Tag: fisher-price | Baby Doodah!

Toddler Apps to Keep Your Child Entertained

Posted on July 8 by Jillian416 • 7 Comments

Toddler Apps Can Be Very Helpful Distraction

Let’s face it, we all take risks when it comes to our little people. When we’re out and about and it is nearly nap time, we know when we make the next stop there could be a meltdown, but we take that risk anyway. Sometimes it can’t be helped, things need to get done and you only have so many hours in the day to get it done in. That’s why I have a handful of apps, on my iPhone and iPad that are learning apps. They are engaging, and I truly believe that there have been some circumstances where Emmett’s learned new things from them.

So when that first whine starts to escape from your child’s mouth, take a second, pull out your phone (or other electronic device) and let them have at it for a short time. I promise, it won’t harm them!

Here’s a list of my toddler approved apps:

1. Peekaboo Toy Box – This is Emmett’s absolute favorite toddler app! He’s played it over and over again and NEVER grows tired of it. (I’m glad too!) The graphics are adorable, and it is highly interactive – a box appears on the screen, and when it’s tapped it slowly rattles and shakes and eventually pops open to reveal the surprise inside. You can also, tap on the screen and different little items pop up. Adorable! This app is $1.99, but is well worth that cost.

2. Talking ABC – Another HUGE favorite! Emmett loves watching the clay shapes move from letter to animal by just tapping on the screen. He also loves touching the animals, and having them repeat what they are. Plus the alphabet song that they sing is very different than the typical ABCs, and it’s adorable. My personal favorite with the app, is that if you talk and the screen, and then let it sit a few seconds, it will repeat what you just said, but in the animals voice. Emmett LOVES that they animals will say his name. There are also some name matching games, but we haven’t gotten to those yet, but definitely soon! This one is $2.99, but again WELL worth it!

3. Laugh & Learn Learning Letters Monkey App – Another total winner! Fisher-Price has a boatload of apps available, but this is definitely our favorite. You have 3 different options when it comes to playing with the app – You have the alphabet and items that start with that letter, shapes and colors, and then songs. When Emmett was first learning how to use the iPhone, he loved the letters and shapes, but now he loves listening and humming along to the songs. This is a freebie, so download it now!

4. Fire Safety App: Sparky’s Birthday Surprise – This one is a little advanced for Emmett right now, but when he’s calm and wants to listen to a story, this app is great. It will read a story, but the screens are interactive. You click on the different parts of the building and you can open windows, or ring the fire bell. He loves that part!

5. Kindle – I know this one is pretty basic, but it has saved us loads of times. Between books for Emmett to just flip through, or books for me to read to him. It is tied to Amazon so it has an amazing selection!

Those are our favorites, but as Emmett gets older and into different apps, I’ll be sure to share them with you. This way you can give them a try too!

Your turn!

Let’s share! What are some of your favorite toddler apps?

Filed Under: Family

Our Favorite Things: 9 to 12 Months

Posted on September 8 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Emmett’s Favorite Things!

This is a bit delayed, seeing as Emmett is already 13.5 months old, but I am finally getting around to it. We had quite a few favorites this time around and I’m excited to share them all with you!

Philips AVENT BPA Free Contemporary Freeflow Pacifier

I know this may seem like a silly one to start with but in Emmett’s world, this is one of THE most important things to him. You’re probably wondering what made us choose to go with Philips AVENT, right? Well, we chose Philips AVENT for his bottles and we loved them so it made sense to give their pacifiers a try. He loved them from the very first time we put them in his mouth, when he was just a few days old. However, they did not become his love until in his 11 month. Now, he uses one everyday, most of the day. These are great because they’re made of silicone so it is nearly impossible for the nipple to be bitten off, I’ve tried and can’t with a mouthful of teeth. They are also designed for breath-ability, so there are little air vents around it so that baby’s saliva doesn’t just sit behind it and irritate the skin. Plus they have fun little designs on the base of them, while not an important feature for baby, momma might care. 😉 If you’re looking for a pacifier for your babe, I highly recommend Philips AVENT’s.

