Never Made it Out of the Box!

This is the most annoying toy I have ever met. The Shake 'n Go Thomas is supposed to talk and move after you shake it. Cute concept except that it's deafeningly loud and starts up whenever someone breathes within 10 feet of it.  

God bless my in-laws who delivered the toy for person who will remain unnamed.  They drove over 3 hours on Christmas Eve with the thing going off nonstop in the trunk.  I knew it was trouble as soon as the gift bag crossed the threshold, and I would have returned it immediately if I had realized we were getting a blizzard and would be stuck in the house with it until Wednesday!

While I was standing in the ridiculously long return line (I had other things to return at Kohls- I would certainly not wait just to spare this toy from the trash.), I got mixed looks of pity and hatred from the people stuck in line with me because this toy would not shut up.  I exaggerated how carefully I was moving the bag, but it did not stop going the ENTIRE 45 MINUTES I WAS ON LINE!  (Just realized I should have looked to see what kind of batteries it came with because they were awesome.)

Good riddance Shake 'n Go Thomas!

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My Boys Have New Favorite Footwear

JD loves his skidDERS.  I love that they are easy to pull on and are washable!  The floors in our house are slippery, and JD has gotten many bumps from slipping and sliding.  I've been trying to keep shoes on his feet to eliminate the danger, but whenever we put JD's regular shoes on, he thinks he is going somewhere, and it's so sad to tell him he isn't.  These solve the problem by feeling like socks but offering more traction than even his shoes do.  I'm going to have to get more so that I can wash these :)

I am angry at myself that I did not believe in Sock Ons the first time I saw them.  I thought they were a big hoax.  JD never kept socks on, but because he was a summer baby, I was never too concerned.  Baby O has been kicking his socks off in record time since the day he was born.  He even had little blisters on the backs of his heels from rubbing his feet on his blanket.  

My mother-in-law gave us Sock Ons for Christmas, and I thanked her and threw them on the pile.  But when baby O was sockless again, she slipped a pair on, and his socks stayed firmly in place the rest of the day!  I couldn't believe it and was slightly concerned that there were going to be red marks on my baby from what must be tight elastic keeping his socks on.  There were none.  He has not gotten his socks off since.  This is one of my top must-haves now!  I can't wait to get some colorful ones and the sneaker ones!

You can get both of these here!

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Wordless Wednesday: Things We Love in the Bathtub!

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JD's Big Boy Room!

We've been working on JD's new big boy monster room ever since we found out baby #2 is a boy, but there hasn't been much action lately.  I was really hoping to post about his room when it was all done, but now I'm posting because I really need help with the finishing touches!
Here is where we are at now:

We started with the crib and dresser from Ikea.  The white Gulliver Crib was under $100, and the ODDA Storage Unit with Clothes Tree was under $200.  Because the new baby is getting JD's old crib, I didn't want to spend a fortune on this one.  I read/heard good things about the Ikea cribs, and this one met all my expectations.  It was easy to put together and is very sturdy.  The ODDA piece is my absolute favorite, and the fact that JD loves it only makes it better!  The hole in the top is a laundry drop, and JD LOVES dropping his dirty laundry in it.  He feels like a big boy helper!  The only problem so far is that he learned how to open the drawers on the right and empties them into the laundry.  We're working on learning the difference between clean and dirty, but for now I give everything a sniff test.  haha
Note- Ikea doesn't recommend this piece for young children because of the clothes tree and obvious climbing hazard.  JD hasn't realized the tree climbing potential here yet, but if he does, we can disconnect it until he's old enough to handle it.

We already had the big, black bookshelf- we got it from Kmart years ago- and we decided it worked.  I found the black storage boxes at Bed Bath & Beyond.  JD loves emptying them, and (thankfully) filling them back up.

  Then I found the awesome, gigantic bean bag at Overstock and had to have it.  It expands to a big, super cushiony rectangle, but it has clips at the corners to make it more like a traditional bean bag chair.  We keep it open, and James loves to snuggle up with us on it during story time, climb on it, throw himself down face first on it, etc.

 

Hubby loves to nap on it too!

Finally I went in search of color.  We knew we wanted a monster-themed room because we call JD our little monster man, and he loves making monster noises :)
I found this great fabric and then the paint to match.  Nicklepicklequilts made me a blanket out of the fabric, and I made some (not nearly as fancy) pillows to match.

For accessories, I got this lime lamp shade and the lime sheets from babybedding.com.

I found the awesome monsters for the big boy room at Scare Me Not.  We have Protector Patty and Fearless Fred to watch over JD's room.

The last idea I had was to cut out some of the monsters from the fabric and put them in frames that I painted lime green.  I made four and put them on the bookshelf and on these floating shelves over his crib.

