of seven ‘Days of the week’ onesie’s for $28.  I just can’t get over the price for such cute and quality clothes.  Most of the shirts, dresses, and tanks are available in two or more colors and sizes up to 4T.

Giveaway Alert!!
Guess what!  We have Baby Eggi hooded dresses and ribbed tanks to give away!  Check back to see when the giveaway contest starts and join our newsletter to be the first to know when and how you can enter the giveaway contest.

Website: Baby Eggi