Fisher-Price EZ Clean High Chair, Coco Sorbet

We continue to LOVE this high chair! We have this Fisher-Price chair in the Luv U Zoo design and it has stood up to the beatings Emmett has given it. The cloth cover is removable and washable, so anytime Emmett decides to take a bite of yogurt and then spit it out on his high chair, it’s no big deal, we just take it off and pop it in the washer. The tray is easily connected and removed, I’ve done it with one available hand before and it is very sturdy. Since we live in an apartment we slide it to and from the table daily and it has not shown any signs of wear. It’s current $84 price point, makes it well worth the purchase!

Boppy Nursing Pillow with Slipcover

This has once again made our favorite things list (this is the 4th time). It has been an amazing tool for breastfeeding, and I am comfortable saying that without it, I’m not sure how successful Emmett and I would have been. There are tons and tons of options out their for breastfeeding pillows but I truly believe that Boppys are one of the best. Our pillow and its slipcover have stood the test of time (13.5 months and counting) and many many washes. Oh and in case you’re curious, we have the sweet pea slipcover and it’s very cute!

Philips AVENT Toddler Spout and Philips AVENT Natural Drinking Cups

I swear that I do not work for Philips AVENT, nor is this a sponsored post, I just adore their products. Every Philips AVENT item we’ve purchased has lived up to it’s hype. We wanted a sippy cup that would provide a nice flow for Emmett but not just leak if dumped over. So many sippys out there, that don’t leak, require the baby to suck really hard to get any fluid out. Would you want to work that hard to get any liquid out? With the Toddler Spout cups, it is absolutely leak proof until he sucks, but it requires as much suction as you would need to use a straw.

The Natural Drinking cups are great because they begin to prepare the toddler for drinking out of a normal cup but are leak proof until you tip it back and the toddler’s nose presses on the center circle. Emmett’s still learning how to drink using one of these, but it the perfect transition cup. I highly recommend both!

Philips AVENT BPA Free Classic Polypropylene Bottles

These made a previous list but Emmett continues to use one bottle a day at day care. The bottles have shown no sign of wear and we’ve not had one broken or cracked nipple in the entire time that Emmett has been using them (12 months). I learned about these bottles as a nanny and loved them enough to bring them into my home for Emmett, I continue to love them and will use them with any future children.

Pampers Cruisers

We loved the Pampers Swaddlers and because of a recommendation from a friend we tried the Pampers Cruisers. We have not been disappointed. They work and fit as well as the Swaddlers. We will be sticking with them until he grows out of them.

Philips AVENT DECT Baby Monitor

Yes, another Philips AVENT product. Every single product I have of theirs is awesome, so we just keep buying more. Make excellent products and you end up with loyal customers. When I was still pregnant, we debated getting a video monitor, Seamus wanted one, I saw no reason for one. Emmett’s room is 20 feet away and at the first sound of distress I’d be charging in there. I eventually convinced Seamus to see my side and we started our search for a baby monitor and after looking over a ton of reviews, the Philips AVENT DECT Baby Monitor won out. It is affordable, and picks up every little creak or crack in his room. I NEVER felt like I was missing anything by not having a video monitor. This monitor has some seriously awesome features too, you can turn down the sensitivity so that it doesn’t run constantly and will only turn on at the first sound it hears. When I say it picks up everything, I am not lying. If he rolls over or sighs, it picks it up. The end that sits in the baby’s room does not have a rechargeable battery but you can leave it plugged in or you can use batteries in it as a back-up. The parent end is rechargeable and the battery life on that sucker is amazing, I’m talking days. We’ve never struggled with interference or any sort of feedback and we’re going on 14 months of use. If you’re like me and don’t see a reason for the video monitor, check out this Philips AVENT product.

Your turn!

What were some of your favorites for you children when they were 9 to 12 months old?

Please feel free to check out my other Favorite Things posts, 0 to 3 Months, 3 to 6 Months and 6 to 9 Months.

Filed Under: Reviews

Dear Emmett – 13 Months,

Posted on August 27 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

You are 13 months old! Can you believe that? 13 whole months and we are well on our way into your second year!

We’ve been busy since your last birthday! You are more active than ever, and you keep becoming more and more fun. You are exploring and getting into everything and it makes for some pretty exciting play times.

