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Babies Baby Gear Owls Play Gym Review Skip Hop Skip*Hop

Loo Loo, Skip*Hop to my Loo

It has been no secret to anyone who knows my baby, that very early on in life, he became infatuated with owls. While he loves pretty much any owl baby toy in existence, his favorite owl has, and probably always will be, the Skip*Hop Hug & Hide Owl that was given to him at my baby shower. We expanded his owl collection… but really, we expanded our Skip*Hop collection. We even found ourselves looking for more of the Skip*Hop owls that we already had, but came in different colors at Pottery Barn Kids.

We eventually got the owl that hangs off the car seat, the owl that attaches to the stroller, the owls that rattle.. and the big one. The Skip*Hop TreeTop Activity Gym. After three kids and a good number of play gyms, this is by far the best one I’ve ever spent money on. Not just because of the owls, but for our baby, that definitely added to the appeal.

 

The size of the gym isn’t too incredibly large, but it definitely isn’t small. It gave the baby the right amount of space to roll around a bit, and enough different toys to keep him occupied long enough for me to get things done. Our baby is rather small for his age and has some gross motor delays, so this activity gym also acted as a means of physical exercise for him when he really wasn’t capable of much. It even inspired him to sit for longer periods of time without the assistance of a baby seat.

The quality of the Skip*Hop products is wonderful. Most are washable, and trust me, in a house with three boys, our Skip*Hop toys have had numerous turns in the washing machine. I have only had one product not really make it back into rotation after the washing machine, and that was the cow mirror that says it is machine washable, but it contains a squeaker inside that seems to retain water after being washed — and for 2 days following, any time you squeaked it, water would squish out. Yuck. I removed it from rotation and got the rabbit version..The cow version was a favorite of the baby’s, and the quality was amazing.. just needed to avoid washing it. The rabbit found his home on the anti-rebound bar of our car seat.

The Activity gym is no exception to the durability of the Skip*Hop toys. It has been thrown around, stored, tossed in a closet and thrown in the back of our car for 2 weeks during our recent move. The washable pieces have been washed a few times, and it has been well chewed, gnawed and sucked on. It is still pristine!

 

I love this product so much, I am having a hard time deciding if I can part with it or not. We are sitting in limbo about whether or not our family is done expanding.. and until I know for sure, one way or another, I don’t want to give it up. So, now that our baby is 14 months old and past the baby gym phase, I have it sitting in our closet, knowing that if I need it again, even years from now, it will still be just as pristine as it was for him. And all the little tree friends hanging from it, the owls our baby loves so much? He gets regular use out of them still. They squeak and rattle and entertain him still. Some of them will find their way into his memory box. A token of his babyhood for him to share with his kids. I bet they will still be just as perfect then as they are now.

 

If you are in the market for an activity gym, or really any baby toy, definitely go look at the Skip*Hop line of products. I hope you and your baby love them as much as me and my baby do! As our baby gets older, and our other kids are in school, we have started expanding into Skip*Hops other lines of products, too, like the ZOO Dinosaur Lunch box that our oldest son proudly trots with him to school every day.

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.

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Babies Baby Toys Giraffe Sophie the Giraffe

Phie Phie!

I always heard about this giraffe baby toy. Apparently, it squeaked like a dogs chew toy and was non-toxic for your kids to chew on. Reviews I had read claimed it to be the best teething toy. I thought it was all hype. During one  of our many stops at our favorite local baby boutique, our baby spotted it. Hanging on a wall display. In a cute little brown cardboard box. This Sophie the Giraffe teether. Not the original Sophie, but rather one with handles, in the traditional white with brown giraffe spots. He FLIPPED. With hands flapping, the squealing began and we knew at that moment, we weren’t leaving that store without that little brown box.

Our older boys insisted that we needed to immediately go find a replacement. Back to our favorite boutique we went. They were out of the same teether. What? What were we going to do?? Then, the arm flapping and shrieking started up. Had he spotted one? No. Well, not exactly. What he spotted was a Sophie the Giraffe green colored Vanilla teether. I don’t know how he knew it was the same giraffe, but he did. We, once again, were not leaving that store without that giraffe.That Sophie teether went everywhere with us. And then, the unspeakable happened. While out of town for a funeral, we lost the teether. Heaven help us. My guess is that it is somewhere in a Starbucks parking lot. (What? Isn’t that the most logical place for us to have stopped in order to lose something?) Crying began, sad whimpering. I don’t know what it was about that giraffe, but it found a place in our baby’s heart.

I am very happy to say that we have not lost that teether. After the first mishap, I made sure to tether that thing to anything and everything possible. The love… the infatuation.. didn’t stop, though. Each and every time we go to that baby boutique, or any other baby store for that matter, our older kids go on a Sophie hunt. Once she is located, the baby’s arms start flapping and squeals begin. He doesn’t talk, you see. Talking or not, though, he makes it very clear how much he loves that giraffe.

