Projects Revealed

As if you didn't all know, we've been doing a good bit of work around the house. We say it was in preparation for the party, but really, it was stuff that we just wanted done.

I'm sad to say that I thought for sure I had 'before' pictures, but apparently I do not. I guess at the time I took a series of before photos I stopped with just the upstairs... bummer.

But alas. You can probably imagine what it looked like before. The walls were white, there were holes int he drywall from where Ryan did some wire pulls and the storage you'll see below was not there.


So, here it goes...

The toy storage unit that Ryan (and his dad) built. I still haven't found the 'perfect' ones, but I plan to get some canvas totes or baskets for underneath to store blocks, cars, etc in. Also, on the wall above the storage unit I'll be hanging some pictures from Jude's first birthday photo shoot (and possibly some that I took).

Being that there's no real furniture in the room, there was lots of blank walls. I love pictures and have hundreds (thousands!) on my computer that I never do anything with, so I decided to start a collage on one wall. I plan to add more, but this is the beginning.

Another shot look out from the storage shelf. We hung little hooks on the walls for whatever... if his friends come over they'll have a place for coats or something... maybe eventually more toy storage, depending. We also added a baby gate. The gate is specifically to keep the dog out when we're not in the room so that we won't have to clean up all the time (and he can't chew toys)

Ryan got these posters as a gift from a friend (he loves comics) and had the opportunity to have them signed by the artist when he came to Delaware a few years ago. In our old house, Ryan had them proudly displayed in the living room... in this house, I won out and they did not make it into the living room. At one point they were going in Jude's room, or even in the basement when it was finished, but we both agreed this was the perfect place for them.

All in all, we were very pleased with the way the room turned out. We still have a few finishing touches to make... but that won't be happening for a little while. I'm pretty done right now. Eventually we want to extend the bookshelf up the wall, add a nice couch and some chairs and turn it into a more formal living room... or a reading room... but for now, it's the perfect play room for Jude.

Sprig Toys

I first came across these toys a few months back at Toys R Us. I fell in love with them!

Sprig Toys have the following features:

- battery free. The toys that have power are powered through kinetic energy. So, your child gets them going! They boast that this encourages longer play. The toy we got for him has a light, makes motor noises and has dialog all powered by you!
- earth friendly. The toys are made from recycled plastics and wood, use minimal packaging, are sold through retailers who uphold their standards and use no decorative paints.
- interchangeable. Similar to 'Little People', the characters and vehicles in the Sprig Toys collection are interchangable so you can expand your collection, or just have one.


When I first saw them, I wanted to buy one for Jude. The trucks are very 'boyish'. I'm a fan of the classic Tonka trucks, etc and these seemed to be the closest thing I could find to that. In my initial search, it appeared that most cars and trucks were either really baby, or very matchbox-like. However, at the time it didn't matter, he was too young to even be remotely interested, so I held off.

With Christmas approaching though (and since I said we would be able to buy Jude one gift), I decided to get him his Sprig truck. He still will not be able to fully comprehend what to do with it (and like his Diego jeep, he'll probably play with the people more than the truck)but I am just thrilled to open it up!

Another nifty feature about the Discovery Rig that we bought for him, is that it has an arm-type thing that attaches to it. When Jude gets to the age where he'll need to hold onto something to walk around a little (or just to hold him up), this might come in hand.

If you couldn't tell I will probably be more excited then he will be on Christmas morning...

I've added the link to the Sprig toys to the list on the right hand side of the page. Feel free to check them out.

Come on! You can do it!

A few months back I got overly excited when I realized that Jude was beginning to reach for his toys.

I immediately ran out and bought a few of the Lamazee plush toys I love and some fun electronic "learning" toys. I would dangle them in front of Jude and he'd reach for them and I'd think it was the cutest thing in the world.

One of the items I bought around this time was the "learn and crawl" ball. It was a 6+ month toy, but I couldn't resist (he was roughly 3 months at the time). Up until recently I would sit it in front of Jude, push the buttons, wiggle it around and just try to get his attention. As with most other toys though, he is not very interested.