(I know Mickey & the happy elephant bank don't exactly fit the big boy monster theme, but the colors worked out perfectly!)


Okay, so now I'm stuck.  Three out of four walls are bare, and I still have a lot of fabric. I'm hoping you guys have some great ideas to help us out!  What do you think?



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Sesame Street Biodegradable Table Toppers Are My Newest Must-Have

These disposable place mats are awesome!  The sides are sticky, so it adheres right to the table.  I put his food down directly on it, and he feeds himself while DH and I enjoy our dinner.  I don't have to worry about germs on the table, him smearing his food all over the place, or him throwing a plate to the floor.  He doesn't watch TV yet, so he has no idea who the Sesame characters are, but he still points to them and enjoys the pictures.  When we're done, I fold the mess up inside, and we're off.  It takes up no room in the diaper bag, so it's a total no brainer!  If only it kept him from throwing food on the floor...

You can get them here!

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Beautiful Music! Beautiful Creatures!

We've been listening to this CD in my house for the last couple of weeks, and we're hooked!  Not only is the music catchy and rhythmic for JD, but it's also entertaining and educational for mom and dad too. (Who knew a warthog was an omnivore?  Who knew what an omnivore was?)  I even caught DH singing "Imvubu the Happiest Hippo", one of our favorite tracks, in the shower yesterday!  JD's favorite is "Lucas the Lazy Lion" mostly because it encourages him to roar and growl repeatedly.  I would totally listen to "The Night Song" while relaxing at night- even if I didn't have a baby.  It's amazingly calming.


"Beautiful Creatures was formed in South Africa in November 2004 by Alan Glass, Ed Jordan and Paul Choritz who felt there was a need for "Parent Friendly" children's music. Using the best session musicians, actors and singers in the country, Beautiful Creatures prides itself on being uniquely South African with a positive global message." 


You can learn more about the company here.  


Here is where you can order the CD, and here is where you can check out tracks on iTunes.  You won't regret it!

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I wish I had Dr. Carey's Baby Care Kit from Day 1!

My husband always embarrasses me at JD's check-ups because he asks so so so SO many questions.  I'll admit that they are good questions, and I want to hear the answers, but I don't want to be "those parents".   We chose our doctor very carefully, and she is incredibly patient with us, but I want to appear like we've done our homework and can handle the little guy.  The truth is, most of my info is obtained from skimming What To Expect: The First Year (who has time to really read all that- it's thicker than the Bible) and asking other moms on twitter.  

I wish I had Dr. Carey's Baby Care Kit from day one.  Not only are the items must-haves, but the incredibly informative book is a manageable 96 pages!  The pictures in this book are what make it far superior to any baby care book I've seen and would have saved me a lot of unnecessary worry.  For example, JD has Stork Bite on the back of his neck.  The picture on page 32 looked familiar, and it was reassuring to hear again that it is nothing to worry about.

Important note:  I would not read the chapter about messy diapers at the dinner table.  The pictures are priceless though.  None of my friends or family breast-fed, so I had no idea how different the diapers would be!  

More about the kit:

It comes with the book, Dr. Carey's Baby Care, a cute baby blanket, diaper rash ointment, pacifier, squirt bottle for homemade saline solution, digital thermometer, and a nose suction bulb.  The packaging is great- the box is even reusable.  It would be a perfect gift for new parents, or a great addition to your mommy library.

You can purchase a kit here for 49.95.  

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Our Sassy Sensation Station Suction Toy is Possessed!

JD loves loves loves LOVES this toy.  We put it on his highchair tray, and he loves to spin it, pound on it, and pry it off and throw it.  It makes him laugh out loud every time.  However, the music is creeeeeeepy and repetitive, and there is no way to shut it off!  The weirdest thing is that it goes off on its own all the time.  I was motivated to write this post because I could hear it going off in the kitchen while I was writing the last post (I am the only one up)!  My dad swears the music is from the Adams Family or something.  I even tried "washing" it, but running it under the faucet did not break the music box.  We may "lose" it  :)

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Not loving our new Safety 1st Winnie the Pooh Walker :(

We were so excited for JD to get this new walker for Christmas because he desperately wants to be on the go!  However, after putting it together, his feet are a good 6 inches off the ground when it's on the lowest setting.  It will be months before he will be tall enough to "walk" in this walker, and by then, he'll probably be walking on his own.
The box says that it is for 4 months+, so why can't an above average sized 6-month-old (95th percentile for height) use it?  We've contacted customer service, so we'll update this post when we hear back.
The reasons we chose this walker were the non-obnoxious color/design, the activities on the tray (which slides apart and can be used as a feeding tray), and the seat:  Hubby is disturbed by things that leave him "hanging by his package".
Anybody have a walker they love that my little guy can realistically use?


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