Organic Cotton Baby Toy by Under the Nile

Get baby to love her fruits and veggies with the fun organic toys from Under the Nile. I recently came across this product line while browsing thru green toys online. So glad I did. They're pretty reasonably priced, good for the enviro, and safe for baby!
My fav, the cute little grape teether toy (about $6). You can dip the bottom few grapes in water and freeze them for added soothing for teething tots.

Bumbo Baby Seats

No, that's not a typo, I didn't mean to write Dumbo. I'm talking about the colorful, soft, and ever so useful
Bumbo Baby Seat. I bought mine about two years ago and it still looks brand new, despite using it with both of my girls. They come in a variety of colors and cost about $40.
These chairs are great for feeding babies (at least three months old). I also like to use mine as a seat for baby in the bathroom as I get ready or what have you. They help babies build their back muscles so they can sit unaided sooner. Both my girls started sitting up a month earlier than the milestones say they should. I attribute that to using the Bumbo.
The Bumbo is one of the must-have items every new mom should put on her registry or wish list. You can reuse them for every child and because they are super durable you can resell them on eBay or at a local resale shop when you kids outgrown them (though my two year old thinks it's fun to sit in the Bumbo and watch a DVD every once and a while).
Warning: Never leave baby unattended in the Bumbo and don't put the Bumbo on a table or other elevated surface. Babies (especially with skinny legs) can fall out or tip the Bumbo over. These were actually recalled several months ago to add warning stickers that say just that. But there was never a defect in the product, which clearly stated this in its instructions all along.

Baby Galileo DVD

From the stars to planets to clouds, the Baby Galileo: Discovering the Sky DVD by Baby Einstein teaches little ones about everything in the sky. This is by far the favorite DVD of my 10 month old. From the first moment it started playing she started laughing and giggling with delight. That is not her norm. She usually watches DVDs with interest and an occasional laugh but nothing like this. I thought it was a fluke. But every time since, it's the same thing. That makes Baby Galileo one of my favorites too.
But make no mistake, it's not just for babies. My toddler enjoys this one as well, much more than any of the other DVDs in the Baby Einstein series. But then, she loves the moon. It's her favorite word I think. She enjoys singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and repeating the words. I was surprised when she said Jupiter today. Sun, moon, stars, sure. But the name of a planet? Now that's impressive! I'm going to be playing this one a lot more. Maybe I'll end up with two little astronomers? We're definitely going to check out the local observatory now.
Baby Galileo has all of the great features Baby Einstein videos have come to be known for: soothing yet stimulating classical music, puppet shows, real world images mixed with art, and more. Plus it has a repeat play function if 28 minutes of learning about the sky isn't enough for your future star gazers. It also has a DVD-ROM bonus feature that allows you to print out a coloring book with corresponding images and ideas from the program.
You can find it at Buy.com for $16.88.

Teething Toys

Teethers are practical toys to help baby get thru teething. Who knew this must-have for babies had so many cool variations!

HABA Bear Teether

1. Teething Rings By Haba ($9.99-$17.09) German-made wooden teething rings made with 100% non-toxic water based stains. Available in a variety of designs from bears to flowers. These are super cool looking, safe, and innovative! I've previously mentioned how much I like HABA's products. Can't say it enough!

2. Organic Cotton Grapes by Under the Nile ($5.90)
Get baby to eat her fruits, or at least munch on them. Can be dipped in water and frozen for ultimate teething relief. And they’re organic. Other fruit and veggie teether designs available too. (I featured this one in a separate post a few days ago.)
3. Raz-berry Teether by Razbaby ($5.99)
Made of non-toxic 100% medical grade silicone. This is a teether and a pacifier with little textured bumps to soothe gums. Available in red or blue.
4. Luv N Care Cool-Sicles by Nuby $7.99
These are best frozen for added comfort for sore gums. Made of nontoxic purICE Gel which stays cold longer than other types of teethers. Come in four cute designs - elephant, alligator, clown, chicken.
5. Combi Training Teethers($4.95-$5.99)
Combi has a different model teether for each stage of baby’s teething needs. All models are made to stimulate gums, teeth, tongue, lips and help baby transition between stages.

4 months: Combi Training Teether - Stage 1
6 months: Combi Training Teether - Stage 2
8 Months: Combi Training Teether - Stage 3

Wooden Tot Toys

Haba Clutching Toy: Bonita

Haba Clutching Toy: Ping Pong

It seems like there are so many recalls of kids toys that it's kind of scary to let your little ones put anything in their mouth. But I have found a safe solution: HABA toys.

These German-made toys are cool looking and made with non-toxic stains. Not to mention they keep kids busy with their cool designs. (Did I mention they were cool. lol).
They have products for every kid stage from teether toys to "grocery" items to pacifier chains.
Lots of these are going on our wish list!

Foogo Straw Bottles

Knowing we'd be in the car for long stretches without breaks, we brought along Foogo Straw Bottles on our recent road trip to California. (You can read about the trip HERE.) These bottles boast that they keep liquids cool and fresh for up to 12 hours. They didn't disappoint. We put Ellerie's (10 months old) formula in hers. Ava had watered down apple juice. Both girls liked the containers. Ava (2 years old) found it easy to push the button to open the pop top too.
They advertise as leak-proof and they mostly are. But the tiny print on the packaging insert reveals that they aren't truly leak proof unless the lid is closed. Still, we didn't have a problem, even when Ellerie routinely threw hers onto the floor.
They are a overpriced at $18 a pop. But they are stylish, practical, made from safe stainless steel (ie, without BPA), and good for both of my girls despite their age difference. Plus, they seem sturdy so we should have these for many a road trip to come.

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)

• 
• 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.