Butterfly bath toy

Little Tikes Butterfly Net Bath Toy

You have to check out this cool new bath toy I bought. It's Little Tikes' Butterfly Net. My girls both LOVE it!It comes with a net and three butterflies. The butterflies flutter their wings by pulling the tail section, making them swim across the tub. Once you get them all going, the object is to scoop them up in the net. What a great way to teach hand eye coordination and have fun at the same time. Both my girls like to take a butterfly with them after bath time too. Ava likes how the butterfly still "flies" out of the water. She will pull the tail section over and over and watch in amazement. Best of all: No batteries. It's simple genius. We bought ours at target. Here's a link to Little Tikes for more info!

Bob the Builder in the Real World DVD

If the popular cartoon character Bob the Builder somehow could become one with TV handyman Bob Villa... you'd get the newest DVD Bob the Builder On Site: Houses and Playgrounds. It's informative for kids and adults alike.
My two year old daughter Ava loves cars, trains, and other "boy" things just as much as her princesses and ponies. But I still wasn't quite sure what she'd think of Bob the Builder. We don't watch any TV (but we do watch our fair share of DVDs) so neither of us was familiar with Bob and his buddies until we popped in this DVD. We were both pleasantly surprised. She sat their mesmerized.
Houses and Playgrounds is really entertaining and educational as kids learn all that goes into building houses and playgrounds. Bob includes information on how to build an environmentally friendly house usgin solar panels and recycled materials where possible. (A nice little extra for moms like me who are trying to teach eco-consciousness whenever and wherever I can.) They even build a dog house, which Ava particularly enjoyed.
Bob goes back and forth between his cartoon world and the real world helping kids to understand. I learned a thing or two myself about how houses are made, plus now I know what to do if we decide to put a playground set in our own backyard or build our dog Clarkie his own dog house finally. Another fun part (which I knew Ava would love) are the big rig construction machinery that rolls out to help in the building process in the real world.
At first I was worried that it was over Ava's head when they started explaining how the house is built. It kept her attention and she even asked to watch it later that night, the next morning, and so on. So now I'm happy with it's level of explanation because we can keep watching this DVD for several years to come. The whole DVD is 100 minutes, including the "Fireman Sam" bonus episode... or you can watch the house and playground segments separately.
Ava didn't care too much for the "Fireman Sam" episode and asked to watch the house segment again instead. I think we'll be tuning in to see Bob and his buds build more things. The new season of his PBS show Bob the Builder - Project Build It airs next month.
Bob the Builder On Site: Houses and Playgrounds hits DVD shelves on August 26th. You can pre-order it now at Buy.com for $13.51. (The MSRP is $19.98) I may have to check out the other DVD in this series, Bob the Builder On-Site: Roads & Bridges, as well.

Gear up for preschool

Blabla's butterfly backpack

Back to school time is right around the corner. For many toddlers that means getting ready for their first preschool experience. This big step calls for some extra special (and extra cute) gear to make the transition easy.
Below are a few unique ideas of things to put on your shopping list (plus links to here you can buy them to make it easier for you):

• Backpack - Finding a backpack to fit well on little ones is not easy easy as it sounds. The Blabla line of backpacks are created especially for the tiniest school kids. They come in a variety of characters from dogs to tigers and my favorite - the butterfly. My 2.5 year old Ava tested this out. It was easy for her to put in and take out supplies. She didn't want to take it off. They're a little more than I would normally want to pay for a child's bag but for such a special occasion, you need at least one splurdge. Plus it's handmade in Peru by local artisans (paid under fair trade principals) from 100% natural cotton, it's machine washable, and lined. In other words, it's made to take a lot of tot abuse, so you'll have this for a long time. ($42.99, Oompa.com)

• Safety ID Bracelets - Mabel's Labels has come up with a great product to ease parents minds sending little ones off to school. They're called "My 411 Wristbands." Parents personalize them with any information they deem necessary: name, parent's cell number, food allergies, and more! As if that wasn't good enough, Mabel's Labels donates 10% of the proceeds from the sale of the wristbands to the Autism Speaks foundation. ($21.99 for a pack of 30 bands, mabels.ca)

• Pencil/Crayon Case - For something extra special, albeit extra pricey... opt for this fun pencil case that doubles as a toy. Make sure you put your child's name on this one, as it's sure to be popular with all the kids in the class. ($24.99, Oompa.com)
  