You’re a lucky little boy! Your daddy and I decided to take our dining room, make it baby safe and turn it into your playroom. We cleared out all of our stuff that was in there (we were mainly using it for storage), bought a baby fence and got some foam flooring (from your paternal grandparents) and now it is a toddler’s paradise. You have all sorts of toys in there now too, legos, fisher-price people, wooden blocks, shape sorters, a little table and chairs (from your maternal grandparents), crayons and paper, etc. We need to get some bins to keep the toys in, because as of now things are kind of strewn all over the place but you love being in there as long as we’re in there with you. I’m happy that we could make you so happy!

You are also firmly in the walking stage, and actually you are nearly running. Shortly after your first birthday you began slowly walking more than crawling. You’d stand yourself up, take a few steps and then plop down. As the month progressed, you became more and more of a pro and now you hardly ever crawl. The only time is if you’ve fallen and are trying to chase us, you will often chase after us in a speedy little crawl.

We bought you your first pair of shoes. I wanted to make sure we got you shoes that had soft soles with some rubber on the bottom because your feet aren’t fully formed and I didn’t want hard rubber soles inhibiting that. The most notorious for those types of bottoms is the PediPed brand, but we needed something kind of quick and ended up finding a cute pair at Babies R Us, in their Koala Kids line. They’re adorable, and the first time I put them on you was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t bother you too much now, but you still take them off almost every morning on the car ride to day care. Silly boy!

I’m so excited to say that you have mastered the signs we’ve taught you thus far. We taught you milk, water, more and all done and you can do them all and use them frequently. You were doing milk really early on, you’d know it was time to nurse and you’d start to clench your little fist, which is your version of milk. However, you’ve slowly but surely began using it whenever you are actually wanting milk, not just when I ask you. You also know that when you’re thirsty and don’t want milk, that you can ask for water. When we are all sitting down to dinner and you’ve finished everything that you want on your tray, you will make the sign for more and we will give it to you. It is really awesome! You’re slowly beginning to gain the ability to communicate with us and it is just so fun.

You continue to make your different sounds but more and more they are beginning to actually sound like the words we speak. When I ask you if you’re all done, you will wave your hands (the sign for all done) and make a sound that sounds like “alld.” I wouldn’t say it is a formal word yet, more of a mimic of what I said but you are definitely getting closer.

You and food get along great! You love eating and for the most part continue to eat anything we give you. You do go in spurts where you’ll only eat soft foods, but I believe that’s because you’re growing some of your back teeth (poor guy).

Right now, I’d say your favorite toy is a toss up between your fisher-price farm (that your aunt, uncle and cousin got you) and your legos. With the farm house, you love opening and closing the doors and hearing the animal sounds they make. You also love moo’ing yourself, I’ll show you the cow and go “Mooooooo” and you’ll mimic me. It’s adorable! When you’re done playing with the farm, you like to leave the doors open and if I close them you open them back up. Such a cutie! In regards to the legos, anytime that your dad or I build something, you love to grab it and take it apart. You’ve also begun trying to get them to stick together, you’ll bang bang bang and then sometimes they’ll stick and sometimes they won’t. When they do, you get the BIGGEST smile on your face.

You love cuddling up with your big brown monkey blanket, it pretty much goes everywhere with us. You’re also really into cuddling up this stuffed monkey that plays music that I got as a gift from some of my staff in Rochester. I love it when you lay your head down on his belly and curl up, it is the sweetest thing.

I just cannot believe you’re 13 months, I love you and can’t wait to see what the next month will bring us.

To see all of the Dear Emmett’s, click here.

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Emmett, Family

Picture Posts

Posted on August 12 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We have been taking quite a few pictures of Emmett and I never seem to get to share them all, so in an effort to share his cuteness I’m going to randomly start doing picture posts. Enjoy!

The remnants of the cake Seamus made for Emmett.

Cousins!

New bath toy! Thanks Grandma!

Fun new book! Thanks Aunt Ginny!

Cards and Legos! What could be better?? Thank you Cousin Kevin, Becki and baby!

I love my new Fisher Price farm house! Thank you Aunt Katrina, Uncle Mike and baby!

Bubble blower from Grampa Mack. Yay!

Yummy!

I think I’ll do some finger painting with the peanut butter mousse.

