One Year Favorites

We have a lot of toys in this house for just one little boy. Having all these toys indeed leads to a huge mess all over the house. I could absolutely care less about the mess he is making because I LOVE watching him discover new things. I could and I do watch him all day long. There is just something about seeing things through the eyes of a child that really makes you look at things differently. So much curiosity and determination as they play and learn. He learns by watching and doing.

These are a few of our favorite things at One Year Old...
(I think all of these are pretty gender neutral toys with the exception of maybe the cars.)

Baby's First photo album book- We put pics of family and other things he loves in this book and he loves it. Highly recommend a book like this.

Mega blocks First Builders

Hot Wheels Cars-Hot wheels cars are a big favorite around here. He knows how to make car noises and pushes them on the floor. One of his favorite things to do, especially play time with daddy.

Books-all books are great but we do have a few that are big hits.

• Where Is Baby's Belly Button
• B is for Bear
• Baby Touch and Feel Tractor and many other titles
• Goodnight Gorilla

My Pal Scout by Leap Frog- such a fun toy. Brayden loves pushing the buttons and its even says his name and plays fun songs.

Leap Frog Fridge Magnetic Vehicle Set-we love this as it is something in the kitchen for him to play with. He enjoys playing with the magnetic pieces and occasionally gets them in the place to make a match. Not a correct match yet but he is learning and it also plays music so he likes that as well.

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy- similar to the leap frog pal but is still fun and

Other One Year Old Favorites...
Veggie/Fruit squeeze pouches-I think that these are perfect for any child but especially if you may have a child that does not like eating cooked veggies like mine does. For some reason Brayden does not like eating his veggies. I am hoping he gets past it and that its just a texture issue.

Great ideas for First Birthday gifts or possibly Christmas. Even if your little one just needs something new. These are big hits in this house.

My Personal Baby Must Haves

I have actually wanted to put one of these posts together for a while but as usual time just gets away from me so easily these days. I have been coming across a lot of posts like this on other mommy blogs I frequently visit so I guess I will jump in and share my two sense as well.

 

As a first time mommy it is really hard to figure out what you need and must have for your new little one. I have learned that there are a lot of things out there that may work for one family/new baby but not everyone. What works for one does not always work for another. It really is all trial and error.

 

My son is now 9 months old so these are things that we have used or currently use now that are my personal favorite baby must haves.

Boppy
I think that this is probably on every new moms list of things to get. I LOVE the Boppy. We used this ALL THE TIME when Brayden was an infant. He just loved to be all snuggled up in it and would sleep for hours in it. Definitely a "Must Have" in my opinion.
Baby Magic Lotion & Soaps
I Love the way this smells. They need to seriously make a candle out of this smell and call it clean baby. Just a personal favorite of mine.
Pack-N-Play
We did not get a fancy pack-n-play with all the cool stuff on it. We just kept it simple and I think I would say I am glad we did. We kept it in our bedroom and used it as a bassinet for first few months and worked great for us.
Bumbo Seat
I think that everyone is pretty familiar with the Bumbo seat and probably already knows that it is a must have for a lot of families out there. We just loved how this seat can be used for so many things...playtime, snack time, chill time. My son loved to be able to sit up and see what was going on so this really worked well for us. I still put him in it at times and feed him his snack, the tray is so handy.
Space Saver High Chair
I cant say enough how much we absolutely LOVE this chair. We don't have a lot of room in our kitchen at all so space is definitely an issue for us. It simply attached to one of our kitchen chairs.  I recommend this for anyone doing research on high chairs. The best thing about it is that it grows with your child and it is so easy to adjust. My niece is almost 3 and she still sits in one and fits just fine.
V-Tech Sit-To-Stand Learning Walker
This has been my favorite toy that we have. Brayden LOVES this and plays with it all the time and just the other day stood up behind it and started walking with it, all on his own.
Bright Starts Bounce Bounce
There are a few different variations of this activity station out there but this is the one that we had and Brayden really enjoyed it. I don't put him in it very much at all these days simply because he just does not like to be contained. He likes his freedom to go and do what he wants. As soon as he was able to hold himself up somewhat we would put a blanket around him for support and he would play in this for a while. It really help build up those muscles for him to sit up on his own. My sister had a Jumparoo that we used when we went for a visit and he really liked that one as well and I actually wish I had had one too.
Cart Cover
I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to germs ESPECIALLY on public high chairs and shopping carts. I always sanitize them before using them and you better believe it I do carry a package of Clorox wipes with me just for times like these. Crazy momma, I know! If for some reason I am without my cover I wipe germ mobile very well before putting him in it.