Bowron Sheepskin Shorn Baby Comforter review

August in Chicago is a funny time to be writing about sheepskin rugs for baby. But as we all know, chilly weather is around the corner, and any moms-to-be in the northern part of the U.S. reading this review should strongly consider registering for the Bowron Sheepskin Shorn Baby Comforter. To me, “comforter” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s more like a rug …a wonderfully comfy, cozy little rug to set baby on to keep her off carpets or hardwood floors. We used it daily with Elise from about 2 months until she could crawl. It made for a nice tummy time surface too once she was able to hold her head up enough that she wasn’t sinking into the pile. It was key Bowron says that you can also use it in the summer to cool baby but Elise is crawling too much now to stay put on it for long. It also makes a super cute photo background as you can see on its listing at Amazon.com.

Fisher Price Little People Welcome To Our Town Book Review

I love teaching my kids new words and building their vocabulary!  I try to point out everything I can when we are walking, playing or just eating dinner at a restaurant.  I feel like they enjoy it and also start to have a great foundation to build from when they are ready to start talking and putting sentences together.  The effort seems to have paid off with my 4 year old son Cash; he is extremely talkative and pretty articulate (in my opinion!)  So I am taking the same steps with Kenzie, my 16 month old, so that she can get a word in during our family conversations soon!  One of the books that I loved sharing with my son is the Fisher Price Little People Welcome To Our Town Book, and I’ve now introduced it to Kenzie as well.  It is an oversized book so it’s fun to pull Kenzie into my lap and spread the book out in front of both of us. The colors are really bright and happy and the Little People pictures are engaging.  The book starts with a schoolhouse scene (from the outside perspective) and you can look at everything from a school bus to a backpack and the soccer field.  Each scene is a 2 page spread and then you lift one side of the book (a smaller, cut out page) to find the same scene but now it is what would be going on inside.  So with the school house scene you now see the library, lunch tables, chalkboards and art class.  All of the items are labeled as well, so as your child gets older you could certainly use this book for letter identification and even early reading.   The book goes on to showcase a firehouse, car garage/mechanic shop, a farm, and the local shopping market.  So much to see and learn, and very much appropriate for both little boys and little girls!  We’ve had tons of fun with this book for years now!  (Oh, and I should mention that this is a board book, so the pages last much longer than paper pages.)

Salt Water Sea Wees Baby Shoes Review

I am so exhausted. I feel like I have just run a marathon, and the sad part is, I have felt like this every single night for the last week. “Why?” you may ask? Simple. Joleen has started walking. One day she couldn’t walk and the next, she is walking EVERYWHERE… and getting into EVERYTHING. This also means, I am walking everywhere and watching her like a mama hawk. It really is cute to see, but the girl doesn’t stop. We walk laps around the house all the while opening cabinets, playing with the dog bowl, pulling books off the bookshelf, trying to play in the toilet bowl water…

One thing I realized when Joleen started walking, is that I needed to get her some good walking shoes. She learned to walk barefoot, and I started to get worried that if I didn’t teach her how to walk in shoes now, she may hate when I try to introduce them to her later. She also needed some shoes on her feet while we are out-and-about. So, I took her to get her foot measured this week, and got the sweetest little walking shoes/sandals.

I don’t love the look of a lot of the toddler “walking shoes”. It is hot here, and most of the walking shoes are closed toe and tennis-shoe-like… more colder weather looking. So, when I came across the Salt Water Sea Wees Sandal, I scoped up two pairs! The best part is, Joleen took to walking in them immediately. The fact that I put these little sandals on her feet didn’t affect her walking at all. In fact, I think they helped her walk a little better. Yes, at first she looked at me like, “what are these things on my feet?” but, as soon as I sat her down on the ground, she was off and walking.