OMG! This is so yummy momma!

Oooh! Something to climb on…

Here we go…

Almost…

There we go! Thanks for the foam flooring Grandma and Grandpa!

Emmett is a very lucky boy and was so happy that day. He loved spending time with everyone and loved each and every gift he received.

If you missed his first birthday posts, you can read them here.

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Emmett's Birthday, Family

Dear Emmett (12 months),

Posted on July 27 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

12 months! You have been alive for 12 months, this amazes and thrills me to no end.

This has been a busy month for you, but truthfully you’re busy every month, you just accomplish something knew. Emmett, I cannot believe that you have turned a year, that 365 days have passed since the very moment that I gave birth to you. We have had our ups and downs, but I’ve learned so much and grown even more, I wouldn’t change a moment of the past 12 months.

They made him a birthday crown at day care.

Last month, you were pulling yourself up, cruising along the edges of things, this month you’ve begun to take your first steps. We were actually doing FaceTime with your paternal grandparents when you decided there was something across the room that you wanted to check out. You pulled yourself up on your crib, wobbled a bit and then decided to take 4 stiff-legged steps to the toy you were looking for. I squealed (as I almost always do for your accomplishments), I was just so excited! Your grandparents thought you had fallen or gotten hurt because at the moment, your daddy had the camera facing him. Whoops! We were able to get you to do it again but only for 2 steps, you just know that crawling is so much faster.

As the month has progressed you’ve taken more and more unassisted steps, but crawling remains your main mode of transportation. I don’t blame you, you move so SO fast when crawling. You’ll get there before we know it and then the real trouble begins! 🙂

Another major physical development has been that you can now stand up from sitting without any assistance. You more frequently use the couch, but you are able to sit, then move into a squatting position and finally stand up, sometimes you’ll take a step or two but most of the time you’ll plop back down to play.

You also, sadly, had your first real fever this month, it happened so quick too. The day after the fourth of July your dad and I had taken off and were going to have a ‘date day,’ so we got up early and took you to day care. When I dropped you off, you were fine, happy and sweet but by the time I had gotten nearly home, your day care had called me to let me know you had a fever of 102.1. I turned around and went back and got you. Your fever got pretty high (104.1), so we went to the doctors but other than that, we spent the next 3 days just cuddling you and making you comfortable. Poor guy, just wanted to be held.

You’re a pro mimicker! It started with kissy noises. I had been nursing you and sat you up and blew you a kiss, you stared at me for a few seconds and then kind of puckered up your lips and made the kiss sound. It was adorable! I kept kissing your sweet little cheeks and you kept making the sound in response, but it has since developed into more. Now any time your father or I do anything, you try and do the exact same thing. The other morning, we were all in bed cuddling and your dad touched my nose, he knows I hate having my nosed touched but he did it so you would see and repeat it. Guess what? You did. Your dad was thrilled. Me? Not so much! Either way, it’s really cute having you try and repeat the things we do whether it be a sound or an action, you will try anything.

Most babies around your age start waving hello when someone walks into a room and waves at them. You are no exception, only thing is that you do it a bit differently and it’s THE cutest thing. You throw your arm and hand in the air, like you’re about to present someone and just hold it there. There’s no, flapping or waving of the hand, just a straight, stiff arm. So cute! Toward the end of the month you’ve changed how you hold your hand and now, sometimes you will actually wave. It’s amazing how just (less than) 30 days can change you.

You continue to be fearless when it comes to food, you will try just about anything we give to you. Some days you might not eat much or may not like the way something tastes but if we give it to you again, you’ll love the way it tastes the second time. Case in point, blueberries… you hated them the first time I gave them to you. However, I kept sending them for lunch and putting them on your tray for dinner. After about a week of doing that, you started devouring them, now we are forced (not that we mind) to buy the 2 pound container of blueberries so that there’s enough for the week. You almost always eat what we do, things like salmon couscous, grilled chicken, asparagus, ravioli, Naan, etc. etc. The only time we have to come up with an alternate meal for you, is when we’re eating something spicy and that’s mainly because we figure something hot (in spice) like that may hurt you and you wouldn’t understand why.

