Top Toys: 15 months

Baby E's favorite activity is anything that involves mess making and destruction. At 15 months, his only consistent word is "boom" which he repeats throughout the day as he knocks down block towers, clears out bookshelves, and destroys whatever his older brother is attempting to play with.

Here is our list of top toys at age 15 months:

Wooden Blocks: We have an ABC colorful set from Target, and it gets played with multiple times a day. The blocks have held up very well and are the perfect size. Sadly, it looks like Target doesn't have these anymore.  

Books: Believe it or not, Baby E also loves books. His favorites are the Elmo's World: First Flap Book Set, and he can spend a while looking at a bunch of different books when he feels like having some quiet time.



Bucket of Toys: He is pretty content to sit with a bucket of items that can be taken out, and then put back in. His favorite right now is a bucket of plastic animals. He likes to empty it out, fill it up, pour it into another bucket etc. This basically works with any small toys that are not choking hazards like little people, play food, and other similar items.

Nesting Blocks: I bought cardboard nesting blocks on a whim at a consignment sale, and I'm so happy I did! Baby E heads for these first in the morning, and is constantly bringing us the blocks and asking to go "boom". He is starting to stack them on his own as well. I love that these are so lightweight; they are very easy to build with, and haven't injured anyone when being knocked down. An added bonus is that our toddler loves working on his counting skills with these blocks.  We have an Eeboo set like the one shown below.





Step2 Push Car: Baby E could ride around in this car all day. During the witching hour at the end of the day, this is sometimes the only activity that will keep him somewhat content. Whenever we go down to the basement, we better be ready to push him around the room until he decides he has had enough. I reviewed this car in another post which you can find here.





MagnaTiles: While I wouldn't buy magnatiles specifically for a 15 month old, I have to mention them because Baby E loves them. They are great for fill and dump activities, and Baby E also loves to stack them, and look through the different colored tiles.  

What is your 15 month old playing with?

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Counting Fun and paper Chains!

We are snowed in today. Being snowed in with little kids can be an interesting adventure. The 3 year old has been keeping himself pretty busy, but Baby E does not like being cooped up inside.

Making paper chains is a great way to pass the time and have some fun. All you need is paper, scissors, and glue.

There are lots of ways to incorporate counting into this activity. We counted out our pieces of construction paper, we counted as we held our edges together for 10 seconds after gluing, and we counted the rings on our chains!

What toddler or pre-schooler doesn't enjoy the opportunity to cut (with mommy's help) and glue to his heart's content?

Now onto the next activity!

3rd Birthday Blondies!

I originally had grand plans for Munchkin's 3rd birthday party. Eventually I realized that all he really wanted was to sing happy birthday and eat cake, so that's what we did. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, I got lots of answers including: "a square cake", "an ABC cake", "a chocolate chip cake", and "a mickey cake". The only detail he was really consistent about, was that he did not want any frosting.

I have been eyeing some cake mixes at Trader Joes, so I decided to try to the chocolate chip blondie mix. I liked that it has all natural ingredients, and that it does most of the work for me! I decided to use applesauce instead of butter, and it still came out great.

Here's what you need:

1 box of TJ blondie mix
1 egg
1/2 cup of applesauce

Pour into an 8x8 and bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Review: Magna-Tiles!

I am really excited about this review! I first heard about Magna-Tiles last year, when Munchkin was still too young for them. Now that he is approaching three, I thought they would make an awesome (early) birthday present. He started building with the magna-tiles as soon as he got them, (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) and has played with them every day since. The tiles are little different than I expected, but they are amazing nonetheless!

Hard at work

We got the 100-piece set, and I think that was definitely the right decision. I don't think 32 pieces would be enough. The tiles are much bigger than I imagined, which makes it easy for little hands to build with them. There is a nice variety of shapes - large base plates, smaller squares, and three different types of triangles. 

Munchkin has mostly been stacking the tiles and making flat designs, but he has also started to experiment with 3D shapes. In a few short days he has become much better at building and thinking of designs he wants to make. 

Baby E getting in on the fun

 It is extremely easy to manipulate the shapes, but there is definitely a learning curve as well. The structures built with magna-tiles are pretty delicate, and my toddler has been frustrated a few times about not being able to get something to stay the way he wants it. But I love that he is engaged and challenged while playing. There are endless possibilities, and I am definitely enjoying building as well! I can see these being well loved, but only time will tell if the magna-tiles will have longevity in this house. 

I am storing our magna-tiles in a plain old sterilite container, and they are a breeze to clean up!

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Playing Pretend in the Kitchen!

