September 4, 2012

Top Toddler Must-Haves

I want to talk about some of the things that get us through the day, most days.  I know that some days I feel like I'm going to lose my mind and so the help of fellow blog mommies and their toy/activity/food/anything recommendations are always welcome and appreciated.
These are some things that "we" are loving these days.

3 Letter Word Flash Cards
I love these for a number of reasons.  They are a learning toy, plain and simple.  Basically you have cards/puzzle pieces that spell out a 3-letter word picture.  So you have the puzzle aspect, the letters/spelling aspect, and, in my case, the lining up aspect.  I know they say 3+ but trust, they are perfectly toddler friendly.  Kendall was putting the words together less than 24 hours after owning these and she can successfully put together all the puzzles/words by herself now.

Melissa & Doug Cube Puzzle
Someone got this puzzle for Kendall at her birthday this year and OMG.  This puzzle is hard, dudes.  Like, everyone that has played with it has said the same thing.  But it's something that Kendall will play with for longer than 2.5 seconds.  And, she can stack the blocks as tall as she is.  Win, win.

My Busy Books
I've talked about the My Busy Books before and I'm standing by my initial review.  This thing is the bees knees.  We got our first one months ago and Kendall still plays with it like it's the first day. They make it in like 20-something options {Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Mickey, Disney Princess, you name it}.  It's a book, it's a playmat, it has figurines, it folds into itself {so you can finally go out to eat at a restaurant again}.  Kendall loves standing all the characters up and, you guessed it, lining them up.

Munchkin Bowls
I don't even know why I'm talking about these because chances are you already own them.  We love them. Kendall uses one at every meal, almost, and snack time.  I even eat cereal and ice cream out of them.  There's nothing fancy about them, they won't make your picky toddler eat the mixed veggies that they liked yesterday but hate today, but I love them.  

Pillow Pets Plus Dream Lites
This is another birthday gift.  I had never heard of such a thing but boy am I glad we have one.  We took it on vacation and when we were driving in the dark at 5 am, yep this kept her entertained.  Now we go in the bathroom at least 3 times a day and play with this thing.  Pretty sure I don't know how we existed without this before.

Baby Food Pouches
Yes, baby food.  Yes, Kendall is a toddler. Look when she was a baby I thought these things were completely ridiculous, useless.  Now?  Total life-savers.  We usually use them as healthy on the go food options, think car, pool, mall, running errands.  I'm not brand loyal here, I buy whatever is on sale.  Usually if Kendall is with me she eats/drinks one in the store while we shop.  Makes shopping much easier.

LEGO DUPLO Read & Build
You guessed it, another birthday item.  This little kit comes with a book and 17 LEGO pieces.  Basically you read a story and build the characters as you read.  Kendall likes it but I think I like it more.  Such a cute idea.

Honorable Mentions:
  • Play-Doh.  We're obsessed in this house.  Of course we have the Dora Play-Doh set, of course.  Keeps her busy more than any other toy/activity out there.
  • Stickers.  OMG stickers!  Girlfriend is OBSESSED.  I find stickers everywhere, everywhere.  I took a bunch on vacation with us and they definitely helped in the car many times.  I've even resorted to letting her put them on the kitchen cabinets so I can have .25 seconds of peace to put the dishes away.
  • Pinwheels.  They're a classic and there's a reason for that.  There's just something so intriguing about that shining, spinning, piece of dollar store junk that will mesmerize a toddler for hours.
  • DVD boxes.  Yes the boxes, not the actual movies.  Kendall has been obsessed as of late.  She "build house" all day long with them.  It's really quite cute.
  • Chalk. Sidewalk chalk, chalkboard chalk, it's all good.
What are some of your toddler must haves? Did I forget something?  Is there something I didn't list that I NEED to know about? Tell me!

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5 comments:

  1. This is all girls dream of the menu, I will have a learn from you and ii will useful some day.
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  2. We have those bowls. Most of this list is still scary to me since Chase still puts everything in his mouth and loves to tear. Like got him some flash cards at dollar tree and he tore the box and just bends the cards. We'll get there some day right?

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  3. The girls have been asking me for the pillow pet dream light for over a year now- your review has finally sold me on it. Thanks girl and the girls esp. thank you!

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  4. Great suggestions! We would DIE in our house without play-doh! I have to keep at least 20 cans of it in stock at all times. LOL!

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  5. Funny- Noah plays with the DVD boxes too. He thinks they are books with doors??? What a weirdo :-)

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