As I said in the last blog post, we helped at an event this past weekend. Right across from the booth we were working in he spotted her. “PHIE PHIE!!!!” he shrieked. He called for her for the first 15-20 minutes we were there. I didn’t want to lose his “Phie Phie” so I left her in the car. I should have brought her. I almost had to go buy him another one.We eventually ended up with the large, squeaks-like-a-dogs-chew-toy Sophie. He snuggles it. He smiles when he sees it. He actually started referring to it in as much of a word as he can. “Phie Phie.” He spots “Phie Phie’s” from anywhere. We cannot leave without seeing all the “Phie Phies.”

Tell me, do you have any Sophie products? How do you or your kids like them? If you don’t, which Sophie do you wish you had?My piece of advice to you: If you have a baby or are expecting a baby, get a Sophie. Any Sophie. I don’t know a baby yet that has one and doesn’t love it. I have a feeling we will be adding more of the Sophie products to our household, as well as perhaps Sophie’s friends, the Chan Pie Gnon.

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.

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Uncategorized

Let’s get Sili.. Squeeze, that is.

This past Sunday I helped man the gDiaper’s booth at the Northwest Biggest Baby Shower at the Portland Convention Center. After doing my shift and showing people the diapers that I love ever-so-much, (That is a post to come..) My husband and older kids arrived and we decided to walk around the booths.

Overall, I was disappointed in the show as a whole. Not many vendors, not a good representation of baby GEAR, however, there was one thing that jumped out at me like a kid on trampoline. Sili Squeeze.

All three of my children love the Plum Organics squeezable pouches. They love all the Plum Organics foods, but most of all, the squeezable pouches. We freeze them and send them in our oldest son’s lunch box, we throw a handful into the diaper bag for when we are on the go with the younger two, and we keep a stash of them on our kitchen counter for times when they just want a snack. Deep down, though, I am a homemade baby food mama.

It started when my oldest was an infant and allergic to nearly everything. Processed, jarred baby food was an allergy risk for him, and honestly, just smelled disgusting. As I sat and made his food, there was something so much better about it. WE would eat it. Bananas tasted like bananas and didn’t have an odor that instantly triggered a gag reflex. From then forward, all of our kids ate REAL food, made by me. Until I realized how inconvenient it was with three kids, one jaunting back and forth to school. That’s where we found the Plum Pouches and loved the convenience of good options made easy.

Enter Sili Squeeze. I can put any smooth food I want to in it and take it to go. It’s a pouch, just as convenient as the Plum pouches we came to love, but I can fill it with the food I make, or foods that they love that maybe taste a bit better than the pouches. Let’s face it, the Greek Yogurt pouches do NOT taste good. I can’t even get the baby to like those.

I filled the Sili Squeeze up with Vanilla Bean yogurt this morning and my two youngest kids downed it. My middle son had been begging us since we bought the two Sili Squeeze’s yesterday “Can you wash that so I can use it, please?” He was so excited. We bought one of each of their two styles. One has a valve of sorts that prevents it from free flowing. My baby was flinging it from side to side and we didn’t have yogurt flying everywhere. We got the “squeeze with eeeze” for our older boys, as it’s more free flowing and they (should) know better than to fling it all over the place.

I am very pleased to say that this is one product that I’m excited for. It’s safe, it’s fun, it’s whatever you want it to be. It’s also freezable, which means I can still send them in my oldest son’s lunches and know that it will arrive there cold at lunch time. It has a nice, strong lid, so I won’t worry when I throw it in the diaper bag, either. A big plus, I have to say, is that it is very easy to clean. There weren’t a million pieces. I wish sippy cups were this easy. I can’t wait to buy more!

Note: this product was NOT provided to me. I bought it and I loved it, so I am showing it to all of you in hopes that you love it to.

Categories
Baby Gear FaVe Kids Lela Review Shopping

I got set up — with a stroller.

You see advertisements for dating websites every where. The idea that you input a handful of facts about yourself and you are shown a list of people that best compliment you.

Well, I’m married. I no longer need to find my compatible love match. I do, however, constantly find myself searching for my compatible consumer match. This is where Lela.com comes in. Lela.com has shown me a new way to find the perfect products for my family and myself.

I’m incredibly picky about baby gear. I am willing to spend a little more to get a better product, if I need to. I also have a fairly modern style, with a love of all things new and high tech. Finding the “perfect baby gear” has been an adventure. I’ve gone through many strollers because they simply didn’t fit my criteria in the end.