I stopped trying for awhile until about a week ago when I thought I'd pull some of this stuff out. I woudl throw random toys down and see how he responded and I generally got the same response. If it wasn't his fist, his activity mat or his exo-saucer, he didn't want anything to do with it.

Anyway - I put the ball down the other day and turned it on. I pushed the buttons a couple of times and let it play out as it usually does. Typically if I stop activating it for him, after a few seconds it would just put itself into sleep mode. After I walked away, I wasn't giving him my 100% attention and I noticed after a little while that the ball will still making noises. Jude was not exactly using the ball to it's full potential, but he was tapping it just enough to get it going again. After hitting it, he'd stare at it for a few seconds with his fist in his mouth, totally amazed that this thing would make so much noise.

I also got some videos of him playing with it, but am having a hard time uploading them (apparently I need a firewire???) so i thought the pictures would do for now.

Question: So... the Oompa toys website is adorable. Have you ever looked into Melissa and Doug toys? They are all wooden solid pieces such as puzzles, laces, blocks, etc.

Answer: I had NOT seen this web page before, but it is adorable! So many cute items! I will be sure to add it to my link list!

Thanks!

PS - NOW I WANT TO BUY SOME PUPPETS!!!! Thanks to the person who posted that question. LOL

Keep Them Questions Coming...

Question: why do you want to avoid fisher price/little tykes toys?

I think I've mentioned a couple of times lately that I'm kind of trying to avoid the fisher price and little tykes toys. I don't think I've really explained why or my reason behind it - and really it's not some big deal, just a personal opinion.

1. These toys are SUPER common. When I go through toys r us they still seem to carry the same items that they had when my brother Chad was a baby.. AND they were the same then as they were when I was a kid. So I know that they're probably really easy to come by used for much less than they are available in toy stores. So, it makes so much more sense to get these items used. In addition, considering they have been making money off the same models for years now, they prices keep going up! So reason #1 - money. But you can bet if Jude does get Christmas gifts from mommy and daddy, they won't be used (yes, I'm aware that sounds snobby)

2. Plastic surfaces are a breading ground for bacteria. This obviously can be avoided by wiping them down regularly - but why not try and go for wooden toys which have natural antibacterial effects? I'm not talking about plain brown wooden toys, but ones with water based paints, etc. that in general would be better for a baby who's shoving everything in his mouth. As I said above though, I'm not against them in general, but when it comes to purchasing items myself at full price, why not go for those? That being said, I have found some solid brown items that I plan to purchase, simply because they were the most basic building blocks I could find.

3. Bright lights! Sounds! Most FP/LT (I'm not targeting these two, they're just the most common names) are SUPER stimulating. I feel like toys that are a little more simple (like THESE blocks) might instill a little more sense of imagination than some of the more typical toys.

4. In general, I don't want a million toys laying around the house and I feel like alot of those types of toys are large and bulky and tend to take up a long of space.

so... I'm not protesting large corporations... I just think some of the other options I'm finding online are so adorable - so if I only plan to have X number of toys in the house, I'd pick them first.

That being said, I still love my Lamaze plush toys (probably even bigger bacteria holders) and baby einstein exosaucer!

New Side Bar Feature:

As I mentioned previously I plan to avoid the typical fisher price/little tykes, etc toys... to the side I'll be adding a few links to websites that carry some fun and different toys for baby!

Jude Gets a Bumbo

Today, Ryan and I went to look at some photos that I had, had taken at BRU the other day (more to come on that). While waiting to sit down and review the photos, we decided to wander around the store. I figured it'd be a waste of time because there was nothing I could think of that we need - especially from BRU, but I figured, what the heck?

While walking around, I remembered there WAS something I wanted! With 'sitting up' being the next milestone to look for, I wanted something help Jude with this. I had seen people with the Bumbo chair and from what I had gathered, this was one of the best items to help achieve this milestone (really though, I'm sure he'd do it on his own time no matter what).

We strolled over to the bumbo aisle and were shocked to find that there were more than just the Bumbo brand. There was bebe brand and one other (I forget now...). We decided to stick with the bumbo and it was cheaper then the bebe and just seemed nicer (plus I loved the green it came in!).

He seemed to enjoy the chair. I can't wait to continue using it.

He's such a big boy!

