kim through
   the looking glass

Hey all you toy junkies! I’m so excited for this store it’s a bit ridiculous. Check out their blog for more info! Me? I’m hoping to get in for a sneak peek today!

Today, we went shopping at Once Upon A Child and bought Gwen a Little Tykes Push & Ride Doll Walker. She loves this thing!

She hasn’t quite figured out how to walk by herself with it, but Brad thinks she’ll be good by the end of the week! When we first let her at it, she would pull herself up on the back and when we would let it move forward, she wouldn’t move her feet and would fall. Now, she’s got the hang of walking behind it while we control the speed.

I’m not entirely sure why we’re encouraging this walking thing …

I know I mentioned it at Christmas, but my parents bought Gwen a Yookidoo Discovery Playhouse for Christmas. It’s rated for 12 months +, but I figured once she started moving, she’d probably have a blast with it! Read the rest of this entry »

Brandy asked what toy Gwen was playing with in the video, so I thought I’d do a post on Gwen’s favourite things!

The toy in the video is a Kushies Peeko. Of all her toys, this is the one that keeps Gwen’s attention for the longest! It’s a ‘multi-sensory box’ (contrast coloured sides, each of which velcros shut like a book with things inside, ie. a mirror, a crinkly thing, ribbons, etc.) and inside the box is the Ozlo toy, which is a contrasty, multi-coloured “dog”.

I’ve posted about this one before, but the Schaff coloringo is an amazing rattle and teether! It’s not too loud (perfect for mom and dad!) and a great size for her little fist. The colours keep her attention, as do the different shapes for mouth exploration!

Gwen enoys grabbing and shaking her Manhattan Toy Winkel. It’s got a nice gentle rattle sound and is easy to hold and comfy on her sore gums!

I was hoping Gwen would enjoy her Ringley teething toy as much as the coloringo, but it doesn’t get much play time, sadly.

The Beginning Bites by Sassy are a favourite of Gwen’s, and they were great fun to watch her learn how to hold! She squeals when she sees the blue one. We borrowed these from my sister We also borrowed an earlier version of Sassy’s Wooden Trio. The textures and shapes are great fun for Gwen to explore.

One of Gwen favourite thngs to play with on the change table (I reserve it for there!) is Manhattan Toy’s Snuggle Pods Peanut. It’s soft and squishy and she always grins whenever she sees it and grabs it from me!

The toy we have for fun in the bathroom (keeps her busy while we shower!) is Ikea’s Leka playbook. It’s got tonnes of fun textures, a mirror, toys that pop out, and squeaky stuff. Does it get any better than that? We also have an Ikea Barnslig - a soft elephant with teething ears.

Those are the toys Gwen plays with the most for the time being. And most of them are 6 months and up, so she’ll continue to explore them at a different level as she gets a bit older! We have a serious lack of cloth and board books, though!! It’s getting hard to read her regular books as she’s grabbing the pages and wanting to eat them …

We’re trying to be intentional about buying cloth and wooden toys. Crystle and Dave (community members) brought Gwen a cloth animal playset (complete with watering hole and tree!) back from their trip to Africa. I can’t wait for Gwen to play with it and get some pictures!

I thought it would be fun to let Gwen hang around sans diaper (that’s without a diaper for you Americans!) and take some cute photos of her. She LOVES playing with her diaper off (more movement?) and, of course, is adorable. I managed to get some good ones! Read the rest of this entry »

So Brad’s brother and his girlfriend visited us for a few days from last Saturday until Wednesday afternoon. It was wonderful to have people in the house during the day!!! They have been in Vancouver for the last 8 months and are off to Rome for four and then to Dublin for another four - so this was the first and last time they’ll see Gwen for a while! Read the rest of this entry »