Lela.com linked to my Facebook profile, looking at my likes. It also asked me a handful of questions, then Lela.com became my baby gear match maker. I was impressed almost instantly. I clicked on strollers. I have an addiction to strollers. What did I find? Not only had Lela.com matched me with a stroller I lust after, but it also matched me with a stroller I currently own.

Okay, so it works for strollers. What about car seats? The world of car seats is insane. There are a million and one car seats. Some hideously old fashioned and some are far more advanced than I’d even know what to do with. Like strollers, having three kids has given me the opportunity to know what works for me. Again, matched me with a few car seats I currently own, one I lust for, and the ones I don’t care to own are far down the list.

Better than just showing you your ideal match, Lela.com also shows you where you can buy the product and which retailer has the best price, as well as link you directly to those retailers.

This is very promising. I can see it being especially helpful for new parents who are looking for a certain style, but unsure of brands and where to shop.

To put Lela.com to the ultimate test, I unleashed my husband on it. You see, Lela.com doesn’t just match you with baby gear, but also with tech products and home goods. It matched me with a gorgeous LG television, but outside of being pretty, I don’t know if that television is a good match for me. This is where my IT professional, tech-loving, geek of a husband really helped. I made him also sign up. What were his matches like? Well, he was appropriately matched with an enormous Samsung television and iPhones. He was also matched with a Blackberry which made him scoff, but overall, he was impressed by the design and matching ability.

Blackberry aside, Lela.com is a very helpful site for shopping. Especially when shopping for product categories you aren’t too familiar with. Now, I need to convince my husband that since Lela.com matched me with a Stokke Tripp Trapp and an Orbit G2, these items should be purchased immediately. Let’s just hope he doesn’t try the same with the Samsung television. 🙂

I have one request of you readers. Click this link to Lela.com, sign up, answer the questions and let me know: What are your favorite matches? Did Lela.com successfully find products you were happy with?

You can also go “Like” Lela.com on FB here: Lela
And, while you’re at it, go “Like” my friend, FaVe Mom, who introduced me to Lela.com, here: FaVe Mom

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Uncategorized

Let’s take a stroll..

Everyone has been asking. Now I’m giving you all an answer. How do you juggle three children while out and about? The answer? A good, durable stroller is a must.

My children are six, three and my youngest just turned 10 months. My six-year-old is plenty capable of walking, so I knew that I needed a solution for only two of my children. My first thought wandered to “Have you seen how big tandem strollers are?!?” then accompanied by “Or how WIDE a side-by-side is??” I set out for a better solution.

With my middle son being two-and-a-half when our youngest was born we knew we needed a double stroller, so foregoing it wasn’t a viable option.. But realistically, how long would he need to be in it? My research brought me the perfect solution. The modular stroller.

After much comparing and negotiating our options we ended up with two very similar, yet VERY different, modular strollers. The Britax B-Ready and the Baby Jogger City Select. If you were to ask me if I had a favorite, I’d tell you, honestly, “It depends on the day. Where I’m going. What I’m doing.”

Let’s start with the Baby Jogger City Select. This stroller has so many pluses. The biggest positive is that both seats are identical in size and weight limit. This IS a big deal. The second seat is also not restricted to one feet-in-basket position.

Naturally, with two seats attached, it is a little heavy, but nothing compared to the tandem I had before! The seats are easy to get on and off, and the stroller handles well with both one and two seats installed. We used it most with the bassinet attachment and second seat when our youngest was super tiny. The bassinet is a great addition to get for newborns!

The other bonus? Baby Jogger sells a glider board that can attach to the stroller even when the second seat is attached. Three kids on one stroller that is no longer than a standard travel system? Score!
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Now, The Britax B-Ready. While not as flexible in seat position or weight limits, this stroller doesn’t feel limiting. The basket is huge and very accessible from multiple sides. This makes getting things in and out a breeze, even with a kick-happy toddler in the second seat. It is also very easy to use with a Britax infant car seat.

While heavier than the City Select, it’s not a bad kind of heavy. It’s sturdy. It FEELS sturdy. The control of the stroller is amazing, especially in the mall. Tight spaces are easy to maneuver in.

It’s added bonuses? It’s fabrics are very nice. True to the Britax brand. It also has an organizer that hooks to the basket when only one seat is in use. Very handy! Lastly, my husband’s favorite bonus, it comes standard with a cup holder! That’s right, moms, you won’t have to juggle steering and carrying your iced Starbucks. (Baby Jogger also makes a cup holder, but it must be purchased separately.)

So, there you have it. Both worth the investment. Both worthy of purchase depending on your wants and needs. Now that my baby is almost one and my middle son is almost three-and-a-half, they both still get use — but I have my sights set on the Orbit G2 stroller with two side-kick boards for the older two. Should my husband amuse my desire… You may see a post about that one in use, also. 🙂