Another Toy Out of the Box

Ok... so it's been out of the box for awhile now. I (that's a lie... my brother) put Jude's exo-saucer together right after we got it at the baby shower. It's such a cute item! After putting it together it hung out in Jude's closet for awhile until about a month ago when I brought it down to the living room. He was starting to get some neck control so I wanted to give it a try. Still a little too early.

Today we were playing around and I thought we'd see how it he would do in it. He might still be a little too small for it, but he's really starting to get the hang of it. The whole time he kept trying to pull all the toys towards him to shove in his mouth, but by the end, he was actually "playing" just a little.

Looking very intently at something.

Toes don't QUITE reach the saucer - even on the lowest setting

There's a little 'flip book' with pictures of animal that he really seemed to like. I think almost by accident he was trying to flip the pages

This little rattle type things spin and make different noises

Holding on to the little sun teether-type toy

Green Party

Today we had a birthday party to attend for one of Ryan's very old friends. His daughter was turning 1. It was of course a kids fest! One of the little munchkins there was just about Jude's age. She was born about a week and a half before Jude and is a monster of a little girl! The two of them made googley eyes at one another. Ryan socialized with his old friends and I chit chatted with the other ladies there.

At one point we went down in the basement to check out the kid zone and it was chaos! Kids and toys strewn about the living room. I swear that the second we walked down the steps one little boy began beating Ryan with a plastic golf club (and this kid had some force). When the kid realized that Ryan wasn't yelling at him for hitting him with the stick he began picking up little pieces of toys and throwing them at Ryan. Slowly the toys got larger, heavier and were thrown faster. I of course had to run and leave Ryan in the trenches.

Which brings me to my shopping experience for this birthday party...

When rooting through toys 'r us for a gift earlier in the day, I didn't know exactly what to get a 1 year old little girl so did a little browsing. I wanted to avoid the basic fisher price toys that you see in every house hold (assuming they already had most of them from their first child). I usually like to go in the direction of educational toys (always a hit - sike). I ended up coming across a little end cap of 100% recycled toys. I think I stopped initially because there was a truck I saw and wanted for Jude made from recycled wood (the closest thing to a solid tonka truck I've been able to find!).

But they also had this cute little tea party set made from 100% recycled milk jugs (all picked up from curb side recycling!). I went for it. In addition I got a little shape sorter ( you know, the box with holes in different shapes and you need to fit the correct shaped block into the correct hole) for her which was just super adorable. Surprisingly these 100% recycled, solid/sturdy looking toys were fairly cheap! Typically things that are "organic" or "100% recycled" (from what I've seen) are pricier anymore because there are so many people 'going green' but not so much in this case! (the tea set was about 20 and the shape sorter was 9.99)

To complete my left wing, liberal, hippie gift I bought two of those reusable shopping bags to wrap the gift in as opposed to the typical gift bag (1.50 for the reusable vs. 3+ dollars for the gift bags). I felt like I should put flowers in my hair and name my next child "sunshine" while making hemp bracelets on the side of the road somewhere, but all in all was proud of my eco-friendly present!

My Lovely Long Weekend

After Thursday’s concert, I took the day off to sit at home and relax with the Jude-man. I had really missed all of our quality time at home together, so it was wonderful to just sit around and play with him, nap with him and just enjoy him.

After a nice and relaxing Friday, we had a birthday party to hit up on Saturday for our friend Milenko’s son. I had not seen this little boy since our company picnic last year. It was amazing to see how much he’s grown in less than a year! He was no longer a little baby, but looked like a person! We spent the greater part of Saturday hanging out around the party and just enjoying ourselves.

It’s always interesting going to Milenko’s because he’s not from the US and the majority of his family is from Europe as well, so it’s never your typical hotdog and hamburger type of picnic. For example when we walked up to his house on Saturday, there was a full lamb being pulled off the large barbeque grill (skull and hooves still in tact). It’s very interesting to be introduced to different cultures.

After our Saturday out I had plans to go dress shopping with Katy, but that got foiled rather quickly. Once we determined that no bridal salons are open on Sunday, I headed home. On my way, I decided to make a pit stop at Babies R Us.