For Christmas, you received these Fisher Price Snap Lock Beads and you love them. You get so excited when we connect them all together and then you’re able to break them apart and look in the hole that is on one end. You also love putting them on your fingers, you’ll put one on your index finger and one on your pinky finger and shake your hand around, it pretty adorable and very silly. But anything that has a hole or indentation you love.

Your dad and I haven’t really baby-proofed anything up until the last week of the month. You were mobile, but we were able to wrangle, you in one way or another, so we avoided getting rid of or moving things that weren’t safe for you to play with. However, during the last week, you started pulling down daddy’s DVDs almost daily and getting into things that were completely unsafe, so we immediately started reorganizing and getting the house ready for a baby that is very active.

Has it truly been 12 months? Have I really written 11 different “Dear Emmett’s”? Holy cow! I find that so hard to believe but it’s very obviously true. You’ve come so SO far from that bitty baby that was born and would only eat, sleep and pee/poop. Now you play, hug, cuddle and love. You’re amazing and I have no doubt that you will continue to be this way for the rest of your life.

Happy 1 year birthday, sweet sweet Emmett! Mommy loves you to the moon and back!

Filed Under: Emmett, Emmett's Birthday, Family

Our Favorite Things: 6 to 9 Months

Posted on May 22 by Jillian416 • 1 Comment

Fisher-Price EZ Clean High Chair

I love this high chair.

Let me repeat that statement, so you know how serious I am, I love this high chair!! It is the most amazing high chair I’ve come across (and I’ve had experience with a few). It isn’t the fanciest high chair but it does its job very well (better than the other ones I’ve come across). I think my favorite feature is the chair cover, in the description it says this, “Crevice free to prevent food from getting stuck.” That doesn’t even begin to explain how great it actually is. The cover is cloth and is removable, that means that you can take it off and throw it in the washer and dryer and remove every tiny bit of grime without needing to scrub it down. So for those OCD moms out there who really like things to be germ/grime free for baby, this high chair is for you! That being said, if you don’t want to wash it constantly, it does wipe down easily and there really are no crevices for pieces to get stuck in

It also has a double tray so that you can easily detach the top one and wash it without needing to lug the entire thing around with you. And the straps are also fantastic because they’re not cloth; they’re a plasticy rubbery material, which wipes with ease.

This is also a very affordable high chair; it’s on sale on Amazon right now, for $70.17. I absolutely recommend this chair to anyone looking to buy one.

Playskool – Rocktivity Walk N Roll Rider

What a fun toy, with decent music!

When Emmett first received this toy, he wasn’t quite mobile so we would sit him on it and he would just stare at the different buttons and bump into the horn occasionally. He just loved it! As he has progressed into a mobile baby, he loves having it in the upright position so that he can walk around with it. It moves pretty quickly on its own, so Seamus or I will help it slow down by holding the wheels lightly or making sure it’s faced in a direction where it will bump into something before it takes off.

If you’re looking for a walking toy, I would definitely recommend this.

Boppy Nursing Pillow with Slipcover

This is the third time I’ve listed the Boppy nursing pillow in my list of favorites. Emmett continues to be breastfed and I use this pillow several times a day and without it, nursing would not be as enjoyable as it is. I know there are other nursing pillows out there but I truly feel like nothing compares to Boppy. If you’re nursing or planning on nursing, register or buy yourself a Boppy. I promise that you will not be disappointed.

Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods – and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater

This book and its methodologies have led Emmett to be a happy and healthy eater. There are days when he doesn’t want certain foods but I have yet to come across a food that he refuses to at least try once and I believe that it is because of this method. If you haven’t started solids with your baby or are looking for a different way of handling foods, give Baby Led Weaning a try.

Pampers Swaddlers

This is the first time that I’ve added these to my list but they should have been on here long before. They are the most amazing diapers I’ve ever used; they keep Emmett completely dry and comfortable. We’ve tried Huggies, Luvs and Pampers Baby Dry and none work as well as Pampers Swaddlers. Sadly, the Swaddlers only go up to size 3 and Emmett is reaching the tail end of wearing 3s. Hopefully we are able to find something that works as well as the Swaddlers have.