Salt Water Sea Wees are light-weight, and flexible making them perfect for a new little walker. They also have a breathable leather liner, and footbed. These adorable little sandals are also made to be worn in and out of water… ocean water, pools, puddles wont phase these sandals. Another great feature is the two adjustable buckles that will help the sandal grow with your child’s foot. Don’t be worried, the buckles are made of brass and won’t rust when your child gets them wet. These shoes are also available in sizes ranging from baby to toddler to youth. Stylish, and functional… that is a win win in my book!

Fisher Price Grow-to-Pro Basketball Review

Leave it to Nana to come up with yet another perfect birthday gift!  Cash turned 4 in July and Nana and Papa came busting through the doors at his birthday party with this awesome Fisher Price Grow-to-Pro Basketball set.  Cash was asking for it immediately the next day, so my hubby went to work assembling it and we were ready to play in about 10 minutes.  We put it on the front driveway and everyone got in on the action, even little sis’ (who is 15 months old.)  The set comes with a soft, plastic basketball (although you could use any ball really) and you can use water or sand to fill the base if you want it to be super-stable (I recommend this.)   We have it on the lowest setting right now (3 ft) so that little sister can play along too, but eventually we can raise it as high as 6 feet when the kids are a bit bigger.  How many toys do you have that can literally grow up with your children? This toy is one of those great ‘simple’ toys; back to basics, and yet fun for our whole family.  I love it because we can turn off the T.V., head out to the front drive and play something together as a family unit.  And, hopefully the kids are fine-tuning their hand-eye coordination and sharpening those b-ball skills at the same time! Watch out NBA!

Alex Toys Paradise Island Review

As much as I love a weekend away with my husband, I do miss the kiddos a ton by the end of it.  Our last weekend was at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, and luckily, just as my Mom guilt kicked-in, we stopped in their awesome toy store to pick up a few fun things to bring home with us.  I instantly chose the Alex Toys Paradise Island set for Kenzie (15 months).  I noticed recently that our entire collection of bath toys are the same ones her brother has had for oh, 3+ years now, so I figured it was time for an upgrade just for Kenz.  I scored with this one! She loves it….and has been playing with it ever since.  It is a set of about 30 flat, foam pieces including flamingos, mermaids, palm trees, seashells, fish, dolphins, etc  that stick to the side of the tub or shower wall.  There are also a few ‘island’ foam pieces that you can actually stick the smaller pieces into and float the island around the bath.  I can’t believe how much entertainment we are getting out of this toy.  She loves it, big brother loves it, everyone is happy!  Bonus feature: It comes with its own mesh storage bag for easy clean up.  Pile the pieces back in the bag at the end of bath time and use the suction cups on the bag to stick it to the shower/bath wall.  This allows the excess water to drain out as well!  I’ve also been using it to coach Kenzie with her new words, so we often pick out which piece is the flamingo, which piece is the flower, etc.  So some easy learning can happen too!

Skip*Hop Hare Brush And Comb Set Review

Before Joleen was even born… before I even knew Joleen was a she, I bought the Skip*Hop Hare Brush and Comb Set. I just thought it was the cutest thing ever, and loved that it was something gender neutral that I could buy before I knew what we were having. Sadly, when Joleen finally graced us with her presence, she had no hair. My dreams of using my tiny Hare Brush and Comb Set to put tiny clips in her newborn fluffy hair were dashed. Of course I must say that I quickly grew to love her bald little head, but continued to dream of the day I could run a little comb and brush through her hair.

Well… Joleen finally has some hair! Yay! She now even has enough hair that we are going to take her to get her first trim on her first birthday next week. It isn’t long enough to put pigtails in yet, and she still has no hair on top, but the back is long enough that she gets some crazy crib hair! So, you better believe I have been using the Skip*Hop Hare Brush and Comb Set to tame her precious little locks in the back.

The Skip*Hop Hare Brush and Comb Set is a nifty all-in-one grooming set. It would look stylish in any nursery or bathroom!  The little bunny ears are actually the brush and the comb. This set even comes complete with a adorable shatter-proof mirror that attaches safely to the bunny base.