• Lunch Bag - BUILT NY's Munchler Lunch Bags are so cute, you'll want one for yourself. They come in four friendly styles: dog, panda, rabbit, and tiger. This lead and food safe bag insulates for a few hours, has handles specially sized for little hands and unzips completely for easy cleaning and flat storage... which means they double as a place mat at lunch time. And they're designed by award-winning children's book illustrator Stephen Savage to boot. ($12.99 for one, $21 for two pack, Buy.com)

• Snack Containers - Go green and ditch the ziplock baggies for reusable containers. Check out the BPA-and-lead-free Lap Top Lunches containers. They're reusable, recyclable and dishwasher safe. You can buy the set alone or in their Bento Box container to keep it all organized. They come in a variety of colors. ($10.99 for set of 5 containers, $20.99 with the bento box, LapTopLunches.com)

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• Thermos - For this I suggest my favorite no-spill kids cup - the Foogo Straw Cup by Thermos. Read my review of them HERE. They keep drinks cold for up to 12 hours and they're cool to look at too. ($17.99, LandofNod.com)

• Utensils - The bamboo fork/spoon combo pack by Bamboo Kids is safe and sustainable and designed specifically for little hands and mouths. They're made from a solid piece of bamboo and finished with a food safe oil. ($12.99 for a two pack, OurGreenHouse.com)

• Alarm Clock - If they're big enough to go to school, then it's a good idea to start teaching them about time and waking up on a schedule. That means buying them their own alarm clock. For boys, check out Clocky. When you hit snooze, this little clock gets rolling, jumps off the night stand and beeps til you get him. It comes in blue, brown, pink and white. ($49.99, PerpetualKid.com). Girls who aren't into things with wheels might prefer a classic style clock, like Haba's Emilia clock. I love all of their products and my girls seem to as well. My oldest daughter loves when this clock goes off. It sounds like an old phone. ($19.99, Maukilo.com) Whichever you select, don't forget to practice/train waking up with the alarm with your youngster the week before school starts

• Starting Preschool DVD - Rent the "My First Day at Preschool" DVD at Netflix or see if your local library has a copy (mine does). Buddy Bear shows kids what to expect at preschool. It's filmed on location at a real preschool with real kids and real teachers. It's music driven and will help take the edge off first day scariness. ($12.99, target.com)

• Preschool Memories Journal - You can make a custom scrapbook or just buy a ready-made one like the Preschool Memories Album by Teacher Created Resources that you just fill out and add art and photos. ($21.99, BuyTeacherCreated.com)

• First day outfit - Make it something special that your little one loves wearing and is super comfy.

Parents.com has a good checklist for other things you need to do to get ready for back to school HERE. They also have an article on how to make school less scary for little first-timers HERE.

HABA Clutching Toy Beetle

Ellerie with the Beetle Trixie clutch toy

As babies reach the six to nine month age range they start needing to grab at everything in sight. My daughter Ellerie (10 months old) is no exception. She paws and nibbles at just about anything from my hair to shoes... unless she has a nice little toy she's interested in.
Enter: HABA's new Beetle Clutching toys. They come in boy (Anton) and girl (Trixie) versions, though either are really gender neutral, in my opinion.

Anton

Trixie

We have Trixie. She's made of a soft but firm foam covered in cotton/polyester to HABA's and the EU standards. This toy is really like a fancy tag toy, which is fabulous because I've never met a baby who didn't like a good tag to chew on. She's also super cute kind of like a cross between a flower (when you fold up the layers to play peek a boo, which is a BIG hit) and a friendly bug. Ellerie particularly like to chew on the little wings that make crinkly noises when she scrunches them. In addition to the crinkling noise, Trixie also is a rattle, so it's a good grow with you toy to buy for a younger baby as well.
Trixie and Anton are brand new to the market. They retail for about $12 each.

Washable coloring books

Go green with one of my new favorite things: the Remarkables line of washable coloring books. They can be used over and over again simply by rinsing with cold water. What a great way to save paper and eliminate waste. Plus it makes for clean fun for kids.

They come in several themes, including Elmo, Cars, and Disney Princess. The reusable coloring books come with three washable markers and cost about $10. Readers can find them at several retailers, including Walmart, eToys, and Amazon.com. The recommended age is 3 and up.