My favorite part about Swaddlers is the yellow stripe that runs down the center of the diaper. When the baby is wet this stripe turns blue and lets the parents know that the baby needs to be changed. This is ingenious to me, especially for newborn babies who pee very lightly.

I just cannot say enough good things about Pampers.

Books

No book in particular, just books in general. We have so many and Emmett loves to sit and read with us as well or just sit on his own and flip through them.

Filed Under: Reviews

Dear Emmett,

Posted on February 23 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We started the month with your 6 month visit to the doctors, I was super excited to see how much you had grown since our last visit. When the doctor placed you on the scale you jumped all the way up to 19.1 lbs, my big boy!! They also measured your length and you were 27.5 inches, you’re getting so long but since neither your dad nor I are short people, that’s no surprise. Your doctor even told us that you are the size of an average NINE month old at 6 months. Holy smokes, we’re in for it!

Sweet Potatoes

You also have had your first solids. We didn’t take the normal path that most people take, your dad and I decided to follow Baby Led Weaning for introducing you to solid foods and so far it has worked very well. There has not been one food you’ve turned away! When you try something new you make a really funny face but you stick with it and spend some time gumming whatever it is. The very first food you had was roasted broccoli and you really seemed to enjoy it. So far, you’ve had broccoli, sweet potatoes, baby yogurt, mum mum crackers, plums, apples, bananas, avocado, green peppers, strawberries, brown rice, bread, cheese, meatloaf, chicken and pork. Look at all those foods you’ve tried and LIKED and we’re only 4 weeks in. Can you imagine what’s left?!

Emmett’s Very First Food

We are still working on getting you to sit up like a big boy. You do a pretty good job when we put the boppy around you and then place a toy in front of you but then there are times when you just don’t want to sit at all and won’t bend at the waist. We keep trying but as long as you keep developing in other ways, I’m not too concerned.

Your favorite mode of transportation remains rolling around the floor. You’ve definitely started bouncing yourself up onto your knees when you’re on your belly and occasionally you’ll propel yourself forward a bit but for the most part, if you see a toy you want, you roll on over. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch!

You Fisher Price jump-a-roo continues to be one of your favorite toys. We actually decreased the size of the book that we place underneath you. Previously the book we were using was about 4 inches thick, then we decreased to a book that was an inch thick and now that’s not even needed because you can bounce without it. When we put you in that think you go crazy! You get the silliest face on and bounce bounce BOUNCE! You love bouncing so much that whenever we take you out of your jump-a-roo you continue jumping on whomever is holding you. So cute!

Your personality makes your dad and I so so happy!! You are constantly smiling and now we can even make you giggle and that sound is so beautiful to our ears.

You’ve also started taking longer naps too. Instead of 3 shorter ones, you’ve been doing 2 longer ones, they fall in the morning and then in the early evening.

Remember how I mentioned last month that you had started babbling more and yelling less? Well, the yelling is back! LOL You still babble but if I’m being honest your favorite form of communication is yelling. You yell when you’re happy, when you’re angry or just when you’re bored. My favorite is when you have a toy and you are playing quietly and then all of a sudden you start to yell at the toy, like “Hey! You’re not doing anything! Play with me!” Adorable!

Two very exciting things happened just before the end of your 6th month…

The first is that you are now sitting independently! I am so proud of you! We’ve been working on it at home and you’ve been working on it at day care but at long last when I picked you up at school on Thursday you were sitting there all on your own playing with toys. I was so excited and I made sure you knew it too. I squealed and told you what a wonderful job you were doing. You still are working on balance because sometimes when you’re not paying attention you’ll fall backward but you are going for longer and longer stretches of time in a seated position. You are becoming mommy’s big boy!

The second is (drum roll please) you are now creeping along! You love doing the army crawl and you even sometimes go all the way up onto your knees, to reach your toys. You aren’t moving super fast and you tend to move just a little at a time but you ARE moving. I am literally so so SOOO proud of you.

Watching you grow is just such an amazing thing. I knew that I would love you, that was never a question, but I had no idea how MUCH I’d love you. Every single thing you do is interesting to me and I love watching you do it all. You are growing so quickly, I’m loving it but I wish you’d slow down just a bit. I love you being mommy’s baby boy.

I love you!

Filed Under: Emmett