Our toy kitchen has been getting a lot of love lately. I have recently added some accessories and revamped our storage, to make it a more inviting space for Munchkin to play.

We have the Kidkraft Suite Elite kitchen which I like a lot. Our toy kitchen is in our living room, and I love how this set looks. It's very kid friendly, but not too obtrusive. We got a deal on this kitchen last holiday season, and it came with a set of pots and pans from Step2 which are great! These pots and pans have been a favorite for a very long time even when the kitchen itself was ignored. 

I recently purchased a set of dishes and silverware from Green Toys after he started taking silverware from the kitchen for his pretend play. We have some wooden food from Melissa and Doug, but it is very heavy and also kind of dangerous with Baby E around. I am looking for some plastic food to add to our collection, and we also have a shopping basket with cardboard food by Melissa and Doug. (The food in the basket is great, but the basket itself is also very heavy). 

I bought a cheap set of drawers at Target to organize everything, and laminated some picture cards so the little ones who play can easily see where things go. The kitchen also has some good space for storage, but I find that the drawers keep things neater. 

I love how there are so many opportunities for imaginative play in the kitchen, the possibilities are endless! Right now, Munchkin enjoys making soup and setting the table with his play dishes. He also loves "feeding" Baby E his creations! Some easy and cheap additions to his kitchen include regular sponges, a set of measuring cups, and a tinfoil muffin pan that he loves to play with.

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Review: Conair Sound Therapy Clock Radio

If I had to choose only one item to buy after having a child, I would be very tempted to choose this Conair sound machine.



White noise has proven invaluable to the sleep of both my kids, and therefore to my sanity as well. Munchkin showed a love for white noise right away. As a newborn, he was soothed by the ocean sounds that came with his bassinet. Later, we accidentally discovered one night that he slept way better listening to the static from a broken baby monitor. We quickly looked for a noise machine to purchase, and this one from Conair was the one we could get the fastest.

I have been really happy with this sound machine, and it has served our needs well. The noise is a very artificial sound, it does not sound like a fan at all. It sounds like loud static that plays on a loop. It has great volume controls ranging anywhere from very quiet to extremely loud. Most importantly, it does a great job of masking sounds outside the room. With the door closed and the sounds machine playing at a medium volume, you really cannot hear much if anything going on outside the room. (aside from blaring music, construction, or other heinously loud things that should never be allowed to happen when babies are trying to sleep)

Some other features of the sound machine include 9 other sounds such as heartbeat and thunderstorm. It also has a great illuminated clock that works great as a small light in the room. As a bonus, now that Munchkin is learning his numbers, he knows that he needs to stay in bed until the first number on the clock says 7. This works most of the time...

That being said, I don't think the sound machine is made amazingly well. We have had to replace them once, and we learned that these sound machines can't survive an airplane ride for whatever reason. Sometimes after being unplugged, it takes a few tries to turn the sound machine on. But Munchkin has used his machine every single night for 2.5+ years, and we have never had any other issues. I like that the machines can plug in or take batteries, so we have different options if necessary. Baby E has one as well, and I love knowing that we can talk in normal voices without worrying too much.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Conair Sound Machine as a great option if you have a baby who is a light sleeper, or need to block out noise for any other reason!

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Meal and Snack ideas for Babies 12-18 months

I am often astounded by how much Baby E can eat in one sitting. I fear for my shopping bill! I am always looking for more ideas, but here is some of what Baby E currently eats:

Breakfast

Waffles - I like the Earth's Best ones or some other whole wheat waffles

Fruit-he eats any and all fruit. Some favorites are bananas, clementines, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries

Cheese
Muffins

Lunch

Cream cheese on whole wheat bread

Toast with melted cheese

Pizza - he loves loves loves pizza!

Yogurt (only when he accepts being fed which is almost never) 

More fruit

Dinner

Meatballs/burgers

Pasta

Most types of Chicken

Fish sticks

Eggs with cheese

Dr Praeger's broccoli or spinach bites
Some vegetables - cauliflower, cooked carrots, sweet potatoes 

More fruit 

Snacks

I struggle to find healthy filling snacks that he likes and are easy to take on the go. Right now my go to snacks are whole wheat crackers and string cheese. He also likes oatmeal muffins which I can sneak all kinds of fruits and vegetables into. And more fruit...

We are slowly transitioning over to whole milk. He is not a huge milk drinker, but also barely drinks any water, so I am still offering him 3-4 bottles a day. I am hoping to teach him to drink water from a straw in the next few weeks.

What is your 12-18 month old eating?