A few of our favorite things

I wanted to share a few of our favorite recent purchases with all of you today. I'm always on the look-out for good deals and quality and love to share my finds! My blog is much too small to be endorsing products, so don't worry, these recommendations aren't tied to anything but my own experiences.

We purchased these jumbo safari animals from Learning Resources for Ty at Christmas. They were an instant favorite! As you can see in the photo below, they are truly huge and non-toxic as well. They became instantly popular with all of the kids when we gifted them to a two-year old at his birthday party recently. They also make farm animals, pets and dinosaurs!   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EG8IEK

You may think it's insane to buy a bib or smock for $30, but this Baby Bjorn combo is well worth the money! Ty is a messy eater, getting food down to his knees at times, and it was a bit of a hassle for our hungry toddler to get himself undressed before eating, then dressed again afterwards. This bib is long and has elastic at the end of the sleeves, making sure he is as clean as he was before the meal! It is also a wonderful way to keep clean during painting and dry during water play. It's breathable and lightweight, so we will still be using this in the summer. As a bonus, he just loves the cute little teddy bear he gets to wear on his chest!   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSBP9K

This latches board from Melissa and Doug has been a huge favorite with Tyler since he received it for Christmas. He really enjoys opening the latches so he can see the colorful animals underneath! He can open them all now and now it's time to work on locking them. As with most Melissa and Doug toys, there's so many ways to work on things such as colors, numbers, shapes and memory with this board as well. This toy has seen a ton of use in the last two months!  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NVBE1A

I knew that I wanted get Tyler a quality wooden table and chair set around this age, but the high prices had me really discouraged. It took a bit of shopping around to find this table and I was hesitant. It had good reviews, but how good would a $85 set really be? I was nervous again when it arrived and the suggested age on the box was 4-7 years. As you can see below, this table is a perfect height for Tyler (32" tall), and it's very sturdy, safe and made of real wood. He will be using this for quite a while!  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005U2DO

Buying a car seat certainly takes a lot of research and is based a lot on personal preferences, but I just had to share our love for the Britax Roundabout 55 Convertible Car Seat. Tyler is so comfortable and happy in this seat! We love it because it's easy to buckle him in, works well in our small car, it is anchored very well using the LATCH system, and we can rear face him up to 40 lbs so he can be really safe for a long time! When we took it to the local children's hospital to have the installation checked we were complimented on our choice. http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Roundabout-Convertible-Seat-Onyx/dp/B003OUWIIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298570726&sr=8-1 

To learn more about why rear-facing is safest, as well as to dispel myths about rear-facing, this website has tons of information, photos and crash-test videos: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

Ty has so many books that he enjoys, but this book seems to have come at just the right time as he's on the verge of a language explosion. This book, especially when strongly enunciated, works wonderfully and in a fun way, to teach letter sounds. We've noticed Tyler using more sounds and becoming clearer with them since starting this book a few weeks ago. This may be a coincidence, but there's no doubt that he enjoys hearing the sounds and perhaps learning a few letters along the way!  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005U2DO

If you have recently purchased a product that you really love, please feel free to share!