Monthly Favorites: Months Thirteen & Fourteen

When it comes to being a new mom, "free time" no longer exists. And if by some amazing miracle you happen to somehow get a couple of minutes to yourself, I doubt researching baby products is on the top of your list. Whenever my son is coming to a new age and needing new products, I heavily rely on my fellow mommy bloggers' recommendations. No need to waste precious 'you time' trying to navigate through the thousands of products out there only to find out they're poor quality or useless. So I decided to do my own monthly favorites posts to help out my fellow mommies!

I will also let you in on any deals or money saving tips with each product!

Monthly 13 & 14 by julia-crystal on Polyvore

1. Goodnight Moon: Apparently this is a classic children's book. Somehow I had never heard of it before I got it and the stuffed bunny for my baby shower. I also don't completely understand its appeal. I like the concept (saying goodnight to everything in his room and then the moon, stars, etc.), but the stuff he says goodnight to in his room are kind of strange things. I guess that doesn't matter to kids because Myles adores his book. It only took like 3 nights of reading it and he was hooked. At one point, even the mere suggestion of reading a different book before bed was received with appalling looks and whimpering cries. He's backed off a little, but still one of his favorites.

2. Step 2 Water Wheel Activity Play Table: Once we moved to California, a water table was a total must on my list of backyard toys for Myles. I found this one on Craigslist for $5. I wasn't looking for anything too special since I knew it would be sitting outside in the sun all day. I like the shape of this one and how it has two different sections. This thing has provided us with so much entertainment over the past year; and I look forward to what it will bring to us in the future!

Taking a dip:

Playing with his fish: 

 Feeding the birds:

 And playing with food:

3. VTech - Baby's Learning Laptop: My mom found this little laptop at a garage sale. I'm guessing she paid less than $5 for it. Although it still doesn't keep Myles from trying to use my laptop, he does play with it like he is doing something really important! I like all the different learning options and the cute little mouse that moves all around. It has three different modes that teach shapes, common objects, feelings and music. It also folds up for easy traveling, because sometimes you have to work on the go :)

 4. Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Stack Roll Cups: This toy is in my top five favorites of all time.. I think I might go as far as saying it is possibly even number one! I had a Kohl's gift card from Myles' birthday that I needed to use. Since he already got tons of clothes from his party, I opted to check out their toy section. They actually have a good selection, especially Fisher Price and V-Tech toys. I literally looked through everything and picked out 17 different things, but I only wanted to get one toy, so a decision had to be made. I had been thinking about getting him the classic ring stacker, but they didn't have that one there. They did, however have this bad boy. It took me a minute to convince myself to get it because I wasn't too sure it would be something Myles would like, but it had a ball and you can't go wrong with a ball when it comes to Myles. Let me just tell you that I so love everything about this toy. It seriously teaches so much: you can stack them, nest them, click two together to make balls, put the shaker ball inside the balls for noise, you can nest them as balls, learn colors and numbers, practice with fine motor skills, problem solving, and tons more. I also love that it is functional for a wide age range. I am all about the longevity of a toy.

5. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Creation Center Case for iPad: This was another item I purchased with Myles' birthday money. He was still really into HooplaKidz videos on Youtube and I felt that he was old enough to start using the iPad a bit on his own. I hadn't really done any research on a kid's case, so I just went with what I found at Target. I probably would have bought a different one if I had looked on Amazon, but we like this one just fine. It's bigger so it's not meant for traveling or anything thing, but it does have some extras that Myles loves to play with. One side is for the iPad and has a protective screen. You can also position the iPad so that they can't press the home button. It includes four different shape stampers that can be played with free apps you download. It also has a snap-on panel (used on the front or back) to play with the stampers on. It can lay flat or be propped up with the legs and it has a handle. It definitely protects the iPad from anything a toddler can do to it! It is perfect for any sort of iPad usage.

6. Green Bay Packers 101 (My First Team-Board-Book): This book was a Christmas present from my aunt, uncle, and cousin. Half of my family cheer for the Bears and the other half the Packers. My father has been a die-hard Packers fan since before I was born so I am raising Myles that way. Anytime he sees his Packer gear, he always says "PaPa" and whenever I ask him what shirt he wants to wear, he points to his Packers jersey and says "PaPa". He got this book for his 1st Christmas when he was only 4 months, so we kept it up until he started being interested in books. As soon as I brought it out, it became an instant hit with Myles. It was his go-to book for a long time. At some point every day, he would pick it up and read it:

It gives lots of stats, favorite players, accomplishments, rules of the game, etc. and at the end it has a spot for a picture and says "Future Player". It is one that we will be keeping forever. These books are made for every team, so whatever one your family roots for this book is a must!

7. PBnJ Baby SippyPal Cup Holder: This was the other item I purchased from Kohls with Myles' birthday money. He recently started getting into the 'throw everything off of the highchair' phase, so this caught my eye when I was perusing the toddler section. I had seen a couple before and thought it was a good idea, but it never made it all the way home with us until then. For the price I figured it was worth a try to see if it helped the situation. Myles did not like this thing... but only because it worked really well and stopped him from being able to throw his drink on the floor! It was funny when he caught on to what was happening, and he was not pleased. Myles-1,434,345 Mommy-1 Definitely recommend one of these bad boys when your child enters this phase. It makes eating time a little more bearable when you have at least one less thing to pick up off the floor 17,000 times in a row. 


8. PlayHut Mega Fun Tent: The above picture isn't the exact configuration of the play tent that we have, but it's pretty close. The one we have is in the picture below. I found it at a consignment shop for $12. It was such a coincidence because just two days before I found this one, I was seriously debating picking up a similar version at Toys R Us. But in the end, I just couldn't bring myself to pay full price for something I wasn't sure Myles would play with. So imagine my sheer excitement when I saw one that was even bigger for 1/3 the price! I already had a ton of plastic balls, so I put it together as soon as we got home. We have had this inside and outside and it works great in both places. I love that it has this Twist ' N Fold Technology that allows for the whole structure to be stored completely flat and then instantly be set-up. It has stood up pretty well against Hurricane Myles too. The only thing I would change is the way they connect together. It is just a couple of velcro pieces and they aren't very strong. Myles has broken a few just by trying to get in where he is not supposed to. Other than that we love Play Hut tents and definitely recommend this variation for tons of different play options. 

What toddler items are on the top of your list? What are your opinions of these products?