As I had said before, Jude is starting to play with his toys a little. Even if he totally doesn’t understand their purpose, he looks at them, reaches for them and seems to appreciate that they’re there. So, I wanted to see what other goodies I could get for him. I ended up getting him another Lamaze plush toy shaped like a horse (when you move it, it makes galloping sounds – so cute) and a baby Einstein toy that helps teach colors. I think the two of us stood in the toy section or a good 30 minutes as I showed him each toy to see which one he seemed to like the best. He didn’t seem to understand that he could have had ANY of them if he showed interest. It’s exciting to think one day he’ll be really excited when put in front of a huge display of toys (I’m sure when the time comes I’ll be dreading walking into a toy store).

Finally, we headed home to meet up with Ryan who was doing some work around the house! Quite awhile ago we painted and decorated our living room. Ryan never got around to finishing the receptacles in there though, so considering we had all the materials needed to do this project he decided to tackle it this weekend. He got about 90% of the work done and plans to wrap it up this evening. Now, once Jude starts crawling and moving around he won’t be able to get his fingers zapped because we’re putting in tamper resistant receptacles through the whole house.

A busy and enjoyable weekend!

Reaching

I know I just recently posted about how Jude was starting to appreciate his toys. He would look at them and occasionally accidentally grab them when his hands were moving about. It was also not uncommon for me to lay them on his chest and he'd basically "hug" them and try to get them in his mouth.


Well, this morning while I was laying around playing with him, I had one of his Lamaze toys out and he was cooing at it like crazy and moving around. I had read before that the best time to work on motor skills was during his "active awake" time (calm awake is best for reading to him, etc) so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I put his little fire fly toy with in reaching distance and shook it (it had bells and rattles and crinkle wings, etc) to get his attention. Almost immediately he started to reach for it. I was so proud of him!!! Now, I'll add that he does not have very refined hand-eye-coordination obviously, so his movements were very jerky and it took him a couple of passes to actually get a grip on it, but once he got it, he pulled it towards him and put it in his mouth. We did it over and over again and he just smiled through the whole thing.

I called to let Ryan know - hopefully he'll do it for his daddy when he gets home.

Toys!

It amazing to see how far Jude has come over the last two and a half months. He's communicating through smiles, rolls over, sleeping well and so much more.

His newest "trick" is that he's starting to *almost* appreciate his toys.



I think most of the toy grabbing he does is accidental, but it's still sweet. The toy above is just a little rattle that seems to catch his attention when I shake in front of him. He grabs it now and can hold on to it for a few seconds before his little arm spasms toss it.

Another toy he's beginning to pay attention to is the caterpillar that hangs on his car seat. He still doesn't get it 100%, but occasionally he'll catch sight of the bright colors or his hand will grab onto one of the dangling parts which makes the rattle shake.

Finally, he's beginning to appreciate his tummy time mat more and more. He's always loved laying on it and looking around, but the past week or so he's been focusing on the star that hangs and plays "twinkle, twinkle little start". He loves when i crinkle the other noise makers and perhaps the cutest part is the space ship (it's a space theme mat) that has a mirror on the bottom. The other day I walk in at lunch time and he's laying on his back looking up at the space ship. The bottom has a mirror that he could see himself in and he was laughing away at himself. It was the sweetest thing!!!

Also worth noting (not that it's really a 'toy') is that during the day, him and Nanny Katie (LOL) watch cartoons together. Apparently the two of them were watching Sesame Street together the other day and he got excited when Bert and Ernie came on the screen. I caught a few shows during my lunch break and realized there's a world of television I'll have to learn as he grows (I didn't even know where to find the cartoons!).

::cough:: Katy ::cough::

I often get e-mails from someone I work with, with pictures of her nephew attached. She’s a proud aunt and thinks he’s the cutest little guy. I’ll admit he is pretty adorable and seems like such a happy baby.

But why is he such a happy baby??

Because he has AWESOME toys like this:



I must say when I saw it, I was a tad-bit jealous and would love to get one of these for our little man. I’m sure Uncle Bryan would be so proud to say that his little nephew chills in a Jeep in his free time. Maybe if I through out the “J” word Ryan might be interested in a trip to Babies R Us??